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Pakistan duo Sarfraz Ahmed and Imad Wasim turn attentions to ODI series

Barnaby Read

22:05 28/09/2016

Under-fire Azhar Ali will take over the reins for the three-match ODI series that begins in Sharjah on Friday.

Azhar has come under increasing pressure as captain, with calls growing for Sarfraz to combine the role with his T20I captaincy.

But the Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman insists he is getting behind his skipper for the ODIs and hoping the T20I series whitewash will aid a similar resurgence under Azhar.

“The momentum has been provided by the T20 team and now we need to continue with it in the 50-over format,” said Sarfraz after securing the 3-0 series win in Abu Dhabi.

“I have a strong camaraderie with Azhar Ali so we will, Inshallah, try to emulate the same performance in the one-dayers.”

The 29-year-old also says the T20Is were a major fillip for cricket in Pakistan.

“This series win was a much needed one for our cricket,” said Sarfraz.

“We didn’t perform well in England during the ODI series. The way we bounced back there in the fifth ODI, the solitary T20 match and now in this series with young players contributing to the team’s success is a very good sign.”

Sarfraz was delighted to have outplayed the current World T20 champions so convincingly and believes that Pakistan are now reaping the rewards of the hard graft being put in behind the scenes under coach Mickey Arthur.

“We seem to be doing well in all three departments currently but our focus is currently on our fielding,” added Sarfraz.

“Sometimes we tend to be below par in the field leaking runs or dropping catches, but we have been working hard on our fitness which automatically lifts your fielding standards as a team.

“The conditions are tough for cricket with humidity playing a big part. So the fitter team will be in front.”

While Sarfraz sets his sights on Pakistan carrying their form forwards, red-hot spinner Imad Wasim is already looking to put his man of the series performances behind him.

Taking the new-ball, Imad was a revelation as he became the first Pakistan bowler to take nine wickets in a three-match bilateral T20I series.

But the 27-year-old is only focused on his next match and the upcoming ODI series.

“I believe in putting my past performances behind me. Whatever performances I have done are history. The series is over and ODI cricket is a different format,” said Imad.

“As a cricketer you need to prove every day that you’re good enough to play for Pakistan. At the end of the day you play for your country and I take every match as if it were my last.”

Imad’s turnaround has been highly impressive, something he puts down to keeping things simple and attacking opposition batsmen.

“[I’ve been] sticking to the basics, not experimenting too much and bowling wicket-to-wicket,” he said of his recent improvement. “Creating pressure on the batsmen is essential because even if you don’t get wickets yourself, it makes it easier for bowlers to strike from the other

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