KARACHI, March 9: Pakistan have an excellent chance of avenging their demoralising 3-0 Test whitewash against South Africa provided they approach the impeding One-day International series in a positive frame of mind and play attacking cricket, according to former national chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s opening game of the five-match series at the Springbok Park — more commonly known by its sponsor name of Chevrolet Park — in Bloemfontein where Pakistan would be playing their first-ever international, Salahuddin stressed that the touring side adopt aggressive intent when they come up against the A.B. de Villiers-led Proteas.

“It is an open fact that whenever Pakistan collectively opt for a ‘wait-and-see’ type of batting style, they run into problems and are unable to get the desired momentum. They should embrace the flamboyancy of the great West Indies teams of the past who got out of trouble on countless occasions because they never compromised on changing their natural attacking instincts,” Salahuddin emphasised while talking to Dawn on Saturday.

“Therefore, it is imperative that against South Africa we strike the right balance with a world-class batsman like Younis Khan being used as the sheet-anchor to ensure the team put up decent totals on the board. Without big runs it would be difficult for Pakistan to exert pressure on the South Africans who at times can get self-destructed.”

Salahuddin, who is popularly known as Sallu, urged the Pakistan side to bank on their main bowling strength to counter the opposition.

“At this point in time, we all don’t know the kind of pitches Pakistan would find in the one-day series. But they should play to their strength which is the spin bowling. Let us not forget that South Africa are traditionally weak against slow bowlers and usually get bogged down which obviously slacken the scoring rate,” he stressed.

“Pakistan, luckily, are blessed with a varied spin attack with Saeed Ajmal being the key strike weapon as one of the best spinners around in world cricket at the moment. Then they can rely on the experienced Shahid Afridi [as a leg-spinner] and Mohammad Hafeez’s off-spin. In addition to these three key bowlers, Pakistan can depend on Shoaib Malik’s [off-spin] bowling. And if the conditions demand then another specialist spinner in [slow left-armer] Abdur Rehman should be seriously considered.

“Since only one match [the second in Centurion] in the series will be played under lights, relying on spinners in the remaining four games would suit Pakistan more unless the prevalent conditions on the match day are totally different.”

The former Test cricketer further said Pakistan’s task won’t be easy because South Africa have the psychological advantage in home conditions and being currently ranked two places higher in ODI rankings than sixth-placed Misbah-ul-Haq’s side.

“But it doesn’t mean anything because the rankings keep on changing. If the team is playing consistently well then there is every chance of improving their ranking. Pakistan always have the potential to win. The Twenty20 victory [last Sunday] was heartening, but we mustn’t overlook the fact it was against an experimental South African team,” Salahuddin reminded.

“But nothing is better than a win because it helps in lifting the team’s morale. South Africa are considerably stronger in the pace bowling area as well as batting and fielding. The return of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith makes the home team much stronger than the T20 team South Africa fielded a few days ago.”

The remaining one-dayers are scheduled for SuperSport Park in Centurion on March 15, Wanderers in Johannesburg on March 17, Kingsmead in Durban on March 21 before the series ends on March 24 at the Willowmore Park in Benoni.