Pakistan team captain Babar Azam gears up for the new cricket season, starting tomorrow in Sri Lanka with three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.
Babar, who has been playing cricket in Sri Lanka for almost two months now, will lead Pakistan in the ODI series followed by Asia Cup and the ICC World Cup to be held in India later this year.
Pakistan are also scheduled to travel to Australia at the end of this year and to New Zealand in early 2024.
“It is great to be together as one unit again as we enjoy each other’s company a lot,” Babar told PCB Digital on the eve of the first ODI against Afghanistan.
“We have a few new faces in the side and I wish them good luck for the challenges ahead. Most of the boys have been playing cricket in different leagues, but when you don the Pakistan star, it is a different feeling altogether. We enter this series with good momentum following our Test series win here and we are eager to build on it. As a captain, I am very excited for the cricket ahead.”
Pakistan have recently enjoyed outstanding results in ODIs. Since the start of 2022, Pakistan’s win/loss ratio of 3.250 - with 13 wins in 17 matches – has been the best across all teams. In May, they, for the first time in history, topped the ICC rankings for ODI sides. They have another go at surmounting the table if they maintain an impeccable record against Afghanistan.
“We are focused in our preparations as we have big events in the Asia Cup and the World Cup coming up,” said Babar, under whose captaincy Pakistan have won 17 out of 26 ODIs. “But, at the same time, we want to take one series at a time … It is always beneficial for a team to get such a series ahead of major events. That we are playing in Asian conditions will definitely provide us an edge and help us get in the rhythm. The Afghanistan team is on the rise and they have some good bowlers. The fans will get to see some exciting cricket.”
Afghanistan series Schedule
22 Aug – First ODI, Hambantota
24 Aug – Second ODI, Hambantota
26 Aug – Third ODI, Colombo
Squads
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Haris (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Wafadar Momand.
- Babar Azam
