Former Indianbatsman Mohammad Kaif has said that Pakistan's batting order, except for a couple of players, plays at a low strike rate of 120 to 125.
He gave this analysis talking to Star Sports ahead of Pakistan-India T20 World Cup 2024 match scheduled for June 9 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Kaif said it was an open secret that Pakistan had a "weak batting". Nevertheless, he warned Indian team of Fakhar Zaman saying that he had the potential to win a match on his day.
He said Fakhar and Iftikhar Ahmed were two quick hitters to be reckoned with. “Fakhar plays a little fast, (and) if he fires, he can probably win the match alone. Iftikhar (also) plays quick shots.”
Kaif added, "However, other than that, everyone plays at a strike rate of 120 to 125. (So) You are not that scared of their batting but (definitely) are scared of their bowling.”
Meanwhile, the cricket commentator showered praise on Pakistani pacers, particularly, reminiscing Naseem Shah’s T20 World Cup 2022 spell against India.
"They will have Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Naseem didn't come to play in the (ODI) World Cup in India as he was injured. But he is fit here (and) this will be a bouncy pitch. Naseem is a very good bowler. If you talk about the Melbourne match that Virat Kohli won, if you see Naseem's first spell, he got a nick and the catch was dropped at slip," he said.
Out of seven T20 World Cup encounters, Pakistan have lost five matches while one resulted in a tie with India winning via bowl out. Pakistan won their first T20 WC match under Babar Azam’s captaincy against India in 2021.