'They have many match-winners': Tom Latham wary of Pakistan team

New Zealand captain, Tom Latham, has expressed his caution towards the Pakistan team ahead of the first T20I match on April 14 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. 

Speaking to the media, Latham emphasized that Pakistan possesses an array of match-winners in every department of the game.

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He acknowledged the team's fast bowlers, quality spinners, and a formidable batting lineup that could pose a threat to his team.

"You can look at everyone across the Pakistan squad, they've got guys who bowl fast, quality spinners and obviously with the bat they have many match winners. So we have to play really well to beat them but it is an opportunity that guys are really looking forward to play against this quality Pakistan side," he said.

The 31-year-old is optimistic about his team's chances in the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan despite the absence of key players due to IPL commitments. 

The left-hand batsman also acknowledged that Pakistan is a quality side, especially considering their recent performances in the PSL tournament. However, he also highlighted that the team's missing players provide an opportunity for other players to step up and perform. 

"Pakistan are a quality side, they have come off the back of their PSL tournament just recently and they've picked guys who are in form, so even though we are missing a few players due to IPL commitments, that presents an opportunity to the other players," he said.

"Even though we've got some guys who haven't played huge amount of cricket but we have guys who have played a lot of T20 cricket for New Zealand, so it is an exciting opportunity for this group to come here and to explore conditions where we haven't played a lot in before and hopefully we can put up a good performance on the board," he added.

Latham has acknowledged that his team's preparation for the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan has been less than ideal, owing to their recent back-to-back series engagements.

"We haven't had the ideal preparation but that's obviously what we face and it is something that we cannot control, so you know we've come off the back of series against Sri Lanka with some one-dayers and T20s and the guys played some really good cricket," Latham said.

"We were put under pressure at times but came through that. Coming here, it is about adapting to those conditions. We were here only a couple of months ago playing some one-day cricket and we've had a couple of guys playing in the PSL, so for us it is about trying to gather as much information we can tonight and hopefully that will give us a good chance through this series," he concluded.