Cricket: Pakistan will not take Afghanistan lightly, says Hafeez

Ajmal opts to skip the match to get proper rest before Pakistan's two Twenty20 games against Sri Lanka.

SHARJAH: Twenty20 team captain Mohammad Hafeez stressed on Saturday that his team will not take Afghanistan lightly in the first-ever Twenty20 international between the two nations in Sharjah on Sunday.

War-ravaged Afghanistan have earned a reputation of being a dangerous team in the shortest format of the game, and last month qualified for their third successive World Twenty20 - to be held in Bangladesh in March-April next year.

Earlier this year, Afghanistan also qualified for the 2015 World Cup (50 overs) to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

They have an improved Twenty20 record, winning 11 of the 21 they have played so far, although all their four matches against Test playing nations in the last two World Twenty20s ended in defeats.

They lost to South Africa and India in the 2010 World Twenty20 held in the West Indies and two years later lost to England and India in Sri Lanka.

But Hafeez warned his team, which slumped from two to four in ICC T20 rankings after losing three of their four games against South Africa last month, on complacency.

"We will definitely not take Afghanistan lightly because they are a dangerous side and the shortest format suits them," Hafeez said on Saturday.

Pakistan last year became the first Test nation to play Afghanistan in a one-day (50 overs) match, winning by seven wickets but Hafeez still wants his team to be at their peak.

"We need to be at our best and give them no chance because one player can change a Twenty20 match," said Hafeez whose side will be without magician spinner Saeed Ajmal - the all-time highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 cricket with 77.

Ajmal opted to skip the match to get proper rest before Pakistan's two Twenty20 games against Sri Lanka in Dubai on December 11 and 13.

Pakistan will also play five one-day and three Tests against Sri Lanka.

Despite Ajmal's absence Pakistan will have Hafeez, Shahid Afridi and Zulfiqar Babar in the spin department which will likely exploit Afghanistan batsmen's weakness against slow bowlers.

"We can use the Afghanistan match to get tuned up without giving any chance to the opponents who have played more at this venue than us," Hafeez noted.

Pakistan have been forced to play their home series at neutral venues since an attack by gunmen in Lahore in March 2009 suspended all international cricket in the country.

The Afghans have also been restricted to playing matches in neutral venues because of security problems back home.

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi urged his players to show their talent against the 2009 World T20 champions.

"It is important that we play strong teams like Pakistan well, especially after having qualified for the World Cup and World Twenty20," said Nabi.

"We will give our best and it will be a good competition. We have always received huge support from the crowd here and expect the same come Sunday."

Afghanistan will hope they cash in on Pakistan's unpredictable batting which felled them 2-0 in a Twenty20 series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates last month.