Troubled champs Windies face resurgent Pakistan

First T20I of three-match series will be played on Friday

DUBAI: World T20 champions West Indies will hope to forget their off the field turmoil and underline their status as the best side in the shortest format of the game, when they face buoyant Pakistan in a three-match series starting on Friday.

The supremely talented but troubled World T20 champions have arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after sacking coach Phil Simmons and without all-rounder Andre Russell, who is facing a doping hearing. The Windies side are also without flamboyant big-hitter Chris Gayle, who also missed his side’s one-run win over India in a T20I match in Florida last month due to injury.

All-rounder Carlos Brathwaite stunned England when he smashed Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to clinch the West Indies' second World T20 title in April.

Brathwaite will now captain the side in UAE while towering former fast bowler Joel 'Big Bird' Garner replaced Simmons, who repeatedly clashed with the West Indies board.

Brathwaite hopes his team will show their huge talent in the humid conditions in the United Arab Emirates, where they also trained ahead of the World Twenty20 in India.

"It wasn't as hot early in the year, but, apparently, we're smack dab in the middle of their summer, so it can get very, very hot," said Brathwaite. "It's for the players to prepare well, manage themselves well off the field, rehydration-wise, get enough rest, and each and every one of us is a professional, and evidently performing well when the games come."

Brathwaite's uncapped players -- including wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran, all-rounder Rovman Powell and fast bowler Kesrick Williams will also want to fire against a dangerous Pakistan side.

The Windies will rely heavily on their T20 specialist spinners Samuel Badree and Sunil Narine, who shared five wickets to spark a 22-run win in a warm-up game on Tuesday.

Pakistan are also coming in good form, smashing hosts England by nine wickets in the only Twenty20 game of their tour in what was Sarfraz Ahmed's first match as skipper.

The 29-year-old, who replaced Shahid Afridi following Pakistan's first-round exit in the World T20 earlier this year, hopes his team won't be overawed by the champions. "We didn't think England were World T20 finalists when we beat them at Manchester," said Sarfraz. "We will do the same here, go out and play hard because the team which plays well on the ground wins the match."

The Karachi born wicketkeeper further said that even in the absence of explosive opener Chris Gayle and all-rounder Andre Russell, the Caribbean giants are still a formidable side. "Even without Gayle and Russell, West Indies is strong and a T20 match is not won with big names only."

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir joined the squad after his wedding on Tuesday and will spearhead a spin-cum-pace attack.

Middle-order batsman Umar Akmal will be in focus after being recalled following his axing on the England tour over disciplinary issues.

The 26-year-old smashed a fiery century in the National T20 Cup and was the highest scorer of the tournament.

The second match will follow at the same venue on Saturday with the third in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The teams will also play three ODIs and three Tests.

Squad:

Pakistan:

Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Khalid Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Rumman Raees, Umar Akmal, Saad Nasim

West Indies:

Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams

Umpires:

Ahsan Raza (PAK) and Shozab Raza (PAK)

Tv umpire:

Ahmed Shahab (PAK)

Match referee:

Andy Pycroftt (ZIM)