Ahead Of Clash With India, Pak's Babar Azam Says T20 World Cup Is Like A Home Event

With the much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in Dubai on October 24, following the announcement of the schedule on Tuesday, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said his team will utilise the time between now and the mega-event to play home series against New Zealand and England and "fine-tuning our final outlook."

Speaking on the ICC website, Azam said, "The T20 World Cup schedule announcement brings us one step forward in our preparations for this much-awaited global tournament. We will utilise the build-up period by playing in home series against New Zealand and England and will not only aim to fine-tune our final outlook but also win as many matches as possible so that we can carry that winning form and momentum to the UAE."

In a warning that Pakistan will be a force to reckon with, Azam said, "For Pakistan, the T20 World Cup is like a home event as the UAE has been our venue for more than a decade. We have not only nurtured our talent and developed our side in the UAE but have also beaten the top sides in these conditions to peak to No. 1 in the ICC T20I team rankings.

All the players are excited, motivated and enthusiastic, and view this tournament as an opportunity to showcase our prowess and re-establish our superiority in the shortest format of the game in conditions that suit us best.

"I remain focused in inspiring my side with my performances so that we can become the first Pakistani side to win an ICC major event in Asia," said Azam.

England captain Eoin Morgan said that the standard of T20 cricket around the world is improving exponentially and every nation has a chance of becoming world champions. "It should be one of the closest and most competitive world tournaments to date and we can't wait to get started," said Morgan.

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