Team
officials and players keenly followed Zimbabwe’s progress during their
recently-concluded home series against higher-ranked Bangladesh.
The
Zimbabweans, who celebrated their return to Test cricket during the series,
were impressive in both the formats of the game.
“We
certainly won’t be taking Zimbabwe for granted,” Pakistan manager Naved Akram
Cheema told Arab News in an interview on Wednesday. “They have done really well
against Bangladesh and our boys know that to avoid any unpleasant surprises,
they will have to give their best during the tour,” added Cheema, who has
replaced Intikhab Alam as Pakistan’s manager for the tour of Zimbabwe.
Pakistan
will kick off the tour with a two-day game against a Zimbabwe XI in Bulawayo Aug.
28-29 followed by the one-off Test starting in the city from September 1.
The
tour will be Waqar Younis’s last assignment as Pakistan’s coach as the former
Test pacer has announced that he will quit next month because of health reasons.
Cheema
said that Pakistan’s players were saddened by the news. “It’s quite
unfortunate. Waqar was doing a great job as the team’s coach. He and the
players had a great rapport. But he has genuine health problems and the team is
going to miss him,” said Cheema.
The
manager believes that Waqar’s announcement won’t hurt Pakistan’s chances in
Zimbabwe where the tourists will be looking for a clean sweep.
“The
players are professionals and know that nobody is indispensable.
They
are all fully motivated and want to give their coach a befitting farewell by
shining in Zimbabwe,” said Cheema.
Pakistan
trained for a few days in Lahore and according to Cheema their players were
perfectly ready for the assignment. “We had a very good camp. It was really
pleasant in Lahore for the last few days. The boys are fully fit and are
itching to take the field for the series.” Pakistan are taking several rookies
on the tour and Cheema said that the youngsters were capable of doing well in
the series.
“We are
a very balanced side because there are both youth and experience in it,” he
said. “We are giving the youngsters exposure as part of our future strategy.” Pakistan
have weathered several crisis in recent times but Cheema stressed that team
spirit wasn’t a problem.
“It’s a
well-knit unit with a lot of team spirit,” he said.
On
Wednesday, Pakistan received good news when Shoaib Malik was issued a visa and
the allrounder will now leave for Zimbabwe along with his teammates.
Malik,
who was under corruption suspicions, was cleared by Pakistan Cricket Board’s
integrity committee a few days back and was then included in the touring party
as a last-minute addition.
Cheema
said that Malik’s inclusion will add some experience to an otherwise young team.
“Malik
is a very experienced player. In fact captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and
Malik are the only really experienced players in our squad,” he said.
Among
the new faces in Pakistan’s squad are batsman Rameez Raja, legspinner Yasir
Shah and seamer Aizaz Cheema.
