Pakistan’s 2-2 draw with their hosts earlier this summer helped them to the top of the ICC Test rankings for the first time.
Buoyed by that achievement, Azhar — who is Pakistan’s one-day captain — anticipates a strong performance during the scheduled five 50-over contests.
He said: “Confidence is very high and belief is there, obviously coming in from the Test series, we had a very good couple of months here.
“We take that confidence into the one-day internationals as well.
“It is a massive boost and a proud moment for Pakistan cricket and the whole nation is very happy about it, as are the players.
“It’s definitely a good thing for us, our one-day ranking is not great right now [Pakistan are ninth in the world] but we will take the opportunity the way the team are performing, hopefully we can convert it into ODIs as well.”
