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| November 17, 2002 | Sunday | Ramazan 11, 1423 |
‘Perfect 10 will put Pakistan on track’
KARACHI, Nov 16: Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram said Saturday that 10 out of 10 one-day victories in Zimbabwe and South Africa would put his team on track to win next year’s World Cup.
“We are playing 10 one-day games in the next few weeks and if we achieve a perfect 10 we would be on the right track to win the World Cup in South Africa,” Wasim said.
Wasim, all-rounder Azhar Mahmood and batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, left Pakistan for Zimbabwe Saturday to join the team for a series of five One-day Internationals beginning Nov 23.
Batsman Hasan Raza will return after playing the second and final Test against Zimbabwe.
Wasim, who opted to rest following Pakistan’s disappointing Test series against Australia last month, showed a return to form earlier this week by taking 5-12 and 2-22, and scoring 33 not out and 28 in preliminary selections in Lahore for the World Cup squad.
After Zimbabwe the team will head to South Africa to play five more One-day Internationals and two Tests, for which Wasim has declared his availability.
“At the moment I am concentrating on one-day games but if the selectors, captain and coach are willing then I am ready to play Tests as well,” he said.
Wasim — the only bowler to take more than 400 wickets in both Tests and One-day Internationals — has played just four Tests in the last two seasons due to injury problems.
He said he was looking forward to the clash against arch-rival India during the World Cup, which gets under way Feb 8.
“I am anxiously waiting for the Cup clash against India on March 1 because we have not played them for two years,” he said.
India and Pakistan have not met since May 2000, when India severed cricketing ties as a protest against Islamabad’s alleged support of a Muslim insurgency in the troubled Kashmir.—AFP
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