Sri Lankan great Atapattu picks Pakistan to win T20 World Cup

• Marvan Atapattu says it would not be easy to beat Pakistan in UAE as conditions in UAE are similar to their home conditions.
• Pakistan is the only team in the T20 World Cup series that has managed to win all five games in the Super 12 stage.
• "A good team has to have a really good day to beat the Pakistan team in these conditions," former cricketer says.

Former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu has declared Pakistan as "favourites" to win ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Speaking to reporters, Sri Lankan great said: "It would not be easy to beat Pakistan in UAE."

"The conditions in the UAE are similar to the home conditions in Pakistan," he elaborated on his prediction.

"The length to bowl and the shots to play, I think they can even do that in their sleep. They are so familiar with the conditions.”

Pakistan is the only team in the T20 World Cup series that has managed to win all five games in the Super 12 stage.

“I saw a YouTube video recently where Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf bowling on a road in a tape ball cricket match. It is quite remarkable to watch. A good team has to have a really good day to beat the Pakistan team in these conditions,” Atapattu maintained.

Shedding light on India's early exit, he said: “I did not think that a team like India would get eliminated this fast."

He said adding that he was pleasantly surprised by what Sri Lanka did. So there can be surprises.

"England team is really good. But they came so close to be beaten by Sri Lanka. They also admitted that Sri Lanka was the only team that gave them a good fight. So, if you tell me to choose a team out of the four semi-finalists, I will choose Pakistan to win the tournament,” Atapattu said.

For all of Geo.tv's latest news, updates and analysis of the T20 World Cup 2021, visit: https://www.geo.tv/t20-worldcup-2021/