ICC World Cup 2019: Shoaib Akhtar picks his favourites for the tournament

Shoaib Akhtar admitted that Amir will still be important in English conditions.

Published - 09 Apr 2019, 11:13 IST | Updated - 09 Apr 2019, 11:13 IST

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The World Cup is just around the corner and the squads would be out pretty soon. It’s one of the biggest events in cricketing history and the world is buzzing. In about 50 days, ten teams will be fighting for the coveted World Cup title. But most of them seem to be asking just one question, who are the favourites?

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the same. England have emerged as strong favourites. They have played some terrific cricket over the last few years. They’ve hardly lost anything in the last couple of years. However, India have also done really well over the last two to three years. They have lost just two ODI series since January 2016. Meanwhile, Australia seem to be peaking at the right time as they’ve won 8 ODI games in a row, including the whitewash against Pakistan in UAE.

Pakistan have blown hot and cold in the recent past. However, Shoaib Akhtar still thinks Pakistan are one of the favorites for the title. He ran a Question and Answer session for 10-15 minutes on Twitter for his fans. Hence, he was asked to pick three favorites for the upcoming World Cup. He picked England, Australia and Pakistan as his favorites.

England, Australia, Pakistan
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) April 8, 2019

‘Mohammad Amir important in English conditions’

Mohammad Amir has been a big cause of concern for Pakistan in ODI cricket. Since the Champions Trophy final in 2017, the left-arm fast bowler has picked up just five wickets at an average of 92.60. He simply hasn’t been able to produce the breakthroughs for Pakistan with the new or the old ball.

Amir has also been axed a couple of times from the Pakistan side in the last few months. However, Shoaib Akhtar admitted that Amir will still be important in English conditions. He was asked whether Amir deserves a place in the Pakistan squad for the World Cup and the former pacer from Rawalpindi answered positively.