Babar Azam-led Pakistan will take on England in the final of the T20 World Cup on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. There has been uncanny resemblance between the side’s campaign in the ongoing tournament and the 1992 50-over World Cup, which Pakistan won under the leadership of Imran Khan. There have been many memes and jokes about the resemblance between the two World Cup campaigns and now, a comment made by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is leaving everyone in splits.
Before the semi-final between India and England at the Adelaide Oval, Gavaskar said that if Pakistan do go on to win the tournament, then Babar Azam would become the Prime Minister of the country in 2048. This comment left Michael Atherton and Shane Watson in splits.
“You know what, if Pakistan do win the World Cup, in 2048 Babar Azam would be the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Heading into the summit clash, all the talk is how there is an uncanny resemblance between the ongoing tournament and the 1992 50-over World Cup, which Pakistan won under the leadership of Imran Khan. In that tournament as well, Pakistan’s backs were against the wall but the side staged a remarkable turnaround to take the title home.
Co-incidentally, in the 1992 World Cup, Pakistan had faced-off against England in the final and it was Wasim Akram who had produced a match-winning performance. Ahead of the T20 World Cup final against England, captain Babar Azam was asked about the resemblance to the 1992 tournament.
“Ofcourse, the similarities are there. We will try to win the trophy, it is a big honour for me to lead this team and especially at this big ground. We will try to give our 100 per cent and win. We did not start well, but the way team came back, they fought like tigers. We will look to continue from here and we will look to give our best,” said Babar during a pre-match press conference.
In both the 1992 and 2022 World Cups, Pakistan began their campaign with a loss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In both tournaments, Pakistan suffered a defeat at the hands of India as well.
The resemblance goes further — in both tournaments, Pakistan snuck into the semi-finals by a single point on the last day