The national squad departed from Lahore airport at 3:20 am and will briefly stop in Dubai before their onward flight to Hyderabad, India.
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Sept 27th, 2023) Pakistan's cricket team set off for India on Wednesday to participate in the highly anticipated ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.
They are expected to arrive in Hyderabad at 8:15 pm local time on September 27, 2023.
The national squad departed from Lahore airport at 3:20 am and will briefly stop in Dubai before their onward flight to Hyderabad, India.
The Pakistan travel group includes 18 players and 13 support staff.
Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, and Mickey Arthur, the men's cricket team director, will join the squad in Dubai and India, respectively.
The team will engage in a training session the following day and is slated to play their first warm-up match against New Zealand on September 29.
Before departing for India, team captain Babar Azam requested the cricket community for their support and prayers.
India issued visas to the Pakistan team on Monday, putting an end to the uncertainty surrounding their participation in the tournament. This followed a complaint by the Pakistan Cricket board (PCB) to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding visa delays, which had disrupted the team's preparations.
Pakistan will compete in two warm-up matches before commencing their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6. The highly anticipated clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is scheduled for October 14 in Ahmedabad.
Pakistan's ICC World Cup 2023 squad includes:
Babar Azam (c)
Abdullah Shafique
Fakhar Zaman
Imam-ul-Haq
Iftikhar Ahmed
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Shadab Khan
Mohammad Nawaz
Usama Mir
Haris Rauf
M Wasim Jnr
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Saud Shakeel
Salman Ali Agha
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan.
Pakistan's warm-up match schedule:
September 29 — vs New Zealand in Hyderabad
October 3 — vs Australia in Hyderabad
Pakistan's ICC World Cup 2023 schedule:
October 6 — vs Netherlands in Hyderabad
October 10 — vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad
October 14 — vs India in Ahmedabad
October 20 — vs Australia in Bengaluru
October 23 — vs Afghanistan in Chennai
October 27 — vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 — vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 — vs New Zealand in Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 — vs England in Kolkata
Day matches will commence at 10:00 am Pakistan Standard Time (PST), while all other matches will be day-night fixtures starting at 01:30 pm (PST).
If Pakistan qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in Kolkata. If India qualifies for the semi-finals, they will play in Mumbai unless facing Pakistan,in which case the match will be held in Kolkata.
