Afridi backs ‘cohesive and contributing’ Pak squad to bag World Cup glory

KARACHI - Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi has said his squad is confident of performing well in the forthcoming World Cup as most of the players contributed towards the one-day series win against New Zealand.

“What has given us confidence that we can do well in the World Cup is that nearly every player contributed towards our series win in New Zealand. You can never expect to win dependent on one or two players. Every player has to contribute in some way in a match,” the Daily Times quoted Afridi, as saying, after returning to Pakistan.

“We were doing well in patches in recent matches but were not able to win series, but this time we managed to do that with proper combined performances. And don’t forget New Zealand has been a very difficult side to beat at home in the past,” he added.

Afridi also said he was happy with the World Cup combination given to him, and that he was confident of lifting the trophy.

“We just need to continue doing our basics right and everyone pitching in throughout the competition. And with the nation praying for us we are now among the favourites this World Cup,” he said.

The Pakistan skipper made it clear that while his team could not ignore the recent happenings off the field, they were trying to focus just on cricket.

“The team has become mentally tougher and is hungry for success,” he said.

Afridi also pointed out that his players were also looking forward to the World Cup because the pitches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would be very familiar to them.

“The pitches are going to be an advantage for the Asian teams including us, so we are prepared,” he maintained.

Pakistan start their World Cup campaign on February 23 with a match against Kenya. Their other opponents in the initial group stage are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. (ANI)