CHENNAI: Opening Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique is confident that the Men in Green can still go deep in the tournament despite three straight defeats in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023.
Babar Azam's men play South Africa on October 27 in Chennai and they trained at M.A Chidambaram Stadium today.
While talking to reporters, Abdullah Shafique talked about different aspects.
"The World Cup is not over, the Pakistan team has a chance to go ahead. Our focus is on the next matches to play well and move forward," he said.
The 23-year-old said he doesn't think about individual performance. "Cricket is a team game and I do not think about personal milestones. Neither I think or desire a century," he added.
Meanwhile, he stressed playing against South Africa would be a challenge but Pakistan would make a comeback
"South Africa is playing well, it will be a challenge. We have not played our best game. Every day presents a unique opportunity, the result against South Africa will also be good," he added.
Abdullah has been in sublime form since replacing Fakhar Zaman in a game against Sri Lanka. The right-hander has scored 255 runs, powered by two fifties and a hundred.
Pakistan’s remaining ICC World Cup 2023 matches
October 27 - vs South Africa in Chennai
October 31 - vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
November 4 - vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 - vs England in Kolkata
Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023
Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, M Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha.
Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan
Atique ur Rehman Atique ur Rehman is a senior reporter for Geo News.- Abdullah Shafique