RAWALPINDI, Apr 26 (APP):Pakistan’s star batsman Imam ul Haq on Wednesday said that Pakistan’s five-match ODI series against New Zealand was very crucial as it would serve as the build-up to the World Cup, taking place in October-November in India.
The series will commence on Thursday at the iconic Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, which will also host the second ODI on Saturday before the two teams will fly south for the remaining three matches in Karachi.
The two sides will enter the series after an exciting five-match T20 International series that ended in a 2-2 draw on Monday.
“There is a big difference between T20 and One Day Cricket. If you look at our ODI record of the last one-and-half-year you’ll see we’ve done very well in that as we’ve won nine out of the 12 fixtures we’ve played during this period. Our ODI record is much better than the T20,” he told media at a news conference here.
He said Pakistan would try to learn from the mistakes they committed in the T20 series adding that cricket was a team game, and the ultimate goal should be to win matches as a unit and improve the team’s rankings. “We’ll try to do our best and win the series and get maximum confidence for the World Cup. If we beat New Zealand by a margin of 5-0, our team will move to number one in ICC ODI team rankings. I have always thought that it’s a team game. I am on third in individual batting rankings, while Babar [Azam] is at number one, but our team is not on number one in the rankings, which is not a very good thing,” he added.
He said if Pakistan managed to beat New Zealand by 5-0, it would not only push them to the number one spot in the ICC ODI team rankings but also boost the team’s confidence.
“If we win the series by 5-0, the collective confidence that we get will be more important than the individual records,” he added.
Imam said as an opener he had a great understanding with Fakhar Zaman and feel more confident with him. He said he would like to propel the Pakistan team to the final of the World Cup. “It will be a big achievement if we manage to do that,” he added.