Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq was under no illusions about the importance of the upcoming five-match One Day International series against New Zealand, especially keeping his side’s poor recent record in the 50-over format.
Despite being the most successful team in the history of Twenty20 Internationals, where they recorded their 50th win when they beat the Kiwis in the opening match on Thursday, Misbah’s men have lost the last two ODI series.
They were whitewashed 3-0 by Australia in the UAE, and lost in Sri Lanka 2-1 four months ago.
But Misbah, who drew flak for sitting out of the third ODI against Australia recently as he tried to rediscover his form, is confident the return of the experienced duo of batsman Younis Khan and fast bowler Umar Gul would help his side turn the tide ahead of the World Cup in February next year.
“It’s always important because these players are experienced, they know the situations of the game, they can handle those situations and whenever these sort of players are in, you always get the feeling that they can win the game for you,” said the 40-year-old Misbah.
Misbah praised the recent performances of wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed, but said the management has not yet made up its mind about the batting positions of Sarfaraz, as well as Younis, who prefers to bat at No3.
“Right now, we have not decided anything finally. We may have a meeting today on how we go about that,” added the skipper.
“We are looking to work out a combination that we would like to play in Australia and New Zealand. We will look to settle on a combination so that the players are aware of their roles going into the World Cup.
On the importance of winning the series, Misbah added: “I always say that cricket is all about confidence. At the moment most of the guys are in good shape and have the confidence.
“If your momentum is good and if you are on the winning side, it really helps you. It doesn’t matter if you are playing on different surfaces. I feel if you are performing really well and scoring runs, you can handle different kinds of surfaces."
The first ODI match will be played tomorrow at the Dubai International Stadium. The remaining ODIs will be played in Sharjah (December 12 and 14) and Abu Dhabi (December 17 and 19).
