Fans of Pakistan cannot help but draw comparisons between their successful 1992 World Cup-winning side and the current lineup, who continue to surprise.

27 years on and Pakistan are dreaming of global domination once more.

Why? They have a well-rounded side with explosive batsmen and dangerous bowlers. That and an eerie parallel to their performance then and now.

In 1992, Pakistan started with a big defeat to West Indies, before beating Zimbabwe. In 2019, they lost heavily to the Windies in the opening game before bouncing back to beat hosts England.

The third game in both events was rained out before losing two in a row and then winning two on the bounce; the second win coming against New Zealand who were unbeaten until this point in both ’92 and 2019.

‘It was same, the same sequence of results, points and then we wanted Australia to beat the West Indies for us to qualify,’ said Wasim Akram, the Pakistan quick who won the title with Pakistan in ’92. 

‘Then also we beat New Zealand – who was unbeaten then too. A lot of similarities, I hope the end result is also similar now and we win the World Cup,’ he said.

And just to add some more strange to the mix: Akram took 18 wickets to sit atop the bowlers stats with Mohammad Amir, also a lefty, now second on 16 wickets.

‘I am not sure if players are following all these [discussions] but this should motivate them,’ added Akram.