Hyderabad: The Pakistan cricket team reached India via Dubai on Wednesday. The Green Shirts landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
The Pakistani contingent — comprising 18 players and 13-player support personnel — will be accompanied by a security entourage of more than 20 vehicles while being moved to their hotel.
The development comes as the national team left for Dubai on Wednesday at 3:20am. Less than 48 hours after landing in India, Pakistan will play their first warmup game against New Zealand on Friday later this week.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel and men’s cricket team director Mickey Arthur will join the team in Dubai and India, respectively.
The team will take part in the training session the next day and is scheduled to play their first warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29.
Ahead of leaving for India, the national team captain Babar Azam requested cricket fans for prayers.
It is pertinent to know that on Monday earlier this week, India finally issued visas to the Pakistan team ending uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s participation in the most awaited tournament.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) complaining about a visa delay which, it said, had disrupted the team’s preparation for the mega event across the border.
Pakistan will play two warm-up matches before beginning their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on Oct 6.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan are set to clash in a mouth-watering Oct 14 contest in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023
Babar 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.
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan.
Schedule of Pakistan’s warm-up matches:
September 29 — vs New Zealand in Hyderabad
October 3 — vs Australia in Hyderabad
Pakistan’s schedule for the ICC World Cup 2023:
October 6 — vs Netherlands in Hyderabad
October 10 — vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
October 14 — vs India in Ahmedabad
October 20 — vs Australia in Bengaluru
October 23 — vs Afghanistan in Chennai
October 27 — vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 — vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 — vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 — vs England in Kolkata
The day matches will start at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30pm (PST).
If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata.
If India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless playing against Pakistan, in which case they will play in Kolkata.
