Virender Sehwag Predicts T20 World Cup's Top Run-Getter. He's Not From India
The T20 World Cup first round kicked off on October 16, while the main event starts on October 22 with a match between New Zealand and Australia.
Things will start to get really exciting when the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup starts on Saturday. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team begins its campaign a day later in Melbourne on Sunday with a match against the Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team. The last time the two sides faced each other in a World Cup match, at the 2021 T20 World Cup, Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets. That loss started a slide for India that the side could not stop and bowed out of the group stage. This time around the Rohit Sharma-led India have a chance to begin on a strong note against Pakistan.
For Pakistan, their skipper Babar Azam holds the key as his performance might well decide the course of their campaign. Former Indian cricket team star Virender Sehwag feels that Babar will be the top run-getter in the competition.
"Pakistan's Babar Azam. He is batting brilliantly. Feels great to watch him bat, just like you feel at peace while seeing Virat Kohli's batting. You feel happy watching Babar Azam bat," Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag's predictions have often come true. Recently, speaking on his cricketing journey, David Warner recalled how Sehwag was among the first to identify his potential in the longest format of the game. Having played under Sehwag's captaincy in the IPL, Warner revealed that he was surprised when the former India star told him that he could be a good Test player.
"When I went to Delhi, Sehwag watched me a couple of times and said to me, 'you'll be a better Test cricketer than what you will be a T20 player'," Warner told FoxSports.com.au.
"I basically looked at him and said, 'mate, I haven't even played a first-class game yet'. But he said, 'all the fielders are around the bat, if the ball is there in your zone you're still going to hit it. You're going to have ample opportunity to score runs. You've always got to respect the good ball, but you've always got to punish the ball you always punish'," he added.
Pakistan Cricket Team
India Cricket Team
Virender Sehwag
Babar Azam