Tag: ICC World Cup 2023

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq picked Faheem Ashraf over Mohammad Wasim Jr for the upcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

With this year’s extravaganza just a few months away, former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq came up with a suggestion regarding the all-rounder spot for Pakistan.

While speaking to a local TV channel, Abdul Razzaq was asked to pick between Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim Jr as to who should be selected to represent the country in this year’s world cup.

The legendary all-rounder threw his weight behind Faheem Ashraf; citing the latter’s experience.

“If we judge experience-wise, then Faheem Ashraf should go for World Cup,” said Razzaq.

Meanwhile, Abdul Razzaq also questioned Wasim Jr’s selection and development in the national team as the former all-rounder believes that the latter was promoted to the international circuit without sufficient exposure in the domestic structure.

“If we talk about Mohammad Wasim Jr, we brought him from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. I think he was selected for the Pakistan team too early,” Abdul Razzaq said.

“Wasim Jr should have played more domestic cricket and bowled longer spells over there before getting selected. Now, he plays few matches for Pakistan and then sits out in the rest of the matches. You can never groom a player like that,” he added.

However, Pakistan’s participation in the upcoming World Cup has been in jeopardy after the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) refused to travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup on political grounds and has since been pushing to shift the tournament to a neutral venue.

The BCCI maintained its stance of not touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup, while the PCB was adamant that if they do not, then Pakistan might not travel to India for the World Cup in October-November.

As per the latest development, however, the BCCI has reportedly accepted PCB’s hybrid model which meant that Pakistan will host the first four matches of the tournament while India’s group stage matches and Super 4s matches will be contested on a neutral venue.

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Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has come out in support of Babar Azam, saying the star batter should be officially named as Pakistan’s captain for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup, scheduled later this year.

Left-arm pacer Amir emphasized that Pakistan had no better option than the right-hander to lead the team at the mega event.

Babar, who has been Pakistan’s regular captain in every format since 2019, is awaiting any official announcement from the Pakistan Cricket Board pertaining to his retention as the national team’s skipper for the showpiece event in India.

Amir, however, has regretted this unnecessary delay in confirming Pakistan’s captain for the World Cup since he believes that no player fits the job other than Babar at this point.

“It’s high time that the board should announce (team captain) with only three to four months left in the World Cup,” he said in an interview on his official Youtube channel.

“There is no reason to change the captain at this point. It doesn’t make any sense. So, it’s better to officially name Babar Azam (as Pakistan captain) just like PCB announced the head coach.”

“The amount of experience that he has as a captain, there is no better option than him.” he maintained.

He went on to say that the official announcement would give Babar clarity of mind after which he could sit with the management and help them with the team selection.

It must be noted that the 28-year-old has so far led Pakistan in 115 international matches across formats since 2019 when he was given the rein for the first time.

He has a formidable record as an ODI captain as he secured 17 wins out of 26 matches, maintaining a 66 per cent win ratio.

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ANTIGUA: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday, announced the appointments of their new head coaches – Darren Sammy and Andrey Coley – for their national men’s senior team in white-ball and red-ball formats respectively. 

West Indies’ most successful T20I captain Sammy is up for a new role for his national side as the former all-rounder has been named the head coach of the white ball – ODIs and T20I – teams.

Meanwhile, former wicketkeeper batter Andrey Cole was named the head coach of the senior men’s red-ball teams.

After assuming the new role, Darren Sammy’s first assignment will be the three-match ODI Series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah in June.

Following this, West Indies will partake in ICC Men’s World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, which will feature 10 teams including West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Nepal, USA and UAE.

Speaking on his appointment, Darren Sammy termed it a big challenge but at the same time is upbeat and looking forward to the opportunity.

“It will be a challenge but one that I’m ready for and excited about. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity, especially looking at the players we have and the impact that I believe I can have in the dressing room.

“I believe I will bring the same approach as I had as a player: the passion, the desire for success, and my undying love for West Indies cricket. When I look around there is an abundance of talent, and what I saw in South Africa in the white ball matches under new captains Shai Hope and Rovman Powell and the leadership provided by Andre Coley, there is great belief that we can do well.

“I’m looking forward to imparting my knowledge, my tactical acumen, my communication skills and my man-management skills. I get excited about putting the plans together and seeing the players execute them.”

It is worth mentioning here that Darren Sammy powered West Indies to two T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016.

Following his retirement from international cricket, the all-rounder represented several teams in different franchise leagues across the world. He has also coached teams in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

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CHELMSFORD: The first ODI of the ongoing three-match series between Ireland and Bangladesh was abandoned due to persistent rain here and ended the hosts’ hopes for automatic qualification to the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The washout, however, turned out to be very fortunate for South Africa as they edged Ireland in the Cricket World Cup Super League points table and booked their spot in this year’s mega event.

