Wasim Akram's hilarious and ingenious idea to help Pakistan qualify for World Cup semi-final; WATCH

Pakistan face an almost impossible task to qualify for the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-finals. With just one group game left, Pakistan can only level New Zealand on 10 points but the Black Caps have a healthy advantage in terms of net run rate (NRR). For Pakistan to leave behind New Zealand, they will have to beat England by 287 runs if they bat first. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table In case they bowl first then Pakistan will have to complete the chase with 284 balls to spare Pakistan’s NRR is +0.036, while New Zealand’s NRR is +0.743. The task looks impossible and hence Pakistan great Wasim Akam has suggested an ingenious method to beat England in such a way that the Men in Green can qualify for the semi-finals.

During a show on Pakistan’s A Sports, anchor Fakhar-e-Alam revealed Akram’s idea which is for Pakistan to score as many runs as possible and then lock the England team in its dressing room to get the side timed out. “Make whatever score that is possible and then go and lock the dressing room of the England team for 20 minutes so that all their batters get timed out," Alam said while revealing Akram’s idea.

The pace legend had a wide smile when his unique idea was discussed. World Cup: India vs New Zealand semi-final almost a certainty Misbah-ul-Haq on the same show suggested a better idea, to lock the English team even before the game starts. Meanwhile, Afghanistan are also mathematically alive in the semi-final race but face a steeper challenge than Pakistan. They need to beat South Africa by 438 runs in their final group game to reach the semi-finals. Afghanistan’s NRR is -0.338.