T20 World Cup 2022: [Watch] Shaheen Afridi tries to convince a toddler to become the next Babar Azam

Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi will be raring to go when his team take the field against arch-rivals India in the opening match of the T20 World Cup slated to be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket ground (MCG) on October 23rd (Sunday).

Ahead of the marquee contest, Afridi’s cute video with an infant went viral where he can be seen asking the baby whether he wants to play cricket and become the next Babar Azam.

“Cricket khelni hain? Kya banna hain? Babar Azam banna hain?” (Want to play cricket? Who do you want to emulate? Babar Azam? Afridi jokingly asked the toddler."

Afridi returned to competitive cricket with a couple of warm-up games against England and Afghanistan after an injury lay-off that led to him missing the Asia Cup. While he went wicketless in the first outing against the Proteas, Afridi showed glimpses of his prowess with a couple of cracking deliveries against the Afghans.

He castled Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai with trademark inswinging yorkers and will look to do much of the same in his opening spell against the arch-rivals.

Afridi sustained a right knee ligament injury while fielding during a Test match against Sri Lanka back in July. The injury kept him out of action for three months.

Arguably one of the finest fast bowlers of the modern generation, the tall pacer traveled with the team for the Asia Cup in UAE but was later sent to London for recuperation ahead of the T20 World Cup.

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Can Shaheen Afridi lead Pakistan to a victory against arch-rivals?

Pakistan will be heavily reliant on their opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have done the bulk of the scoring for them in the recent past. Such has been their consistency over a long period of time, the middle-order batters have remained untested on several occasions.

Pakistan will be high on confidence after winning the tri-nation series in New Zealand, also featuring Bangladesh and the hosts, but they will be wary of the sterner challenges they will face in the World Cup.

On the back of a stupendous bowling effort by Afridi and a sensational opening partnership between Babar and Rizwan, Pakistan managed to beat India for the first time in a World Cup game in UAE last year.

When the two teams met in the Asia Cup, the honors were shared with India and Pakistan winning a game each. It will be an important first game for both nations as a win early on in the tournament will lay the foundation for smooth progress to the semi-finals.