LAHORE: Skipper Babar Azam is hoping it will be a third time lucky for his side at the Twenty20 World Cup after finishing as semi-finalists in 2021 and runners-up a year later.

Pakistan’s build-up to the tournament, which takes place in the West Indies and the USA, has been chaotic, with Azam replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi as captain barely three months before it gets underway. They squeaked a 2-2 T20 series draw at home against a depleted New Zealand in April before heading to Ireland where they slumped to defeat in the opener before coming back to win that series 2-1. As now seems to be entirely normal, the men in green have shown they still have the capacity to be the best outfit one day and the worst the next, making them the most unpredictable side in the 20-team event which kicks off in the United States on June 1. Pakistan are placed alongside India, co-hosts United States, Canada and Ireland in Group A.

The top two teams will qualify for the next round of Super Eight, to be held in the West Indies with the final in Barbados on June 29. If they lose to India in what is likely to be a monumental clash in New York on June 9 — Pakistan have won just one of seven T20 World Cup matches against them — their final group game with Ireland in Florida a week later could become a knock-out affair. But Azam is confident his side can be lucky this time. "Semi-final and then final, so it’s our turn to win the trophy this time," he said before leaving for Ireland. ‘Every base covered’ Since crashing out of the 50-over World Cup in November last year, Pakistan cricket has undergone a multitude of changes with coaching staff changed twice and the white-ball captaincy changed hands from Azam to Shaheen and back.