'Pakistan likely to make it to World Cup semifinals,' says Virender Sehwag

Pakistan will be among the four teams to make it to the semi-finals of the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, former Indian top-order batsman Virender Sehwag recently said during an interview.

The tournament is scheduled to be held in India later in October-November.

Sehwag singled out four teams he believed had distinctive gameplay to excel in the tournament.

During the interview, Sehwag said he believed the teams that would make it to the prestigious ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-finals were India, Pakistan, Australia, and England.

"If I have to pick four teams — Australia, England, India and Pakistan. These are the semi-finalists.

"Australia and England will surely be there because of the kind of cricket they are playing — they don't play conventional shots, only unconventional — these 2 teams are pretty good at it.

Also, England and Australia are the two away teams who can play better cricket in the sub-continent," he said.

Earlier this month former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath, too, shared that he believed Pakistan would make it to the world cup semi-finals.

McGrath, in his latest interview, shared his final four teams in the World Cup. "England, Australia, India, and Pakistan will make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup," he said.

"Nobody should be surprised as I named Australia in the final fours. England and Pakistan have been playing really good cricket whereas India will make the most of their home conditions," he added.

World Cup will start in India on October 5, with defending champions England taking on last World Cup finalists New Zealand playing in the opener.

Pakistan will start their campaign against the Netherlands on October 6 in Hyderabad. The green shirts will play a high-octane clash against India on October 15 in Ahmedabad. This match is likely to be shifted due to Navratri celebrations which are set to begin on the same day.