Yes, you read it right. You might be thinking if I have gone mad or insane. In fact, I am not.
For disclosure, this is neither a patriotic claim nor an ambitious statement. This article is truly based on logical facts and rational reasoning rather than fantasy ideas.
In the recent home series against Aussies, the green shirts were whitewashed and completely outclassed. Pakistan's cricket team faced a disastrous result with 5 nil defeat in ODI series despite having their own home conditions. That clean-sweep has put a lot of question marks over the team’s preparation for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Pakistan's ODI cricket team, currently, stands at number 6 in the ICC team rankings.
Pakistan, at the moment, does not have any superstar in the likes of Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younus, Inzmam-ul-Haq, etc. Neither, they have legendary players from the class of Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, as they had in the past.
Green shirts' captain is only good at yelling from behind the stumps and nothing more.
Pakistan does not have consistent openers.
The reliable middle order is also a worry.
Lack of power hitter and match finisher in the lower middle order is a point of concern for Pakistan.
A high percentage of dot balls during Pakistan's batting can really hamper their World Cup campaign.
Adding to it, the so-called world class bowling attack can be shattered into pieces on their odd days.
There are so many other issues too, that one can associate with Pakistan's cricket team.
Yes, I am well aware of all the above-mentioned problems that you guys are worrying about. However, still, I stick to my claim that ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is the best ever chance for Pakistan to lift the trophy this time. They may not get such a golden opportunity for a long time in the future.
Please don't judge my sanity before going through the arguments that I have in support of my claim.
Firstly, let's clear the misunderstanding that UAE cricket grounds are the home conditions for Pakistan and players feel comfortable playing there. Actually, it is not. Over the past decade, Pakistan is performing better in English conditions rather than on the grounds of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. One may disagree with my statement but the stats are in my favor. To recall our memory, Pakistan came out as champion in the 2009 ICC World T20 cricket tournament held in England. Pakistani players performed really well in the grounds of England as compared to the rest of the world, during numerous tours in the last ten years. They played some quality cricket out there in English conditions, whether that was England's tour in the year 2010, 2016, 2017 or 2018. The brilliance of Pakistan's cricket team in 2017 ICC Champions Trophy is still very much fresh in our minds.
Gone are the days when Pakistani batsmen are more comfortable playing spin bowling rather than quick pace. Nowadays, green shirts tend to take on fast bowlers more elegantly as compared to slow bowling options.
England's cricket grounds, conditions, and pitches are more suitable for Pakistan's team as compared to the rest of the world. The bounce on those pitches is usually even and trustworthy. The ball comes on to the bat nicely and at a comfortable height. Pakistani players will be more than happy to use the pace of the ball on such sort of pitches.
Their fast bowlers also enjoy bowling in English conditions as they get the early movement off-the-pitch during initial overs. Reverse swing also come into play in later overs; as the conditions there usually favor the ball in getting it reverse.
Secondly, the format of 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup is same as of 1992 Cricket World Cup (the only ODI World Cup that Pakistan won). A round-robin group stage format will be used in World Cup 2019 with a single group of 10 teams (1992 Cricket World Cup featured 9 teams, though). All 10 teams will play each other once and the top 4 teams will proceed to the knockout stage (semi-finals and final). In this way, Pakistan's cricket team will get 9 games in their group stage to qualify for the semi-finals.
Pakistan is unpredictable as rightly said, "Pakistan cricket at its best; one minute down, next minute up". The format of this year ODI World Cup suits their style of playing cricket. As evident from history (1992 World Cup, 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, etc.), Pakistan used to take a few games for getting into form. It is about the right time to take-off and after that, there is no one stopping them. The 9 matches in the group stage will allow them to recover from the likely setback in the initial matches.
Thirdly, this time around the green shirts has adequate time to adjust in English conditions before the start of a big event. Pakistan’s team will have more than one month ahead of 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup as the players have departed for England on 23rd April and Pakistan's first match in the ODI World Cup is on 31st May. Green shirts will get 11 matches to get on the track before the start of ICC tournament. 3 tour matches will be played against Counties (Kent, Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire), 6 international matches against England (1 T20I and 5 ODIs), 2 warm-up games before World Cup against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Matches will be played on different grounds (Beckenham, Northampton, Leicester, Cardiff, London, Southampton, Bristol, Nottingham, and Leeds), that will provide an excellent opportunity for Pakistan to adjust in all sorts of conditions there.
These are the reasons why I am so much convinced that Pakistan will bring trophy home by defying the odds in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Before 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Rameez Raja predicted Pakistan's victory. Today, it's me predicting Pakistan to be the World Champion this year.