Pakistan Eyes Spectacular Win Against England In First ODI Today

The first One-day International (ODI) of the three-day series between Pakistan and England will be played in Cardiff today (Thursday).

Speaking about today’s first ODI, set to begin at 5 pm, Pakistan’s Babar Azam said the side had given no thought to calling off their white-ball tour of England despite the coronavirus crisis.

Azam, asked if Pakistan had thought of abandoning a tour that also includes three Twenty20 internationals, told: “No, we didn’t think about it, it didn’t come into our minds at any time.

“The PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) and ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) have assured us that they will take care of the safety and health of all the squad members.

“We must understand that these are the unprecedented times of Covid-19. Then again I want to acknowledge my players that are spending time in bio-secure bubbles and we have prepared in that. We are focusing on cricket and tomorrow’s game.”

“Of course it was disappointing news and we must understand that we would not get the ideal situation because of the Covid situation,” he added.

England may be the 50-over world champions, but Pakistan will be up against an unfamiliar side in the series opener at Sophia Gardens.

“We know most of them but there were a couple of new faces in the squad,” Azam said.

“We sat together with the analyst, we worked on them, we have seen footage of their county matches and we can’t take any player playing for England lightly.”

Azam goes into the series as the world’s top-ranked batsman in ODIs.

“I have been in good touch and I know my responsibilities,” he said.

On the other hand, Haris Sohail has been ruled out of the England ODI series due to a hamstring injury.

Also, Top-order batsman, Saud Shakeel is set to make his ODI debut.

Earlier, the England Cricket Board (ECB) had announced an 18-men squad for the Royal London one-day international (ODI) series against Pakistan after seven members of the previous squad tested positive for COVID-19.

England Men’s ODI Squad

1. Ben Stokes (Durham, captain)
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2. Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
3. Danny Briggs (Warwickshire)
4. Brydon Carse (Durham)
5. Zak Crawley (Kent)
6. Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
7. Lewis Gregory (Somerset)
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8. Tom Helm (Middlesex)
9. Will Jacks (Surrey)
10. Dan Lawrence (Essex)
11. Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
12. Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)
13. Craig Overton (Somerset)
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14. Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)
15. David Payne (Gloucestershire)
16. Phil Salt (Sussex)
17. John Simpson (Middlesex)
18. James Vince (Hampshire)

Pakistan’s Squad:

1. Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab)
2. Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern)
3. Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab)
4. Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab)
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5. Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
6. Haider Ali (Northern)
7. Haris Rauf (Northern)
8. Haris Sohail (Balochistan)
9. Hasan Ali (Central Punjab)
10. Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan)
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11. Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh)
12. Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)
13. Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper)
14. (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
15. Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab)
16. Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper) (Sindh)
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17. Saud Shakeel (Sindh)
18. Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
19. Usman Qadir (Central Punjab)