Pakistan Captain Babar Azam is eyeing the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as he begins the campaign against the Netherlands at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Friday.
Since arriving in the city eight days ago, which also marked the first instance of a Pakistan men’s side landing in India in seven years, the Babar Azam’s side has made the most of the training sessions and two warm-up games to acclimatize in the city where they play first two of their nine league matches.
Pakistan’s first match in the 50-over show piece is set for Oct 6 (Friday) against the Netherlands in Hyderabad, while the highly anticipated match against arch-rivals India will take place in Ahmedabad on Oct 14.
In a video posted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the social media platform X today, Azam said Pakistan received an “unexpected” reception upon their arrival in India.
At the same time, the skipper also talked about the absence of the home crowd element, saying: “If we had Pakistani supporters here, we would have received even more support.”
Regarding the team’s preparations for their opening match, the skipper said the national team spent a week in Hyderabad and experimented with various batting and bowling combinations in warm-up matches.
“As you’re aware, our strength primarily lies in our fast bowlers. Since our arrival in India, our spinners have also performed admirably in the middle overs, consistently taking wickets.
“This is certainly a positive sign for the team,” he said. —APP
