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Newly appointed Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Afridi has issued a message to his teammates ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, as per the ICC website.
Pakistan will host their Asian rival Sri Lanka for three ODI contests commencing in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, and Afridi has urged his side to continue the winning momentum they discovered during a recent series success against South Africa. It was Afridi's first series in charge of Pakistan since he was appointed ODI skipper, and the fast bowler made an excellent start to his reign as the side collected a narrow 2-1 series triumph over the Proteas. The success against South Africa was a welcome return to form in 50-over cricket for Pakistan, following their disappointing effort at the ICC Champions Trophy event on home soil at the start of the year. Afridi wants his side to find more consistency as they develop as a unit. "The series win against South Africa in Faisalabad was a great boost for our confidence. It was my first series as ODI captain, and I was really proud of the way the players responded to different situations and played as a unit. The energy, intent and teamwork were outstanding," Afridi said. "Going into the Sri Lanka series, our focus is to carry that winning momentum forward. We want to build consistency in our performances and make sure that we keep improving as a team in every department," he added. "Sri Lanka are a disciplined side and always challenge you with their skills. We will need to play smart cricket, stick to our plans and stay positive. The goal is to keep developing as a team and to continue giving our fans performances they can be proud of," he noted. Afridi said it was important that every member of Pakistan's squad take responsibility for their performances in 50-over cricket and that it wasn't always left to the senior members to lead the way. "All the players should take responsibility. It's not Shaheen, Fakhar (Zaman), Babar (Azam), or Saim's (Ayub) job, we all should do our best. We should even back those players who are not performing and always believe that we can perform as a team," Afridi added. Pakistan squad: Shaheen Afridi (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha. (ANI)
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