After successfully defeating New Zealand in the semi-final, Pakistan reached the final of the ongoing T20 World Cup. The Babar Azam-led side will now be going up against England in the summit clash, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. Chasing 153 against New Zealand in the semi-final, Babar and Mohammad Rizwan hit half-centuries, as Pakistan chased down the target with five balls and seven wickets to spare. It will be interesting to see whether Pakistan will go for an unchanged playing XI or not against England.
Here is what we think could be Pakistan's playing XI for the semi-final -
Mohammad Rizwan: The wicketkeeper-batter played a massive knock of 57 runs off 43 balls against New Zealand in the semi-final. His form will be key for Pakistan.
Babar Azam (captain): Babar's form was a concern for Pakistan before he scored a half-century against New Zealand in the semi-final. He will look to put in a similar performance, if not better.
Mohammad Nawaz: The all-rounder hasn't really hit the ground running so far in the tournament. In six matches, he has scalped three wickets and scored just 63 runs.
Mohammad Haris: The right-handed batter has impressed everyone with his attacking approach in the three matches that he has played in the World Cup. In the semi-final, he smashed 30 runs off 26 balls.
Shan Masood: The left-handed is Pakistan's highest run-getter in the tournament with 137 runs to his name. He started the tournament on a promising note, but his form has dropped.
Iftikhar Ahmed: The right-handed batter is in a good form in the ongoing tournament. With two half-centuries to his name, Iftikhar is the second-highest run-scorer for Pakistan with 114 runs to his credit. He is likely to retain his place in the playing XI.
Shadab Khan: Shadab has been one of the top performers for Pakistan, having bagged 10 wickets in six games so far. He will now look to put in a strong performance against the England batters.
Mohammad Wasim: Wasim has been really impressive in the ongoing World Cup with seven wickets to his name. Apart from his ability with the ball, Wasim can also be pretty handy with the bat, if the opportunity arrives.
Naseem Shah: After taking only three wickets in five games, Naseem Shah went wicketless against New Zealand and conceded 30 runs in his four-over spell. The right-arm pacer will look to redeem himself, if the management decides to retain him in the playing XI.
Haris Rauf: One of the top performers of the tournament, Haris Rauf has picked 6 wickets across 5 games and has bowled at an economy of 6.83. He will look to add more wickets to his tally in the final.
Shaheen Afridi: After a slow start, Shaheen has regained his form, which has been one of the reasons behind Pakistan's surge in the tournament. He registered his career-best T20I figures of 4 for 22 in Pakistan's virtual quarter-final match vs Bangladesh. He has bagged 10 wickets so far at an economy rate of 6.17.