Raees delighted over Pakistan’s number one T20I spot

Pacer says team decided to do basics right in final two games, leading to back-to-back wins

KARACHI: Left-arm pacer Rumman Raees expressed his delight at Pakistan overtaking New Zealand as the number one side in T20Is after returning from their tour down under.

The Men in Green were whitewashed in the ODIs but bounced back commendably in the T20Is, winning 2-1 against the then best side in the world New Zealand, to leapfrog their opponents.

“We have regained our top spot from New Zealand. This is a big achievement since the New Zealand team had just been crowned the best in the world after defeating West Indies right before our series started,” he said. “However, we still managed to defeat them and I am really happy that we have regained top spot.”

The Islamabad United fast-bowler also discussed the disappointment of the 5-0 whitewash in the ODIs; only the third time the Men in Green were on the wrong end of a cleansweep.

“We tried our level best but unfortunately we were unable to win even a single match,” said Rumman. “But we fought back well to make up for the tour.”

The 26-year-old revealed why the side was able to perform much better in the T20Is. “We were unable to deliver in the ODIs but then in the T20Is we went back to the basics,” he said. “We worked on our basics, keeping in mind our previous performances in T20s and focused on doing the simple things right. That helped us gain our confidence back.”

Rumman reiterated though that the entire team deserves credit for their impressive performances in the T20Is. “The entire support staff and team worked together to help us gain this top spot in the T20I rankings,” he said. “The credit for the win and this top position goes to everyone, including the team management, the players and the supporting staff.”