Shaheen Shah Afridi said Pakistan will not lose faith in their young players despite the heavy defeat against Bangladesh. In the ODI series opener on Wednesday, March 11, Pakistan slumped to an eight-wicket loss at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan handed maiden ODI caps to Sahibzada Farhan, Shamyl Hussain and Maaz Sadaqat, but none of them were able to make a significant impact. Shaheen said there was no reason to lose faith in Pakistan’s young players after just a single defeat.
“Yeah, I think when you lose, there are a lot of points you want to mention, but I feel this is a young team and I’ll back this team till the end,” Shaheen said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
After being asked to bat first, Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 30.4 overs, their lowest against Bangladesh in ODIs. Thereafter, the hosts chased down the target in 15.1 overs. It marked the fourth time when a team won a Men’s ODI against Pakistan with 200 or more balls to spare.
‘PARTNERSHIPS ARE CRUCIAL’
Shaheen said that Pakistan will have to improve on their performance as far as building partnerships both in the batting and bowling departments are concerned. He said that Pakistan will look to work on their shortcomings in their last two ODIs.
“Yeah, I think it’s just a small reminder for the team. In one-day cricket, partnerships are crucial, both with the bat and the ball. But there are still two games left, and we’ll focus on those as well,” Shaheen added.
Pakistan will look to bounce back and level the series when the second ODI takes place on Friday, March 13, in Dhaka. Pakistan are touring Bangladesh for an ODI series for the first time in 11 years, since 2015, when they won the series 3–0.
