West Indies cricketing legend Vivian Richards has raised his concerns regarding Pakistan’s poor ODI World Cup campaign. The Men in Green will find it very difficult to qualify for the Semifinals of the marquee event after the New Zealand thumping win over Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Pakistan can mathematically still make it to the ICC World Cup semifinals in 2023, but they will need to raise their Net Run Rate (NRR) significantly. For Pakistan to have any chance of moving on, they had to beat the reigning champions by a large margin to dramatically improve their Net Run Rate.
The team captained by Babar Azam has been under pressure in the past few games as they have fallen short on multiple occasions. Pakistan has shown no indications of resistance and the fielders were poor on the field but got things right in their last two games against Bangladesh and New Zealand to give them a slim chance to qualify for the final four of the marquee event.
In his recent column for ICC, West Indies legend Vivian Richards said that the Pakistan team’s journey through the marquee events has been too challenging and he underlined that given their ability and stated they should have already secured a semi-final berth.
“I can’t help thinking that with the talent they have, they should have already sealed their spot. I have seen up close in recent years through my coaching work [Pakistan Super League] how much ability exists in that squad but they have made life hard for themselves.
“I think they are a more talented squad than their place in the table would suggest. They can beat the very best on their day so there may be some punches left in that team,” Vivian Richards said.
Despite having an almost impossible assignment to advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup, the Men in Green will need to give it their best in their final World Cup group match on Saturday against England. Following their victory over Sri Lanka, New Zealand has 10 points, a net run rate of +0.743, and placed in the fourth and last knockout spot.
The Men In Green, who have eight points and a net run rate of +0.036, ranking fifth in the league, will need to defeat England by 287 runs if they bat first or by 284 balls remaining if they chase the total.
