Former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram has highlighted that the Indian cricket team will encounter immense pressure in the ODI World Cup 2023 as the host nation. He believes that the pressure of playing a mega tournament on home soil will be a significant challenge for any team in the world.
The 13th edition of the ODI World Cup will take place in India from October to November, marking the first ICC ODI tournament solely hosted by India. The highly anticipated tournament will witness India facing arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic Ahmedabad Stadium on Sunday, October 14.
Wasim Akram also expressed the importance of Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness for the Indian team, stating that the right-arm pacer can make a huge impact if he remains fit for the marquee tournament later this year.
“Of course… India has Mohammed Shami, who is very impressive and is bowling like a dream, but Bumrah needs to remain fit. I don’t know about his current fitness situation, but if he is fine, it will make a huge difference. Besides, they have really good spinners and all-rounders like Jadeja and Ashwin – let’s see who plays,” Akram said on Radio Haanji.
He acknowledged that playing at home has certain disadvantages, as it brings an extra added pressure. Akram cited the example of India winning the 2011 World Cup at home but reiterated that similar pressure would be on Pakistan if they were the hosts.
Jasprit Bumrah recently resumed bowling at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He was named the captain of India’s second-string team for the T20I series against Ireland, scheduled to be played between August 18 and 23.
Wasim Akram advised players not to worry about the venues and just focus on playing the game regardless of the location.
“See, I said this earlier as well. If I am asked to play on a certain date and at a certain venue, I have to play. Be it Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, or Mumbai… this does not affect players. So just play and don’t worry about it,” he concluded.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed concerns over the World Cup schedule, stating that they didn’t want to face India in Ahmedabad. They also requested the ICC to change the venue of their matches against Australia and Afghanistan.