ISLAMABAD: Commencing on Tuesday, Pakistan is set to encounter Afghanistan in a three-match one-day international series held in Sri Lanka. Skipper Babar Azam views this as valuable groundwork ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup.
After the initial bilateral ODI series between the two teams, the six-nation Asia Cup is set to follow, commencing on August 30 in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Subsequently, the World Cup will take place in India starting from October 5.
Afghanistan, unable to host international cricket due to security concerns, will be hosting these events, marking their home series.
“These three matches are a good opportunity for us to test our players in the match situation,” said Azam.
The top-ranked ODI batsman, Azam, is at the helm of a formidable team, which also features Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq as openers, holding the third and fourth positions in the rankings.
Supporting them is a formidable pace attack comprising Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.
Afghanistan’s lineup sees the return of the world-class spinner Rashid Khan, who has regained fitness after withdrawing from The Hundred competition in England.
Azam said, “Afghanistan have developed into a good side.”
“We are not going to take these matches lightly,” said Azam, despite Pakistan having won all four ODIs against Afghanistan since the countries first met in 2012.
“We have good players who can deal with spin bowling so it is going to be an exciting series.”
Batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi leads the Afghanistan team, which introduces fresh talents in the fast bowling department, namely Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi, and Wafadar Momand.
The match on Tuesday takes place in Hambantota, while the two remaining matches for Thursday and Saturday are in Colombo.
Team line-ups for Pakistan and afghanistan
Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Wafadar Momand
