With a place in the quarterfinals already guaranteed, Pakistan's last chance to experiment with the batting order at the top may come on Saturday. The man, who just a few days ago, was being criticized for having "butter fingers", is now being expected to hold fort against a dangerous pace battery.
You guessed it right! Kamran Akmal, an accomplished opening batsman, is likely to face the new ball as Pakistan and Australia go head-to-head in a high profile World Cup group A game at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Although Shahid Afridi did not reveal his exciting plans, but he hinted one of the few surprises could be Kamran's promotion. "We have a few things in mind as we want to go full steam against Australia," said Afridi in a chat with reporters on Friday.
Kamran's promotion to the top means the out-of-form Ahmed Shehzad will warm the bench and the vacant spot will almost surely go to Umar Akmal, who missed the last game against Zimbabwe due to injury.
Afridi said his team was prepared to face the Australians and "we have made some new plans to tackle them." He ruled out Abdul Razzaq's promotion in the batting order and was happy with the all-rounder's contribution in the tournament so far. "He is a match-winner and I don't want to experiment too much. If we need him to bat higher up, we will think about it when the situation arises."
The Pakistan captain is certainly wary about his opposition on Saturday. Afridi said Australia 's pace attack was lethal and he singled out Brett Lee and Shaun Tait for their ability to reverse the ball at deadly speed.
"The Australians are a professional lot. They are mentally and physically powerful and we want to match them as well. We know our strengths as well and Australia won't have it easy for sure," Afridi said.
You guessed it right! Kamran Akmal, an accomplished opening batsman, is likely to face the new ball as Pakistan and Australia go head-to-head in a high profile World Cup group A game at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Although Shahid Afridi did not reveal his exciting plans, but he hinted one of the few surprises could be Kamran's promotion. "We have a few things in mind as we want to go full steam against Australia," said Afridi in a chat with reporters on Friday.Kamran's promotion to the top means the out-of-form Ahmed Shehzad will warm the bench and the vacant spot will almost surely go to Umar Akmal, who missed the last game against Zimbabwe due to injury.
Afridi said his team was prepared to face the Australians and "we have made some new plans to tackle them." He ruled out Abdul Razzaq's promotion in the batting order and was happy with the all-rounder's contribution in the tournament so far. "He is a match-winner and I don't want to experiment too much. If we need him to bat higher up, we will think about it when the situation arises."
The Pakistan captain is certainly wary about his opposition on Saturday. Afridi said Australia 's pace attack was lethal and he singled out Brett Lee and Shaun Tait for their ability to reverse the ball at deadly speed.
"The Australians are a professional lot. They are mentally and physically powerful and we want to match them as well. We know our strengths as well and Australia won't have it easy for sure," Afridi said.
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