COLOMBO: Pakistan squad is set to depart for Pakistan via Dubai today, after getting knocked out of the ongoing ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023 yesterday.
Captain Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Saud Shakeel departed for Dubai in the morning, from where they will reach Pakistan to their respective hometowns.
Meanwhile, other squad members will fly to Dubai from Colombo in the evening. They will then depart for their respective destinations from Dubai later.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel and batting coach Andrew Puttick will fly to Australia and South Africa.
Pakistan team was knocked out of the Asia Cup 2023 yesterday after losing to Sri Lanka in the last-ball thriller by two wickets.
Sri Lankan while chasing a revised target of 252 in the reduced 42 overs, needed to chase eight runs off Zaman Khan, bowling the final over, and amassed the total when Charith Asalanka chipped one down to the square leg on the final delivery.
Pakistan’s final Super 4 group match became a virtual quarter-final after Pakistan’s net run rate suffered a major nosedive due to their heavy 228-run loss against arch-rivals India in their second Super 4 match of Asia Cup 2023.
Star batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul scored unbeaten centuries after the match was forced into the reserve day due to the heavy rain in Colombo. Kuldeep Yadav, then wreaked havoc on the Pakistani batting line-up as he picked five wickets to book Pakistan to a meagre 194 while chasing a mammoth 357.
Prior to that, Pakistan powered to a resounding seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their first Super 4 match at Lahore, thanks to a combined effort by both batters and bowlers.
Haris Rauf picked four wickets in the first innings to rattle Bangladesh, which was followed by half-centuries by Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan in the pursuit of Bangladesh’s 193.
READ: Injured Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah still in World Cup 2023 contention