Pakistan’s preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will begin on Thursday when they will take on New Zealand in the first of the five One-Day Internationals.
The series will commence at the iconic Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, which will also host the second ODI on Saturday before the two teams will fly south for the remaining three matches in Karachi.
The two sides will enter the series after an excit-ing five-match T20 International series that ended in a 2-2 draw on Monday. That well-fought series promises equally competitive and exciting five matches for which both sides have added a player each. Pakistan has added wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris and New Zealand has included Mark Chapman, whose extraordinary batting efforts in the T20Is earned him Player of the Series award.
In addition to this series and in the lead-up to the World Cup, which will be held in Octo-ber/November, Pakistan is also scheduled to play three ODIs against Afghanistan in August and Sep-tember’s ACC Men’s Asia Cup. As such, this series comes with the vital opportunity to gather the mo-mentum.
Both Pakistan and New Zealand have qualified directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 after finishing in the top eight of the 13-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. New Zea-land topped the Super League with 16 wins in 24 matches, while Pakistan finished fifth with 13 wins in 21 matches. Pakistan’s series against Afghanistan was mutually postponed after both sides were as-sured of places in the event proper.
Pakistan’s record since the start of last year has also been a remarkable one. They enjoy a win-loss ratio of 3, which is the best for any side. During this period, they have beaten Australia (2-1), West Indies (3-0) and the Netherlands (3-0) before losing to New Zealand (2-1) earlier in the year in Karachi.
“Each and every match that we play from now on holds a great significance for us. This series is a brilliant opportunity for us to fine-tune our combi-nations and gather the momentum ahead of the mega events in the shape of the Asia Cup and the much-anticipated World Cup,” Pakistan captain Babar Azam said while commenting on the series’ significance.
Squads:
Pakistan – Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir.
New Zealand – Tom Latham (captain), Adam Milne, Ben Lister, Blair Tickner, Chad Bowes, Cole McConchie, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Jimmy Neesham, Mark Chap-man, Matt Henry, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell and Will Young Series schedule (all matches begin at 3:30 pm).
27 Apr – First ODI, Rawalpindi. Aleem Dar and Ahsan Raza (on-field), Rashid Riaz (third umpire), Faisal Afridi (fourth umpire); Chris Broad (match referee).
29 Apr – Second ODI, Rawalpindi. Aleem Dar and Rashid Riaz (on-field), Ahsan Raza (third um-pire), Asif Yaqoob (fourth umpire); Chris Broad (match referee).
3 May – Third ODI, Karachi. Langton Rusere and Faisal Afridi (on-field), Joel Wilson (third um-pire), Rashid Riaz (fourth umpire); Chris Broad (match referee).
5 May – Fourth ODI, Karachi. Joel Wilson and Asif Yaqoob (on-field), Langton Rusere (third um-pire), Faisal Afridi (fourth umpire); Chris Broad (match referee).—APP
