The last few years have been an extremely dismal ride for Pakistan in ODI cricket, as the once powerhouse of the format is now termed as easy wins for oppositions.
The nation, which once boasted of some terrorising names in the batting and bowling departments, now has been reduced to a paltry laughing stock and a team which proves its immaturity at the highest level in ICC events.
This time around for the ICC Champions Trophy in England, Pakistan just about managed to qualify, as they were barely above the West Indies and entered the tournament as the lowest ranked team. Not many are giving the team any chance of excelling and former legends such as Wasim Akram also have clearly stated that fans shouldn’t expect too much from the young side undergoing a transitional phase.
At the helm of affairs has been their wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, one of the few performers since the last few years. On the sidelines of a practice session at Birmingham, Ahmed spoke to the press and stated that his team would play without the fear of losing.
“We are very hopeful about the India match but our aim is to first perform well in our opening practice match as a team unit,” Ahmed said. “Obviously, performing against India is important because the whole nation is expecting us to win against them, so we will give our full 100 percent on the ground.
”We will try our fullest to be seen fighting. All players are giving their heart out in each and every department of the game and when we’re together giving our best and keeping our focus, the result will surely come good.” “Definitely we are very hopeful and really excited about this tournament,” he added. “We are No. 8, so we have nothing to lose. So that’s why I told the players just play your natural game.”
Pakistan comes on the back of a series win in the Caribbean, and Ahmed mentioned the same to gain some confidence.
“Initially we played a good series in West Indies,” he said. “It was a very tough series for us. But a lot of our players performed really well in all forms, all departments, batting or bowling. So we’re really hopeful to perform this tournament and we’ll try to win this trophy as well.”
Speaking about the ultimate ambition, Sarfaraz admitted that there would be no better gift for his nation than an event win on Eid this year.
“We had a six-day camp here before the tournament and we used it as best we could for our practice in fielding, batting and bowling,” Sarfraz said. “These upcoming warm-up matches are very important and it will give us a fair idea about the pitch and the conditions. Our wish is to win the mini-World Cup and we are all in for it and we will try to give our nation a gift for Eid.”