Azhar Ali will be in the driving seat of Pakistan in ODI series while Kane Williamson will captain New Zealand team in place of Brandon McCullum, who is out from the top 11 players because of Injury, though he will come back in the third match.
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Ali refused to train with Amir and tendered his resignation after the 23-year-old fast bowler was recalled to the Pakistan squad when his five-year ban from global cricket for spot-fixing ended late last year. “Whatever my stance was, my job is to lead and keep harmony in the dressing room. Hopefully we will all be united and with Muhammad Amir, and we will allow him to bowl really well and get wickets for Pakistan”. “We should not discuss more about it. We’ve moved on”.
Pakistan and New Zealand will now be face to face in first one day worldwide (ODI) of the three-match series on Monday reported by PTV following the end the T20 games with Kiwis emerging as victorious. “We are united and looking forward to the challenge”, Ali said as the team practised in blustery conditions on Sunday.
“The wicket looks quite good and I think early on it will do something with the new ball”, he said. “As the captain, my job is to take the best out of him”.
In addition to Amir, Azhar has a legion of left-armers in the squad.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Maqsood, Imad Wasim, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan. “We’ve been practising bowling into it, everyone is ready”, Ali added.
New Zealand, meanwhile, had no problems with Amir’s return and all-rounder Grant Elliott saw the “trampoline” effect imposed by the giant Irfan as probably more of a concern.
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With bounce and pace expected in the Basin Reserve surface, Azhar said he hoped Irfan could trouble opposition batsmen. “He’s seven foot and bowls at 140 clicks”.
