Pakistan, SL set eyes on World T20

Series whitewash could earn hosts top spot in ICC team rankings.

DUBAI/ KARACHI:

Sri Lanka and Pakistan will use their two-match series in Dubai, starting on Wednesday, to size each other up ahead of the World Twenty20 in three months’ time.

Pakistan, fourth in the Twenty20 rankings, are also aiming to topple Sri Lanka from the top of the International Cricket Council standings by winning both matches, the second of which takes place on Friday.

“Sri Lanka are a top side so this is in itself a motivation to beat the number one side and if we win both it will lift us to the top of the world,” said Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez.



If the series is a 1-1 draw the teams will maintain their current rankings while a 2-0 loss would push Hafeez’s team down to fifth.

Hafeez’s men overcame tough resistance from minnows Afghanistan by six wickets in a last ball thriller in Sharjah on Sunday.

Pakistan will be at full strength and boosted by the return of magician off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who skipped Sunday’s game.

“We leaked quite a few runs against Afghanistan so we will have to be at our best to beat Sri Lanka and Ajmal’s return will help that,” said Hafeez.

Sri Lanka, led by Dinesh Chandimal, will have to overcome rustiness after most of their recent matches at home were ruined by rain.

“The advantage Pakistan’s got is that they have played a lot of international cricket in the last six-eight months whereas unfortunately we haven’t played nearly as much because of weather and various other things,” said coach Graham Ford.

Sri Lanka are hoping their batting will see them through with the experienced Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara providing a contrast to Pakistan’s fragile and unpredictable batsmen.

Ajantha Mendis and Sachithra Senanayake are the two specialist spinners in the bowling department which is spearheaded by paceman Lasith Malinga.

Shinwari eager to do well

The national selection committee has included left-arm fast bowler Usman Shinwari as the 15th man in the T20 squad, and he will join the team on Wednesday.

Shinwari’s emergence has been an unexpected one, but he has impressed everyone so far in his short domestic career by prodigiously moving the ball.

“I’m really eager to do well in international circuit because I want to repay the faith the selectors have put in me,” Shinwari told The Express Tribune.

“Obviously I wanted to play for Pakistan but I couldn’t have dreamt of getting a call-up so early in my career. I’ve been doing well so far in domestic cricket and I’m confident enough to continue that into the next phase of my career.”

It should also be mentioned here that the selection committee and One-Day International (ODI) skipper Misbahul Haq are in favour of retaining Shinwari in the ODIs as well.

“Umar Gul isn’t 100% fit to our liking and we don’t want to take any risks with him because he remains a key player for us in the upcoming World T20,” said one of the selectors.

“Thus we feel that in the current situation it would be better to stick with Shinwari and see how he does in international cricket.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2013.

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