Pakistan have played some brilliant cricket during their ongoing England tour, levelling the Test series 2-2, and will be eager to deliver the goods in the five-match ODI series, which starts on Wednesday. After a tight Test series, there is no easy choice between the two teams, who should produce an entertaining limited overs series.
Pakistan come into this series with their heads held high. They defeated Ireland in the two-match series, with a massive 225 runs win in the first ODI while the second match was abandoned. Though it would not be correct to compare Ireland with England's squad, Pakistan will use this win to gather confidence ahead of the ODI series.
Pakistan and England have some brilliant players in their respective squads, which makes the contest even more interesting. If Pakistan have the likes of Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez and Umar Gul, England are no different with some big names, including Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
Pakistan will look forward to the brilliance of left-hander Sharjeel Khan, who loves to take on bowlers when the field restrictions are on. The opener will not be short of confidence after scoring 86-ball 152 against Ireland, but he is aware of the quality bowlers in the England line-up. Besides Sharjeel, Azhar Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed also need to shoulder the batting responsibility.
With bowlers like Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Woakes, England will be keen to be on top of their game in the series, and not allow easy runs to the Pakistan batsmen. England, who will be led by Morgan, have some quality batsmen, but will depend on Joe Root to a large extent to score runs, though Alex Hales and Moeen Ali also need to contribute with the willow.
All in all, the contest is expected to be a humdinger of the series, with Pakistan and England not giving an inch to the other in the ODI series.
Squads: England: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (c), Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz
Complete England vs Pakistan ODI series schedule
1st ODI
Date – Aug. 24
Time 2 p.m BST (6:30 p.m IST, 6 p.m Pakistan time)
Venue: Rose Bowl, Southampton
2nd ODI
Date – Aug. 27
Time 10:30 a.m BST (3 p.m IST, 2:30 p.m Pakistan time)
Venue: Lord's, London
3rd ODI
Date – Aug. 30
Time 2 p.m BST (6:30 p.m IST, 6 p.m Pakistan time)
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
4th ODI
Date – Sep. 1
Time 2 p.m BST (6:30 p.m IST, 6 p.m Pakistan time)
Venue: Headingley, Leeds
5th ODI
Date – Sep. 4
Time 10:30 a.m BST (3 p.m IST, 2:30 p.m Pakistan time)
Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
TV listings: Star Sports Network (India), PTV (Pakistan), Sky Sports 2 (UK), Fox Sports (Australia).
