Go for early wickets, Asif Iqbal tells Babar & Co.

KARACHI -- Noting that the Babar Azam-led team possesses enough bowling strength, former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal on Saturday said the greenshirts should look to take early wickets against England in the T20 World Cup final at the MCG.

'The best option for Pakistan is to get England [openers] out quickly... preferably in the power play overs. To do that we have quality bowlers. If we fail to get them out early, England can either post a big total or chase a huge score,' Asif said while talking to Dawn from England.

Asif, when asked should Babar open today, or in-form Mohammad Haris or any out-and-out hitter should be promoted to open to score quickly in power play, emphasised Babar should continue with the job.

'No reason why the batting order needs to be changed. With Babar-Rizwan combination we managed to reach the finals, so why tamper with the batting order,' Asif added.

'TAKE IT AS A ROUTINE GAME'

Meanwhile, former Pakistan batter Ijaz Ahmed advised Pakistan to take today's decider as a normal game.

'Our team at the MCG today should play just as they did in the other World Cup games without taking any sort of pressure of a final,' Ijaz told Dawn on Saturday.

He continued, 'This Pakistan team has more or less faced the same situation which we underwent in the 1992 World Cup,' Ijaz, who...