The heat will be on when Pakistan and West Indies square up for the three-match ODI series, quite literally.
The series, which was to be played in December 2021, was postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the West Indies camp.
West Indies recently toured the Netherlands where they secured a 3-0 win.
Their top three enter this series in form, having scored centuries (Hope, Brooks, Mayers) while Brandon King struck an unbeaten, match-winning 91 in one of the games.
The games now will be played in extremely hot conditions – with a high of 45 degree Celsius – which leaves the players in danger of dehydration, heat stroke, exhaustion and cramps.
Although the start time has been pushed to 16.00 local time ( 7AM Eastern Caribbean time), the temperatures are expected to hover around 41-45 degree Celsius for the majority of the playing time, which will be a big challenge for the players.
At the Pre match press conference of the first ODI, Newly Appointed West Indies white-ball captain, Nicholas Pooran, has told that young all-rounder Keemo Paul will join the squad for the three ODI series against Pakistan in Multan.
Pooran revealed that no player is injured, but given the extreme heat in Multan, they opted to select the in-form Paul as cover given the adverse conditions.
“We don’t know how our bodies would react, but we don’t want to make any excuses. We are professionals and we want to take this challenge. Hopefully everything goes well for us. Hopefully we can leave Pakistan with a serious victory as well.
But I believe if we can do that in these conditions, it will be one of our proudest moments. So we’re looking forward to the challenge here. Regarding the heat. The heat is here. We play cricket in the sun. This is the first time we’re going to play probably 45 degrees, but I believe that we will be fine.” said West indies Skipper
Paul last featured in an ODI in February 2020 against Sri Lanka and has not played for West Indies since November 2020 due to injury.