The most recent changes in the race for automatic spots had come after Sri Lanka’s unsuccessful series against New Zealand, and South Africa’s two recent wins over the Netherlands in a home series.

South Africa gave themselves every opportunity to automatically qualify for this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in their last home series against the Netherlands.

The Proteas’ series victory propelled them past the West Indies into the eighth and final slot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings.

However, their prospects of automatic qualification were still dependent on Ireland’s ODIs against Bangladesh. A 3-0 series victory for Ireland would have tied them on points with South Africa if no penalty points were awarded.

The net run rate would still have come into play for the last slot, but since Ireland’s first ODI against Bangladesh was called off on Tuesday, the Proteas have secured their place in the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Ireland will have to play the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June.

Teams – Qualified for ICC Men’s ODI World Cup:

India (hosts), New Zealand, England, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Africa.

Cricket World Cup Qualifier Teams: 10 (West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Nepal, USA, UAE).

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RAWALPINDI: New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson would not be left out of the ICC ODI World Cup later this year as the Blackcaps management considers roping him in a mentoring role if he will not be completely fit to play the megaevent.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has refused to rule out Williamson from the BlackCaps World Cup squad as yet, hoping the injured batter would make a full recovery before the tournament.

Williamson ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee while fielding for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League match earlier this month and underwent surgery.

Typically, the injury takes around six-month rehabilitation, which means the Blackcaps regular captain will be in a tight spot ahead of the megaevent in terms of proving his fitness.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of the five-game PAK vs NZ ODI series, Stead provided an update on Williamsons’ fitness, saying, his surgery had gone well and he would be given ample to recover fully.

“Look, it’s still far too early to know,” Stead said of Williamson.

“He’s had the operation and, to date, what we know, that’s been successful. So he is in the very, very early stages of his rehab programme.

“It’s obviously pretty non-weight-bearing at this stage, and he’s in a brace. So, it’s really just meeting milestones as we go.

“Our line around Kane, at the moment, is still it’s unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly don’t want to rule out a person of his class and calibre, and the things he brings to this team, too early in case there is that chance still.”

New Zealand’s head coach claimed Williamson would still travel with the team to India for the World Cup to serve as a mentor in case he was not completely fit to play.

New Zealand finished as runner-up in the last edition of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in 2019 under Williamson’s captaincy. They lost to England in the epic final that went down to Super Over with the hosts eventually lifting the trophy on boundary count.

The 32-year-old’s absence in the upcoming edition of the 50-overs megaevent would be a major blow for his national side. The right-hander has scored more than 6000 ODI runs at an average of 47.83 in 161 ODI matches.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has set its sights on ensuring that the national men’s team play their ICC Men’s ODI World Cup matches in Chennai and Kolkata only, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Tuesday.

The biggest cricketing event of this year is likely to commence on October 5, featuring 46 matches, which will be played across 12 cities including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Rajkot, Bengaluru, Delhi, Indore, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Dharamasala.

The report further disclosed that top PCB officials approached the high-ranking International Cricket Council (ICC) executive and discussed the sensitive issue of the team’s security in the host country.

“A lot will depend on what BCCI and the Indian government decide but given a choice, Pakistan will like to play most of its World Cup matches in Kolkata and Chennai,” a source close to ICC Board told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

“In Kolkata, Pakistan played its T20 World Cup game against India in 2016 and the players were very happy with the security. Similarly, Chennai as a venue remains memorable for Pakistan. It’s also about feeling safe at specific venues,” the source added.

But the most-anticipated clash of Pakistan and India can be a bone of contention.

Ahmedabad’s newly-built stadium with over 1,32,000 capacity gives ICC, the best chance to earn optimum profits but the largest stadium is already booked to host the final and thus a new venue will be considered.

Consequently, other venues, most likely Kolkatta and Chennai are in the race to host the high-voltage Pakistan-India clash.

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DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States of America (USA) have advanced to the the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier, scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe in June-July.

In the six-team qualifiying tournament, USA and UAE finished in the first and second place respectively. Both teams secured eight points with four victories in their five matches but USA topped the standings due to better net run rate.

Hosts Namibia and Canada finished third and fourth respectively after claiming three wins each from their five fixtures, while Jersey could notch up a victory in five matches.

Papa New Guinea (PNG), on the other hand, failed to taste triumph in all their matches.

Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus, who enjoyed a scintillating tournament with the bat, adjudged the player of the tournament. He accumulated 279 runs in five games at an average of 69.75.

USA’s Ali Khan, who played a pivotal role in his team’s top-spot finish, was the top wicket-taker with 16 wickets at an average of 12.37.

