The Pakistan-Afghan ODI series is going to start on August 22 in Sri Lanka. This series is hosted by Afghanistan, but the internal conditions of Afghanistan are not capable of hosting this series in their country. Pakistan also has faced the same situation in the past for a long time. Seeing the Pakistani team’s recent performance, it can be expected that Pakistan will win this series easily, but the performance of Afghanistan players cannot be ignored too.
For the past five years, Afghanistan’s national cricket team has qualified for every major event, including the World Cup. It was not easy to do as even a team like West Indies failed to qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup. So it can be said that when the Afghanistan team is qualifying for these events, their team definitely has the ability to beat any team.
The Pakistan squad that has been selected for Afghanistan and Asia Cup 2023 has included some new faces. Among them are players like Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Osama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris, and Salman Ali Agha. Now it is to be seen whether these players live up to the expectations of the PCB or the team management. One of the good things about this selection is that the guys who have done well in Sri Lanka recently against Sri Lanka have been given more opportunities and there is no harm in expecting more good performances from them.
As far as senior players are concerned, players like Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Imamul Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah are seen shining in every field of the world.
Now it is to be seen what feat these ‘Shaheen’ of Pakistan will accomplish in the three-match series of Afghanistan. Sri Lanka’s condition suits spinners more and Afghanistan is known in the world for its spinners. Now it is to be seen how Rashid Khan, Mujeebur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi control Pakistan’s top 3 batsmen of ICC ranking, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, and Fakhar Zaman and make the series unique.
It is important for both teams to win this series because most of the Asia Cup matches will be held in Sri Lanka and whoever wins this series will come to the Asia Cup mentally stronger. Three ODI matches between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be played on August 22, 24 and 26. After that, the national team will return to Pakistan and will play its first match of the Asia Cup at home. It is important for Afghanistan to win this series because if they beat a team like Pakistan in the ODI series, then in the Asia Cup it will not be impossible for them to beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
