Newly-appointed Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Afridi has issued a message to his teammates ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Pakistan will host their Asian rival for three ODI contests commencing in Rawalpindi on Tuesday and Afridi has urged his side to continue the winning momentum they discovered during a recent series success against South Africa.
The series against South Africa was Afridi’s first series in charge of Pakistan since he was appointed ODI skipper and the fast bowler made an excellent start to his reign as the side collected a narrow 2-1 series triumph over the Proteas.
The victory over South Africa marked a much-needed return to form in 50-over cricket for Pakistan after their disappointing showing at the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil earlier this year. Afridi now hopes his team can build greater consistency as they continue to grow as a unit.
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“The series win against South Africa in Faisalabad was a great boost for our confidence. It was my first series as ODI captain and I was really proud of the way the players responded to different situations and played as a unit. The energy, intent and teamwork were outstanding,” Afridi said.
“Going into the Sri Lanka series, our focus is to carry that winning momentum forward. We want to build consistency in our performances and make sure that we keep improving as a team in every department.
Sri Lanka are a disciplined side and always challenge you with their skills. We will need to play smart cricket, stick to our plans and stay positive. The goal is to keep developing as a team and to continue giving our fans performances they can be proud of,” he added.
The 25-year-old Afridi said it was important that every member of Pakistan’s squad too responsibility for their performances in 50-over cricket and that it wasn’t always left to the senior members to lead the way.
“All the players should take responsibility. It’s not Shaheen, Fakhar (Zaman), Babar (Azam), or Saim’s (Ayub) job, we all should do our best,” Afridi said.
“We should even back those players who are not performing and always believe that we can perform as a team,” he added.
Charith Asalanka Opens Up On Challenges Of Playing In Pakistan
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka also enter the series in good form, with the side having registered a 2-0 clean sweep over Zimbabwe in their most recent ODI contests in August on the back of a Player of the Series performance from experienced batter Pathum Nissanka.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka is looking forward to the series against Pakistan, though knows it will prove a difficult task for his side away from home.
“That’s always a tough series when it comes to Pakistan, their home, their conditions,” Asalanka said.
“Pakistan played good cricket in their last series and we too. We played 30-45 days ago in Zimbabwe and done really really well, especially our ODI side has been doing really well,” he added.
Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Sri Lanka squad: Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan, Eshan Malinga
PAK vs SL ODI Series Schedule:
First ODI: November 11, Rawalpindi
Second ODI: November 13, Rawalpindi
Third ODI: November 15, Rawalpindi