Hello and warm welcome to all our readers we are going to discuss the World Cup squad of Pakistan. Pakistan is the no. 1 ODI team currently but their Asia Cup campaign was absolutely disappointing. Their key bowlers were injured in the blockbuster match against India and that left a big hole in the team.
Squad of Pakistan Cricket Team ahead of the World Cup 2023
Openers
Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq and Abdullah Shafique.
The form of Fakhar Zaman has been a concern for Pakistan in the last couple of months but he has regained his place for the mega event. He is the man for the bigger matches but he is misfiring from the last couple of games. He was also a member of the 2019 World Cup team.
His stats in the 2019 World Cup
Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate |
8 | 186 | 62 | 23 | 81.93 |
Imam ul Haq has been the opening partner of Fakhar Zaman and he has been so good since his debut. He had a couple of technical issues but he has resolved them successfully and became the no. 2 ODI batter in the recent past. He was also a member of the 2019 World Cup Team. His last World Cup stats are these:
Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate |
8 | 305 | 100 | 38 | 76.25 |
Abdullah Shafique has been selected as the 3rd opener for the mega event. He is the permanent member of the test team but he has played 4 ODI matches so far. He scored a half-century in the match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup and looked technically really solid.
Middle Order
Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammed Rizwan,
Babar Azam is the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team and the number 1 ODI batter in the world. He has been consistent throughout his career and won the matches for Pakistan. He is the superstar of the game but he has yet to fire in big matches. His Asia Cup campaign was also under par despite his 150 against Nepal. He had low scores against the rest of the opposition. So he has to improve himself in the batting and in the captaincy also. Because we have seen many flaws in his captaincy during his tenure he has made some serious mistakes in match-defining moments. He also played the last World Cup in England and he was the top run scorer for Pakistan.
Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate |
8 | 474 | 101* | 68 | 87.6 |
Mohammed Rizwan is also a permanent member of the Pakistan Team and he bats at no.4. We have seen ups and downs in his career but he is the 1st wicketkeeper choice for Pakistan. He is so much more consistent in the T20 format but in this format, he is not as good but doing a nice job for his team. He is the backbone of the middle Order. This will be his 1st World Cup.
Salman Ali Agha
He came through the proper system and was the pure product of Pakistan's domestic cricket. He is a permanent member of the Pakistan test team but also he made his to the white ball cricket. He bats at No. 5 and can play both fast and spin really well. He can play with patience and with aggression also. So is the perfect utility player because he can bowl off spin and a live wire in the field.
Iftikhar Ahmed
Iftikhar Ahmed is known as a six-hitter in the team. He has the role of aggressor and he has played it well so far. He scored his maiden ODI hundred against Nepal recently and looking in good form. He can also bowl some off-spin and got 3 wickets in the last match against Sri Lanka.
Saud Shakeel
He is also the product of Pakistan's domestic cricket. He has played so much domestic cricket for Sindh and Karachi region. He is also a permanent member of the Pakistan test team and he scored a double hundred in the series against Sri Lanka. He is a very good player of spin. We haven't seen him much in ODI cricket but he is a good addition.
Spinners
Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz and Usama Mir
Shadab Khan is the vice-captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team and he is the best leg spinner in Pakistan. He is a three-dimensional cricketer who can bowl 10 overs and can score some runs in the late middle Order and his fielding is just superb. But his recent form as a bowler could have been better. He hasn't got many wickets in the middle overs and confidence is down also. But he is in the team and needs to improve. He also played in the last World Cup
Matches | Wickets | Best Figure | Economy | Strike Rate |
7 | 9 | 3/49 | 5.5 | 38.55 |
Mohammed Nawaz
He has also been a permanent Pakistan White ball team member in the last 2 years. He can bat also but his main role is as a left-arm spinner. His bowling performance is also under the radar but he can do much better in favourable Indian Conditions.
Usama Mir
He is another leg spinner in the squad with a huge amount of experience in domestic cricket. He has done so well for Pakistan also but couldn't find the proper opportunities because Shadab is the 1st choice.
Fast Bowlers
Shaheen Afridi, Harris Rauf, Hassan Ali and Mohammad Waseem Junior
Shaheen Afridi is the leader of this bowling attack he has been superb throughout his career and built a reputation as the new ball bowler. He swings the new ball into the right-handers with a high pace which brings him wickets upfront. He also played in the last World Cup.
Matches | Wickets | Best Figure | Economy | Strike Rate |
5 | 16 | 6/35 | 4.96 | 17.68 |
Harris Rauf
He is the pace sensation of Pakistan. He likes to bowl fast and into 150kph. He brings so much value to the team because he can get wickets at any time. He is a very good death bowler with his searing Yorkers and slower balls.
Hassan Ali
Once upon a time, he was the superstar and key weapon of Pakistan but injuries came in the way. He was the hero of the Champions Trophy 2017 with the most wickets but after that, he went down. Now he is back on the side as the replacement for Naseem Shah. He has a hole to fill but can do that because he has done it before. He also played in the last World Cup for Pakistan.
Matches | Wickets | Best Figure | Economy | Strike Rate |
4 | 2 | 1/67 | 7.75 | 99 |
Mohammed Waseem Junior
Waseem has played a lot of franchise cricket and he is the product of Islamabad United. He has done well so far in his international career. He has gotten limited opportunities because of the 3 upfront lethal bowlers but he is a good player to have.
The three reserve players are:
Mohammed Harris, Zaman Khan and Abrar Ahmed.
Pakistan Squad for the 2019 World Cup
Sarfraz Ahmad (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Imam ul Haq, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hassan Ali, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Imad Waseem, Harris Sohail and Muhammad Husnain.
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