Intikhab Alam Backs Fakhar Zaman To Fire In World Cup 2023; Highlights Pakistan's Major Concern
Published - 30 Sep 2023, 08:07 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:19 AM
Former Pakistan cricketer Intikhab Alam has raised concerns over the Pakistan squad for the ICC World Cup 2023. The Men in Green arrived in India on September 27 for the mega event.
Having got down to practice, Pakistan have also lost their warm-up game against New Zealand which was a high-scoring encounter. This is Pakistan’s first trip to India in seven years. They last came to Indian shores in the T20 World Cup 2016.
Intikhab Alam shared his doubts on Pakistan’s future in this World Cup. Speaking to PTI, he first spoke about Fakhar Zaman and his inconsistent run in international cricket. However, he has asked the management to back the opener at the top.
“On these true wickets in India, most games will be high-scoring. With Fakhar you can expect anything, he will fire in one out of five games but you have to take that risk with him,” said Alam.
Pakistan Have Weak Spin Attack: Intikhab Alam
Intikhab Alam then spoke about the Pakistan spin attack which he regards as weaker than India. Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Usama Mir are the three spinners for the World Cup that Pakistan have selected. Shadab and Mir are leg spinners and Nawaz is the only finger spinner. Agha Salman and Iftikhar Ahmed can also bowl if needed.
“In the bowling department, Pakistan’s spin attack is weak in the middle overs. In Asia Cup we struggled. It is important for them to do well in this phase else teams will easily score 300 against them. Naseem Shah is young and quick and he too will be missed with the new ball,” said Intikhab Alam referring to Shah’s injury.
The former cricketer concluded by saying that the Pakistan team under Babar Azam will feel the pressure of playing the World Cup in India. However, it is an opportunity for Babar Azam’s team to create history he said.
“There will be pressure, for sure. It depends on how team management treat the players to ensure they focus only on cricket. You get four years to prepare for an event like this. You have to do something special so people remember for you a long time. It is a great opportunity for Babar and Co,” Alam concluded saying.
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