Pakistan will be announcing its 15-member squad for the upcoming 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup on Friday morning, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday.
The squad announcement will take place after a review meeting of its recent Asia Cup performance. Notably, the Green Brigade had started the 2023 Asia Cup with the tag of being top-ranked ODI side beside boasting of an impressive pace-bowling line-up coupled with in-form batters however, they failed to enter the final.
The PCB said that Management Committee Zaka Ashraf had discussions with the coaching staff headed by Mickey Arthur, skipper Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan and former captains Misbah ul Haq and Mohammad Hafeez to review the team’s performance in the Asia Cup 2023 on Wednesday evening.
As per reports, Pakistan Chief selector Inzamam ul Haq missed the meeting due to a medical emergency but later called on Ashraf on Thursday afternoon to share his input.
After the review, Inzamam has reportedly confirmed the 15-member Pakistan squad for the showpiece event, which will be made public on Friday morning in a press conference to be held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
“I am glad we had a good positive review session and are on the same page. We are confident that the experience gained in the Asia Cup was a learning curve and will help prepare for the ICC Men’s World Cup. Our team is filled with talent, and we believe they have the capability to compete and win at the highest level. We have world-class batters and bowlers and are committed to providing them with the necessary support and resources to ensure they are well-equipped ahead of the mega event,” Ashraf said in a statement.
The PCB added that head coach Grant Bradburn, batting coach Andrew Puttick and bowling coach Morne Morkel also attended the meeting to report on the team’s recent performance.
“The philosophy behind this review was to create an atmosphere of open discussion and develop consensus. The idea is to have everyone on board and debate about performances, identifying the problems and their solutions. We have to debate strengths and weaknesses so that we are clear about what and where we need to invest for the betterment of our team. Discussion revealed that the previous management had allowed a lot of players to play league cricket which caused them to fatigued ahead of their national duty. But going forward we have agreed to form a proactive approach to tackle players workload and give national duty a priority,” concluded Ashraf.