T20 WC: Pakistan squad arrives in Brisbane

• Pakistan cricket squad arrives in Brisbane. 
• Babar Azam also joins the squad after celebrating his birthday along with other captains of WC teams in Melbourne. 
• The T20 World Cup starts today in Australia. 

Pakistan's national Twenty20 squad has arrived in Brisbane from Christchurch to take part in the T20 World Cup starting today, Geo News reported on Saturday.

The 16-team mega cricket tournament will continue till November 13. 

In Christchurch, Pakistan took part in the Triangular series along with hosts, New Zealand and Bangladesh. Pakistan defeated the Black Caps in the final of the Tri-series.

Captain Babar Azam has also reached Brisbane after taking part in the Captain's Day in Melbourne. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had invited captains of all teams taking part in the global cricket event to celebrate the Pakistani skipper's birthday in Melbourne.

Matthew Hayden, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and assistant coach Umar Rashid have joined the national squad in Brisbane tonight.

The PCB will soon release the national squad's training schedule in Brisbane. The national squad will not take part in any cricket or media activities in Brisbane tomorrow.

Dr Shumail also joined the team in the absence of Dr Najeeb. 

The cricket board has named Hayden to mentor the Men in Green playing in the T20 World Cup in Australia. The former Australian cricket star served the team as the batting consultant in the 2021 edition played in the UAE. Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals last year but lost to Australia.

Apart from Hayden, his former Australian teammate, Shaun Tait, is the bowling coach of the side. The former cricketers—Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Yousuf—are serving as the head coach and batting coach, respectively. 

The global cricket event

Australia is hosting the eighth edition of the global sporting event in seven of its cities, including Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. Earlier, Australia hosted the ODI World Cup in 1992 and 2015. However, it is the first time the country is hosting a world cup in the short format of cricket. 

The first T20 cup was held in 2007 when India lifted the trophy. Two years back, Pakistan won the tournament in 2009. England became the champions in 2010, followed by the West Indies in 2012, Sri Lanka in 2014 and the West Indies again in 2016. 

The major teams will arrive on October 22. The grand event will continue for nearly a month, starting on October 16 in Geelong and concluding with the final in Melbourne on November 13. 

Australia are defending champions who will play their opening match against New Zealand - a repeat of last edition's final - at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The much-hyped match between Pakistan and India is also a sell-out. Over 90,000 fans will show up at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch the high-octane cricket action. Additionally, the authorities provided standing-room tickets, which were also sold out within ten minutes.

In a statement, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it set aside $5.6 million as the total prize pool for the mega event. The winners will receive a whopping US$1.6 million, while the runners-up will be given $800,000. The teams losing in the semifinals will be awarded $400,000 each.