KARACHI: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed expressed his delight at winning the tri-nation trophy as well as the Zimbabwe series recently.

He said dashing opener Fakhar Zaman will soon be tried out in Tests while his team will be preparing hard for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament where it is likely to meet India in tough contests.

Talking to media upon his arrival at the Jinnah International Airport, the skipper said their main focus of the Zimbabwe tour was the tri-nation series and he is delighted to have won it. “Fans were looking forward to that series with a question in mind as to how Pakistan will perform against Australia,” he said.

“Thanks to Allah, we did well against Aussies and lifted the trophy,” he added.

Speaking about the record breaking opener Fakhar, Sarfraz said the left-hander had the tour of his life. “He (Fakhar) broke several records during the tour. His current form will benefit Pakistan in future tours and we will surely give him a chance in the test matches now,” Sarfraz said.

Speaking about Pakistan’s chances in the upcoming Asia Cup in September, Sarfraz said his team will be preparing hard for the tournament where it is likely to face arch-rivals India as well. “Their spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been a sensational success but we are confident about tackling him as well as Virat Kohli and Company in the Asia Cup,” said Sarfraz. “The Asia Cup will surely be good contest and we will be preparing hard for it.”

Sarfraz also praised young pacer Usman Shinwari and Faheem Ashraf for their superb bolwing on the recent tour. “We now have a formidable bowling attack with Hasan Ali also bowling very well and Shadab maturing with every game. We have a very good side in the making for next year’s World Cup in England,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2018