3 positives Pakistan can take from 2023 World Cup
Pakistan were officially knocked out of the 2023 World Cup on November 11. They were tasked with registering a massive win over England to overtake New Zealand in terms of net run rate. However, they lost the match by 93 runs.
The Men in Green finished the tournament in fifth place with four wins and five losses. Failing to qualify for the semi-finals is a huge disappointment for Babar Azam's men, as they not only won the first two games of the 2023 World Cup but also beat fourth-placed New Zealand last week.
Still a very young side, there is always going to be room for improvement after such a global tournament. Pakistan will next face Australia in Tests and New Zealand in T20Is in the months of December and January. With the T20I World Cup happening in June 2024, they will be keen to move on from the 2023 World Cup disappointments.
On that note, let's look at three positives Pakistan can take from the 2023 World Cup.
#1 Fakhar Zaman is still an important batter in ODIs
Fakhar Zaman was dropped after scoring just 12 runs against the Netherlands in their first match of the 2023 World Cup. He then returned to the lineup only in their seventh match against Bangladesh, when Pakistan's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals had turned bleak. He scored 81 to be adjudged the Player of the Match.
Chasing 402 against the Kiwis in the next match, Fakhar Zaman scored an unbeaten 126 of 81 balls as the Men in Green scored 200/1 in 25.3 overs and won by the DLS method. Although he failed in the last match against England, Fakhar scored 220 runs in four innings, at an average of 73.33 and a strike rate of 122.90.
#2 Shaheen Afridi is maturing into a world-class international bowler
Shaheen Afridi didn't have an ideal 2023 World Cup by any means. He failed to garner much swing or generate his optimum pace in the powerplays. This led to him not being very useful in the first ten overs. Once renowned for being lethal in the powerplays, Afridi hasn't had the same bite since his return from injury in 2022.
However, Afridi still managed to pick up 18 wickets in the tournament, the fourth-highest among all teams. He also registered a five-wicket haul against Australia, which included the wickets of Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, etc. The fact that he is able to pick up so many wickets despite not being as good in the powerplay is definitely a positive for Pakistan.
#3 Saud Shakeel is a solid middle-order batter for Pakistan
Saud Shakeel had just played a handful of ODIs prior to the 2023 World Cup. He scored 241 runs in seven innings, at an average of 34.42 and a strike rate of 97.96. These numbers are impressive considering the kind of tournament Pakistan had as well as the lack of experience Shakeel possessed coming into the tournament.
The left-handed batter scored two half-centuries against the Netherlands and South Africa respectively. He got out four times in the region of 25 and 31 runs, which is something he needs to work on. The 28-year-old has shown the ability to get good starts, but he needs to start capitalizing on them and scoring big.