Pakistan’s first T20I match against Ireland will be held at the Clontarf Cricket Stadium today in their bid to prepare for the ICC T20 World Cup that will kickstart next month in the USA and the Caribbean.
However, the final composition of Pakistan’s playing eleven remains a subject of intrigue with the absence of Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf a serious concern just before the start of the T20 World Cup campaign.
Pakistan will be without the services of Mohammad Amir for the first T20I due to visa issuance delay.
Pakistan’s main concern is the top order. Which opening pair will be tried is yet to be seen as Mohammad Rizwan is recovering from an injury suffered during the New Zealand series.
Saim Ayub and Babar Azam are likely to open the innings whereas Usman Khan will be utilized in the one-down position. Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan can both play as floaters in any position in the batting line up with both players showcasing good performances at two-down.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Imad Wasim are likely to play at 6 and 7 positions lower down the batting order considering their invaluable ability to hit the ball out of the park in death overs.
Pakistan can opt to field a lineup with four pacers in this match such as Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Hassan Ali, and Abbas Afridi with the spin duo of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan to support the pacers on seaming wickets.
The Men in Green will look to bounce back from their disappointing home series 2-2 draw against New Zealand’s C team which resulted in their drop to 7th place in T20 World rankings.
Here is the expected playing XI:
| Babar Azam |
| Saim Ayub |
| Usman Khan |
| Fakhar Zaman |
| Shadab Khan |
| Iftikhar Ahmed |
| Imad Wasim |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi |
| Naseem Shah |
| Hassan Ali |
| Abbas Afridi |
