The world cricketing fraternity is split when it comes to bowlers running the batter out on the non-striker's end mid-action. While some believe that it will stop batters from gaining unfair advantage, the others are of the opinion that it goes against the spirit of the game. The debates were stoked once again during the Cricket World Cup 2023 match between Afghanistan and Pakistan when Mohammad Nabi stopped mid-action to warn Babar Azam against leaving his crease before the ball was bowled. The Afghanistan cricketer did not take the bails off but he gave Babar a warning before bowling the next delivery.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat against Afghanistan in their Cricket World Cup 2023 match.
"We will bat first. The pitch looks very dry and might spin. We have one change, unfortunately Nawaz has fever and Shadab is back. We will have to give our 100% in every match and step-up, that's what I want from my players. The pitch might help the pacers under lights," Babar said at the toss.
Shadab Khan replaced Mohammad Nawaz in Pakistan's playing eleven. Nawaz is down with fever.
Afghanistan brought in an extra spinner in Noor Ahmad at the expense of pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Teams:
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (w), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad.
(With PTI inputs)