PAK vs NED: Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr. Set To Be In Pakistan's Playing XI For Netherlands Clash: Report

Pakistan will have their task cut when they take on the Netherlands in their first game of the 2023 World Cup. The match is scheduled to take place on Friday (October 6) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

While Pakistan are one of the contenders for the World Cup and will start the game as favorites, their form in recent times has been matter a of concern. Last month, the Men in Green bowed out of the Asia Cup by suffering defeats against India and Sri Lanka. And the Babar Azam-led side lost both of their warm-up games too.

In their first warm-up game against New Zealand, Pakistan failed to defend 345 before falling short by 14 runs while chasing 352 against Australia. The 1992 World Cup winners would be looking to put the poor results behind them and start their World Cup campaign with a win over the Netherlands.

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Pakistan’s playing XI for World Cup opener:

Pakistan have a number of issues to sort out before they line up for the World Cup opener. Their middle-order as well as the spin bowling department have looked like the weak links so far. The absence of Naseem Shah is also a big blow for the pace bowling department.

There have been calls from several quarters to drop Shadab Khan for his poor performances in recent times but the vice-captain looks set to play against the Netherlands. According to a report in Cricketnext, Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq spends most of his time in the company of the under-fire leg-spinner. It is a big indication that Shadab features prominently in the team’s plans.

Recent reports suggested that Usama Mir might get the nod ahead of Shadab but it looks highly unlikely now. The report also stated that Mohammad Wasim Jr. is set to be a part of the playing eleven for the match against the Netherlands.

Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.