Agha says ODI series will be very competitive

ISLAMABAD: Salman Ali Agha predicted a different ball game in the three-match One-Day series against New Zealand starting with the opening ODI in Napier on Saturday.

Talking to media after facing 4-1 drubbing at the hands of hosts in the T20 series, Salman said that series was more of an eye-opener for the youngsters who never faced such conditions in the past.

“It was a totally new stage for the youngsters who were here for the first time. It is not easy to face challenges posed by New Zealand pitches. Some of the players really struggled to put up a better show. Though there is silver-lining including the one-off innings of Hasan Nawaz, bowling of Sufyian Moqeem and some other batting performances, New Zealand played a better brand of cricket to win the series. They are a better side and that they proved with a 4-1 win.”

Salman who is also the vice-captain for the ODI series said that things would be different in the forthcoming ODI series. “We will have more experienced players for the series with the likes of Babar, Rizwan and a few others making it a formidable unit.

The ODI series is expected to be a closer and exciting one.” When asked about his personal performance as a T20 captain, Salman Ali Agha said that was of no use. “It is the team performance that matters. We have lost the series. My individual performance does not matter rather it is team performance that counts.”

Salman hoped that youngsters would emerge wiser and more realistic from the series. “They would be in a better frame of mind from here on.” For Pakistan, he said the actual target is the coming T20 Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.

“These two events would be played in conditions suited to us. Hopefully, by that time these events are staged, youngsters will be in a better position to raise their game standard.”