Australia come into the five-match ODI series against Pakistan in the UAE in confident mood following their sensational 3-2 win over India but leg-spinner Adam Zampa is wary of the threat posed by Shoaib Malik and his men.
Pakistan have rung in the changes for the upcoming series with several senior players including skipper Sarfraz Ahmed rested for the clashes. However, Zampa believes that Malik and the rest of the Pakistan team will be a tough nut to crack despite Australia’s superb form at the moment.
“They’ve obviously got some impressive young guys,” the Australian leg-spinner was quoted as saying by Wide World of Sports (WWOS).
“They’ve rested a few players but going through their team today in our team meeting, they’ve got some really strong guys. They’ve got a really strong competition in the PSL (Pakistan Super League) as well, so they’re coming off that and some guys in the team are in form.
“We’ve come off three wins in a row with our backs to the wall, so our confidence is high but we’ve spoken about not taking Pakistan lightly.”
Zampa was excellent in the ODI series against India.
Zampa played a major role in Australia’s first ODI series win on Australian soil in over a decade with the leggie picking up 11 wickets in the five matches. The 26-year-old, however, believes that Pakistan’s batsmen will be a completely different proposition.
“The Indians are really good at milking, they like to go at five or six an over through the middle without taking too many risks,” Zampa said.
“Whereas the Pakistani guys go quite hard, they’ll choose a period during the game when they’ll take me on, so that’s something I’m up for.
“I’ll just do my preparation, watch a lot of footage and go from there.”
The first ODI between Pakistan and Australia takes place at Sharjah on Friday.
