Pakistan will open their World Cup campaign against Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad.
This will be Pakistan team’s first visit to India since 2016. The arch-rivals only play each other in multi-nation tournaments such as the World Cup and the Asia Cup due to political tension between the two countries.
Before departing for India, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam addressed a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday (September 26) and spoke on a range of topics, including the team’s chances in the showpiece event.
"Although we have not played in India before, we are not taking too much pressure. We have done our research and we have heard the conditions are similar to how they play out in other Asian countries," said Babar in the pre-departure media conference.
"It is quite an honour for me to travel as the captain this time around, I hope we come back with a trophy this time."
Babar was addressing a pre-departure press conference in Lahore before travelling to India for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Despite the lack of experience in Indian conditions, cricket legends such as Eoin Morgan, Glenn McGrath and Hashim Amla have predicted that Pakistan will make it to the semi-final of the upcoming World Cup.
However, Babar Azam has even bigger dreams as he wants to emulate the feats of Imran Khan-led side from 1992.
When made aware of the predictions, Babar confidently replied: "The top-four is a small goal for us. We will become No. 1. We did not have enough time to put together a camp before the World Cup because we had been playing for too long continuously. We wanted to give the players a break so they come back refreshed and with the hunger to win. You play well when you have that hunger."
Pakistan will open their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on October 6 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Prior to that, the Men in Green will play a couple of warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia in Hyderabad on September 29 and October 3, respectively.