Pakistan’s Director of Cricket Mickey Arthur admitted that he is well aware of the strengths and weakness of the Sri Lankan team, having worked with the side between December 2019 to November 2021, and backs struggling Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman to come good in the next few games of the ODI World Cup.

The two Asian giants Pakistan and Sri Lanka will square off against each other in their second game of the marquee event in Hyderabad. The Men in Green will come into the contest after a thumping win over the Netherlands, while Sri Lanka were outplayed by South Africa in their opening encounter of the World Cup.

Speaking to the AFP, Mickey Arthur stated that he is well aware of the Sri Lankan team going into the crucial World Cup match and acknowledged that the Babar Azam-led team needs to perform at their absolute peak to win their second game in the marquee events and was thrilled with the victory over the Netherlands in the opening match.

“Yeah, I know their strengths and weaknesses so we will have plans put in place for all of them, They are a dangerous side so we will have to be at our best to beat them.”

“I enjoyed the first win even though it wasn’t a great performance, But we did enough to win and when the game was on the line we had players standing up,” Mickey Arthur said.

Despite Pakistan winning the game by 81 runs, the Men in Green looked less impressive throughout the match against the lesser-ranked Dutch side.

Pakistan was put to the test in the first game itself when they were battling at 38/3 after the Netherlands bowlers had removed their top three batsmen in the first 10 overs, while the team pulled off the game to win the match in Hyderabad.

I Am Not Worried About His Form – Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur backs underperforming Fakhar Zaman to come back to form in the coming games in the World Cup 2023 and believes that the left-handed opener just needs one inning to return to his usual best in the ODI format of the game.

“I am not worried about his form, he is a good player and is just one inning away from a big score,” Mickey Arthur added.

A spate of poor performances in ODIs has put Fakhar Zaman under scrutiny. In the opening game against the Netherlands, the left-handed opener’s poor run of form continued as he was removed for just 12 runs off 15 deliveries.