Pakistan captain Babar Azam called on his side to stay in high spirits as they begin their Twenty20 World Cup campaign off the back of a poor run of form.

Pakistan, T20 World Cup champions in 2009, have performed well in the past two editions of the competition, reaching the semifinals in 2021 and losing to England in the final in 2022.

However, their preparations for this year’s tournament in the United States and West Indies has been far from ideal, with a sobering defeat by Ireland in an eventual 2-1 series victory followed by a 2-0 defeat by England in a rain-affected series.

“Effort is in our hands, but results, we do not know,” Babar said in an episode of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast released on Sunday.

“How we present ourselves on the ground, our body language and how we communicate with each other will matter. We must be positive, so results will come... Conditions in the USA may pose challenges as we are going there as a national side for the first time.

“We are in the process of collating various cricket and match-related information from players who have played there, which can help and assist us in our preparations.”

Pakistan are in Group A of the World Cup and begin their campaign against hosts US on June 6. They will then take on arch-rivals India in one of the event’s highly-anticipated matches three days later.

Pakistan and India have faced each other seven times at the T20 World Cup, with Pakistan winning just once.

“An India-Pakistan match is always the most talked about; it is discussed too much wherever you go in the world,” Babar said.

“The players get different vibes and excitement. What will happen is that everyone supports their country, so the focus is on that match. The whole world is focused on the day when the India-Pakistan match is held.

“Naturally, there will be nerves, but we need to keep our focus, stick to the basics and play easy cricket. It is always a pressure game; the more you keep cool and calm, believe in your skills and hard work, then things get easier.” 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state-owned bank and the China-Pakistan International Silk Road Industry Investment Management Company Limited this week signed an agreement to facilitate investment in key projects to promote industrial cooperation and establish special economic zones, state-run media reported on Sunday.

Islamabad views Beijing as one of its most reliable foreign partners in recent years, which has invested over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 

The development takes place as Pakistan eyes foreign investment in key economic sectors whilst it grapples with a macroeconomic crisis. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly said his government wants to break the “begging bowl” and is targeting mutually beneficial economic partnerships with allies. 

The agreement between the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and China-Pakistan International Silk Road Industry Investment Management Company Limited was signed on Saturday at the Pakistan embassy in Beijing in the presence of Aslam Chaudhry, Pakistan’s minister of economic affairs. 

“He [Chaudhry] informed that special economic zones are being established across Pakistan where the Chinese enterprises could relocate their industry and export products to different countries taking advantage of preferential agreements signed by Pakistan with various countries,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

The minister said Pakistan, with a population of over 225 million people, is itself a “big market” and that Chinese companies could benefit from it.

Chaudhry urged Pakistan urged Chinese entrepreneurs to set up their industrial units in Pakistan. 

“He opined that the MoU would help the Chinese companies for investment in different projects and promote industrial cooperation between the two countries,” Radio Pakistan said. 

Pakistan has been making efforts to attract foreign investment since last year when it set up the Special Investment Facilitation Center (SIFC). The hybrid civil and government body was formed last year to attract investment in key economic sectors including tourism, agriculture, minerals and others.