Sarfaraz warns against complacency ahead of Sri Lanka ODIs

Pakistan’s captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, during a press conference at the National Stadium in Karachi on Wednesday, warned his side against complacency in the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.

The Men in Green’s skipper was adamant that his side would not take the threat of the Islanders lightly and will perform to the best of their abilities.

“We will not take the series against Sri Lanka lightly. We will try to perform to the best of our capabilities. I will try to perform at the number five spot in the batting order,” said Sarfaraz.

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The 32-year-old claimed that he had nothing to worry about regarding his place in the side and his leadership role.

“Umar Akmal and Mohammad Rizwan are part of the side. I have nothing to worry about. If you are in contact with the senior officials then a captain has nothing to worry about,” he said. “I will be playing in my city as captain of the national side. The crowd in Karachi supports both sides.”

Sarfaraz stated that the upcoming series was a message for the international community that the people of Pakistan want cricket back in the country and highlighted his side’s strategy for the first One-day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been striving for two years to bring back international cricket to the country. We have sent out a message that we want cricket in Pakistan,” he said. “We will need to score more than 300 runs. Openers need to provide us with a good start. Babar Azam can be a great batsman for Pakistan in the future.”

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The limited-overs skipper also revealed the future plans for his side and claimed that fitness would be the focal point of the team’s strategy going forward.

“We are missing fast-bowlers in the Test format. We will try to prepare in a better way for the Australia tour. We will also be trying to qualify for the World Cup. There is no cricket without fitness. We have prepared the team mentally for the series [against Sri Lanka], the weather is natural and we can’t control that,” he concluded.