'Pakistan are an average team' - Harbhajan Singh excludes Pakistan while picking semi-final contenders for World Cup 2023

Cricket fans around the globe are waiting with bated breath as another edition of the ODI World Cup is only a couple of weeks away. Experts are also making their predictions for the marquee event and explaining reasons for the same.

Legendary Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh recently gave his take on the Pakistan cricket team. He called Babar Azam's men an 'average' side in the ODI format and didn't consider them as one of the contenders to reach the semifinals.

"People are saying Pakistan could advance to the semifinals but in the 50-over format, they are just average. They play good cricket in T20Is but my fourth pick would be New Zealand. (India, Australia, England, New Zealand) are my four semifinalists for the World Cup," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. 

Here's the video of Harbhajan's pick: 

Interestingly, Pakistan are the No. 1 side in the ICC ODI team rankings. However, they didn't have a fruitful campaign in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2023. After annihilating debutants Nepal, Pakistan bowlers gave a good account of themselves in a Group A fixture against India in Kandy. The match ended in a no-result due to incessant rain.

In the Super Four stage, Pakistan got off to a convincing start, beating Bangladesh with ease in Lahore. However, as the action shifted to Colombo, the 'Men in Green' had a forgettable time as they suffered a morale-shattering loss versus India and were also beaten by Sri Lanka in a virtual semi-final clash. Babar and Co. finished in the fourth position as Bangladesh pipped them on net run rate.

Pakistan to play two warm games ahead of ODI World Cup 2023

Pakistan have two warm-up games before the ODI World Cup and they would love to get a couple of wins to boost their confidence heading into the showpiece event. Their first warm-up game is in Hyderabad on September 29 against New Zealand while the second one is against Australia at the same venue on October 3. Pakistan's first game in the World Cup is against qualifiers Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad.