CricketViewer.com

Pakistan cricket captain, Shoaib Malik said the immediate task ahead of the team is to go all out for a victory in the first one-day game against South Africa, setting aside the pressure of losing the Test series.

“It is wrong to say that we are under any psychological pressure, I do not believe in it. We are facing a new challenge and we are fully focused on Thursday’s game”, he told reporters on the eve of the match here on Wednesday.

The young all-rounder said it is not fair to relate Pakistan team’s performance with the match played between PCB XI and South Africa.

“PCB XI comprised mostly of the young players of Pak U-19 and A teams and it is not wise to believe that South Africa has established an edge based on that performance”, he said.

He said his team is a blend of youth and experience and it is playing one-day cricket after a gap. “But we are doing good after playing Twenty20 and then Test cricket, we are making improvement in each match and we are fully committed to give a tough time to the Proteas in the one-dayers,” he said.

Shoaib Malik urged the team members to show improvement in their fielding, as it will not be wise to give away runs with below-par fielding.

“I think we can do a lot better provided we bat well, bowl well and field well. We will have to keep in mind all the strengths (and weaknesses) of our opponents and put up a collective effort”, he said.

Shoaib said the final team combination will be decided after viewing the pitch and if needed, there will be no problem moving players up and down the order as the players are flexible enough to adjust in any position.

Answering a question, he said, he feels fully fit and his shoulder injury no longer bothers him. He bowled a few overs in the net and he will be available to bowl in the match if needed.

“I do not want to say that we need to improve in a certain area (opening or fielding) we have to lift the level of our game (as a whole) to match the high performance of our opponents who are in a slightly better position after winning the Test series,” he said.

Source:Cricket News