T20 World Cup 2022: Wasim Akram picks Australia, India, and Pakistan to play semi-finals of ICC tournament
Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has picked India alongside the hosts Australia and Pakistan three of the four teams to qualify for the semifinals of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. The mega event is all set to begin on the 16th of October as 16 teams will battle it for the championship. While 8 teams will play in the qualifying round, the other 8 teams are already a part of the Super 12.
Host Australia will enter the competition as the defending champions and are once again the hot favourites to lift the title once again. Meanwhile, there are some other strong contestants as well, including England, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, and South Africa. Now, the legendary Pakistani pacer has picked the two Asian giants Pakistan and India to qualify for the semifinals alongside Australia as the other semifinalists.
Wasim Akram backs India and Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals
The T20 World Cup 2022 is all set to begin in less than a week now. The cricket experts and the pundits are now picking their favourite teams to make it to the final four. The former left-arm pacer has now picked his favourites to make it to the semifinals.
“For the semifinals, what I would like to see is Australia, India and Pakistan. But South Africa could be a dark horse,” said Wasim Akram in a conversation with media in Dubai. While picking Australia as the favourites is a no-brainer, picking India and Pakistan from a group that also has South Africa in it might come as a surprise to many.
India, Pakistan, and South Africa are placed in Group 2 alongside Bangladesh and two other qualifiers. South Africa have improved massively in T20 cricket recently and the Australian conditions are likely to work in their favour. Meanwhile, Pakistan also have been a force in the shorter format for some time now.
At the same time, the Indian team, despite crashing out early from the last year’s world cup, once again will enter as the favourites to lift the trophy.