Irfan Pathan, Waqar Younis And Dale Steyn Highlight The Importance Of Warmup Games Ahead Of ICC World Cup 2023

Former cricketers Irfan Pathan, Waqar Younis and Dale Steyn highlighted the importance of warmup games ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023. They spoke about how crucial practice games can be as they will allow all the teams to get used to conditions, weaknesses of opponents and other things.

The fever for the ICC World Cup 2023 is on. The tournament will begin on 5th October but even before that, the excitement has racked up as warmup games are just a day away from us now. The first practice game will be played between South Africa and Netherlands on 29th September in Thiruvananthapuram along with Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh in Guwahati and New Zealand vs Pakistan in Hyderabad.

Each team will be playing two warmup games each and it’ll be great preparation for them going into the World Cup. Although players have had a fair experience of Indian conditions because of IPL but it’ll allow them to gell together and see what areas they need to do before heading into the tournament.

Waqar Younis admitted that although intensity and pressure aren’t the same as the actual matches in the warmup but it’ll allow teams to keep an eye on the other teams as well. He added that it’ll also be beneficial for the teams as they can make their game better.

Speaking on Star Sports, he explained: “Warm-up matches give you an idea about the conditions because you are going to play in another country. It gives you an idea about the conditions of the pitches when you play the warm-up games.

“Then, if you have some weaknesses in your team, you try to fix those things by playing these games. The intensity and pressure do not remain the same as the actual matches. Thus, there are no worries about winning or losing the game, so due to not having that kind of pressure, you can fluently work on your weaknesses.

“So, I feel every team has already made some plans around these warm-up matches and also will keep an eye on the teams which they will play against because they have to play big matches after these warm-up games with those opponents.

“So, they will get to know their weaknesses and can exploit them accordingly. I think warm-up matches, as I said, there will be not that kind of intensity, but obviously, you can work on your weaknesses and make your game better.”

Irfan Pathan also was involved in the discussion and he said that the warmup games are like tightening nut bolts. He talked about the areas that the Indian team would be looking to improve, saying that it’ll be a great opportunity for them to test Ravindra Jadeja’s form ahead of the ICC World Cup 2023. He explained:

“The importance of practice games is similar to tightening nut bolts. So, the Indian team has two practice matches and in those games, they can tighten any screws if they want to.

“Such as the batting of Ravindra Jadeja or the combination they are looking forward to playing with or the players who are not in great form, they should be given more opportunities so that they can test their game, especially in the last few overs. These are the advantages of playing the warm-up matches.”

Dale Steyn also shares his insights on the importance of Warmup games ahead of ICC World Cup 2023

Former South African cricketer Dale Steyn shed light on the same, saying that one of the key things for players would be to protect injuries. He highlighted that it’ll be a great opportunity for players to get their feet going.

He elaborated: “Yeah, from being a player in the past World Cup and tournaments that I have played in, I think the key thing is you want to play and get out of these warm-up games uninjured, that’s a big key.

“You want guys to be able to have some form but you have never found a form in a warm-up game. I also think they just want to find their feet, they want to get time under their belts, they want to bat for long periods, they want to have good long spells, and they want to get familiar with the conditions.

“However, at the end of the day, they really just want to get out these warm-up games unscathed. No injuries, no broken fingers, nothing stupid, no little hamstrings, quad or ankles or something like that. I think that is the big key, you have made it all the way to the World Cup and now you don’t want to get injured.”

Here are warmup fixtures for ICC World Cup 2023

Friday 29 September

Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
South Africa v Afghanistan, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
New Zealand v Pakistan, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

Saturday 30 September

India v England, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Australia v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Monday 2 October

England v Bangladesh, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
New Zealand v South Africa, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Tuesday 3 October

Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
India v Netherlands, Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Pakistan v Australia, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad