Pakistan look to bounce back in T20I series against West Indies

With an eye on the Asia Cup 2025 and next year’s ICC World Cup, Pakistan will be desperately looking to bounce back from their recent 2-1 T20I series defeat against Bangladesh as they take on a struggling West Indies in the first of a three-match T20I series in Lauderhill, Florida, on Friday (tomorrow).

The match is scheduled to begin at 5am PST at the Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium, a venue that has hosted 12 ODIs and 17 T20Is since May 2010.

Pakistan will be playing at this venue for only the second time, having narrowly beaten Ireland by three wickets in their final group match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

In an effort to build a formidable squad for the World Cup, Pakistan experimented with a relatively inexperienced line-up in the recent away series against Bangladesh. However, the batting unit struggled significantly in the first two games, resulting in heavy defeats in Dhaka.

For this series Pakistan have brought back their seasoned pace-trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf aiming to strengthen their bowling attack. Traditionally the Lauderhill pitch starts off favoring batters but slows down later, offering assistance to spinners.

In their last outing at this venue, Pakistan had to work hard while chasing a modest 107-run target against Ireland in the T20 World Cup, eventually securing a win in the 19th over after losing seven wickets in the process.

This will be the first T20I meeting between Pakistan and the West Indies in three and a half years. Their last encounter was on December 16, 2021, at the National Stadium in Karachi, where Pakistan completed a 3-0 series sweep.

Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha expressed confidence ahead of the series.

“Training has been very good. The weather is challenging. It's very hot here but the preparations are going well,” Agha said.

“Every series is important for us moving forward, especially with the Asia Cup and World Cup coming up. The West Indies are always a tough side to play against.”

Commenting on the return of the senior pacers, Agha said, “These are our frontline bowlers and our first-choice attack. They have been serving Pakistan for a long time. We experimented with different combinations during the Bangladesh series but now we are back with a balanced mix of seniors and juniors. We are excited and hopeful for a strong performance in this series,” he said.

Historically Pakistan have dominated the head-to-head in T20Is, winning 15 of the 21 matches with West Indies winning just three, with three games ending in no result.

West Indies, on the other hand, are also coming into the series on a low, having been whitewashed 5-0 by Australia at home.

Pakistan arrived in Lauderhill on July 28 and have since undergone several intense training sessions in preparation for the series.

Squads

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Muqeem

West Indies: Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keacy Carty, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Jewel Andrew, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jediah Blades, Matthew Forde