Clean sweep against Afghanistan 'will give us confidence during the Asia Cup': Pakistan captain Babar Azam

Colombo: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam believes the recent thumping 3-0 ODI series win over Afghanistan will “inspire” his side and provide much-needed momentum heading into the Asia Cup, starting Wednesday. The Asia Cup is set to be hosted in a hybrid model by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from 30 August till 17 September. Pakistan came up with a terrific performance against Afghanistan, clean sweeping the latter 3-0 in the just-concluded ODI series just before the continental showpiece. On Saturday, Pakistan triumphed over Afghanistan by 59 runs in the third and final ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. “We are thrilled heading into the Asia Cup. How we have won the (ODI) series against Afghanistan will be an inspiration for us in the tournament,” Azam was quoted as saying by PCB. “It was never easy against Afghanistan as most people would have thought. Everyone knows how terrific they are on spin-friendly conditions. “The momentum from this series will give us confidence during the Asia Cup. We hope to produce good cricket for our fans,” he added. Also Read | Complete squads of all countries at Asia Cup 2023 The series sweep has allowed Pakistan to leapfrog Australia and reach the summit of the ICC ODI team rankings. Azam credited the achievement to team effort. “When you attain the No 1 spot, you get a lot of satisfaction. It is all due to the efforts of the entire squad along with the support staff,” he said. “We had been at the top of the ODI rankings earlier. But, we came back down to No 2 after losing a fixture,” he signed off.