Pakistan, the former world champions from 1992, who have been in a frequent back and forth with BCCI and ICC regarding their participation in the upcoming edition of the tournament, are expected to come to India to play the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. They are led by a charismatic figure in Babar Azam, the number one batter in one-day cricket currently.
During the 10-team ICC ODI World Cup 2019, Pakistan managed to finish in fifth place in the group stage, narrowly missing out on the semi-final due to an inferior NRR. But, since then, they have improved their cricket in the 50-over format drastically, winning 19 and losing only eight matches in the process.
In the current ICC ODI Team Rankings, Pakistan are placed in fourth position, which shows how well they can perform as a team in the upcoming edition of the biggest one-day tournament in the world, in comparison to four years ago. With that in mind, SportsTiger looks at the probable squad for Pakistan in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023:
Batters: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (c), Haris Sohail, Khushdil Shah
Pakistan’s batting lineup in ODI cricket has been scoring big runs consistently in recent times, in the build-up to the World Cup. The captain Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam-ul-Haq have been a settled top three for Pakistan in this format due to their consistent performances with the bat, which had led them to reach the top 10 of the ODI batting rankings together at once.
Shan Masood and Haris Sohail bring more experience to the table for Pakistan in the 50-over format. Also, Khushdil Shah and Abdullah Shafique will be looking to impress the selectors in the remaining matches in the format, to make the final squad in India for the quadrennial event.
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Wicketkeepers: Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris
Mohammad Rizwan is expected to be the main wicketkeeper for Pakistan in the ICC ODI World Cup, thanks to his outstanding glove work behind the stumps, and most importantly, his runs in the middle order. Mohammad Haris, who performs wicketkeeping duties, as and when needed, could be in line for the World Cup selection, because he was recently named the captain of Pakistan team in the Men’s Emerging Asia Cup 2023 tournament.
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All-rounders: Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan is the most experienced all-rounder in the Pakistan lineup in the ODI format, who has been a part of ICC Champions Trophy victory in 2017. Iftikhar Ahmed has been a revelation for the team in the limited-overs cricket, due to his great ability to adapt to different situations as a batter in such a short international career.
Mohammad Nawaz is more renowned for his performances as a bowler, but he can strike the ball big in the death overs. Agha Salman is a new all-rounder on the block as far as Pakistan are concerned, but he can be a handy addition to the World Cup team if need be.
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Bowlers: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Zahid
The bowling attack of Pakistan in all-formats of cricket is led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, one of the best fast bowlers in the world. He, alongside Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, have been picking up wickets consistently for their national team in ODIs, while making it difficult for the opposition batters to have any resemblance of control during their batting innings.
Mohammad Wasim Jr and Mohammad Hasnain have ably supported the big three fast bowlers of Pakistan, delivering results with the ball in limited ODI opportunities. Shahnawaz Dahani and Mohammad Zahid are the backup fast bowlers, who might get picked up in the ICC ODI World Cup squad for Pakistan, in absence of the preferred players mentioned earlier.
