Intikhab, Waqar hopeful of defeating Aussies

LAHORE: Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam said on Sunday that Australia was not an undefeatable side as Pakistan have the potential to beat them in the five One-day International series which is going to start in the United Arab Emirates from April 22. The Pakistan squad left for the UAE on Monday morning.

'In one-day cricket no team is favourvite and the side which performs well on the given day can win and our players have the ability to beat the Aussies,' Intikhab told reporters on Sunday at the conclusion of the three-day training camp set up for the series at the Gaddafi Stadium.

'By playing good cricket Pakistan can achieve better results and we want to play result oriented series in Dubai and Abu Dhabi,' he said.

He said the main focus in the training camp was on fielding and fitness of the players who have shown great improvement in both the areas.

Intikhab, a former Test captain, said he had no liking or disliking about any player and the playing XI would only be selected on merit.

'Every senior player, including Shoaib Akhtar, has to maintain fitness and discipline to be part of the playing XI,' he said.

He added that on the last day of the camp, two matches were held of 24 overs each, in which different winning targets were set, which were achieved.

He said the target matches played a good role to motivate the players as power play option was also used in different sessions.

Intikhab said the team was going to the UAE nine days before start of the series to get acclimatised with local conditions.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain and fast bowler Waqar Younis said the Australians were not hot favourites in the upcoming series as their last six months’ performance was not satisfactory.

Talking to reporters, Waqar said the South African side was looking more formidable as compared to the Australians.

While discussing the Pakistan team, he said, its only drawback was that it did not play any international cricket recently while the Australians were playing regular cricket.

Commenting on Shoaib Akhtar, he said bowling in a practice match was quite different as compared to bowling in a 50-over match, therefore, he could give comments about Shoaib only after seeing his performance in a match.

Waqar was of the view that Shoaib would be under more pressure than Australian fast bowler Brett Lee.

He expressed his sorrow over the shifting of the series to an off-shore venue due to security fears raised by the Aussies.

He maintained that the shifting of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to South Africa was not a good sign for the South Asian cricket.

But, he said, the region should accept the challenge to overcome the problem with joint efforts.

Waqar said he had firm belief that the cricketers should be allowed to play cricket for both IPL and ICL, but now he had some doubts over the stance of ICL-affiliated players, who wanted to play for the country.

He said they had changed their stance only after sensing the ICL could wind up the show.

AP adds: Waqar Younis has questioned the national commitment of those Pakistan players who are competing in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League.

The future of ICL players will come up for discussion when the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) executive board meets in Dubai on April17 and 18.

Currently all ICL players are ineligible for their national teams, as the ICL Twenty20 competition runs in opposition to the officially recognized Indian Premier League.

Those Pakistan players in the ICL have been critical of the international ban, but Waqar said they should have put their country ahead of the ICL.

'I am a strong believer that a cricketer should be permitted to play anywhere, but in this (ICL) case I think somewhere there is a doubt,' Waqar said.

'It means country was not dear to you before (joining the ICL).'

Ex-Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq leads the Lahore Badshahs team in the ICL, which is made up of Pakistani players and won the event last year.

Waqar retired after the 2003 World Cup with an impressive record of 373 wickets in 87 Test matches and 416 scalps from 262 One-day Internationals.