ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 about to start. Pakistan Men Cricket Team already arrived Hyderabad to play the tournament. Ahead of the World Cup, the ‘Men in Green’ team will play their warm-up match against New Zealand. Before that legendary Pakistani pacer Waqar Younis made a bold statement stating Pakistan ‘a weaker team’ as compared to India. Not only that, as per Waqar’s opinion, Pakistan or any other team will not match India right now.
Under the leadership of Babar, Pakistan registerd its first-ever win against India in World Cup events with an unforgettable 10-wicket win over India in T20 World Cup 2021. The Men In Green also made it to the final of the World Cup. Also Pakistan is the current No.2 side in One Day Internationals (ODIs) according to ICC Ranking. But legendary Pakistani pacer Waqar Younis has picked up India as the favorites to claim the World Cup 2023 title for the third time. He said, “If we only talk about ticking the boxes then we will see no other team can match India, even Pakistan or any other team will not match India right now because India also have good spinners, not only the spinners who are playing right now in starting XI such as Kuldeep, Jadeja but also they have a strong bench strength.”
As Pak-pacer Naseem Shah having been ruled out of the World Cup squad, the former Pakistan skipper also claimed, “The new ball is always crucial for us not only for this world cup but also if you can see overall matches, it has been always a very important factor for us over the years and in the past world cups also. When we used to strike and take wickets with the new ball, then we use to get some momentum for staying in a better position in the game. So, the absence of Naseem Shah is a very big loss for Pakistan. Though, Hasan Ali has been declared as his replacement; he has got a lot of experience and gave brilliant performances in past as well but I feel to suddenly come and perform in this kind of big stage will not be an easy task for him.”
The ‘Green Army’ will start their campaign for the World Cup against the Netherlands on October 6 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. The clash between India and Pakistan is scheduled for October 14 in Ahmedabad. Waqar Younis thinks that Pakistan will be under pressure in this match. He told Star Sports, “As we all know, it (India vs Pakistan) will be the biggest game, mother of all the games. So, when you play in Ahmedabad, you will have to control your nerves, and not only Pakistan will be under pressure since it is a weaker team as compared to India. But India will also be under pressure because the crowd in the stadium will create pressure on both the teams.”