As the World Cup is going to commence, the Pakistan Cricket team will leave for Dubai on 25 September after which they will reach India on 27 September 2023. Pakistan team looks strong with the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and Babar Azam, although it shows signs of rift. As the senior players make open statements against each other, that is not a good sign for any team especially when such a big tournament is around the corner. 

In the Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan did not play any quality cricket and also did not show any signs of aggression against their opponents. The captain Babar Azam, who was quite unhappy with the team’s exit from the tournament after a loss against Sri Lanka, exchanged a few words with another senior player, Shaheen Afridi in the dressing room. The two key players of the team got into a heated argument with each other when the wicketkeeper Rizwan stepped in to cool down the argument. This rift between the two players may have disintegrated the Pakistan team. Adding to this, Vice-Captain Shadab Khan also expressed his discomfort, while playing under Babar Azam. He said, “Babar is a completely different personality on and off the field, and we do not enjoy his captaincy.”

The statement for Khan was a reply to Babar when he disclosed the reason for the Asia Cup, he said,  “Shadab bowls exceptionally well, but he doesn’t get any wickets. Thus, you may sense that he is not bowling well. Although he is bowling brilliantly, he is sadly not getting any wickets. Nawaz and Shadab, he is one of your top bowlers.”  He highlighted Khan’s inability to take wickets, despite bowling well. The Pakistan bowling attack has also got a major hit as the young star bowler, Naseem Shah suffers an injury, which puts his availability in question.