Pakistan vs England Match Prediction

Pakistan vs England Team Previews

Pakistan

Pakistan might well enter the game as slight favorites, not due to their excellent track record against England, but since they have an impeccable record at the National Stadium, in which they have never ended up losing a match. Given their status as favorites, the leadership’s primary issue will be the fitness of skipper Babar Azam, who appeared entirely out of form in the recently completed Asia Cup, suffering the Green Caps a painful loss in the final against Sri Lanka. Both the administration and the supporters will be hopeful that the right-hander can come back to full health and start delivering huge runs as soon as possible. There will be at least one alteration to the starting XI that competed in the Asia Cup final, as top-order batsman Fakhar Zaman will not be available due to a knee injury. In his stead, left-handed batsman Shan Masood is expected to bat, and it’s going to be intriguing to watch if he bats first or second. 

Pacers Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, and Haris Rauf, as well as spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, all expected to remain in the bowling attack. Pakistan entered the Asia Cup final, however their efforts were disappointing. The selectors made the unusual decision to dismiss Fakhar Zaman and replace him with Shan Masood. Masood, an exquisite left-handed batsman, had a fruitful T20 Blast season and was also excellent in the PSL, but he has yet to earn his official T20 debut. The spotlight will also be on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Despite being the most prolific T20 combination, their strike rate has been shown to be inadequate, and they will be under stress to attack right away. Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Asif Ali should remain in the middle order. Pakistan is a difficult side to beat at home, but it will need to modify its playing approach to overcome England.

England

England will start the game as small underdogs, owing to the fact that several of the players on the squad had never played in Pakistan. As a result, it will be fascinating to observe how they fare against a home club in front of a hostile crowd. The team lineup will be fascinating to watch with Alex Hales set to make his return in the absence of Jason Roy who is dropped from the side owing to poor form, along with Johnny Bairstow being ruled out of the series with an injury. The skipper Jos Butler is also set to miss some initial games of the series. In terms of bowling, it will be intriguing to watch which three pacers the team administration decides to go with, as there are numerous alternatives. In truth, one of the issues he will face is how to accommodate everybody in their favorite roles.

Buttler is expected to begin the batting alongside Phil Salt, backed by Dawid Malan at three. Butler can slip down the pecking order to suit all of his top-order batters. Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, and Harry Brook might be England’s middle-order batsmen to begin with. Mark Wood is attempting a return, but he will not participate in all seven games. Whether he plays or not will be determined by England’s assessment of his health. The opening match might include Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, and Olly Stone. England has so many talents to choose from that they may go in a lot of different paths. With seven games remaining, anticipate extensive turnover to keep men fit and injury-free.

Pakistan vs England Team Squads

Pakistan

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shan Masood, Aamir Jamal, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

England

Jos Buttler (c & wk), Moeen Ali (vc), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Jordan Cox (wk), Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Ben Duckett, Richard Gleeson, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Luke Wood

Pakistan News

• Shaheen Shah Afridi, the left-arm fast bowler, is still recovering from a knee ailment and will miss the series. 

• He is on the bench with the top order batsman Fakhar Zaman, who is resting after suffering a knee injury.

England News

• The tourists will be missing their skipper, Jos Buttler, for the whole of the series and the team will be led by Moeen Ali.

• We anticipate Alex Hales to rejoin the England squad for the series opener, with Jordan Cox making his debut.