Pakistan vs Bangladesh 2020: Three Pakistan players to watch out for in Bangladesh T20Is

Pakistan will be facing Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series, starting from January 24 in Lahore. The remaining of the two games will be played at Lahore on January 25 and January 27.

There were a lot of doubts regarding the series and at one point, it seemed that things will not end up on a positive note. However, a long meeting in Dubai between both boards settled the issue which paved the way for the Tigers to return to Pakistan for the first time since the 2008 Asia Cup.

Uncapped Ahsan Adil, Haris Rauf have been included in the T20 squad for the three-match series against Bangladesh. Experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik has made their comeback to the national side after not being picked for the home series against Sri Lanka last year.

Mohammad Rizwan will continue to be the first-choice wicket-keeper for the side in the T20 format. Khushdil Khan, Mohammad Musa and Mohammad Hasnain are promising players included in the squad for the three-match series against Bangladesh. Premier batsman Babar Azam will lead the side for this home series.

Let’s take at the three Pakistani players to watch out for in the series who can prove to be the difference-maker against Bangladesh.

Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf is the player everyone is talking about and will surely going to be the one to watch out for in the series against Bangladesh. The right-arm pacer was initially selected by the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars before the 2019 edition and did impress with his immaculate line and length in the previous edition of the country’s cash-rich T20 league.

However, it is his heroics with the Melbourne Stars in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) which put him in the spotlight and now he has been selected for the national team for the first time. The right-armer has claimed 16 wickets in just nine outings for Melbourne, which included a hat-trick and five-wicket haul.

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik is one of the most experienced cricketer currently playing in the game. The veteran all-rounder has been out of the team since the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup. However, the 37-year-old has been in exceptional form in the league cricket where he first led Guyana Amazon Warriors to the final of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2019 and then was the part of the Rajshahi Royals team who went on to clinch the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title in the same year as well. Malik has represented Pakistan in 111 T20Is in his career where he has scored 2,263 runs at an impressive average of 30.58 along with strike-rate of 124.06 and also has 28 wickets to his name.

Babar Azam

Babar Azam is being termed as one the best batsman currently playing in the game. The right-hander is the number one-ranked batsman in the shortest format with 879 rating points. Azam has outstanding numbers for the Men-in-Green in the T20Is where he has scored 1,405 runs in just 36 innings at an astonishing average of 50.17 along with strike-rate of 127.49, which included 12 half-centuries as well.