Pakistan batsmen seek to topple Islanders in ODIs

Afridi, Anwar, Sharjeel part of the squad for SL series.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series departed on Friday from the Jinnah International Airport.

The team includes star all-rounder Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Zulfiqar Babar and Fawad Alam.

The three-match ODI series will kick-off on August 23 followed by matches on August 27 and August 30.

Opener Sharjeel said it will be an important series for him and he is raring to do well against the Islanders.

“It will be an exciting series against Sri Lanka and I’m looking forward to performing well against them,” Sharjeel told The Express Tribune.



Sharjeel had an impressive knock against Sri Lanka scoring a run-a-ball 61 on his debut. He has gone on to play seven out of nine ODIs in his short career against Sri Lanka, scoring 135 runs at an average of 19.28, a statistic he is looking to improve upon.

“I started off really well on my debut against Sri Lanka but since then I have not been able to play a substantial knock. However, I’ve worked on my game so that I can contribute significantly in the upcoming series. It’s an important campaign for Pakistan and for me personally because I want to perform on a consistent basis.”

Meanwhile all-rounder Anwar Ali, who came into prominence after bagging a five-wicket haul against India at the ICC U19 final in 2006, stated that he will try to contribute in all areas of the game and hoped that the conditions would suit him.

“I’ve played in Sri Lanka previously and did really well with Pakistan U19 when we defeated India in the final,” said Anwar.

“It was a memorable tournament as the conditions were ideal and I was able to swing the ball off the seam. I want to repeat those performances for Pakistan now.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2014.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.