Canada Pacer Kaleem Sana has issued a stern warning to Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan ahead of the upcoming PAK vs CAN game in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Kaleem Sana has said that he will target Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan during the game with its attacking rhythm.
Interestingly, Kaleem Sana hails from Pakistan and also played domestic matches in Pakistan during the beginning of his career. He also made it to the Pakistan Under-19 team. He played on the domestic circuit regularly until 2014, when he faced a serious back injury.
Due to the injury, he lost his rhythm and with no hope of making it into the Pakistan team, Sana moved to Canada to play for the Canadian team. Subsequently, he made his T20I international debut for Canada in 2022. With the help of him, Canada also managed to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup during the Americas Region Qualifiers.
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My targets will be Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan-Kaleem Sana.
Kaleem Sana also faced Babar Azam during his U-16 stint in Pakistan’s domestic circuit. Now, he is ready to face him once again in the next match, but this time at the international level.
During an interview with Geo News, the left-arm pacer said that he will target Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the PAK vs CAN game as he is Canada’s opening bowler. Azam and Rizwan are Pakistan’s openers in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
“Since I am playing with the new ball, my targets will (obviously) be Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. Babar was in the rival team, while I played my last first-class match in Pakistan,” he said.
Sana, who has so far played 8 ODIs and 18 T20Is for Canada, also informed that his dream was to play for the Pakistan national team. However, he is still excited to play against the Pakistan team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
“When I was selected for the Pakistan U-19 team in 2009, I felt great. Even during the under-19 days, my dream was to play for the Pakistan national team. However, I am excited to play for Canada against Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. My family still lives in Pakistan but I am now part of the Canada team,” the 30-year-old pacer added.
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The match between Pakistan and Canada will take place in New York on June 11
Meanwhile, the match between Pakistan and Canada is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Pakistan and Canada are part of Group A of the tournament.
Pakistan have already lost two consecutive matches and are desperate to get their first win in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The Babar Azam-led team lost to the United States and India in their first two matches.
On the other hand, Canada has also played two matches in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. They won one match and lost the other. Canada began their journey with a loss against the United States, however, they won their next match against Ireland by 12 runs.