4 key players to watch out in Pakistan vs Afghanistan clash

Pakistan's Mohammad Amir reacts after a delivery during the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match between New Zealand and Pakistan at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Pic/AFP

In the ongoing Cricket World Cup, Pakistan will play Afghanistan and will need to beat the Asian team at Headingley to displace England and inch closer to securing its ICC Men's Cricket World Cup semi-finals berth.

After going down in its initial matches of the Cricket World Cup tournament, Pakistan made a solid comeback in the World Cup standings as they defeated New Zealand and moved up to sit in the sixth place with seven points. Pakistan is trapped in two must-win matches to enter the knock out stage. And the first one is against the Afghan boys led by captain Gulbadin Naib.
Afghanistan which lost most of its matches and is placed in the bottom without any point will play for pride. While Pakistan would aim to move up and secure the fourth position in the standings.

Following are the key players who can make the tables turn:

Mohammad Amir:
Pakistan pacer Amir, who did not find a spot in the initial 15-member squad announced, proved his worth in the team as he took five wickets against Australia and conceded just 30 runs from his 10 over quota. Amir then went onto take three Indian wickets and two South African wickets, respectively. The left-hand fast bowler has so far picked up 16 wickets in the tournament so far.

Babar Azam:

Currently ranked 8th in the Top 100 ODI batsmen, Babar Azam has been a brilliant player for Pakistan in the last couple of years and the stats are proof enough. Azam's splendid knock of 63 runs against the hosts England in their second World Cup match helped his side beat England by 14 runs. Babar went onto complete his century against New Zealand in his recent outing for Pakistan, thereby keeping the semi-finals hope alive for his country.

Mohammad Nabi:
Nabi who looked headstrong against India and nearly sealed the victory for Afghanistan will provide an all-around experience to the squad. The 34-year-old all-rounder, who is handy with the bat and bowl, bagged four wickets against Sri Lanka and then picked up two wickets against India. Nabi has scalped seven wickets so far in the tournament.

Gulbadin Naib:
The Afghan skipper who can bat at any position possesses the ability of bowling as well as batting. A vital member of the squad, Naib performance can be the difference between Pakistan and Afganistan. The skipper has picked up three wickets against England, scalped two wickets each against India and Bangladesh, respectively.

With inputs from ANI

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