Rawalpindi, Oct 17 (IANS) Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi on Saturday said the three straight days of training his side managed ahead of the ODI tri-series would serve them well, with the hosts set to face Sri Lanka and England in quick succession here before the action shifts to Lahore.
Pakistan open the seven-match tri-series against Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, and take on England at the same venue on October 20. "We are excited to begin a busy One-Day Cricket season at our home and against two very good teams. The tri-series will be highly competitive given the presence of a number of skillful and talented cricketers across the three teams.
"As captain I'm looking forward to give my players enough backing and support to get the best out on the field. We had the opportunity to train for three consecutive days and that will hold us in good stead when we take on both Sri Lanka and England in a space of three days before moving to Lahore," Shaheen said in a statement by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The Pakistan squad assembled in Islamabad on Wednesday and has trained every day since then. Sri Lanka got an even longer run-in – they arrived on October 12 and held their first training session two days later. England, who landed on Friday, will have three training sessions before their opening game.
Shaheen, who has captained Pakistan in 11 ODIs and won seven games, said the balance in his squad would give the side options through different phases of a match. "Our squad comprises of young and exciting players along with some really experienced ones and that will allow us to challenge the opposition in various phases of a 50-over game eventually turning them into positive results overall for Pakistan."
The hosts go into the tournament in good form, having won three of their last four ODI series against South Africa (2-1), Sri Lanka (3-0) and Australia (2-1). Their only defeat in that run was a 1-2 loss away to Bangladesh. Razaullah and Saad Baig are the two uncapped players in the Pakistan squad.
England, led by Harry Brook, meet Sri Lanka on October 22 before the last four matches, including the October 31 final between the top two sides, are played in Lahore. Brook said adapting to unfamiliar conditions would be the key test for his side.
"This will be a massive challenge to play against two really good teams in different conditions to what we are used to at home and in front of great fans in Pakistan. We want to be a team that adapts to conditions and can find different ways to win and this series provides a perfect opportunity to try and do that.
"We've been able to do that in our past few series where we won in Sri Lanka and then the pitches were very different when we beat both India and Sri Lanka at home. Both of those series went to a deciding game, and we won, which is a good habit to get into.
"To have a chance to potentially play in a final in this series gives us another opportunity to test ourselves in that sort of situation, but we know we'll have to play extremely well to get there," he said.
England arrive on the back of three successive ODI series wins against Sri Lanka and India, while Sri Lanka beat the West Indies 1-0 in a three-match series before losing to England. Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis said his team was eager to test itself.
"Our team is looking forward to this tri-series, and happy to compete with two good teams. We as a team takes every series and tournament that comes our way to compete at the highest level and reach our desired goals."
--IANS
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