The Men in Green will have to beat Bangladesh by a significant margin
04 July, 2019
PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan is likely to make two changes to their playing XI for group match against Bangladesh on Friday, July 5, during the ongoing 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in England and Wales.
According to details, the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led unit will prefer veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik and right-arm pacer Hasan Ali over opener Fakhar Zaman and left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz.
Fakhar Zaman has been going through a lean patch in the past few ODIs and has only notched up 173 runs in seven World Cup matches at an average of 24.7.
Due to the improbable qualification scenario for semi-finals, Pakistan is planning to give Shoaib Malik a farewell One-day International (ODI) match. Malik had already announced before the tournament that he would retire from ODI cricket after the 2019 World Cup.
Wahab Riaz, who played with a fractured finger against Afghanistan, is also likely to be rested.
On the other hand, Hasan Ali is likely to replace Riaz despite being unable to spur magic with the ball and only claiming two wickets in his last four outings earlier in the mega event.
The Men in Green will have to either make 400 runs and dismiss Bangladesh for 84 runs or make 350 runs and dismiss the tigers for 38 runs to go ahead of New Zealand in the net run rate and qualify for the semi-finals.
If Bangladesh bats first, Pakistan stands no chance of qualifying for the semi-final.
