Azhar Ali expects Pakistan to carry Test form into ODIs

Azhar Ali, the Pakistan One-Day International captain, expects his side to carry forward the sort of form and performance that helped them gain No. 1 ranking in Tests for the first time, into the five-match ODI series against England, the first of which will be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Wednesday (August 24). Azhar was part of Misbah-ul-Haq's Test side that put on commendable performances to draw 2-2 against England in the four-match series and rise up in the ICC rankings for Tests. As a result of India's fourth Test against West Indies ending in a draw, Pakistan rose up to the pinnacle in Tests.


In contrast however, Pakistan are languishing at ninth spot in the ODI rankings and are in danger of missing out on automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup in England. Despite the team's standings, Azhar believes his side will carry forward high levels of confidence and belief.

"Confidence is very high and belief is there, obviously coming from the Test series, we had a very good couple of months here," Azhar said on Tuesday. "We take that confidence into the One-Day Internationals as well.

Being number one is a massive boost and a proud moment for Pakistan cricket and the whole nation is very happy about it, and as players the team is really happy about it. It's definitely a good thing for us. Our one-day ranking is not great right now but we will take the opportunity and the way the team is performing, and hopefully we can convert it into ODIs as well."

Despite the spring in his step, Azhar remains wary and cautious of Eoin Morgan's team that has seen an upward surge in performances since its shambolic first-round ouster from the 2015 World Cup.

"The way England started playing after the World Cup, they played a lot of attacking, fearless cricket and they've been performing very well. We know that and we have to be aggressive against them as well.

"We are all very confident. No one rated us very highly - a few people said we would be competitive but there were doubts if we could win the Test matches here. But the boys really believed in the Tests, so here also we believe we can do it," Azhar said.

Pakistan thrashed Ireland by 255 runs in a one-off ODI on Thursday but will face a superior quality of bowling attack against England. Azhar acknowledged the presence of various match-winners in the opposition camp but felt his team has enough to challenge the fifth-placed hosts.

"(Mark) Wood is definitely a very good bowler and (Ben) Stokes a very good all-round player, and a good batsman too. Every player they have could be a match-winner for them, so we have to focus on each and every player. If we do that and bring our plans in, we can definitely challenge England," Azhar added.