The first of three ODIs between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played today (Friday), with the second to follow on Sunday, and the last match of the series will be played on Thursday. All three of the ODIs will be played in Karachi, before the tour moves to Lahore, where the three-match T20I series will be contested beginning next Saturday.
Again, while the focus will be on Pakistan hosting international cricket – three-match series in two different formats in their entirety, at that – it’s the on-field matters that are going to be significant as well. In this regard, despite facing arguably a second-tier Sri Lankan squad in the series, the ODIs will provide the new regime its first taste of a format that it might find the toughest to crack.
Usman Shinwari
Misbah-ul-Haq has taken over as the coach and selector at a time when Pakistan sit atop the T20 rankings – and have done so over a couple of seasons now. That means for large part it will be a case of not fixing something that definitely isn’t broke in the shortest format.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s prodigious deterioration in Tests is self-evident. What ails the national side in five-day contests is obvious as well. And they can’t find a better person than Misbah to fix Pakistan’s Test cricket, having taken the national team to unprecedented heights in the longest format under his captaincy.
However, where the Tests require a massive overhaul and the T20s call for continuation, it’s the ODIs that will be the most complicated puzzle.
Abid Ali and Mohammad Rizwan
Pakistan have largely gone downhill in the 50-over game since the Champions Trophy win in 2017. In fact, the team have done little of note between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, with the historical Champions Trophy win the only high in a four-year period where nothing else stands out for Pakistan in the ODIs.
At the same time, Pakistan did show the occasional flash of what they can do at this year’s World Cup. Furthermore, the core of the ODI side is made of the same players that have made the T20 side world beaters.
The upcoming three-match ODI series is going to be an anomaly as well in the sense that Pakistan won’t be playing 50-over cricket for a good few months after this. Therefore, in many ways, it’s going to be a one-off for the new regime.
Listening to Misbah’s press conferences, it appears as though he’s aiming to blend in the best of the T20s and Tests to merge together a squad for the ODIs, where a combination of flamboyance and consistency is required. His biggest challenge would be grooming the batsmen for the modern day 50-over challenge.
ODI squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari and Wahab Riaz.
The Sri Lankan team arrives
The 16-man squad announced for the ODIs doesn’t include any major surprises, especially given that Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi had been ruled out through injury. However, Misbah has recalled Abid Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Shinwari, none of whom were a part of the World Cup 15 in England.
Abid Ali and Mohammad Rizwan, both of whom can keep wickets as well, appear to be a part of Misbah’s strategy for the long run, given their ability to perform more consistently. With Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez no longer in the plans, Iftikhar Ahmed can book a slot in the lower middle order as well. Meanwhile, the absence of Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali has given Usman Shinwari a chance to prove himself again.
The series will be a chance for the selected squad to keep themselves in the selector’s eye with a standout performance or two. But it’s obvious that the upcoming T20Is and Tests – along with domestic performances – will have a bearing on Misbah’s choice, the next time he as to pick an ODI squad.
