Pakistan squad for World Cup 2023: Pakistan, on Friday (September 22), announced their squad for the forthcoming ICC World Cup 2023. The Men in Green have named a 15-member contingent for the tournament. The upcoming edition will be the thirteenth edition of the ODI World Cup and will be played in India from October 5 to November 19.
Pakistan are currently the world number one side in ODIs and will enter the competition as one of the favourites. In Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi, they have some world class players and have the ability to go all the way in the competition. They have not won the World Cup since 1992 and would be desperate to end their long wait for the coveted title this year.
Talking about the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, a total of ten teams will be participating in the tournament. Each team will play against the other nine teams once in the league stage before the top four teams make it to the semifinal. In case Pakistan qualify for the semifinal, they will play the game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata irrespective of where they finish in the points table.
Pakistan squad for World Cup 2023:
The Inzamam-ul-Haq-led side selection panel announced the Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday. Babar Azam will lead the team in the competition. There were some rumours that Babar might be replaced as the captain after the failure in Asia Cup 2023 but the selectors have showed faith in the star batsman.
Shadab Khan has also retained his position as the vice-captain of the team despite his poor performance with the ball in Asia Cup. The selectors were also forced to make a big change to the Pakistan squad for the World Cup 2023. With Naseem Shah sustaining a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup, the selectors have announced Hasan Ali as his replacement.
Hasan Ali has not played an ODI for Pakistan since June last year. However, the right-arm pacer has the experience of playing in the big competitions for his side. He was a key member of the Pakistan team that won the Champions Trophy in 2017 and was also a part of the 2019 World Cup squad.
Talking about the rest of the squad, the batting department features Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha. Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir will take care of the spin department while the pace department features Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jr.
List Of Pakistan ODI World Cup Squad 2023:
- Babar Azam (c)
- Shadab Khan
- Fakhar Zaman
- Imam-ul-Haq
- Abdullah Shafique
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Saud Shakeel
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Salman Ali Agha
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Usama Mir
- Haris Rauf
- Hasan Ali
- Shaheen Afridi
- Mohammad Wasim Jr.
🚨 Our squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 🚨#WeHaveWeWill | #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/pJjOOncm56
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 22, 2023
Pakistan have also named three traveling reserves for the World Cup – wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris, mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Zaman Khan.
Inzamam-ul-Haq on Pakistan’s World Cup squad:
Speaking on the Pakistan squad for World Cup 2023, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said: “World Cup is the most important event in any cricketer’s life and I want to congratulate all the cricketers who have made it to the squad through their impressive performances. This team has performed wonderfully well over the last couple of years and that is why we have shown faith in the same bunch.
“We were forced to make one change because of an unfortunate injury to Naseem Shah. We had a few injury scares in the recent Asia Cup, but I am glad to share that all the players are fully fit and are eager to perform for their country in the all-important tournament. I have received encouraging reports from our medical panel about Haris Rauf. He has started to (shadow) bowl at the National Cricket Academy and will be available for selection.
“I have a firm belief that this squad can bring the World Cup trophy to Pakistan and make the whole nation proud with their incredible performances. It is time to get behind our team and provide them with the backing and support that they need,” he added.
Pakistan World Cup schedule:
Before launching their World Cup campaign, Pakistan are scheduled to play a couple of warm-up games. They will take on New Zealand on September 29 before locking horns against Australia on October 3. Babar Azam& Co. will play their matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Their league stage will begin on October 6 and end on November 11.
Barring the game against New Zealand which is a day match, the other eight games will be day-night affairs for the Men in Green. The World Cup will get underway on October 5 with the mouth-watering clash between reigning champions England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
And on the very next day, Pakistan will open their campaign in the tournament. They will be up against the Netherlands on October 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. It will be followed by a clash with Sri Lanka on October 10, also in Hyderabad.
The highlight of the league stage is undoubtedly the high-voltage India vs Pakistan match, scheduled for October 14 in Ahmedabad. Pakistan suffered a humiliating 228-run defeat against India in the Asia Cup earlier this month and will be desperate to avenge that loss.
The subsequent fixtures include matches against Australia on October 20 in Bengaluru, Afghanistan on October 23 in Chennai, South Africa on October 27 in Chennai, Bangladesh on October 31 in Kolkata, and New Zealand on November 4 in Bengaluru. The league stage concludes with a match against defending champions England on November 11 in Kolkata.
Pakistan schedule for 2023 World Cup: Full fixtures list (Time in IST)
October 6: Pakistan v Netherlands, Hyderabad, 2 pm
October 10: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Hyderabad, 2 pm
October 14: Pakistan v India, Ahmedabad, 2 pm
October 20: Pakistan v Australia, Bengaluru, 2 pm
October 23: Pakistan v Afghanistan, Chennai, 2 pm
October 27: Pakistan v South Africa, Chennai, 2 pm
October 31: Pakistan v Bangladesh, Kolkata, 2 pm
November 4: Pakistan v New Zealand, Bengaluru, 10:30 am
November 11: Pakistan v England, Kolkata, 2 pm
Pakistan’s World Cup history:
Pakistan have played in all the twelve editions of the ODI World Cup so far. In the inaugural edition in 1975, they crashed out at the group stage and finished at the fifth spot in the eight-team competition. In the next three editions, they made it to the semifinal.
In 1992, they won their first and till date only ODI World Cup under the captaincy of Imran Khan. They beat England in the final to win the coveted title. The closest they came to winning the World Cup again was in 1999 when they made it to the final before losing to Australia. Since then, their performance in the ODI World Cup has been quite disappointing.
In 2003, Pakistan finished tenth in the 14-team competition before finishing at the same position when 16 teams played in the 2007 edition. In 2011, they made it to the semifinal and lost the game against Team India. In 2015 and 2019, they failed to make it to the semifinal. Overall, Pakistan have played 80 matches in the World Cup and have won 45 and lost 32.
| Year | Round | Position | Games played | Won | Lost | Tied | No- Result |
| 1975 | Group stage | 5/8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | Semi-finals | 3/8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | Semi-finals | 4/8 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | Semi-finals | 4/8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | Champions | 1/9 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 | Quarter-finals | 6/12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | Runners-up | 2/12 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | Group stage | 10/14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | Group stage | 10/16 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Semi-Finals | 3/14 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Quarter-finals | 6/14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Group stage | 5/10 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
ICC World Cup 2023 – All squads:
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
Bangladesh squad: Yet to be announced
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
Pakistan squad for World Cup 2023: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.
Sri Lanka squad: Yet to be announced