Pakistan express pacer Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan did not bowl in their side’s first World Cup warm-up match against New Zealand in Hyderabad recently. Chasing a total of 346 runs set by the Men in Green, the Kiwis made a mockery of the Pakistani bowling line-up. The Blackcaps chased down the total within 43.4 overs. None of bowlers managed to hit the right lengths as Babar Azam and Co. dearly missed the services of their left-arm pacer.
Shaheen, Shadab did not bowl due to team’s ‘Strategy’ for WC
As per reports, both Shaheen and Shadab did not hit the bowling crease as the Pakistani team management wanted to test out other bowlers. “The management has planned to test all the 15 members of the squad during the two warm-up matches differently,” the sources confirmed to GeoNews. “It has been decided to “acclimatize” ahead of the tournament,” the source added.
As mentioned above, New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets in an ODI World Cup warm-up match at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Friday. Rachin Ravindra’s 97 off 72 helped New Zealand chase down a 346-run target against Pakistan in 43.4 overs. Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson and Mark Chapman too scored a fifty each. Earlier, Pakistan posted 345 for 5 batting first. Mohammad Rizwan scored a century (103) while skipper Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel stroked good fifties with the bat.
Pakistan to face Australia in second Warm-up Match
The Men in Green are now slated to face Australia at the same venue (Hyderabad) on October 3. It is likely that Shaheen will take the new ball with the Aussies to gear up for the main event. To note, Babar Azam and Co. will take on the Netherlands in their opening match of the WC in Hyderabad on October 6 (Friday).
Pakistan Squad for World Cup: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Usama Mir
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