As the Pakistan cricket team started training at SuperSport Park in Centurion for their white-ball series against South Africa, Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq hopes that the wickets in Centurion and Wanderers will suit the Men in Green and they will do well on the tour.
Pakistan players have reached Pakistan last week and they have now started training in Centurion after completing their quarantine period in South Africa for the three-match ODI series starting Friday (April 2) at SuperSport Park.
This will be followed by the second ODI on April 4 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg before returning for the final ODI on April 7 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
South and Pakistan will also play a four-match T20I series with the first and second games will be played on April 10 and 12 respectively at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, while the last two T20Is to be held at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on April 14 and 16 respectively.
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Misbah said: “If I look back when we used to come here and play, these two wickets, Centurion and Wanderers, we always enjoyed these pitches. The bounce and pace are very true and as a batsman, you enjoy that. You get full value for your shots.”
He further added, “Some of the players in this team have already played here and performed very well. Those previous performances and experiences definitely help you. Pakistan always have the luxury of good fast bowlers and I think that is the reason why we do well here.”
Recently, South Africa toured Pakistan to play a Test series and T20I series and Pakistan head coach said the reciprocal series was important in the current COVID-19 era that already impacted the international calendar as well as many cricket playing nations in terms of the financial crisis.
Misbah concluded, “It is our duty as different nations to keep going, keep helping each other and keep this game alive.”
Meanwhile, South Africa’s new white-ball captain Temba Bavuma has confirmed that their IPL-bound players will only be available for the first two ODIs against Pakistan, saying he respects the relationship between CSA and BCCI that enabled the players to fulfill their IPL 2021 stints.
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Bavuma said: “For the first two games we have got all our best players so it is important to get positive results in those first two games. But that is not to say we are conceding the third game. We believe we have the replacements with guys coming in to fill those boots.”
In the absence of Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller and Anrich Nortje, the youngsters will get the opportunity to stake a claim for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and 2023 Cricket World Cup – both will be played in India.
He signed off by saying, “We’ve got 22 players, which is a big squad. The message to the players is that 90 percent of the World Cup squads will come from this group. It is important that the guys understand there is an opportunity and also that they know where they stand.”
(With AFP Inputs)
