Updated March 16th, 2020 at 17:33 IST
Wahab Riaz believes Pakistan have the ability to win the 2019 World Cup; here are the other 3 teams he thinks will make it to the semifinals
Pakistan are one of the favourites to win this year's World Cup in England & Wales. They are the dark horses who have the ability to get past any team on their day.
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Pakistan are one of the favourites to win this year's World Cup in England & Wales. They are the dark horses who have the ability to get past any team on their day. At the same time, England has also been a very happy hunting ground for the 'Men In Green' as they had won two of their major ICC titles in the country. These triumphs include the ICC World T20 in 2009 and ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. Veteran Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has picked his four semifinalists in the upcoming World Cup, and it also involves his team as well.
While speaking to a local media channel in Pakistan, Riaz backed the Sarfaraz-Ahmed side to win the World Cup, and also said that Pakistan is his favourite team. The 33-year-old also added that the Champions Trophy winners have a good team and therefore, he is expecting better results from them.
However, the left-arm speedster will not be in action as he was neither included in the team's 15-member squad nor in the reserves.
Other than Pakistan, Riaz has also said that India, defending champions Australia and hosts England can make it to the semifinals.
The 33-year-old- speedster has represented Pakistan in two World Cups, in 2011 and 2015 respectively. In 2011, he had bowled a memorable spell against arch-rivals India in Mohali where he took 5/46 in his ten overs at an economy rate of 4.60.
Riaz then bowled a fiery spell in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal against Australia which Pakistan went on to lose. Nonetheless, his set of deliveries to Shane Watson is one of the memorable moments of the tournament. He was also a part of the Pakistan squad that won their maiden Champions Trophy a couple of years back.
Pakistan have won the World Cup once in 1992 under the leadership of Imran Khan. They had finished as runners-up in the 1999 edition which was also held in England. They are currently playing a bilateral series against England in England where they have already lost the five-match ODI series 0-3 with one game to go.
Pakistan will be playing their warm-up games against Afghanistan on May 24 and Bangladesh on May 26. They will begin their campaign against West Indies on May 31.
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Published March 16th, 2020 at 17:33 IST