Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, said that all nine of their ODI World Cup matches against India on October 15 will be significant. The tournament does not revolve around just one game, he added. In Karachi, where the team is holding a training camp before the Sri Lanka Test series, Babar Azam spoke to the media.
Babar Azam remarked, “We are going to play World Cup and not just play against India only.” There are eight other teams besides only India, and we won’t advance to the championship game until we defeat those other teams. We are focusing on all of the other teams competing in the competition, not just one squad. According to our strategy, we must perform well against everyone and defeat them.
Pakistan has nine league games scheduled, with Hyderabad as their first stop out of five. face October 6 and 12, respectively, they take face Netherlands and Sri Lanka, the other two Zimbabwean qualifiers. The important match is their next one, which is on October 15 when they go to Ahmedabad for the match against India. After that, they travel south to Bengaluru to play Australia on October 20 before continuing on to Chennai to play South Africa on October 27 and Afghanistan on October 23. Following their games against Bangladesh and New Zealand in Bengaluru and Kolkata, respectively, Pakistan then plays its last league-stage match against England in Kolkata
Babar Azam and Imran Khan
“In our thought, wherever the cricket will be played, wherever the matches are, we are going to play there. Because as professionals that is what we do, you have to be ready for everything. You prepare yourself for different conditions and in every environment and that is what we call a challenge and you take it to live up to it. Me, as a player and captain, I aspire to score runs in every country, dominate and win Pakistan games. So this is all we have in mind and not only that we’re going to play against one team.”
Pakistan’s ODI World Cup league stage matches in 2023
The government must approve Pakistan’s participation, though there is a provisional authorisation that will be reconsidered closer to the tournament. There are no further obstacles at this time other than the customary security reconnaissance before the squad takes off.
In a letter to the government, the PCB asked for input on whether the Pakistani team should be allowed to visit India, whether there were any concerns with any of the five locations for the Pakistan games, and whether the Pakistani government should send a security delegation if necessary.
Babar Azam wants Test hitters to score more quickly.
Prior to their two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, the majority of Pakistan’s players are now in Karachi for a conditioning camp. After a six-month break, Pakistan will play their first Test on July 16 in Galle as the series gets underway. The second Test begins on July 24 in Colombo.
Pakistan’s home series against Australia, England, and New Zealand were all drawn during the previous ICC World Test Championship cycle, with scores of 0-1 against each team. In the 2023–2025 cycle, Pakistan’s first away series will be against Sri Lanka. They also have scheduled away tours to Australia (three Tests) and South Africa (two). They will host Bangladesh (2), England (3), and the West Indies (2) at home.
In looking back on the title, Babar Azam remarked, “you look out for all the positives and primarily what we were lacking in.” “We did take a look back and glean some information. We’ll strive to get this cycle off to a good start and raise the bar by 5–10%. We discussed extending our partnerships, and when it comes to the ball, we must take wickets. If we were planning to go with 3.5 [run rate] with the bat, we now need to adjust and try to go with 4.
Babar Azam argued that his team has its own style of play in response to a query about how England and Australia play Test cricket.
“As a captain, the approach is to win matches and always look to have a result,” he stated. Every team has an attitude, and they all play according to that philosophy. We make an effort to put in our best effort and work hard. For instance, with our game last year in Galle, we continued to pursue 360 [342]. It occurs when you have to score three or four goals per game, but occasionally you also have to play defense, so your approach will depend on the situation. Every day, you try to improve the system and learn new things.
