Babar Azam goes golfing with Pakistan coaches on his day off

KOLKATA: The Pakistan national team had a rest day on Tuesday between matches and training for the ICC World Cup 2023, currently underway in India.

To pass the time on his day off, captain Babar Azam went golfing in Calcutta. On the occasion, the team’s head coach Grant Bradburn, batting coach Andrew Putick and bowling coach Morne Morkel accompanied the skipper to the golf club.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group spent their leisure time taking part in fitness and swimming sessions at their hotel.

It may be noted that the Pakistan team is not allowed to go on outings often due to the strict security protocol given to them in India.

The team members will resume their training from tomorrow (Wednesday) at 14:00 local time.

It should be noted that Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 21 runs (DLS method) in a must-win match that was constantly interrupted by rain and eventually called off.

The match was abandoned due to rain while the Green jerseys were 200-1 in 25.3 overs with Fakhar Zaman (126*) and skipper Babar Azam (66*) remaining at the crease.

Courtesy of an impressive display from Fakhar, Pakistan were 21 runs ahead of the DLS score after 25.3 overs and emerged victorious.

The 194-run partnership between Azam and Fakhar propelled the Green Shirts to a substantial victory as they now prepare to face struggling England at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 11.

Despite the win against New Zealand, there are still many ifs and buts over whether Babar Azam’s men can qualify for the World Cup semi-finals. It is pertinent to consider the factors that may determine the Green Shirts’ prospects of reaching the knockout stage of the tournament.

The best case scenario for Pakistan is to secure a win against England and if Sri Lanka beat the Kiwis on November 9, the national team might qualify for the semi-finals.

Apart from this simple scenario, the future of the Men in Green in the tournament also depends on Afghanistan, who are currently tied with Pakistan on eight points.

If Afghanistan win their next two matches – against Australia and South Africa – they will qualify for the semi-finals with 12 points.

However, even if they win one of their two remaining matches and Pakistan also win their next match against England, both teams will again be level on the points table with 10 points, bringing their net run rate (NRR) into play. .

Currently, Pakistan’s NRR stands at +0.036 compared to Afghanistan’s -0.330. However, the equation may change as Pakistan are yet to play a match while Afghanistan have two more matches in the tournament.