Imam says Pakistan eager to beat India in the 2023 World Cup
The mega event will be played in India
Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq has said that the Men in Green are eager to beat India during this year’s ICC World Cup in India.
The left-hander stated that the Pakistan team has been focused on the mega event since the last edition in 2019.
“We had already started thinking about the 2023 World Cup during the 2019 World Cup. Everyone wants to beat India in India and perform well,” Imam told Geo News in an exclusive interview on Saturday.
He was also excited to see the competition for the opening spot in the Pakistan side.
“The competition for the opening spot is a good thing for the side. When you see players come into the team with a new batting style, it improves your own performance. These youngsters bat with a fearless approach in PSL as well, which is great to see. It also helps us, who have been playing for six to seven years, realise that we need to improve our game,” he said.
The 27-year-old also opened up about facing express pacers in the nets, with Pakistan having the likes of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf in their ranks.
“Playing fast bowlers in the nets helps a lot since it makes things easier for us in international cricket. During international matches we only face express pace when Kagiso Rabada, Pat Cummins or Lockie Ferguson are bowling. However, in the nets we face bowlers bowling at 140kph on a daily basis,” he said.
The Multan-born was also satisfied with Pakistan team’s preparations for the upcoming assignments.
“Our preparations for the upcoming World Cup are pretty good. We have formed a balanced side, which is playing regularly. We will get eight matches before the Asia Cup, which is adequate in my opinion,” he said.
“We also have time to prepare for the New Zealand series, which we will use to play practice matches,” he added.
Imam is currently part of Pakistan’s ODI squad which will take on New Zealand in a five-match ODI series in April-May.
Series schedule (T20Is to start at 9pm; ODIs to begin at 3.30pm):
14 Apr - 1st T20I, Lahore
15 Apr – 2nd T20I, Lahore
17 Apr – 3rd T20I, Lahore
20 Apr – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi
24 Apr – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi
27 Apr – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
29 Apr – 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
3 May – 3rd ODI, Karachi
5 May – 4th ODI, Karachi
7 May – 5th ODI, Karachi
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