Shaheen Shah Afridi was terrific with the new ball against India and will be key for Pakistan once again. (Photo credit: PTI)

Pakistan will have “revenge” on their mind for a recent off-field snub when they take on New Zealand in the T20 World Cup is Sharjah, looking to build on the historic high of beating arch-rivals India in their tournament-opener.

For a lot of Pakistani fans, the team may have already won the World Cup by ending its 29-year-old World Cup jinx against India but the Babar Azam-led team has already shown the hunger for going all the way.

Babar’s team would be eyeing another big scalp in New Zealand, the team which recently withdrew from a scheduled series against Pakistan after landing there, citing a security threat which, according to the host country, did not exist.

The pullout hampered Pakistan’s World Cup preparations which took a further hit with England too withdrawing from the tour.