Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team will travel to India for the first time since 2016 to participate in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023. There’s just one player in the 15-member Pakistan squad who has earlier travelled to India while all other players will play a cricket match for the very first time in Indian conditions.
Mohammad Nawaz will travel to India for the second time for an ICC event
The senior members of the Pakistan side including skipper Babar Azam have never played a cricket match in the Indian conditions. However, spin all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz will travel to India for the second time to participate in an ICC.
Nawaz was a part of the 15-member Pakistan squad that travelled to India for the 2016 T20 World Cup. The team was led by veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi while Sarfaraz Ahmed was the vice of the side that had the likes of Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.
Mohammad Nawaz is an integral part of Pakistan’s World Cup 2023 Squad as he provides balance to their playing XI. He can bat in the lower middle order and is an exceptional left-arm spinner who has got a knack of taking wickets in the middle overs.
The all-rounder has till now played 32 ODIs in which he has scored 325 runs with a highest score of 53. He has also scalped 40 wickets with an exceptional economy rate of 4.98 and has registered career-best figures of 4-19.
Nawaz has also played 57 T20Is in which he has taken 47 wickets and has smashed 427 runs. He also represented the Pakistan side in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and has played 6 Test matches as well.
The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is set to begin on October 5 while the final of the marquee tournament will be played on November 19. Pakistan will play their first game against the Netherlands on November 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The Men in Green will also play a couple of warm-up games against New Zealand and Australia while their last group match is scheduled on November 11 against England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Pakistan’s World Cup 2023 Squad:
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali.