Aliya Riaz keen to showcase her power game in the T20 World Cup

Aliya Riaz, the allrounder from Pakistan, is eager to showcase her power-hitting skills in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia beginning next month.

Riaz, who made her T20I debut in 2014, is one of the more experienced members in Pakistan's squad for the mega event. She has played 38 matches and scored 370 runs whilst also picking up 15 wickets.

Having already featured in the 2018 edition of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, the tournament in 2020 will be Riaz's second. Two years ago, she finished as her team's highest wicket-taker with six scalps to her credit. However, the allrounder did not have a great tournament with the bat, and hopes to right that wrong in Australia this time around.

"I am an allrounder. I want to do well with bat and ball for my team and that's my target in the World Cup," Riaz told Geo TV. "Maybe that can also help me achieve a record of quickest fifty or a quickest hundred, but more than that, I want to bat with a higher strike rate every time I am in middle for my team."

"We are working hard on power hitting and practicing on cement wickets as well to improve our power hitting."

Pakistan had a poor outing in the 2018 T20 World Cup managing only one win in four group games. Their recent form in T20Is is patchy to say the least. They managed to beat Bangladesh 3-0 in T20Is, but then suffered a whitewash in the series against England.

"I am excited about the World Cup," Riaz continued. "I have experience of playing a World Cup in the past and I will try to use my experience and apply what I've learned from my past participation to do well for the country."

With the tournament fast approaching, Pakistan are hard at work in Karachi, making sure they leave no stone unturned in preparation for the mega event. The squad is set to play three T20s against West Indies in Brisbane before the World Cup gets underway. 

"We have practiced well in the camp, keeping in view the possible conditions there. Fast bowling department has become competitive. Saleem Jaffer is working hard with us to improve our bowling skills. We used to lack in the fielding department previously, but now we have improved a lot."

"Another problem faced by us was sudden batting collapse after a good start, and I can tell you that we have also worked to overcome that issue," she concluded.

Pakistan are placed in Group B alongside England, South Africa, West Indies and Thailand, and are set to kick off their campaign against West Indies in Canberra on February 26.