Shaheen defends spin-friendly pitches in Australia ODI series

Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has defended the team’s pitch preparation strategy following their 2-1 series victory over Australia, saying home conditions are routinely tailored to maximise advantage.

Pakistan opted for slow, turning surfaces across Rawalpindi and Lahore during the three-match series, where spinners played a decisive role.

The approach has triggered debate among analysts and former cricketers, but Afridi backed the team management’s decision after the tense final ODI at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.

Addressing concerns over the nature of the pitches, the Pakistan skipper said teams around the world adopt similar strategies when playing at home.

“Every team prepares pitches that suit them when they play in their backyard to win,” Afridi said.

He stressed that modern cricket requires both long-term planning and the ability to adapt to varying conditions, pointing out that Pakistan themselves have experienced contrasting surfaces during overseas tours.

Afridi referenced the team’s recent tour of Australia, highlighting that Pakistan played on pace-friendly wickets and still managed success under Mohammad Rizwan’s captaincy.

“We have Test series [in the West Indies and England coming up] in which some of these players will play, and they can use them to prepare themselves [for the World Cup]… We played on green and bouncy pitches when we went to Australia under [Mohammad] Rizwan’s captaincy, and we won that series. You cannot offer them green wickets when they come here because we have to win,” he added.

The Pakistan captain further clarified that the challenging nature of the pitches used in the Australia ODI series was deliberate, aimed at testing the squad’s ability to handle pressure situations and difficult batting conditions.

“These were tough wickets, and scoring runs or spending time on them was not easy. We have time on our hands before the World Cup, and we will prepare pitches of different characteristics as well in the build-up,” Afridi stated.