Pakistan was one of the favourites to win the just finished Asia Cup 2023, but their chances were dimmed when they lost consecutive games to India and Sri Lanka, finishing last in the Super Four round. Zaka Ashraf, the head of the management committee for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), summoned a meeting on Thursday, September 21 to discuss the dreadful performance of the “Men in Green” in the six-team competition. Along with members of the coaching staff, Captain Babar Azam and his assistant Shadab Khan were there.
Following the meeting, the PCB issued a statement in which Ashraf blamed the previous committee for allowing the cricketers to compete in international leagues before national duty, which led to their weariness.
The 71-year-old stated in the statement that PCB would aim to better control player workloads going forward. Inzamam-ul-Haq, the current chief selector and former captain of Pakistan, met with Ashraf on Thursday afternoon to discuss the team for the upcoming ODI World Cup, which starts next month, according to the statement. In a press conference on Friday, September 22 at 11.45 AM (IST) at Level 2, Far-End Building of Gaddafi Stadium, the beautiful right-handed batter will announce the final 15 participants for the main event.
“Inzamam ul Haq, head selector, shared his thoughts with Zaka Ashraf on Thursday afternoon despite being unable to attend the meeting yesterday owing to a medical emergency. Following the review, Inzamam selected the Pakistani team for the ICC World Cup, which will be unveiled on Friday at an 11:15 a.m. press conference on Level 2, Far-End Building of Gaddafi Stadium, according to a release from the PCB.
On October 6, Pakistan will play The Netherlands in the ODI World Cup opener.
On Friday, October 6, at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, qualifiers Netherlands and Pakistan will square off in the opening match of the ODI World Cup 2023. In addition, on October 14, the thrilling India versus Pakistan match will take place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
India
