Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s leadership skills in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup will be very “important” for his team throughout the tournament, former West Indies captain Daren Sammy said Saturday. The West Indies cricketer’s comments came during the ICC World Cup digital preview show – where he exchanged views on the upcoming tournament with English cricket commentator Isa Guha and Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik. Sammy said everyone knew how classy Babar is as a batsman. The former West Indies skipper said if Babar was to make sound decisions – from a captaincy point of view – and if he could rotate the bowlers well, then Pakistan would be a force to reckon with. Speaking about the Asian teams playing in the tournament, he said they are used to the UAE conditions. “Afghanistan […] and Pakistan have played all their cricket in UAE.”Sammy said the upcoming tournament would “be the best” to date, as the teams are ready – to step into the biggest tournament that the ICC will hold post-pandemic. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik said although he wanted Pakistan and India to top their group (B), he expects the Men In Blue and New Zealand to come out on the top as the Kiwis have a way “to push above their weight” in multi-nation tournaments.