SPOTLIGHT ON YOUNG GUNS
Two teams infused with young blood are ready to fire. And come Thursday, Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka in the first Test of the J. Cup 2017 with a lot riding on the match.
Pakistan, a team in transition, against Sri Lanka, one looking to desperately end the rot, will set up for an enticing battle at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Adding further elements to the contest are the implementation of new rules.
Sarfraz Ahmed, leading the side for the first time in Tests, is banking on his pacers and the focus is on strengthening the middle-order batting. As expected, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam are tasked to shoulder the responsibility in the batting department.
“Azhar Ali will come at No. 3 and Asad Shafiq at No. 4,” the skipper said about the shuffle in the batting line-up. Taking field as a Test skipper, Sarfraz said: “This is a great honour for me to lead the side in all the three formats of the game. I will try to take the boys together as I have been doing in T20 and oneday internationals.”
There are five rookies in the team — Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Asghar and Mir Hamza — with intense competition for places. “The boys are very excited and all are in good shape,” the skipper added. Sarfraz said Sri Lanka, too, have a young team and it will be a good challenge.
“Sri Lanka is a young team. They have couple of good players. Lahiru Thirimanne is coming, Kaushal Silva is back. It will be a good series.” His Sri Lankan counterpart Dinesh Chandimal said it’s just a matter of one elusive win for the team and they will get going.
“As a team, our performance was below-par in the last two series. We have learnt a lot from those series, especially to do more work on our fitness and fielding. I am sure everyone is in a good shape. Actually, we need to win just one game and ev- erything will fall into place. Pakistan have been playing good cricket in the last two-three series. So, this will be a really good tournament for both the teams.” And then, Chandimal served a warning to Pakistan. “We have something up our sleeves and looking forward to that,” he said likely referring to spinner Rangana Herath, who has had good success against Pakistan. Lakshan Sandakan is another talented hand in the team, who could be a surprise weapon. “We have good bowling unit. I am sure they will give their best,” he added.
Both teams have a mix of experienced and green horns. It will be interesting to watch the conduct of senior players. Sri Lanka have failed miserably to fill the void of seniors and it remains to be seen how Pakistan elders guide the young minds. ashwani@khaleejtimes.com