In an anticipated alteration, Hasan Ali has taken the place of Naseem Shah in the 15-player World Cup lineup. Naseem sustained a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup 2023 and is expected to remain sidelined for an extended period.
Ali's last appearance in an ODI match for Pakistan was in 2022 when they faced West Indies in Multan.
The squad announcement occurred at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, with chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq revealing the lineup.
Here's the Pakistan squad for the ICC World Cup 2023:
- Babar Azam (Captain)
- Abdullah Shafique
- Fakhar Zaman
- Imam-ul-Haq
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper)
- 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 Khana
Pakistan has made some changes to its squad compared to the one that participated in the Asia Cup 2023. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf has been left out, and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris has moved to the reserves.
The ICC World Cup 2023 is scheduled to be held in India, featuring 10 teams competing for the coveted title. The tournament will span from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting both the opening match and the final.
The Cricket World Cup will adopt a round-robin format, where all teams will face each other, resulting in a total of 45 league matches.
The top four teams will earn a spot in the semifinals, slated for November 15 in Mumbai and November 16 in Kolkata. Reserve days have been designated for the semifinals and the final.
Before their tournament opener against the Netherlands on October 6, Pakistan will engage in two warm-up matches – one against New Zealand on September 29 and another against Australia on October 3.
Babar Azam's team enters this mega-event as the top-ranked side and boasts the best win/loss ratio of 2.400 in the One-Day International format during this World Cup cycle.
In the 2019 edition of the event, Pakistan narrowly missed out on a semifinal berth due to a lower net run rate compared to New Zealand, who eventually finished as runners-up.
Pakistan's most remarkable performance in the Cricket World Cup came in the 1992 edition when they clinched the trophy by defeating England. Additionally, Pakistan reached the final in the 1999 edition and made it to the semifinals in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2011.
Here is 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.
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