Series against New Zealand a brilliant opportunity to fine-tune our combinations, says Babar Azam

Rawalpindi: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam stated the upcoming home ODI series against New Zealand, starting at the Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Thursday, is a brilliant chance for his team to fine-tune their combinations while starting their road to prepare for the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

After the series starts from Rawalpindi, the city will also host the second ODI on Saturday, followed by the two teams playing the remaining three matches in Karachi.

The two sides will begin the ODIs after an exciting five-match T20I series ended in a 2-2 draw on Monday.

“Each and every match that we play from now on holds a great significance for us. This series is a brilliant opportunity for us to fine-tune our combinations and gather the momentum ahead of the mega events in the shape of Asia Cup and the much-anticipated World Cup,” said Azam in a statement issued by PCB.

Pakistan’s record since the start of last year in ODIs has been a remarkable one, beating Australia (2-1), West Indies (3-0) and the Netherlands (3-0) before losing to New Zealand (2-1) earlier in the year in Karachi. They are also scheduled to play three ODIs against Afghanistan in August.

‘This team has done well in the past one year in the one-day format and I have firm faith in my boys that they will perform according to expectations in the exciting next seven months,” added Azam.

On the other hand, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham believes adjusting to the conditions and adapting to the format will be a challenge for his team. The visitors will also be on the hunt for an ideal number three batter in the absence of injured Kane Williamson, who is on road to recovery after rupturing the ACL in his right knee while fielding on the opening day of IPL 2023 and underwent a surgery for the same.

“The T20Is proved an outstanding series and we’re looking forward to switching to one day mode now. The preparation wasn’t ideal but for us that wasn’t an excuse. It was about just keep getting better game by game and keep learning. We did that and to come out with a series draw after being two down was awesome,” said Latham.

Thursday’s match will be the first between the two sides at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in 20 years. In 2003, New Zealand played two ODIs and lost both by seven wickets and 49 runs. A year earlier, Pakistan had defeated New Zealand by three wickets.

‘It’s going to be a tough ODI series on the back of what this T20I series has produced. We have seen some great games of cricket and the one-day series is going to be no different. It’s a new format, and we have to adapt quickly. Hopefully we can do that straight away,” added Latham.

Both Pakistan and New Zealand have qualified directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 after finishing in the top-eight of the 13-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.

–IANS