Having already spent seven days here preparing for the upcoming tri-series in Sharjah against Afghanistan and the UAE (August 29-September 7) and the Asia Cup (September 9-28) in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Pakistan's T20 squad is now ready to put up a fight on the cricket field.

The Salman Ali Agha-led team have acclimatised to the conditions after a week full of intense net sessions at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai.

“Preparations have been good. We've had time to assess the conditions, and it's incredibly hot here, so the players are adjusting well," the team's bowling coach, Ashley Noffke, said during an interview shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on X.

Pakistan, which have been drawn in Group A alongside arch-rivals India, Oman and hosts UAE in the Asia Cup, will bank on Shaheen Shah Afridi for early breakthroughs.

The 25-year-old left-arm pace bowler, who set up Pakistan's memorable 10-wicket win over India at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai with a stunning opening spell of swing and pace, is now regaining his rhythm and speed following injury setbacks.

“He knows his speed dipped after the injury, and recovery takes time. But against the West Indies (in the recent series), we saw more balls in the 140s (kmph) again. That's a very good sign,” Noffke said.

“He's a threat (for the rival batsmen). His numbers speak for themselves. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have things to work on if he wants to become the superstar he's aiming to be.”

While acknowledging that Shaheen will need support from the other bowlers, Noffke predicted the speedster will be devastating if he finds swing in the UAE conditions.

“He's very dangerous when the ball comes back in. We want him to make swing, both ways, a real weapon again,” the former Australian pace bowler said.

"And in terms of Shaheen, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and the rest of the bowling group, they've been very honest about the areas they want to improve and about their strengths. We're trying to strike a balance between those aspects, and the boys have been getting better and better. We're building nicely!”

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