KARACHI, March 16: Aaqib Javed, the Pakistan ‘A’ coach, said on Wednesday that his team had the potential to win the forthcoming triangular cricket series in Colombo against the ‘A’ outfits of England and hosts Sri Lanka. Led by Misbahul Haq, Pakistan ‘A’ embark on a month-long tour on Thursday morning by PIA flight No PK-874. After a practice match on Friday, the tourists face Sri Lanka in the opening game on Sunday. The final is scheduled for March 29.After the triangular series, Pakistan ‘A’ will take on their Sri Lankan counterparts in two four-day fixtures, scheduled for Kandy and Dambulla. The team returns home on April 15.
Speaking to Dawn on the eve of the team’s departure for the Sri Lankan capital, Aaqib, the former Test fast bowler, was confident of defeating the other competing sides in the double league round-robin one-day tournament.
“We are taking a pretty strong squad that definitely has the potential and capability of doing exceptionally well.
“There are a number of players with Test and ODI experience in this team which boosts our prospects of winning the tournament. And because most of these guys had been on several tours, there should be little problem in getting them acclimatized to local weather,” he remarked.
Aaqib, however, lamented that lack of time prevented a short training camp that could have been extremely beneficial to the team.
“My only worry is that we are heading straight into the series. Because of the domestic season, the lads were busy representing their respective organizations right until this week.
“Basically the purpose of having a short camp was to create harmony within the squad. We could have done running between the wickets drills among different pairs of batsmen most of whom had not batted together. At the same time, it would have become easier to find which bowlers were in rhythm,” Aaqib said.
Misbah observed the team’s main strength was its batting.
“We should have no problems in putting up big totals on the board. Hasan Raza, Aamir Bashir, Wajahatullah Wasti, Faisal Athar, Faisal Iqbal, Bazid Khan and myself have been in good nick in the recent matches.
“We are equally strong in bowling as well. Shahid Nazir, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Asif, Riaz Afridi and the two spinners (Imran Tahir and Tahir Khan) have picked a lot of wickets in the season,” the skipper added.
Meanwhile, batsman Farhan Adil, who was also named in the original squad, has pulled out of the tour at the eleventh hour while citing domestic reasons.
Squad: Misbahul Haq (captain), Hasan Raza (vice-captain), Ashar Zaidi, Faisal Athar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Faisal Iqbal, Bazid Khan, Aamir Bashir, Yasir Arafat, Zulqarnain Haider (wicket-keeper), Shahid Nazir, Riaz Afridi, Mohammad Asif, Abdul Rauf, Tahir Khan, Imran Tahir.
Officials: Abdul Raquib (manager), Aaqib Javed (coach) and Dr Sohail Saleem (doctor-cum-physio):
Itinerary:
March 17: Arrive in Colombo.
March 18: Practice match (Moors Sports Club Ground, Colombo).
Triangular tournament:
March 20: Sri Lanka ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ (NCC Ground, Colombo)
March 21: Sri Lanka ‘A’ v England ‘A’ (P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo).
March 23: England ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ (CCC Ground, Colombo).
March 24: Sri Lanka ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ (Moors Sports Club Ground, Colombo).
March 26: Sri Lanka ‘A’ v England ‘A’ (Colts CC Ground, Colombo).
March 27: England ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ (Moratuwa).
March 29: Final (SSC Ground, Colombo).
April 3-6: Sri Lanka ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ (Kandy).
April 10-13: Sri Lanka ‘A’ v Pakistan ‘A’ (Dambulla).
