Pakistan have a 45-3 ODI and 7-0 Twenty20 record against Zimbabwe but coach Waqar younis has warned his side against complacency when the two teams play each other in a limited over series.
Pakistan will play two T20s and three ODIs on their tour of Zimbabwe and according to Waqar the hosts had demonstrated in recent times that they would pose a serious challenge in home conditions.
“Zimbabwe has always been a competitive side to play against, especially when they are at home,” Waqar said.
“We saw that when they came to Pakistan a few months ago and though they did not win a game they were always very good,” the former captain said of Zimbabwe’s recent tour of Pakistan, the first by a Test-playing nation since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team.
Waqar said Zimbabwe’s biggest strength was their depth.
“There is no one player I can single out as a threat to Pakistan because they are all good, they play as a unit.”
Zimbabwe lost the T20 and ODI series when they visited Pakistan in May but they stretched the hosts in each game.
T20 captain Shahid Afridi echoed Waqar’s comments on the eve of the team’s departure to Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwe might not be ranked among the top teams in the world but they remain a good side in limited-overs matches,” Afridi told the media.
“The two matches we play against them will be an excellent opportunity for my players and team officials and we plan to use them as a launch pad for the T20 World Cup. We won’t take the matches lightly.”
Zimbabwe, who have improved vastly under former Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore, will be looking to repeat their performances from 2013 against the same opponents.
They lost a hard-fought T20 and ODI series 2-0 and 2-1 and drew the Tests 1-1.
Series schedule:
27th September: 1st T20I, Harare
29th September: 2nd T20I, Harare
1st October: 1st ODI, Harare
3rd October: 2nd ODI, Harare
5th October: 3rd ODI, Harare
Pakistan’s T20 and ODI squad for Zimbabwe tour:
T20Is:
- Shahid Afridi (captain)
- Mohammad Hafeez
- Ahmed Shehzad
- Mukhtar Ahmed
- Umar Akmal
- Sohaib Maqsood
- Shoaib Malik
- Amir Yamin
- Mohammad Irfan
- Bilal Asif
- Wahab Riaz
- Imad Wasim
- Sohail Tanvir
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Imran Khan junior
ODIs:
- Azhar Ali (captain)
- Mohammad Hafeez
- Ahmed Shehzad
- Sohaib Maqsood
- Shoaib Malik
- Babar Azam
- Sarfraz Ahmed
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Immad Wasim
- Anwar Ali
- Wahab Riaz
- Yasir Shah
- Rahat Ali
- Mohammad Irfan
- Asad Shafiq
