NAPIER: Pakistan’s interim head coach Aaqib Javed is hopeful that the side will thrive in the ongoing three-match One-day International (ODI) series against New Zealand with the conditions likely to favour fast bowlers.

The series follows five T20Is between the two sides, with hosts New Zealand winning the four of them, but Pakistan will draw their confidence in the 50-over format from their series wins in Australia and South Africa towards the end of last year.

Shaheen Shah Afridi — who struggled to shine in the ICC Champions Trophy and the New Zealand T20Is after that — took a total of 15 wickets in the six ODIs against Australia and South Africa.

The left-armers fellow pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah also did well across the two series, with the former hunting down 10 victims Down Under before Naseem took five South African wickets.

“If you see our performances in tours like Australia and South Africa in ODIs, similar conditions here, and it will depend a lot on the conditions,” Aaqib told reporters on Friday. “There will be bowling-friendly conditions here too, and just like the fast bowlers dominated in Australia and South Africa, fast bowling will be key here as well.”

Both Shaheen and Haris, however, weren’t named in the ODI squad, with the team management looking to manage their workload. But Haris’ standout performance in the in the T20 series — eight wickets at 12.25 in the four matches — urged the selectors to call him up for the one-dayers.

“In these pitches and conditions, he has proven to be the best option, Aaqib said of Haris. “When you play on pitches where the total isn’t going to be 300+, bowling conditions will be crucial, and Haris can play a major role.”

The right-armer and Naseem, hence, will make up the Pakistan pace battery along with the less-experienced likes of Akif Javed, Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Wasim Jr.

Despite the side receiving a bashing from the New Zealand batters throughout the course of the T20 series, Aaqib was confident Pakistan’s pace attack would be able to “restrict them under 200”.

Formerly a pacer himself, the 52-year-old believed that the return of senior batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan — who were rested during the T20 series — would bring solidity to the batting line-up, hence improving Pakistan’s chances of triumph in the ODI series.

Despite their good form in the format ahead of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan failed to make a mark in the eight-team tournament, losing to New Zealand and India before their match against Bangladesh was washed out.

Aaqib said the conditions Pakistan’s strength; fast bowling.

“We struggled in the Champions Trophy, where the tracks were flat, and we didn’t get the same bowling support,” he noted.

“That led to more runs being scored, which was a challenge for us. But with these bowling conditions, Pakistan should deliver a much better performance in this series.”

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2025