Director of Pakistan cricket team Mickey Arthur said that Pakistan feels at home in India and wants to perform well in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023. Babar Azam-led side will be looking to give their best effort for the Championship title in India after the marquee event way back in 1992.
Since the Pakistan cricket team visited India, it seems like Babar Azam and his teammates have thoroughly enjoyed their time in the country, as many players expressed their love for India. The Pakistan side had a massive reception in Hyderabad on their visit to India for the ODI World Cup 2023.
Speaking to the media ahead of the clash against the Netherlands, Mickey Arthur said that the team was happy being in India for the World Cup and believes that the team has some unfinished business from the 2019 ODI World Cup. He feels that the team will have some with much more experience in the edition of the World Cup than the previous one.
“First of all, the boys love being in India – they’ve embraced being here, which is fantastic. The pressure of a World Cup is always massive. But I think our boys are in a really good place and part of the attraction for me is it’s a very similar squad to what we had in 2019 and it’s almost unfinished business”.
“I felt in 2019 we were very, very close. These young boys have now become men. They’ve become very experienced. They’ve had another four years of experience. And during those four years, we have the best win-loss ratio in ODIs. So, these guys are ready for everything that’s thrown at them in this competition,” Mickey Arthur said.
The Men in Green visited India previously in 2016 during the T20 World Cup and arrived in India for the first time in seven years, as all the bilateral ties between India and Pakistan have been suspended.
I Think That’s Going To Be Part Of The Attraction – Mickey Arthur
Mickey Arthur was delighted with the reception that they received in India and hopeful of getting support throughout their ODI World Cup campaign and believes that the Indian fans would be excited to watch Pakistan players take the field in India.
“We’ve had a wonderful reception so far in India. I’m pretty sure we’ll get that around our games as well. I think there’s a bit of a mystique. The Indian public loves cricket.
“They don’t get to see the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen, Afridi, Mohammed Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, and Shadab Khan, they don’t get to see them often. So, I think that’s going to be part of the attraction. Whatever happens outside, that’s above my pay grade, I’m not qualified to talk about that,” Mickey Arthur added.
Pakistan has made significant progress, particularly in white-ball cricket, The Men in Green are among the favourites to lift the elusive ODI title in India because of the well-rounded squad they have for the marquee event.
