Pakistan begin their ODI series against Sri Lanka with the first match at Pallekele on Thursday.
The two T20Is were tied at one game apiece, with both teams struggling to get their batting bearings right. It was a low-scoring affair on a difficult track at Hambantota and the batsmen from both sides will hope for a better pitch at Pallekele. Here is the rest of
Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka schedule.
Pakistan (11/10 at
BetFred) will welcome the return of captain Misbah ul Haq who had earlier given up on the duty for the T20Is. Along with him, Younis Khan also returns to the squad. The pair should add solidity to the fledgling middle-order.
The visitors will also have Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali back in their squad, while Imran Farhat could return to open the innings with Mohammad Hafeez.
The Pakistani bowling attack will be bolstered after the selectors decided to retain the services of Sohail Tanvir in the line-up as a replacement for Nasir Jamshed. Tanvir was rather parsimonious in his eight overs spread over the two T20Is and will lead the pace attack with Umar Gul.
Gul had missed out on the second T20I but will look to come back into the playing 11 for the ODIs. Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Hafeez will form the spin attack with one other bowling spot still up for grabs in the line-up.
Afridi is coming off a man-of-the-match award in the second T20I for his all-round performance in that game. He will continue to remain the danger-man through the series.
Sri Lanka (8/11 at
Blue Square) will see a shuffle in the batting order with Mahela Jayawardene moving down to accommodate Upul Tharanga. Kumar Sangakkara’s struggling for form and it may not be a bad idea for him to bat lower down the order with Dinesh Chandimal and Jayawardene taking on the number three and four spots.
Rangana Herath will get his chance to lead the bowling attack alongside Lasith Malinga, while Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera will add all-round strength to the line-up.
The last time these two teams were involved in an ODI series, Pakistan had won it 4-1. Later they went on to beat Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup to enter the final of the tournament as well.
The Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1st ODI will be played on June 7 and starts at 2.30 pm local time.
