Pakistan team is disciplined because of Islam: Hayden

Former Australian opening batter Matthew Hayden believes Islam has played a great role in keeping the current Pakistan cricket team disciplined on and off the field.

The former Pakistan team mentor shared these thoughts while doing commentary in the Pakistan-Australia ICC World Cup 2023 warm-up game in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

"Well it is very focused around Islam, which is a central and core thing to this playing unit. The way of life in the Pakistan team leads to greater discipline, which I greatly admired, after all cricket is a discipline as well. You have to be committed, invested and consistent - these are all those things that Islam represents to the culture,” Hayden said during commentary.

It must be noted that Australia beat Pakistan by 14 runs during the high-scoring match.

Despite brilliant knocks from skipper Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed, the Men in Green fell short in the chase of 352 and suffered their second consecutive loss in the warm-up matches.

Pakistan will play the Netherlands at the same venue on October 6 in their first World Cup game while Australia will travel to Chennai to play India on October 8.

The ICC World Cup 2023 will take place in India with 10 teams fighting for the elusive title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final.

The Cricket World Cup will be played in the round-robin format with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.

The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, which will be held in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

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