Pakistan Under-19 cricket team will open their tour of Sri Lanka on Sunday (today) with the opening match of the five-match 50-over cricket series in Hambantota. On Friday in Colombo, the two captains - Sri Lanka's Nipun Dananjaya and Rohail Nazir of Pakistan - attended the trophy unveiling ceremony with Rohail hoping to play a competitive series.
Rohail said he was contented with the team's preparations and believed side was capable of winning the series against their counterparts. "The series against Sri Lanka is going to be an exciting and tough series, which will help players from either side to prepare for next year's ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa. "Our coaches have prepared us keeping in mind the spinning tracks in Sri Lanka, so I feel that the conditions won't be a problem for us," Rohail said.
He added: "We have a great bunch of players in this team that is capable of winning matches on their own. Sri Lanka is a tough opponent to beat especially at home, so we are ready for the challenge.
Wicketkeeper batsman Rohail was one of the star performers in the Inter-Region U19 One-day tournament held in August last year (238 runs in seven matches). Saim Ayub, a left handed top-order batsman from Karachi, is another performer from the Inter-Region U-19 tournament where he scored 325 runs in seven matches at an average of 65 including two centuries and a half-century.