England the scene for Jofra Archer, Haris Rauf comebacks – so long as the weather plays ball. The last time England played Pakistan in this format, nearly 90,000 people turned up to watch, with a global audience potentially in the hundreds of millions. It came at the MCG in the 2022 T20 World Cup final, and as the Pakistani tears and wild English celebrations demonstrated, what was on the line mattered.

That won’t quite be the case in England and not only because the weather might put paid to the possibility of a game altogether. A lot has happened in the following year and a half, and little of it has served to bolster these sides’ credentials as World Cup champions and runners-up. The two have won a combined two T20I series out of a possible nine, each boasting sizeable losing records since they played at the MCG. They were both eliminated from the following ODI World Cup at the first hurdle. England’s match-winner from that warm Melbourne night isn’t currently a part of the T20I setup, while Pakistan’s captain was briefly dethroned before inexplicably having the crown handed back to him a few months later.

It's risky to judge a team solely on T20I results in bilateral games; even this series, after all, serves almost entirely as a warm-up to the T20 World Cup less than a fortnight away. But given their struggles in T20I cricket, both teams would benefit from a series win and are duly taking the series extremely seriously.

England haven’t played a T20I all year, though they did take on upcoming World Cup co-hosts West Indies in a five-match T20I series in December. What Jos Buttler’s side want to avoid is a repeat of their calamitous ODI World Cup with a similarly disjointed T20 World Cup defence. England were so keen to get their full squad together they risked the ire of the IPL by recalling them well in time, and Jofra Archer has been managed in a way to allow him to return for his first T20 game in over a year just in time for the lead-up to the World Cup.

Pakistan’s frenetic administrative setup and impassioned fan base mean they never quite have the luxury of not taking any international seriously, but with the World Cup around the corner, a bilateral T20I series could scarcely matter more. Pakistan, after all, remain the only one of 20 teams not to have announced their World Cup squad yet; they will wait as long as possible – until after the first game of this series – to make it official, ensuring they make decisions based on maximum information.

And that World Cup, ultimately, is the direction every aspect of this series will be slanted towards. That night at the MCG assures both teams they have what it takes to stand atop the mountain, and though Leeds isn’t close to that peak, it may well be an important stepping stone.

A year since his last T20, and four since his last international game on English soil. Jofra Archer will be the unquestionable star attraction after captain Jos Buttler confirmed he would make a much-anticipated return. After a prolonged injury nightmare, it appears England have finally managed to nurse Archer back to full fitness, and the way his team-mates talk about him, he’s as formidable a prospect as he ever was. Sam Curran mentioned the value of the ”fear factor” his extra pace instills in the opposition, and an overcast Headingley may well be the ideal occasion to ease him In.

Pakistan, too, have an express pace bowler returning from injury who is expected to start in this game after an extended layoff. Haris Rauf has had a tumultuous last six months, beginning with a board dispute that saw him lose his central contract, followed by a shoulder injury during the PSL, and ultimately the reinstatement of aforementioned central contract. He was part of the group that travelled to Ireland but wasn’t fit enough to get a game. By all accounts, his injury has healed faster than the initial prognosis, and a pace-off between two of cricket’s most fear-inducing bowlers is worth tuning in for.

England will not rush Liam Livingstone back as he recovers from a minor knee issue. Mark Wood has not played since March and will be managed through the series due to a knee niggle of his own, which is not considered serious. Buttler has confirmed that he will keep wicket.

Having eschewed the opportunity to include Mohammad Haris in the squad, Saim Ayub’s return to form cannot come soon enough with this game the last Pakistan play before the official squad announcement. Rauf is expected to return, making this potentially the first time since the Asia Cup that he has featured alongside Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Ahead of Pakistan’s departure for Ireland and the UK, Pakistan’s last preparatory pit stop before the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean, Babar sat down for a press conference, and was fielded familiar questions on Pakistan’s chances, their squad selection, and of course, Pakistan’s top order.

“What happened in the past is in the past,” Babar began, before recognising the question about his team’s trophy chances has been asked multiple times before, and returned to tread familiar ground. “Our aim was always to bring the trophy home, and we’re doubly confident and believe we can bring the trophy home. I’ll always believe in my players as captain, and we’ll give our best at the World Cup.”

One of the prominent themes around the conference regarded two players named Haris at the top and tail of a Pakistan line-up: more specifically, the inclusion of one and the absence of the other. Haris Rauf has, in the last six months, nursed his way to fitness, he is back in the Pakistan side.

“Haris Rauf’s fitness is much improved; I wasn’t expecting him to recover so fast,” Babar said. “He’s positive about his involvement in the tournament and very driven to succeed. There’s pressure on him because there’s been a lot of talk about him, but I think he’ll come back strong. When you come back from a rest, mentally, physically, you can create quite an impact.”

Mohammad Haris, meanwhile, continues to be frozen out. His most famous achievements in an international shirt came at the last T20 World Cup, when he invigorated a sagging Pakistan World Cup campaign, and was one of the key architects of Pakistan’s unexpected surge to the final. He has had a more difficult time since, dropped inexplicably for Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand at the start of this year. An indifferent PSL didn’t help, and as things stand, he isn’t in Pakistan’s plans.

“We then discussed where we would play him. If we’d kept him in the side he'd have been forced to play in the lower-middle order. And then we went with the best possible collective combination.”

Perhaps the most contentious pick of Pakistan’s squad was the recall of Hasan Ali, who last played a T20I in 2022, to the T20I side for Pakistan’s games in Ireland and England. That Pakistan dropped Zaman Khan from that 18-member squad equally raised eyebrows, even if Zaman hasn’t necessarily hit his best form over the last few months.

“With Hasan, the selectors have also clarified that he’s here because he has T20 experience. Zaman Khan is among the best bowlers but he’s a new-ball bowler. We already have 3-4 bowlers with the new ball.

There were the usual pointed probes around Babar’s own place in the top order, and whether more dynamic players couldn’t be pushed higher up at his or Rizwan’s expense. While acknowledging Saim Ayub was “the sort of player who can score 80 runs in 5 overs”, Babar defended his own track record up top, once again repeating that Pakistan score in excess of 50 almost every time in the Powerplay.

Whether that is enough positivity is another matter, but Babar was clear that team goals and not individual preferences would be the deciding factor for selection, and that the newly-appointed white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, has been looped in and is working towards the same goal.

“Everyone should have hope. We try to stay true to that hope. Because cricket is the one thing that puts everyone on the same page. It’s always on the back of my mind that everyone in Pakistan is on the same page. Our responsibility is to give our best of course and remain positive.” And with that, Babar was back to treading familiar ground. Over the next couple of months, he will hope he can also scale unchartered territory.

About the writer

Shahzeb Ali Rizvi is a sports aficionado with a keen eye for the intricacies of cricket and football. He can be reached at [email protected]