World Cup 2023: Hasan Ali returns for first time after 16 months as Pakistan name strong team for WC opener

Pakistan and Netherlands kick off their campaign in the ICC World Cup 2023 as they face each other in the second match of the tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Netherlands have won the toss and have opted to bowl first. The Men in Green have named a strong playing XI for the World Cup opener against Netherlands as key pacer Hasan Ali returns for first time after 16 months.

During the toss before the game, Pakistan captain Babar Azam claimed that his side wanted to score something in the range of 290-300. "We will try our best with the bat. We believe in our openers, Imam and Fakhar. Shaheen is there as well. Hasan is back in the side. We are looking at 290-300 plus," Babar said at toss.

Meanwhile,



Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards was optimistic of the conditions turning better under the lights. "We will bowl first, might get a little bit easier under lights. We got some quality bowlers and spinners who can bowl in the powerplay. For us it's about adjusting and see how the pitch is playing," Edwards said.

Pakistan Playing XI:

Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Netherlands Playing XI:

Vikramjit Singh, Max ODowd, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards(w/c), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren