The men in green have the opportunity to complete a series-whitewash by winning the two-match T20 series, having already won the Test and ODI series against the Islanders. PHOTO: AFP
After bagging the Test and the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan have the opportunity to finish the tour of the ‘Pearl Island’ on a high by claiming the two-match T20 series, with the first match on Thursday.
While a series win on the Islanders’ home soil, where the men in green have struggled in the past few years, would be a morale-boosting triumph for the young Pakistan side, T20 skipper Shahid Afridi prioritises giving a chance to young players to assert their credentials for the World Twenty20 next year rather than just try and win the series.
“Pakistan have done a good job so far by winning the Test and ODI series and we’ll try to finish off the tour with a victory in the T20 series,” said Afridi while speaking to reporters in Colombo. “Having said that, I believe that it doesn’t matter whether we win or lose because the idea is to give chances to the youngsters and finalise our squad for the 2016 T20 World Cup. My plan is to bring in those who have been on the bench even if it means playing leg-spinner Yasir Shah in my place.”
Afridi also stressed that they will not take Sri Lanka lightly despite the departure of key players Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
“Mahela and Kumar have been the backbone of the Sri Lanka side in all formats and their absence has certainly affected their batting,” said Afridi. “However, we will not make the mistake of taking our opponents lightly. T20 is all about which team performs well on the day and there is hardly any chance of a comeback.”
Pakistan are also quite keen to try Mohammad Rizwan as a wicketkeeper at the expense of senior glovesman Sarfraz Ahmed as the youngster, along with Anwar Ali, has impressed with his sharp fielding and took some impressive catches in the ODIs to aid the visitors in their 3-2 series triumph.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan T20 skipper Lasith Malinga said that even though the momentum is with the visitors, the T20Is will pose a different challenge and the home side has all the reason to be optimistic.
“Pakistan certainly have got the momentum [after the Test and ODI series win], but T20 is a different ball game altogether and we’re really looking forward to making a difference in it,” vowed Malinga. “Personally, I’m really eager to make my mark as I didn’t bowl well in the one-dayers. I’ve trained hard to overcome the mistakes and am quite confident that I will return with a good performance.”
Just like Pakistan, the Sri Lankans are also trying to assemble a good squad for the World T20 and in lieu of that objective, five new faces have been brought into the side.
“This is a series which gives us an opportunity to look at the youngsters which is why five new faces have been inducted. By the end of this series, we will know which ones of them are good enough to play in international cricket so that they can be a part of our World T20 plans,” he added.
To date, 12 T20Is have been played between the two nations, with Pakistan enjoying a slender head-to-head advantage with seven wins, while Sri Lanka have triumphed five times.
The last T20 between the two was played 18 months earlier in Dubai, which Sri Lanka won by 24 runs.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2015.
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