ICC World Cup 2023: Shoaib Akhtar Predicts Semi-finalists for the World Cup; Picks India vs Pakistan as two finalist?

The ICC World Cup 2023 is just a few months away from now. The tournament will take place in India and it is expected that it will be played from 5th October. A total of 48 matches are likely to take place throughout the tournament. It?ll be for the first time since 2011 when Cricket World Cup will be held in India. 

A total of 10 teams will take part in the competition. Out of 10 teams, 8 have made a direct entry into the tournament due to their performances in the ICC ODI Super League while the remaining two teams will be decided after the Qualifiers, which will take place in June in Zimbabwe. The 8 teams are India, Australia, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Pakistan, England, Bangladesh and South Africa. 

As per the media reports BCCI has shortlisted Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Rajkot, Bengaluru, Delhi, Indore, Mohali, Guwahati and Hyderabad as the prime venues for the tournament. Although the confirmation is yet to be made, it?s likely that all these venues will be on offer during World Cup. 

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It?s fair to say that the support staff of all the teams might have started to put in all the permutations and combinations together and will be making a roadmap on how to approach them. With just a few months remaining for the event, players have started their preparations as well and it promises to be an exciting tournament. 

ICC World Cup 2023: Shoaib Akhtar Predicts India vs Pakistan as final of World Cup

With ICC World Cup just around the corner, former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has picked his semi-finalists for the tournament. He backed India, Australia, Pakistan and England as the two teams will move into the business end of the tournament. 

He then made a bold statement, saying that India and Pakistan will play in the final of the ICC World Cup 2023. Speaking to Radio City India, he said: 

?IND, AUS, ENG and PAK will be the Semi finalist for #ICC WC 2023. And PAK will play against IND in the final.? 

Much like all the World Cups, India vs Pakistan will be the highlight of the tournament. However, it?ll be a special game this time around as they will play in India.