KARACHI: Pakistan’s right-arm pacer Naseem Shah on Monday, expressed his confidence in the national team’s ability to perform well in their upcoming tri-nation ODI series match against South Africa, scheduled to be held at the National Bank Stadium here on Wednesday.
Naseem, while talking to the media on the sidelines of the team’s training session at the newly renovated venue, acknowledged that the green shirts could not execute their plans as per the expectations in the series opener against New Zealand.
He, however, expressed his belief that the team’s bowling unit will do well in the upcoming game.
“Look, after just one match, you can’t think negatively as a fast bowler. In the last two series, our fast bowlers performed exceptionally well in Australia and South Africa,” said Naseem.
“So, it’s just that I don’t deny the fact that our execution was not good in the last match but as a sportsman, you learn from such games.
“I have a firm belief on the bowling unit that we’ll do well in the coming matches and overcome the shortcomings by giving our best.”
When asked to share his views on the squad for the ongoing tri-nation ODI series and the highly-anticipated ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, Naseem Shah emphasised that all the players selected are capable of leading the team to glory.
“Whatever the team is selected, as a player we only see positive aspects and I think, everyone has the ability to win [the tournament] by playing their best cricket,” said Naseem.
For the unversed, Pakistan got off to an unwanted start to their tri-nation ODI series campaign as the home side suffered a gruelling 78-run defeat in the opening match against New Zealand on Saturday.
The hosts are now reliant on the outcome of the ongoing match between South Africa and New Zealand and would want the Blackcaps to emerge victorious as it would make their upcoming fixture against the Proteas a virtual semi-final.
However, if South Africa beat New Zealand then Pakistan’s qualification would become complex as they would not only have to beat the Proteas in the next fixture but also to ensure their net run-rate surpasses any of the two teams in a bid to qualify for the final.
Pakistan squad for tri-nation series and Champions Trophy 2025:
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
