Babar Azam to begin World Cup campaign as number one ODI batter
The Pakistani skipper has been on top since April 2021
Pakistan’s cricket team captain Babar Azam will begin his ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign as the number one One Day International (ODI) batter in the world, which was confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.
With 857 rating points, Azam is ranked number one ODI batter, he is closely followed by India’s rising star Shubman Gill, who is ranked number two with 847.
Azam’s place on top was confirmed after the Indian cricket team decided to rest Gill for the third ODI against Australia on Wednesday.
Gill scored 74 and 104 runs in the first two ODIs respectively and was just 22 runs away from becoming the number one batter as he needed 200 runs in three ODIs to begin his World Cup campaign as the number one batter.
Apart from Azam, Pakistan’s opening duo of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq are also in the top 10 batters.
Imam is ranked fifth with a 728 rating while Zaman is at 10th place with a 692 rating.
Meanwhile, in the top 10 ODI bowling rankings, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only one representing the Green Shirts as he is ranked eighth with 632 ratings.
It must be noted that the Pakistan cricket team will reach India later tonight as they finally took off on Wednesday morning at 3:20am from Lahore airport after receiving Indian visas — after much delay — on Monday.
Pakistan’s travel contingent consists of 18 players and 13-player support personnel.
Pakistan will play two warm-up matches before beginning their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to clash in a mouth-watering October 14 contest in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023
Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, M Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha.
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan.
Schedule of Pakistan's warm-up matches:
September 29 — vs New Zealand in Hyderabad
October 3 — vs Australia in Hyderabad
Pakistan's schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:
October 6 — vs Netherlands in Hyderabad
October 10 — vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
October 14 — vs India in Ahmedabad
October 20 — vs Australia in Bengaluru
October 23 — vs Afghanistan in Chennai
October 27 — vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 — vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 — vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 — vs England in Kolkata
The day matches which will start at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30pm (PST).
If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata.
If India qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.
