'Pakistan's fielding has...': Dav Whatmore on Babar Azam-led Men in Green ahead of their CWC '23 opener

The ODI World Cup 2023 edition kicked off on Thursday (October 5) with the defending champions England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad. On Friday (October 6), Babar Azam-led Pakistan will face the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Ahead of the clash, Dav Whatmore -- Sri Lanka's ODI World Cup-winning coach and former Australian cricketer -- pointed out that the Men in Green need to improve in the fielding department in order to progress ahead in the marquee competition in India.

Speaking to Wion, Whatmore opined on how Pakistan is shaping up for the 50-over showpiece event. Pakistan enter the CWC '23 edition on the back of a disastrous run in the Asia Cup and two back-to-back defeats in the warm-up games. However, the No. 2 ranked ODI side is backed as one of the strongest contenders due to the subcontinental conditions and a well-oiled side.

Whatmore reflected on their warm-up losses and stated, "Look, they should have won that game (versus New Zealand in the warm-ups). But it is at the same ground where they open up their campaign versus the Netherlands (in Hyderabad). Anybody would argue the fact that they will win. They should win comfortably tomorrow. I think they lost a bit of confidence versus New Zealand. Against Australia in their second warm-up match, they whacked them over the park. Australia allowed them to come close with their bowling effort (Pakistan managed 337 in pursuit of 352). Hence, confidence would have been jolted a bit. But, they should do well tomorrow which will lift their confidence."

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Whatmore further stated on Pakistan's unpredictable tag and said, "They have been inconsistent. They have been guilty in that regard. But in this tournament, where the focus will be on them from the whole world, they will be as consistent as they possibly can."

The former SL coach mentioned the area of concern for Babar & Co. In this regard, he asserted, "Their fielding historically has never been up to the mark. They have been guilty of some bad pictures of fielding. That department of the game can improve surely. On the batting, they have done well. They have got over 300 in both practice games. They fell short versus the Kiwis and had some easy bowling to hit versus the Aussies but their batting is not too good. They know their roles and if they get good starts, they have a good platform to really launch in the last ten overs -- like every other team."

Pakistan were extremely poor in the field versus the Aussies in their last warm-up encounter in Hyderabad. They will like to start afresh in their tournament-opener versus the Dutch on Friday.

Pakistan squad for CWC '23:Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali

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