Sources said that Pakistan’s management may replace Iftikhar Ahmed with Saim Ayub in today’s match against Canada after successive losses in the T20 World Cup 2024. Sources suggest skipper Babar Azam will choose Saim over Iftikhar before the toss in today’s must-win encounter at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
Iftikhar Ahmed out, Saim Ayub in: Pakistan’s potential Canada XI
After Sunday’s loss, the players avoided leaving their hotel, creating a “atmosphere or mourning” in camp, sources said. The likely lineup adjustment came after Iftikhar scored 22 and five runs in his two matches against the US and archrivals India, respectively.
The first match saw the US win the Super Over by five runs, while the second saw the Green Shirts fail to chase down a 120-run goal due to batting line breakdown. The national team has zero points after two losses. India and US lead the points table with 4 points after winning their last two.
Both winning their next two games against Ireland and Canada and losing their next two against India and Ireland are crucial for the Green Shirts. Even if Pakistan wins, they must have a superior nett run rate (NRR) than the US to qualify for the Super Eight. If the US wins one more match, Pakistan will not be entering the next stage and will not worry about the NRR.