Pakistan will be travelling to India to play the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, slated to begin on October 5 in Ahmedabad.
The Men In Green have not played a bilateral series with the Blue Shirts in years, and this will be the first time that the majority of the visiting squad will play in the neighbouring nation.
Due to their bitter ties, the Indian government is also yet to issue the visas for the Pakistani team, despite just days remaining for the mega tournament.
Pakistan and India haven’t played bilateral series in any format since 2012-13. Pakistan last toured India for the ODI and T20I series. The two arch-rivals played a Test against each other back in 2007.
The current Pakistani squad consists of:
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafiq, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), M Wasim Jnr, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir.
Among them, only Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Ali Agha have been to India to play cricket.
Nawaz visited the nation back in 2016 for the ICC World Twenty20, but he could not play any match in the tournament.
Agha did not represent Pakistan, but played a league match in India. He was part of the Lahore Lions squad.
The batter played one match — against the Dolphins. He scored one run in three balls.
The rest of the team has never played in India and it will be worth watching how the Pakistani team plays in the neighbouring nation, with fewer chances of their fans being there in scores to support them.