DUBAI—Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has praised West Indies’ ability in the shortest format but said while they respect the reigning World champions, his side intends to play fearless cricket during the upcoming Twenty20 International series.
The two teams meet in the opening game of the three-match series on Saturday and Arthur said yesterday that after having undergone an overhaul, the Pakistani team could provide a stiff challenge for the Windies.
“Our Test side in particular is a very stable side, with a lot of senior players in it, but we need to rebuild our one-day side,” Arthur said.
“We were playing a style of cricket that was totally outdated. The exciting thing is bringing in a new brand of young players.”
He continued: “The players we have brought in – Imad Wasim, Babar Azam, Sohail Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammed Nawaz — they take the game on. They don’t fear failure. They are the guys we want to build this one-day cricket brand around.”
Pakistan are coming off a big win over England last month in Manchester, when they trounced the hosts by nine wickets in a one-off T20 International.
And of the four T20Is they have played against West Indies, they have won two – when they swept the series in the Caribbean three years ago. Arthur said West Indies were “formidable opposition” especially in conditions which were similar to the Caribbean.
“West Indies are a very good Twenty20 team. They are the current world T20 holders so you can never take them lightly even in conditions like these … so they are going to be a formidable opposition and we are going to have to play really well to beat them,” the South African said.
“We have played a lot of cricket of late, the players have been playing cricket and whether you are playing one-day cricket or Twenty20 cricket, as long as you are playing the skills are sharp.
“We have just got to hone those skills. We have four training sessions to get that right. I am confident the guys will be ready. A lot of guys have been playing the domestic competition at home anyway so they have been playing Twenty20 cricket.”
