The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to host the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 which will kick off with the clash between the reigning champions England and runners-up New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. While teams are training hard to win the coveted trophy, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has said that the Pakistan team is not thinking of just beating their arch-rivals and focusing equally on beating all the other nine teams. 

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The on-field rivalry between the neighbouring nations India and Pakistan has always held a special place in the hearts of cricket fans, and while fans are looking forward to the big game on October 15, Babar Azam has asserted that his team is equally focused on all games.  Addressing the media on Thursday, Azam said, “We are going to play World Cup and not just going to play against India only."

"There are eight other teams and it’s not only India and only if we beat them then we will make it into the final. We are not focused on only one team;  we are focused on all other teams in the tournament. Our plan is that we have to play well against all of them and win against them,” he continued.

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The 28-year-old cricketer added, “In our minds, we will play wherever cricket will be played and wherever the matches occur. You must always be prepared since that is what we do as professionals. You prepare yourself for various circumstances and environments in every setting, and you accept the challenge to live up to it. As a player and captain, I hope to lead and win Pakistani matches while scoring runs in every nation. We only plan to play against one team, so that is all we are thinking about.”

Speaking of Pakistan’s schedule for the World Cup, the team is to play nine league games in five different cities of the host nation. They will clash against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka on October 6 and 12, respectively. Next, the Men in Green will lock horns with arch-rivals India on October 15 in Ahmedabad, followed by their games against Australia on October 20, South Africa on October 27 and Afghanistan on October 23. 

After their games against Bangladesh and New Zealand, Pakistan’s last league-stage fixture will be against England in Kolkata.