Sarfraz Ahmed Claims Current Pakistan Team is Shaping Well for the 2019 World Cup

Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is satisfied with the members of Men in Green who are preparing for the tour of Zimbabwe owing to a Tri-nation series including Australia.

Gloveman Sarfraz stated their main priority is to take the same squad to the ICC World Cup, next year. The quadrennial event will be held in England and Wales in 2019.

“We have a good blend of seniors and youngsters in the squad who are performing well. We are trying to rely on the same group of players for the World Cup,” Sarfraz was quoted as saying by the reporters.

Moreover, it was after a three-day training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. However, the camp was cancelled due to a heavy overnight shower.

Pakistan slated to leave Zimbabwe on Thursday:

Pakistan is slated to leave Zimbabwe on June 28. They will also square off in a five-match ODI series against the home team.

“We have fine young players such as Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan and Babar Azam and now with Haris Sohail in the team plus the experienced Shoaib Malik, we will try to rely on them in the lead-up to the World Cup,” Sarfraz said.

It is under the captaincy of Sarfaraz that Pakistan has been elevated to the top of the ICC Twenty20 International Rankings. They also won the Champions Trophy in England, last year.

Pakistan defeated arch-rivals India quite convincingly in the final. Sarfaraz is hopeful of the fact that Pakistan will continue to impress in both T20I and the 50-over format.

Also Read: Watch: Hardik Pandya Plays to Helicopter Shot to End the Innings on a High

“We are going to Zimbabwe after decent preparations with this short camp here in Lahore. We will have three more days to prepare in Zimbabwe before the tri-series begins. Insha’Allah we are pretty confident of coming back victorious,” Sarfraz added.

Sarfraz further stated that no team can take the shortest format lightly.

No team is weak in the T20I format says Sarfaraz:

“To be honest no team in this [T20] format should be considered weak and although the Australians are fielding a new-look side they know how to play T20 cricket. So the series will be keenly contested and good cricket is in the offing in Zimbabwe,” Sarfraz remarked.

Sarfaraz further he found two different kinds of pitches in Zimbabwe during his stint to the country- once in 2013 and the other time in 2015.

“Currently the weather is cool in Zimbabwe and the match will start early at 10:00 am in the morning with moisture in the pitch, it would be a big test for the side batting first,” he opined.

Sarfraz Ahmed hailed his boys for gelling together as a unit very well which is the main reason behind their success in the recent times.

“But in our case, the team is performing extremely well in both bowling and batting. We will use the better option in case of winning the toss,” he said.

However, he accepted the fact that he hasn’t been great with the bat and behind the wickets.

Also Read: Mustafizur Rahman’s Fitness to be Assessed in Four-day Match Against Sri Lanka A