After lots of drama, the Pakistan Cricket Team for the 2023 Cricket World Cup to be played in India has been announced. Under the captaincy of Babar Azam, they could not make it into the finals of the Asia Cup losing to India and Sri Lanka in the Super 4 stage.
Hasan Ali has been named a replacement for Naseem Shah. Imam UL Haq, Fakhar Zaman, and Abdullah Shafique would be openers. Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammed Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Agha Salman comprise middle-order batters.
Shahbad Khan, Agha Salman, Mohammad Nawaz, and Mohammad Wasim Junior comprise of all-round options. The pace bowling options consist of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, and Haris Rauf. Shahbad Khan and Mohammad Nawaz are the two spin bowling options for the mega event. Salman Ali Agha and Iftikhar Ahmed would be part-time.
Pakistan’s World Cup schedule
Pakistan would start the tournament against the Netherlands at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 6th October 2023. They changed their next match date to 10th October against Sri Lanka at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad.
Pakistan will then take on arch-rivals India on 14th October at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. They would face Australia in the much-anticipated encounter against Australia to be at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on 20th October. They will then travel to Chennai for their next fixture against Afghanistan on the 25th.
They will stay in Chennai for their next match against South Africa on 27th October. Pakistan would face Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on the 31st. After this match, they would come back to M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru against New Zealand on 4th November. They would face England at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in their final league game on 11th November 2023.
Pakistan would be hoping to leave their Asia Cup performance behind. Naseem Shah would be a major blow for Pakistan and hoped that Hasan Ali would fill his boots.
Pakistan Squad:
Imam UL Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (C), Mohammed Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Usama Mir, Shahbad Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali.
Travelling Reserves: Abrar Ahmed, Mohammed Haris, Zaman Khan.
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