Mickey Arthur, the team director for Pakistan, has revealed the player pool for the 2023 ODI World Cup and Asia Cup. Arthur responded to inquiries from a local Pakistani news television station regarding the choice of players like Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Haris Sohail, and Umar Akmal. The team that recently competed at home in an ODI series against New Zealand, according to Mickey Arthur, will be the foundation of Pakistan’s teams for the upcoming ODI World Cup and Asia Cup.
On October 15 in Ahmedabad, the ODI World Cup 2023 will include the eagerly awaited India vs. Pakistan match. The difficulties that the Mickey Arthur team will have playing in front of such a large audience, particularly in Ahmedabad, the largest cricket stadium in the world, were also mentioned. Additionally, he emphasized that, no matter the setting, his team is capable of defeating any other team around the globe.
We selected a team that competed against New Zealand. We will choose from that group of players [for the Asia Cup and World Cup]. Despite being on that team, Haris Sohail didn’t participate due to his fitness. According to Arthur, who Cricket Pakistan recently mentioned in an interview with a local Pakistani channel, the squad we had for the New Zealand series and the group that will participate in these competitions won’t change much.
Mickey Arthur highlights importance of providing players with assurance of selection
“We had around 20 players in that series; we just need to cut it to 15. It is not going to differ much because I believe in giving security to players, as that will give them clarity about their roles in the team. I don’t want players playing with an axe over their heads or with insecurity about their place,” he further added.
As a result of the Indian team playing all of its games outside of Pakistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will jointly host the Asia Cup in 2023. However, Pakistan has yet to clarify their stand on whether they are willing to come to India to participate in the ODI World Cup 2023.