The 10-team qualifying tournament for this year’s World Cup will take place in Zimbabwe from June 18 to July 9.

The Qualifiers will feature five teams who finished at the bottom of the World Cup Super League (Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies and one of Ireland or South Africa), top three teams from the ICC’s World Cup Cricket League 2 (Nepal, Oman and Scotland) and two teams from the Qualifier Playoff (USA and UAE).

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HARARE: The upcoming qualifiers for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 will be played without the Decision Review System (DRS) in Zimbabwe in June-July, reported a renowned cricket website on Thursday.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, the upcoming qualifiers for the 50-over World Cup will be played without the DRS, while there will be a third umpire monitoring run-outs.

The absence of the DRS technology depicts the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, which were also held in Zimbabwe in 2018. However, the previous qualifiers also did not have a third umpire monitoring run-outs in the majority of the matches.

Meanwhile, this year’s qualifiers will have a third umpire for all the matches but there will be no other review tools, such as UltraEdge or ball-tracking,

The 10-team qualifying tournament for this year’s World Cup will take place in Zimbabwe from June 18 to July 9, featuring five teams who finished at the bottom of the World Cup Super League (Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies and one of Ireland or South Africa), top three teams from the ICC’s World Cup Cricket League 2 (Nepal, Oman and Scotland) and two teams from the Qualifier Playoff (USA and UAE) that was completed in Namibia this week.

The top two teams from the qualifying round will proceed to the ten-team bracket in this year’s World Cup.

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WINDHOEK: Pakistan-born pacer Ali Khan exhibited an outstanding bowling performance to help USA beat Jersey on Tuesday and bolstered their hopes of featuring at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, later this year in India.

Ali wreaked havoc on Jersey’s batting line-up as he grabbed seven wickets for 32 runs in his sides’ final round-robin match at the CWC Qualifier Play-off in Namibia.

With the win, USA confirmed their spot in the megaevents’ Qualifiers in June, moving a step closer to finding a place at this year’s ODI World Cup.

The 32-year-old dismissed five batters during a terrific opening spell at the United Cricket Club Ground before returning at the death to wrap up the Jersey tail just when they were well-positioned to take the victory.

With his bowling exploits during the game, Ali registered the seventh-best figure achieved in men’s ODI cricket. Sri Lanka great Chaminda Vaas is the only bowler to take more than seven wickets in a 50-over contest.

The Punjab-born fast bowler moved to the USA as a teenager and started to display his capabilities in various T20 leagues around the world in the last decade. He represented Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League before making his ODI debut in 2019 for his adopted country of the USA when he featured against Papua New Guinea.

it is pertinent to mention here that USA will face the likes of 1996 champions Sri Lanka and two-time winners the West Indies at the Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe during June and July.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan on Monday, stated that Pakistan should not tour India for World Cup if the Indian team does not play their Asia Cup matches in Pakistan.

Moin interacted with the media here and commented on the most debated deadlock between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) over the Asia Cup and World Cup venue.

The former captain opined that the PCB should take a strong stance on the matter and not send the national team to India for World Cup if the Indian team does not come here to participate in the Asia Cup.

“If India does not come to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup, then Pakistan should not go either for the World Cup. I think Pakistan Cricket Board should oppose this,” said Moin.

“If India plays the Asia Cup at a neutral venue, Pakistan’s matches should also be held at a neutral venue,” he added.

Moin also stated that the BCCI can not impose its decision on other boards by extortion of money while also stating that the two cricket boards should resolve the deadlock by dialogue and called for cricket diplomacy between the two nations.

“India cannot impose its will on other cricket boards by extortion of money. Cricket should be played, and for this, there should be a discussion in the boards of India and Pakistan,” stated Moin.

“There should be cricket diplomacy between the two countries,” he concluded.

It is worth mentioning here that the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup and Pakistan’s participation in the Men’s ODI World Cup has been in jeopardy after the BCCI refused to tour Pakistan for the aforementioned tournament on political grounds.

The BCCI maintained their stance of not touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup, while the PCB was adamant that if they do not, then Pakistan might not travel to India for the World Cup in October-November.

The uncertainty around the 2023 Asia Cup began in October last year when the ACC president, and BCCI secretary, Jay Shah refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan and has since been trying to shift the tournament to a neutral venue.

Several ideas have been pitched to find a way through the long-persisted deadlock including the hybrid model to host the matches of Pakistan and India during the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and Asia Cup at neutral venues.

However, the deadlock persisted after the BCCI flatly refused to accept the hybrid model and insisted on shifting the entire Asia Cup to a neutral venue and hosting all World Cup matches in Pakistan.

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