Weather played spoilsport last Friday when Karachi’s first One-day International was abandoned because of unseasonal rains. The eagerly-awaited game was to feature the visiting Sri Lankans against Pakistan’s full-strength team. Now, the three match series has been reduced to a two-match contest with games on Monday and Wednesday.

In the last decade, Pakistan played their ‘home’ series mostly in the UAE, but according to the Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Wasim Khan from now onward no home series will be played in the UAE.

Top Sri Lankan players have opted out of the tour due to security concerns. They are Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne.

Before the Sri Lankan tour, Pakistan had successfully hosted the Sri Lankan team for a day to play a Twenty20 International in October 2017. Other teams to visit Pakistan during the last four years were the ICC World Eleven, Zimbabwe and West Indies.

This is the first time since 2009 that a foreign team will stay in Pakistan for two weeks.

In the home series, Pakistani players are excited as most of them are playing a complete ODI and T20 series on their soil for the first time.

Pakistan team looks much stronger than the visitors due to non-availability of their senior players. Pakistan have won their last six completed matches against Sri Lanka.

But skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq say they will not take the inexperienced Sri Lankan team lightly.

Sri Lanka whitewashed Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series at home last month.

It was the best time for the management to give chance to youngsters against the under-strength Sri Lankan team on their home ground so that they can get experience of international matches. If youngsters get their first chance against top teams, they mostly fail to deliver and then face criticism.

In other countries, the management gives chances to fresh talent against weak opponents. Our senior players are always ready and fit to play against the lower ranked teams. They should tell the management that they are willing to provide space to young players.

For this series against Sri Lanka, not a single player has been picked from the under-19 team that thrashed their counterparts in South Africa in a recent tour.

Before the ongoing ODI series, Pakistan had played 153 ODIs against Sri Lanka. The Green-shirts won 90 of those matches, while Sri Lanka won 58. One game was tied and four ended without any result.

Pakistan’s 371-9 in Nairobi on October 4, 1996, is their highest total against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka scored their best total 368-4 in Hambantota on July 26, 2015.

Former Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya is the most successful batsman in the matches between the two countries with 2517 runs in 82 ODIs. He averaged 32.68 and scored three hundreds and 18 fifties.

For Pakistan, former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is the highest run getter with 2319 runs in 75 matches at an average of 34.61. He hit three centuries and 13 half-centuries.

Former opener Saeed Anwar scored seven hundreds against Sri Lanka. Ex-skipper Marvan Atapattu also scored three centuries against Pakistan. Former spin great Muttiah Muralitharan took 96 wickets in 65 ODIs against Pakistan, averaging 25.25.

For Pakistan, swing master Wasim Akram took 92 wickets in 59 appearances, averaging 20.96.