ICC World Cup 2023: Shadab Khan Believes Pakistan Players Are Mentally Strong Enough To Defy Crowd Noise In India

Pakistan Vice-captain, Shadab Khan spoke on the difficulties they will face while taking part in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India and said that the team will lack support in the host country.

The most awaited tournament will start on October 5th, and the first match will be between England and New Zealand at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Babar Azam-led Pakistan will start their ODI World Cup 2023 journey on October 6th against the Netherlands, who have qualified in the tournament after defeating Zimbabwe and West Indies in the qualifier matches.

However, the high-voltage match between the two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan will take place on October 14th at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the match will kick off at 2:00 PM IST.

Shadab Khan and Pakistan will play their matches at some iconic stadiums in India which includes Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which are considered as the biggest stadiums in India.

The two teams will not only play in the upcoming ODI World Cup but will also square off against each other in the Asia Cup 2023 which will start from August 30th. The arch-rivals will lock horns on September 2nd at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka.

I think we’ll have a good tournament: Shadab Khan on ODI World Cup

While speaking in an interview after Sussex County Cricket Club’s match in England, Shadab Khan said that it is special for the Pakistani players to take part in the most prestigious tournament but also clarified that they will not have any support from the host country for which they need to be mentally strong to have a good tournament.

“It is a special moment for any Pakistani player to play World Cup for his country. We won’t have crowd support in India. In that sense, we’ll have to be very strong mentally. The way our players are, mentally strong, I think we’ll have a good tournament,” Shadab Khan said.

Watch the video here:

Shadab Khan "We won't have the crowd support in India. In that sense we'll have to be very strong mentally. The way our players are, mentally strong, I think we'll have a good tournament" #CWC23 #Cricket pic.twitter.com/zTaZx3M505

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) August 11, 2023

This is for the first time after 11 years that the Pakistan Cricket Team will be traveling to India to take part in the ODI World Cup. However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that the neighboring country with whom India has a political tussle will be treated like any other team in the tournament.