ENG vs PAK: ODI Series – Top five players to watch out for

Pakistan is set to commence their tour of England with three ODIs, which will be played on July 8, 10 and 13 at Cardiff, Lord’s and Birmingham, respectively. The teams will then meet each other in as many T20Is between July 16 and 20. With as many as 7 members from the English squad testing positive for COVID-19, they have named a fresh squad. Ahead of the ODI series, here are top players to watch out for –

5) Ben Duckett (England)

The 26-year old wicketkeeper-batsman has been slotted in the ODI World Champions squad. Aside from a one-off T20I appearance against Pakistan in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, he’s been out of favour at England level since the tour of India and Bangladesh in 2016-17. Duckett’s strike rate hovers around 100 while his highest individual score in List A cricket is 220 not out.

4) Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan)

Pakistan’s opening batter Fakhar Zaman is another crucial player in the visitors’ ranks and the team would expect him to be at his best to sail against a quality team with home advantage on their side. Zaman, currently ranked No. 7 in the ICC rankings, is only the second batter alongside his skipper Azam to be in the Top 10.

3) Matt Parkinson (England) 

The 24-year old leggie has been making waves in English domestic cricket. He has featured in two ODIs and two T20Is for England thus far. In 59 T20 matches, he has 93 scalps to his name. His last match for England was in February 2020 where he played in two ODI games.

2) Dawid Malan (England)

The number one T20I batsman in the world, Malan has a lot to prove in the 50-over format. In three ODIs that he has played thus far, he has scored only 90 runs with his highest score being 50. His last ODI was against India in Pune this year. Malan has more than 5,000 runs in List A cricket and it will be interesting to see how he goes.

1) Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Pakistan’s all-format skipper is currently ranked No.1 in ICC’s Men ODI rankings of batsmen, having pipped Virat Kohli recently. Azam has been a vital cog in the Pakistan setup ever since his inclusion and his importance over the years has only shot up. He averages a stellar 56.83 from 78 ODI innings and has 3808 runs with 13 centuries and 17 half-centuries under his belt.