The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed the men’s squad for this year’s ICC World Cup on Friday. Babar Azam, a prolific hitter, will captain the team.
Hasan Ali has replaced Naseem Shah in the 15-man World Cup team, as expected.
However, Naseem suffered a shoulder injury at the Asia Cup 2023 and is set to be sidelined for an extended amount of time.
Hasan Ali last appeared in an ODI for Pakistan against the West Indies at Multan in 2022.
Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq named the squad at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
15 Members Announced Squad For ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023
Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, M Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha.
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan
???? Our squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 ????#WeHaveWeWill | #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/pJjOOncm56
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 22, 2023
Pakistan made two changes to the roster that competed in the Asia Cup 2023, excluding all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and relegating wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris to the reserves.
The ICC World Cup 2023 will be held in India, with ten nations competing for the coveted trophy over ten sites from October 5 to November 19, with the tournament opener and final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
ICC World Cup Format
The Cricket World Cup will be played in a round-robin format, with all countries playing 45 league matches against each other.
The top four teams will advance to the semifinals, which will take place on November 15 in Mumbai and November 16 in Kolkata. There will be reserve days for the semi-finals and final.
Pakistan will play two warm-ups – against New Zealand on September 29 and Australia on October 3 – before their tournament opener against the Netherlands on October 6.
Babar Azam’s side enters the mega-event as the number one ranked side and enjoys the best win/loss ratio of 2.400 in this World Cup cycle for any side that has played the ODI format.
Pakistan missed out on a semi-final spot in the 2019 iteration of the event because of a lower net run-rate to New Zealand, who ended up as runners-up.
Team’s best performance came in the 1992 edition when they lifted the trophy at the MCG after defeating England.
Pakistan featured in the final of the 1999 edition and reached semi-finals in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2011.
Scheduled Matches of Pakistan
October 6 – vs Netherlands in Hyderabad
October 10 – vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
October 14 – vs India in Ahmedabad
October 20 – vs Australia in Bengaluru
October 23 – vs Afghanistan in Chennai
October 27 – vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 – vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 – vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 – vs England in Kolkata
The day matches will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time (PST), while the other matches will begin at 01:30 p.m. (PST).
Pakistan will play in Kolkata if they make the semi-finals.
If India advances to the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless they face Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.
To read our blog on “ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 official anthem finally released,” click here.
