ICC World Cup 2023: Pakistan cannot afford to take Netherlands lightly

Pakistan’s opening match is against rookies Netherlands, but it would be their folly to treat this as a 'soft' contest. The history of sport, especially limited overs cricket, is replete with topsy-turvy results, so Pakistan will have to be on their guard against complacency and over confidence. More so, because their form leading into the World Cup has been wobbly.

Some weeks back, they were fancied as possible title winners, in the same cluster as India, Australia and England. But from the Asia Cup, things started to go drastically wrong for them.

After starting impressively, Pakistan were thrashed by India in the tournament and even failed to qualify for the final. Worse, they were hit by injuries to pace bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.

Rauf got fit in time for the World Cup, but Naseem’s injury was more serious, ruling him out of this tournament and leaving a big hole in the bowling attack.

The spate of injuries led turmoil in Pakistan’s preparations for the World Cup which was further riled by how the team fared in the warm-up matches in India in the past week or so.

The results of these matches were not as consequential as getting players in fine rhythm for the many challenges that will come up in the tournament. On that score, Pakistan looked a tad below par.

Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan hit their straps quickly, which was crucial, but opener Fakhar Zaman looked well short of the blistering form that had made him amongst the most feared players in white-ball cricket.

More worryingly, Rauf was plundered for runs by the Aussies, and spinner Shadab Khan didn’t quite look a bowler who could exploit Indian pitches to great benefit.

Of course, all these compunctions can vanish in a day if Pakistan can get into their groove quickly. But Netherlands, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, cannot be easily discounted.

Players to watch out for:

Pakistan:

• Cricket World Cup 2023 schedule: Complete list of fixtures, timings, venues