With their outstanding performance in the last World Cup cycle, Pakistan enters the 50-over World Cup as one of the favorites. They won 24 out of 36 games for the best win-loss ratio of 2.400.
Pakistan has benefited greatly from consistency, with their key players regularly playing well over time. Their skipper, Babar Azam, has developed into a modern-day legend and is ranked first among batters in ICC ODI matches. He has an excellent average of 66.54 and a strike rate of 93.72, and he is one of just two players who have scored more than 2,000 runs in the last four years. He shares the record for the most centuries with Shai Hope with nine in this time frame.
Imam-ul-Haq, Babar’s fellow countryman and close friend, is rated sixth overall with 1,284 runs at an average of 45.85 and a strike rate of 84.41, including two century and 13 half-centuries in the previous four years.
One of the most feared bowlers in the game is Shaheen Afridi, a teenage bowler who recorded a five-wicket haul in his final ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match. He has taken 46 wickets in the last four years with a remarkable economy rate of 5.42, and despite a seven-month injury layoff, he is still an important member of Pakistan’s pace attack.
