Pakistan have won two out of their three matches in the ODI World Cup 2023. However, after their loss against arch-rivals India former Pakistan players and experts have questioned the team and Babar Azam’s leadership skills and ability. Their players need to understand that they are playing in India and the crowd support over here is massive. The players need to soak up the pressure and perform better in these conditions. They have not been able to handle the pressure that has resulted in causing problems for the side.
Another problem for the Men in Green is that their middle-order batter is yet to perform under pressure after Mohammad Rizwan no other batter has performed in the marquee tournament. That was evident in the match against India after their batting order collapsed from 155/2 to 191/10.
Here are the 3 Pakistan Players who need to step up their game to do better in ODI World Cup 2023:
3. Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan is currently the vice-captain for Pakistan and the team management has been upset with his performances as the all-rounder has been inconsistent with his form and unable to perform in Indian pitches. He has been unable to pick up wickets in the middle overs and let runs flow in the middle overs and that has let go away the pressure and made scoring runs for opponents easy.
2. Babar Azam
Babar Azam’s leadership qualities have been questioned as some former players think he should leave captaincy and focus on his batting skills. The skipper is yet to score big runs from the bat. He has only scored one fifty in three games. The 29-year-old has 65 runs in the three matches of the World Cup.
1. Shaheen Shah Afridi
Shaheen is yet to find his form with the new ball. He has been off-form in the mega event. The left-arm pacer has picked up 4 wickets in just three matches. He got two against India but he is not at his best. He has also given 139 runs. The pace has significantly reduced, which has raised concerns over his fitness.