Pakistan lost against New Zealand by five wickets in their first warm-up match of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Hyderabad, India, on Friday.
The Green Shirts scored 345 runs while batting first, but not enough to win them the game, as the Black Caps successfully chased the target in just 43.4 overs.
Pakistani bowlers failed to live up to the expectations, and the overall performance of the Babar Azam-led team left many raising questions over its failure to defend the target.
What came as a surprise for everyone was that two of Pakistan’s most important players, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan, did not bowl a single over.
However, according to sources, the team management did not use both bowlers as part of their strategy.
The plan was to give more match practice to the bowlers who have not been bowling much in the last few months, the sources confided.
All 15 members of the squad will be tested in the warm-up matches as the management plans to acclimatise the players and adjust according to the playing conditions, the sources added.
The Green Shirts will play Australia on October 3 in their second warm-up match before commencing their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6.
Pakistan squad for ICC 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.
Pakistan's schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:
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 which will start at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30pm (PST).
If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata.
If India qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.
Faizan Lakhani Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.
