Get ready for the biggest cricketing event as the World Cup 2023 is just on the horizon. All the teams have reached India as the first round of warm-up matches also concludes. Pakistan team is also preparing for their first game against the Netherlands on 06th October in Hyderabad. Men in green were soundly beaten in their first warm-up game against New Zealand as the Kiwis easily chased down the target of 347 in 45 overs. Pakistan will now face Australia on 03rd October in their second warm-up against Australia.
Pakistan’s preparation going into the World Cup was pretty astounding, as they had beaten New Zealand 4-1 at home & then swept the series against a quality Afghanistan side by 3-0 to claim the No.1 ICC ODI ranking. But an off-color Asia Cup 2023 performance has raised doubts regarding the potential of the team. A heavy defeat against India and then a narrow loss against Sri Lanka has somewhat shattered the confidence of the team.
But as we all know Pakistan team is best as they famously say ‘cornered tigers when they are at their most dangerous’. They are going down one minute and the next minute they are up. Let’s have a quick review of the Pakistan team going into this World Cup 2023:
ICC World Cup 2023: “Pakistan Team Preview”
World Cup history
After narrowly missing out on the semi-finals in the inaugural 1975 edition, Pakistan reached a semi-final, a final, and won a title between 1987 and 1999. But their World Cup form has been patchy since. They were eliminated in the first round at three of the past five World Cups, including in 2019, and a quarter-final win over the West Indies in 2011 remains their only knockout triumph this century. Can Pakistan break the shackles?
- 1975 – Group Stage
- 1979 – Semi-finals
- 1983 – Semi-finals
- 1987 – Semi-finals
- 1992 – Champions
- 1996 – Quarter-finals
- 1999 – Runners up
- 2003 – Group Stage
- 2007 – Group Stage
- 2011 – Quarter-finals
- 2015 – Quarter-finals
- 2019 – Group Stage
Weakness
A team that for most of its history has been touted as the best bowling side of the World, is going into this World Cup with some questions over its bowling attack. The injury to the young star Naseem Shah has been a heavy blow to the men in green who were in exceptional form. His replacement Hasan Ali hasn’t played an ODI in over a year, it is still yet to be seen whether he will fill in the shoes of Naseem or not. His role with the new-ball partnering Shaheen will be very crucial.
The green team’s spinners’ inability to take wickets in middle overs was exposed in the recent Asia Cup where teams rebuilt & gained momentum as well to turn the course of the matches. Shadab, Nawaz & Usama have to be accurate in their line & lengths to put pressure in the middle overs on the slow-sluggish tracks of India.
The top-3 accumulated the highest percentage of runs post-World Cup 2019 with an average of 58.33. The next best are Afghanistan at 52.27 followed by India at 51.65. The duo of Fakhar-Imam has been scoring heavily since they started opening together. But the poor form of Fakhar has forced the team management to replace him, with young 23-year-old Abdullah who answered the call by scoring a vital 52 runs in the match against Sri Lanka in Asia Cup 2023. So to score big in the batting-friendly conditions of India, Pakistan should get a solid opening stand whoever opens with Imam.
Also read: Five key issues for Pakistan cricket team ahead of ICC World Cup 2023
Key players
Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi. There is no doubt that for Pakistan to have a good World Cup, the skipper and the eagle have to step up. The onus on both of these two will be big.
Babar has been the highest run scorer for Pakistan since his debut in 2015. The skipper would be eager to prove a point after a disappointing Asia Cup 2023. He broke the record for most runs by a Pakistani in a single World Cup, held by Javed Miandad in the 2019 edition.
Stats in ICC World Cup 2019:
| Matches | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100’s | 50’s |
| 08 | 474 | 101* | 67.71 | 87.77 | 01 | 03 |
Shaheen Afridi has been the most vital wicket-taker for Pakistan in the opening overs since his burst on the international stage. The left-armer burst onto the big stage in the last edition when he was introduced late in the side but went on to pick 16 wickets just one behind the leader (M.Amir) with 17 wickets although he played three fewer games.
Stats in ICC World Cup 2019:
| Matches | Wickets | Best | Avg | SR | Econ | 5W-Haul |
| 05 | 16 | 6/35 | 14.62 | 17.6 | 4.96 | 01 |
World Cup Swansong
Well, it’s never safe to predict anyone’s swansong or retirement but it will be safe to say that this might be the final World Cup appearance for the opener Fakhar Zaman. The 33-year-old left-hander would already be 37 when the next World Cup 2027 arrives in Africa.
The navy man was in brilliant form in May as he scored three consecutive 100’s but then he lost his form drastically eventually losing his place at the top to young Abdullah. Fakhar will likely play some role throughout this tournament but it may well be the last time he does it in an ODI World Cup
X-Factor Player
One noticeable player who turned quite a few heads in the warmup against New Zealand was the newcomer Saud Shakeel. The 28-year-old might have burst onto the ODI’s quite late but such was his authoritative innings against the Kiwis that the team management might be forced to incorporate him in the middle order.
He could be a very handy asset for the team, especially in the middle overs, against the spin when strike rotation becomes very important. Moreover, his sparkling power hitting was also on display as he went on to score 75 runs from 53 balls (5×4’s & 4×6’s) at a strike rate of 141.5.
Could Saud be the trump card for Pakistan? Would he be able to play a similar role to the one Haris Sohail played in World Cup 2019? Only time will tell.
Squad
Pakistan named their 15-player squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on 22 September, after some unexpected delays. Consistency and confidence in the current bunch were the keys to the selection as the Inzamam-ul-Haq-led national men’s selection committee made only one change – that was also forced – from the squad that played the recent Men’s ODI Asia Cup 2023.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usama Mir.
Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed & Zaman Khan.
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