Starting on Tuesday, a One-Day International series between Pakistan and the Netherlands will get underway with three matches.
When Pakistan takes on the Netherlands in a three-match One-Day International series beginning on Tuesday, they will be looking to capture critical points toward World Cup qualifying, but they will also be keeping a careful eye on the fitness of ace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi.
During the recent tour of Sri Lanka, the 22-year-old paceman suffered a knee injury, which is a worrying blow with the Asia Cup — and a match with old rivals India — coming up at the end of the month.
The leaders of the Pakistani national team do not want to put too much pressure on a fast bowler who has already competed in 97 matches across all three forms since making his international debut only four years ago.
“We’re taking a number of doctors with us to take care of Shaheen, and we want him to play a game against Netherlands to see if he’s healthy and ready for the Asia Cup,” said Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan’s cricket team. “We’re taking a couple of doctors with us to take care of Shaheen.”
“On the other hand, we have 11 trump cards. On any given day, either one of them could end up being the victor. I am confident in each and every one of them, whether they are batting or bowling.”
The series that was scheduled to take place in Rotterdam in 2020 has been delayed because of Covid.
It is a part of the Super League, which consists of 13 nations, and the top seven teams from that league, together with the host nation of India, will qualify for the World Cup in 2023.
Pakistan is now in third place with 90 points after taking their most recent one-day international series at home and winning 2-1 against a powerful Australia team.
If you didn’t make it into the top seven, you’d have to navigate the treacherous waters of a qualifying tournament.
“There are significant Super League points at stake, which we can’t lose,” Azam, who may be surprised to see Europe frying in a heatwave, added. “We can’t afford to lose these points.”
“In all likelihood, the weather will be very much like that of England. Because it will be cooler, we have been conducting our indoor practises with the air conditioning on; this may have helped us better imitate the actual conditions “he noted on Thursday on the departure of the team for Europe.
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Only three one-day internationals have been played between these two teams; all of them took place in multi-national competitions during the 1996 (in Pakistan) and 2003 (in South Africa) World Cups as well as the 2002 Champions Trophy (Sri Lanka). Pakistan emerged victorious in all three.
Following their success in qualifying for the Twenty20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia at the end of this year, the Netherlands are now looking to make significant strides in their 50-over competition.
They currently hold the lowest spot in the Super League standings after winning just two of their 16 matches, having one end in a draw, and losing 13 of their contests.
After losing 12 games in a row in series against Afghanistan, New Zealand, West Indies, and England, the two wins over Ireland broke the losing streak to two wins.
In June, England also set a new world record by defeating them with a total score of 498-4.
New captain Scott Edwards, though, believes that his young team has improved as a result of competing against more established nations.
Edwards, who took over as captain of the Associates in June after Pieter Seelaar stepped down, stated that “ODI cricket is still a yardstick for Associates.”
“There are a number of young cricketers on the verge of breaking through for us, and some of them have already played against England and New Zealand. I am looking forward to the next one, two, or even three years.
“We will be playing Pakistan, which will provide us with yet another chance to compete against world-class bowlers and batters. This will be a significant step in our preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia.
“The players have had a fantastic summer thanks to the opportunity to compete against nations of a higher level. It is somewhat embarrassing that we haven’t been able to put up any wins on the board thus far.”
Hasan Ali, a fast bowler for Pakistan who has been out of form recently, has been replaced in the team by Naseem Shah, a rookie pacer. In addition to Naseem Shah, other quicks for Pakistan include Shahnawaz Dahani, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim Junior.
After being absent from the team for three years, all-rounder Wesley Barresi, now 38 years old, has been called back up by the Netherlands.
