Pakistan and the battles of ICC World Cup 2019

25/05/201925/05/2019 Ali Naqvi

Pakistan Cricket team is in England for the last month or so. It played England in 5 ODIs and a T20. Losing all matches except one that ended with no result, the morale of the team has nosedived. It was not expected that the team performance will hit the rock bottom as it lost its first warmup match against Afghanistan.

Things were looking good for Pakistan cricket when Sarfaraz led Quetta Gladiators won the 4^th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). But then most of the senior players including skipper Sarfaraz were rested by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team combination fell part instead of strengthening. The selection of the final 15 has also invited a lot of criticism from different quarters.

The green shirts play Bangladesh on 25^th May. The green shirts cannot afford to lose this all important game to get its confidence back.

Sarfaraz Eleven faces West Indies in its first World Cup battle. The two teams have not played each other for quite a while. The team that will keep its nerve will most likely to overpower the opposition.

Pakistan ICC World Cup 2019 Fixtures: One team nine battles

31^st May 2019: Pak faces West Indies at Nottingham (02:30 PM PKT)
3^rd June 2019: Pak faces England at Nottingham (02:30 PM PKT)
7^th June 2019: Pak faces Sri Lanka at Bristol (02:30 PM PKT)
12^th June 2019: Pak faces Australia at Taunton (02:30 PM PKT)
16^th June 2019: Pak faces India at Manchester (02:30 PM PKT)
23^rd June 2019: Pak faces South Africa at London (02:30 PM PKT)
26^th June 2019: Pak faces New Zealand at Birmingham (02:30 PM PKT)
29^th June 2019: Pak faces Afghanistan at Leeds (02:30 PM PKT)
5^th July 2019: Pak faces Bangladesh at London (05:30 PM PKT, D/N)

Pakistan is one of the most unpredictable teams in the world. All they need is a momentum shift in their favor. If they start winning, it will be hard for anytime to stop them. Though Pakistan is small fry before the commencement of the big event but it won’t be wise to rule them out of the final four.