With just a few weeks till the commencement of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, Pakistan might gain even more momentum thanks to Babar Azam’s hot squad, who are one victory away from being ranked as the best ODI team in the world.
On Thursday in Hambantota, Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by a narrow margin of one wicket to win the match and take a commanding 2-0 series lead.
With a win against Afghanistan in the third and final game of their series, Pakistan might take the top spot as the No. 1 rated one-day side as early as Saturday. This lifted Pakistan’s ODI team rating just short of first-placed Australia.
That would be a significant boost for Pakistan ahead of the 50-over competition this year, when Babar’s team is one of the favorites to win a second World Cup in India.
Pakistan’s last World Cup victory came in 1992 in Australia, and if they can maintain their current upward trend, they might enter this year’s tournament as the No. 1 ODI squad.
Pakistan has lost only three of its ten One-Day Internationals this year, all against New Zealand, and their performance in the current Afghanistan series puts them in position to overtake Australia atop the rankings.
With Babar at the top of the MRF Tyres ODI Batter rankings with teammates Imam-ul-Haq (third) and Fakhar Zaman (fifth) not far behind, Pakistan also has some of the highest-ranked ODI players.
Pakistan will compete in the 2023 Asia Cup after the conclusion of their series with Afghanistan, and their first game in that six-team competition will take place on August 30 in Multan against Nepal.
They then play in official World Cup warm-up matches against New Zealand and Australia, with their first match in this year’s competition taking place on October 6 in Hyderabad against the Netherlands.