Pakistan have ‘a good chance to win the World Cup,’ says Usman Khan

It might be a tad early, given Pakistan are yet to finalise their squad, but wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan thinks the team has a ‘good chance’ of lifting the World Cup. Usman, who is currently playing for Dhaka Capitals in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), is part of Pakistan’s squad that will play Sri Lanka in a three T20I series next week.

The tour was planned to give the Pakistan side a chance to acclimatise to the conditions they will be playing all of their T20 World Cup games on, as well as aid the management in working out the squad. But the 30-year-old batter believes that the team is aptly prepared to take on the challenge.

"Our coach Mike Hesson has prepared us quite well ahead of the World Cup," Usman said. "We will play Sri Lanka and Australia in the coming month to prepare for the World Cup. We want to do well in Sri Lanka. We have a great combination in the team, so we have a good chance to win the World Cup."

Pakistan's wicketkeeper conundrum

Usman was part of only nine of the 36 T20I games Pakistan played last year. With the team seemingly having moved on from their long-term keeper Mohammad Rizwan, Usman has an opening to break into the side for the tournament. However, to say the least, it would not be an easy job. For one, Pakistan have as many as three wicketkeeping options in the Sri Lanka-bound squad, including Khawaja Naffay, Sahibzada Farhan, and Usman himself.

Despite that, Usman is positive about getting a call-up. Before coming to Bangladesh for the BPL, he scored 159* in Pakistan’s List A tournament, the President’s Cup, last month.

"The PCB takes note of performances in the BPL, PSL, and domestic tournaments. I have come here having played the domestic competitions in Pakistan. I played in two tournaments, including the President's Cup, where I played six matches," Usman said. "It has held me in good stead for the national call-up. I have given a lot of time to fitness and my wicketkeeping. I have been regularly playing domestic cricket too."

Acclimatising to the conditions

Like a few other players who are part of different franchise leagues, Usman will link up with the team in Sri Lanka. This will be his first time playing in Sri Lanka. But he thinks playing in conditions in Bangladesh during the BPL will work in his favour when tackling the tricky Sri Lankan surfaces.

"I am heading to Sri Lanka for the first time. We will be playing in Dambulla. It will be a good opportunity to understand their wickets ahead of the World Cup in Sri Lanka," Usman said. "We played on similar surfaces in the last tri-series. I am preparing myself for that type of wicket, and how to handle fast bowling. We want to win the series in Sri Lanka."

"Playing cricket in Bangladesh is certainly going to help me, especially with the different types of conditions. The Sylhet and Chittagong wickets are fantastic, but the wickets in Dhaka are often up and down for the first few overs.

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