Islamabad SEPTEMBER 27 (Online): The Pakistani skipper has been on top since April 2021.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s cricket team captain Babar Azam will begin his ICC Men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
With 857 rating points, Azam is ranked number one ODI batter, he is closely followed by India\u2019s rising star Shubman Gill, who is ranked number two with 847.<\/p>\n
Azam\u2019s place on top was confirmed after the Indian cricket team decided to rest Gill for the third ODI against Australia on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Apart from Azam, Pakistan\u2019s opening duo of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq are also in the top 10 batters.<\/p>\n
Imam is ranked fifth with a 728 rating while Zaman is at 10th place with a 692 rating.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the top 10 ODI bowling rankings, Pakistan\u2019s Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only one representing the Green Shirts as he is ranked eighth with 632 ratings.<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 after much delay \u2014 on Monday.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s travel contingent consists of 18 players and 13-player support personnel.<\/p>\n
Pakistan will play two warm-up matches before beginning their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6.<\/p>\n
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to clash in a mouth-watering October 14 contest in Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n
Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023
\nBabar 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.<\/p>\n
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan.
\nSchedule of Pakistan’s warm-up matches:
\nSeptember 29 \u2014 vs New Zealand in Hyderabad
\nOctober 3 \u2014 vs Australia in Hyderabad<\/p>\n
Pakistan’s schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:
\nOctober 6 \u2014 vs Netherlands in Hyderabad
\nOctober 10 \u2014 vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
\nOctober 14 \u2014 vs India in Ahmedabad
\nOctober 20 \u2014 vs Australia in Bengaluru
\nOctober 23 \u2014 vs Afghanistan in Chennai
\nOctober 27 \u2014 vs South Africa in Chennai
\nOctober 31 \u2014 vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
\nNovember 4 \u2014 vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
\nNovember 11 \u2014 vs England in Kolkata<\/p>\n
The day matches who will start at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30pm (PST).<\/p>\n
If Pakistan qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata.
\nIf India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad SEPTEMBER 27 (Online): The Pakistani skipper has been on top since April 2021. Pakistan\u2019s cricket team captain Babar Azam will begin his ICC Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign as the number one One Day International (ODI) batter in the world, which was confirmed […]<\/p>\n
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