The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is slated to be played in India later this year and being the host of the tournament, India certainly has a better chance of winning the trophy this time. There are few high profile or important matches which will be played during the tournament including the match between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan that will be played on 15 October 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
India has clearly dominated over Pakistan when it comes to the World Cup matches whether it is ODI or T20 World Cup excluding the 2021 T20 World Cup in which Pakistan defeated India for the first time. The Indian fans are quite hopeful that Rohit Sharma led Indian team will not only defeat the Pakistani team but it will also end the 10-yr drought of ICC trophy by winning the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
While there are discussions going in regard to the India-Pakistan match in the cricket community, the star Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has given a statement as per which the Pakistani cricketers should stop focusing on or thinking about the India-Pakistan match because it is just one match and they should rather focus on how to win the World Cup 2023 as it should be their aim.
Shaheen Afridi was out of cricketing action for quite some time due to his knee injury and he made a comeback in the Pakistan Super League. He performed superbly in the ongoing Vitality Blast which is the top T20 competition for the English and the first class cricket counties.
Talking about his fitness, he says that he is completely fit and this is why he has been selected in the national team for the series against Sri Lanka and he will be playing for his country’s national team and not for any club team.
The ODI World Cup will start from 5 October with England and New Zealand clashing against each other at Narendra Modi Stadium and India will start its campaign on 8 October 2023 at Chennai against Australia.