Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team left for Zimbabwe from Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport in the wee hours of Thursday here. Pakistan, hosts Zimbabwe and Australia will feature in a Twenty20 tri-series that will start from July 1. Pakistan will also play a five-match ODI series against hosts Zimbabwe. The triangular series will take place from July 1 to July 8 whereas the five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe will commence from July 13, 2018. The ODIs have been scheduled at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo on July 13, 16, 18, 20 and 22, 2018, respectively. Before the departure of the national outfit, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed told media on he wanted to continue batting at No. 4 in limited-overs cricket. Sarfraz kicked off his T20I career in 2010 batting at No. 8, and had floated around the middle order without much success; his first 400-odd runs came at an average of about 25. It didn’t take much for head coach Mickey Arthur to convince him to bat higher up earlier this year in T20s, a move that worked immediately. The emergence of all-rounders Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf to provide cover down the order has also helped Pakistan and Sarfraz make this move. Steady performances at that position could encourage the team management to push him up the order in ODIs as well, ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

“I have been continuously batting at No. 4 [of late] and I would like to continue there,” Sarfraz said. “We are basically trying to build ahead of the World Cup. If you look at the ODI side, we haven’t made many changes. Fakhar Zaman, Shadab, Haris Sohail who is back in the side, Babar Azam at the top, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik are around. So we are settling and it is good that the team is performing and we are going in the right direction with the right combination.”

Pakistan, according to Sarfraz, were wary of Australia — the third team in the tri-series — and the conditions in Zimbabwe, but remain confident of performing well. “Our preparation is good. We got a couple of days here in Lahore and three days there in Zimbabwe to train before the series,” he said. “We will definitely go with our best preparation, as in T20s no team is easy to beat. We know Australia is a strong team and, although they have got many new players, they know exactly how to adapt themselves. I have toured Zimbabwe twice, and on both occasions, the conditions were different. In 2013 it was grassy with some bounce and in 2015 it was slow with moisture. This time around, I’ve got to know that it will be colder and I feel the toss will be vital. So we need to assess the pitch to make our decisions. Overall, we are in a good position and hopeful of good results. But this tri-series is going to be tough and you can expect some competitive cricket.”

Pakistan are currently ranked No. 1 in T20Is; Sarfraz said that did not add any additional pressure on them. “We actually don’t really think about being No. 1 or ratings. When we were not No. 1, we never thought about the rankings so all we have to do is to play naturally without getting into such details. I only urge the players to give their best and leave all other things aside. “The boys are backing each other and this is something that’s quite evident in the field. Even if someone fields well in the covers or at the boundaries, or has taken a good catch, they all respond to it and back each other up.”

Published in Daily Times, June 29^th 2018.