ICC World Cup 2023: "Winning The World Cup In India Will Be Like The Icing On The Cake" - Shadab Khan

Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan expressed his desire to clinch the title in the upcoming ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to be played in India later this year. Shadab Khan described winning the multinational tournament on Indian soil as ‘the icing on the cake’.

India will host the upcoming edition of the ODI World Cup between October and November. The tournament will follow a round-robin format, with each team playing against the other nine teams. The top four teams in the points table will advance to the playoffs.

It’s A Great Opportunity For All The Teams – Shadab Khan

Shadab Khan expressed that winning the World Cup in India would be a special achievement, highlighting the significance of strong team performances throughout the tournament.

“Winning the World Cup in India will be like the icing on the cake… Definitely, whichever team comes will come to win the tournament, but the key is how you as a team play and how you start because we will have to play against every team; it’s a great opportunity for all the teams,” he said.

Pakistan will kickstart their World Cup preparations with an ODI series against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka. Following this, the Babar Azam-led team will participate in the 2023 Asia Cup.

We Won’t Have The Crowd Support In India – Shadab Khan

The leg-spinner acknowledged that his team won’t receive support from the crowd, emphasizing that the players are mentally strong enough to overcome this obstacle.

“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,” he said.

The Men in Green will play their matches in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata. The team will play two matches at each venue except Ahmedabad.

No Specific Plans For Virat Kohli – Shadab Khan

The 24-year-old revealed that the team won’t plan specific strategies against Virat Kohli, stating that they will bowl similarly to every batter in the opposition team.

“There are no specific plans for Virat Kohli. Everyone makes similar plans for opposition batters, which is to bowl in the right areas and hope for the batsman to commit a mistake,” he concluded.

The Pakistan cricket team will face off against the Rohit Sharma-led team in a high-octane encounter at the world’s largest stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14.

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