All-rounder Imad Wasim will miss Pakistan’s T20 World Cup opener against the USA on Thursday due to a persistent side strain, said captain Babar Azam. (More Cricket News)
Babar said Wasim has still not completely recovered from his side strain and the left-arm spinner is under observation.
“The medical staff is monitoring him and he will be available for the remaining matches in the World Cup,” Babar told the media in Dallas.
The seasoned T20 specialist Wasim was brought out of retirement two months back with the World Cup view. The selectors felt that his style of bowling would suit the slow nature of pitches in the Americas.
Along with Wasim, left-arm spinner Mohammed Amir too was picked for the ICC showpiece but they have been used sparingly in the series against New Zealand, Ireland and England in the run-up to the tournament.
“They (pitches) appear good for pace bowlers and we have a very good pace attack so the pitches seem good for us,” said Babar.
Babar emphasised that they have no issues with the facilities being offered to the team at the venues in the USA.
“It is okay. We have no complaints and we have seen all this before. Not playing any warm-up games before our first match could have been a problem but we have come here after playing some cricket. It is not an issue for us,” he said.
Babar recently became the second batter after Virat Kohli to go past the 4000-run mark in T20Is. Star Indian batter is leading the chart with 4037 runs, and Babar is a close second with 4023 runs.
But the 29-year-old Lahore man said his focus was not on individual records but wanted to play as per the team requirement and situation of a match.
“We are here to try to win the World Cup. I am not here thinking about personal records. What matters is that the team does well and we succeed in winning the World Cup. We have learnt from our past mistakes,” he added.
In a lighter vein, Babar said the pressure on him for tickets for the match against India was more than the match itself.
“There are so many people asking for tickets, the pressure is immense,” he said smilingly.
