May 12, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1428

LAHORE, May 11: Prolific batsman Mohammad Yousuf, has said it was not only the bad performance of batsmen but also that of bowlers which prompted Pakistan’s early exit from the 2007 World Cup.

Talking to reporters on Friday Yousuf said there had been a campaign that batsmen let down the team.

"Though the batsmen's performance was not at par but a target of 131 set against Ireland was not easy on that kind of that pitch and if our bowlers bowled fairly well that was an impossible task to achieve," Yousuf said.

Former Pakistan, captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had also said that the performance of the batsmen was not exceptional in the World Cup which was a major cause of the debacle.

Yousuf, was hopeful that Pakistan would show better results against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.

He said the boys trained hard in the camp and they were well prepared to meet the challenge of Sri Lanka.

Yousuf said he considered every opposition team as a challenge either it was Ireland or Sri Lanka.