ICC World Cup 2019: Pakistan vs Afghanistan warm-up match details, venue stats and team news

The most prestigious tournament in the cricketing world, the ICC World Cup 2019, is just around the corner, and the excitement and anticipation among the fans is higher than ever. The opening warm-up game is set to be played tomorrow between Pakistan and Afghanistan at the County Ground, Bristol.

Pakistan will be desperate to get back to winning ways after losing their last nine games, while Afghanistan would be hoping to upset their Asian rivals and get some confidence going into the mega event.

Pakistan have been in terrible form in limited-overs cricket of late. Having being whitewashed in two back-to-back ODI series, they would be looking to fix their issues in the two warm-up matches.

Their bowling, which once used to be their prime weapon, now looks in disarray without the leader of the pack. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Co have to step up if they want to make any kind of impression in the mega event, and this is the final opportunity for the think-tank to try all the different combinations and assemble the best possible starting lineup.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan are widely considered to be the dark horses in their second World Cup appearance. The Asian outfit has the knack of surprising cricket fans with some thrilling performances, and the players would be hoping to pull off more of the same in England.

Gulbadin Naib has been appointed Afghanistan’s new ODI captain in place of Asghar Afghan. Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shehzad and Asghar Afghan will be crucial in the batting lineup, while the skipper will lead the bowling attack along with Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi.

Match details

Date: Thursday, 24 May 2019

Time: 03:00 PM IST

Venue: County Ground, Bristol

League: ICC World Cup 2019

Live Telecast: Star Network

Online Streaming: Hotstar

Venue stats

Avg 1st Innings score: 244

Avg 2nd Innings score: 216

Highest Total: 369/9 (50 Ov) by ENG vs WI

Lowest Total: 92/10 (24.5 Ov) by ZIM vs Eng

Highest total chased: 359/4 (44.5 Ov) by Eng vs PAK

Lowest total defended: 182/10 (50 Ov) by NZ vs Eng

Head-to-head record

Total: 3

PAK: 3

AFG: 0

Team news

Pakistan

- In spite of being in the preliminary World Cup squad, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan and Abid Ali have been left out following their poor performances.

- Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Asif Ali have made their way into the 15-man squad instead.

Afghanistan

- Gulbadin Naib will lead the side for the first time.

- Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad will open the innings with the bat for the Afghans.

Squads

Pakistan

Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain

Afghanistan

Gulbadin Naib (c), Hamid Hassan, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shenwari, Mohammad Shahzad, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Key players

Pakistan

- Imam-ul-Haq

- Babar Azam

- Wahab Riaz

Afghanistan

- Mohammad Shezad

- Gulbadin Naib

- Rashid Khan

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