Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam is
optimistic of clinching the T20I series against England in the presence of
specialist players.

The Men in Green will face the Three Lions
in the first T20I in Manchester on Friday evening.

While talking to the media on the eve of
the series opener, Azam showed optimism about clinching a series victory in the
presence of T20 specialists.

“It’s really difficult to come from
red-ball to white-ball,” said Babar. “But T20 specific players have
been practising so the aim is to win the series. We are positive about the
series and will not take England lightly. They have good white-ball
players.”

The 25-year-old also confirms that young
batsman Haider Ali is in contention to make his T20I debut in the series.

“He is an exciting talent and has been
doing well in practice,” said Azam. “We will definitely want to give
him a chance as and when it comes.”

On the other hand, home team’s captain Eoin
Morgan believes the upcoming series will be an opportunity for a number of players
to impress the selectors ahead of the 2021 International Cricket Council (ICC)
T20 World Cup.

“This is another opportunity for guys
who would potentially sit outside that 15 to try and present their best case
moving forward for winter tours and the World Cup next year,” he said. “One
of the challenges between now and the World Cup is going to be getting our
strongest team on the park as often as we can to define (their) roles.