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Babar Azam-led Pakistan sent a wave of jubilation from Australia to their fans back in the country as they beat New Zealand in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2022. Pakistan defeated the Kane Williamson-led team by seven wickets to advance to the final of the tournament. This will be the first time since 2009 that Pakistan will be playing in a T20 WC final.
The Men in Green will either face England or India in the summit clash of the showpiece event and will hope to lift the title after 13 years. But the Pakistan cricket team’s fans and its former players have another desire they desperately want their team to fulfil. While winning the cup will be an achievement for Pakistan but winning it by beating arch-rivals India will be icing on the cake.
And for the same reason, the fans and former players of the Pakistan cricket team will be rooting for India to win the second semifinal when they play against England on Thursday (10 November). As the Men in Blue defeated Pakistan in their opening fixture of the tournament, Pakistan fans want their team to avenge that defeat and hence want India to play in the final.
Many former Pakistani cricketers like Iqbal Qasim and Rashid Latif openly expressed their desire for an India-Pakistan final. “I will also support India to beat England because there is nothing like a match between the two countries and I should know as I have played in some of them,” said Qasim.
“Both teams are strong outfits with some very quality players. But how Virat Kohli and Suryakumar fare will to my mind be the key to a possible India win. England remain a very dangerous side but would be lovely to see a Pakistan vs India final,” said Rashid Latif.
Cricket writer and film critic Omair Alavi said he knew for a fact that many of his circle of friends and relatives would be cheering India on when they play England. “If we play India in the World Cup final and can defeat them it would be a double-decker win for every Pakistani,” he said.