Pakistan are here in England and Wales to kick-off their World Cup preparations. They were victorious in the 2017 ICC Champions which was played in these very conditions and now they would eye to win the biggest accolade in World Cricket which is the World Cup.
Pakistan are scheduled to play a 5 ODI and a solitary T20I against hosts England which will commence from May o5 and this would be their perfect preparations for the World Cup. However, they will be playing against Kent, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire prior to the limited overs series against England.
Both Kent and Pakistan are struck with some injury blows and will be missing the services of some of their key players. Pakistan’s bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan will be missing the whole limited overs series due to illness which has given leg spinner Yasir Shah a chance in the squad and will be available for this practice game.
Kent skipper Sam Billings who came back from the IPL has dislocated his shoulder in his first Royal One-Day Cup game this season. His injury will force him to sit out from this game which means, Adam Rouse will lead the side in his absence. The English Cricket Board (ECB) has given permission to the club to include 2 guest players as the team is battling with injuries. Middlesex seamer James Harris and Essex’s right arm pacer Shane Snater who plays for the Dutch will be the two players filling the spot for kent.
Total Played: 02
Pakistan won: 01
Kent won: 01
Pakistan vs Kent
Venue: County Ground, Beckenham
Time: April 27, 03:30 PM
Adam Rouse (c), Sean Dickson, James Harris, Shane Snater, Fred Klaassen, Zak Crawley, Jordan Cox, Jared Lysaugh, Alex Blake, Imran Qayyum, Adam Riley, Marcus O’Riordan, Ollie Robinson.
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Mohammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Yasir Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hassan Ali, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Pakistan:
Pakistan are coming into this tour after a humiliating 5-0 whitewash against Australia in the UAE. They would be eyeing to shrug off their disappointments from the last series and start fresh here to keep up with their World Cup preparations.
In the batting department, the likes of Haris Sohail, Abid Ali and Babar Azam will hold the key apart from the successful opening duo of Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman.
Among the bowlers, Yasir Shah, Hassan Ali and Mohammad Amir will hold the key.
Kent:
Tangled with injuries to some of their key players, Kent will look for some reliance on the likes of acting skipper Adam Rouse, Zak Crawley, Sean Dickson and Alex Blake in the batting unit.
James Harris, Fred Klaassen and Imran Qayyum will hold the key in the bowling department for Kent.
Playing XI of PAK:
Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah
Playing XI of KET:
Ollie Robinson, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Adam Riley, Sean Dickson, James Harris, Shane Snater, Imran Qayyum, Alex Blake, Adam Rouse, Fred Klaassen
Wicket-keeper: Sarfraz Ahmed
Batsmen: Sean Dickson, Zak Crawley, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq
All-rounders: Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf
Bowlers: Imran Qayyum, Fred Klaasen, Hasan Ali
Our captain and vice-captain picks: Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Zak Crawley, Imad Wasim, Sean Dickson