‘Quality cricket will be seen in T20 series against NZ’

ISLAMABAD: Shaheen Shah Afridi, who will make his debut as Pakistan T20 captain with the opening match of the five-match series at Eden Park today (Friday), promised to live up to the nation’s expectations by playing high-quality cricket.

Talking to media ahead of start of the series Thursday, Shaheen said Pakistan are to play 17 matches ahead of start of the World Cup scheduled in June. “I promise my nation that high-quality cricket will be on display in the run up to the World Cup and during the mega event. These 17 matches will be played considering the World Cup’s preparations in mind and in an effort to raise a competitive team for the World Cup. We have some newcomers in the team and there are a few who have played just a few matches. We want to give them required exposure to see how they perform on the international stage.”

The pace bowler said that representing his country as a captain is an honour for him. “I am lucky to have been given the opportunity to lead the team. It is an honour for me. I would definitely try to give it my best shot.”

Shaheen rated New Zealand as a high-class team. “It is a new beginning for us as we have not played T20 cricket for the last nine months. A fresh beginning after the Test series against a team that has got some quality cricketers.”

Pakistan’s newly-appointed captain praised Babar Azam and his contributions to the national cause. “He has done so much for Pakistan cricket and scored countless runs. He would be there guiding and helping the team. These matches starting with the series against New Zealand are for preparation purposes and as such the youngsters would be given opportunities wherever it would be necessary. Who plays and who is not there, will be decided on match-to-match basis.”

Shaheen had all the sympathy with the bowlers at Eden Park as what was declared as shorter boundaries straight up. “I am really concerned as a bowler as the straight boundaries are short, giving a good platform for the batsman to launch an attack.”

To a question about the team’s combination for the first T20, Shaheen said the playing XI will be decided before the start of the match. “Don’t know exactly what the pitch condition is. Once we see the ready surface we would be in a better position to decide about the playing XI.” “We have 17 games before the World Cup, which is later this year. We want to make sure we have our combination locked in time for that but we also want to ensure that we have a strong bench, in case of injuries during the tournament. We will be testing our younger talent and rotating the players so that by the time we play the series in England, we have clarity about our combination.”