CHENNAI Oct 22 (Online): Cricket teams of Pakistan and Afghanistan will compete today (Monday) in the ICC World Cup 2023.
Opener batsman Fakhar Zaman will not be a part of the playing eleven in this match due to knee injury, while there is a possibility of no change in the Pakistan team.
According to sources, only Australia’s eleven can be fielded against Afghanistan. There was no agreement to feed Shadab Khan in the final eleven.
The Pakistan Cricket Management will take the final decision on the final eleven on the toss.
If Fakhar Zaman is not fit, he will not be available against Afghanistan as well. According to PCB sources, Fakhar Zaman has not fully recovered from his knee injury. it is hope that he will be fit before the match against South Africa.
Apart from Fakhar Zaman, all the players of the national team are fully fit, all the players have recovered from cold and fever and will be available for selection in the match against Afghanistan.
The national team will play their fifth match against Afghanistan on Monday at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Afghanistan pulled off a major World Cup upset by defeating defending champions England, but despite that they have lost three matches so far. Seven T20 matches have been played between Pakistan and Afghanistan so far, in which the Afghanistan team has won all the matches.
Pakistan’s new team will be seen in the match against Afghanistan: Imam-ul-Haq
Pakistan’s opening batsman Imamul Haq has said that not only our bowlers are getting hit in the World Cup but runs are being scored against all the teams. Pakistan’s new team will be seen in the match against Afghanistan.
Hitting sixes in the power play need us to take more protein. He said that hitting fours and sixes is more important than how we are doing as a team, we have confidence in our abilities.
In the press conference before the World Cup match against Afghanistan, Imam-ul-Haq said that when you are chasing 367, you have to take risks, 70 and 80 have not been converted into centuries, which has been discussed with the coach. I accept that I am failing to play long innings. We have not played well in the last 2 matches, but we have analyzed our mistakes.
He said not only the batters but also the role of the bowlers is important.
We are confident in our abilities, during the tournament we are only focused on the positives, not thinking about the negative aspects.
Imam-ul-Haq said that not only our bowlers are getting hit, they are getting runs against everyone. Shaheen bowled well in the last match. They are trying their best to follow the plan, management is giving confidence to the players. The morale drops after a two back to back defeats, but we are backing each other.
Two matches in Chennai are important for us, cricket is a team game, we had a good start in the last two matches but then faltered, you will see a better team against Afghanistan, he said.
We are confident that we will win the match and get back on track: Imam
On the preparation for the match against Afghanistan, Imamul Haq said that the preparations that had to be done have been done, now only fine tuning has to be done, how many spinners will be there will be the decision of the captain and the coach.
He said that Pakistan’s good record in Chennai is encouraging but we have to play good cricket, having beaten Afghanistan in spin-friendly conditions at Hambantota as well.
We are here in India to make history by winning the World Cup: Shaheen Afridi
National team fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has said that we are eager to fulfill the expectations of the fans.
Pakistan will play their fifth match against Afghanistan in the ICC ODI World Cup today at the MA Chidambaran Stadium.
Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is confident that what the team has learned from the last two matches will help them in the next matches.
Speaking to PCB Digital, Shaheen Afridi said, ‘The expectations of the fans are predictable and we are all anxious to fulfill those expectations.
Defeat is defeat and we have to accept it but it is better for the team to learn from it. Further he said next two matches are very important for us, we are still in the tournament, we are here to make history by winning the World Cup.
Shaheen Afridi said that ‘any team can beat anyone in a tournament like World Cup so you can’t be complacent in any way, Afghanistan team is playing well and He said they have beaten England, we have to play our game against them. We have to show our best skills, they have world class spinners but our batting is also doing well.
Shaheen, who took five wickets against Australia, said, “I knew Bangalore was a high-scoring ground for which I was mentally prepared, I tried different variations and took care of the length which helped.”
Shaheen Afridi believes that the ball does not swing much in India as compared to England and New Zealand, it is important for the bowler to adapt to the conditions because the pitches do not have much bounce, in such a situation, good fielding also boosts the morale of the team.
“Dropped catches are part of the game, the important thing is to try and show energy in the field and how much you enjoy fielding,” he said.
Shaheen Afridi said that it was Usama Mir’s first match in World Cup but such catches are important but you can’t blame anyone just because of one drop catch, it’s a team game and you win as a team. The important thing is that everyone plays their part for the team.
Afghan coach determined to win against Pakistan on spinner-friendly wicket
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has vowed to win the match against Pakistan on a match-spinner-friendly wicket, saying that we will renew our rivalry against Pakistan.
Talking to the journalists, Jonathan Trott said that I think the competition with Pakistan excites the Afghanistan players, this competition has been quite interesting in the past.
“We have had very close matches, hopefully tomorrow’s match will not be too interesting and we will win by a big margin,” he said.
He said that both teams respect each other but both teams are determined to win.
The Afghan coach said that I do not know that Pakistan contested the match with the International Cricket Council.
The change was requested from Chennai where, according to reports, the Pakistan team wanted to avoid facing the Afghan spinners on a spinner-friendly wicket.
Trott said, “I don’t know whether Pakistan requested to change the venue of the match but I think Pakistan also have good spinners and the most important thing is that only two or three spinners play in a match.”
Afghanistan’s bowling attack consisting of Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeebur Rehman is a major threat for Pakistan where these three bowlers played a central role in their team’s victory against England.
The Afghanistan coach said that it is not only the spinners’ responsibility to win the match but everyone, the batsmen have to put runs on the scoreboard or chase down the target.
He said that Chennaiyin’s wicket is usually good, mindset is important in cricket, it is not spinners but a team game.
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