ISLMABAD – Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq is confident that thenational team will break its six-match losing streak in the World Cupagainst India when it takes on the arch-rivals at the mega-event on June16. Pakistan have never won against India in a World Cup match but theformer Test captain feels that they can post a breakthrough victory againstthe neighbours this time around when the two teams meet at Manchester nextmonth.
“People take a Indo-Pak match very seriously and some even go on to saythat ‘we will be happy even if only we can win against India during theWorld Cup’,” said Inzamam. “I’m hopeful that we will end our losing streakagainst India in World Cup matches,” he told a Pakistan Cricket website.
The veteran of 120 Tests, however, said that the World Cup is not justabout the match against India, and “Pakistan has the potential to beatother sides as well”.
Pakistan goes into the World Cup having suffered 10 successive ODI defeatsand were also beaten by Afghanistan in the warm-up match of the World Cup.
Inzamam, who is under fire in recent times for making late changes in theWorld Cup squad, spoke about the difficulties of selecting national teamand the pressure that comes with it.
“People think it is easy to jot down 14-15 players in order to form a squadbut it’s nothing like that because there is a lot of pressure. For example,it was very difficult for us to select fast-bowlers for the World Cupbecause there were a lot of good names around including the likes of(Mohammad) Amir, Junaid (Khan) and (Usman Khan) Shinwari,” said the49-year-old.
Defending the selections of pacers Mohammad Hasnain and Wahab Riaz, Inzamamsaid: “Like I said before pace of Hasnain, who can touch 150 kph, would adda new dimension to our bowling attack because the rest of the bowlerspenetrate only around the 130-140 kph mark.”
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On the threat posed by minnows like Afghanistan during the upcomingtournament, Inzamam said no team should be taken lightly in the World Cup.
“I think we should not take any team lightly during the World Cup. Teamslike Afghanistan can upset some of the bigger teams. Even if you play, forinstance, against Afghanistan or England, you get the same value with twopoints.” He said it was important to get off to a good start in the WorldCup.
“Getting off to a good start is important and I think our team has theability to do that.” Inzamam included Pakistan alongside England, India andNew Zealand in his list of four semi-finalists.
“I think England, as they are the number one side in the world, India,because of the balance of their side, New Zealand, as they have played goodcricket in the build-up to the event, and of course Pakistan will be myfinal four,” he said.
