CAPE TOWN, Sept 19: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has cautioned his players not to let complacency creep into their ranks as his confident squad take on dark horses Bangladesh in their last Super Eights match of the Twenty20 World Championship at Newlands on Thursday.

“Bangladesh can cause surprises and we should not take them lightly as any such thought can spoil our success chances,” Shoaib said on Wednesday.

Shoaib added the team is fully focussed after their two back-to-back victories against Sri Lanka and world champions Australia.

“We are geared up for the (Bangladesh) match but there should not be any moment to feel relaxed while taking on Bangladesh because we cannot afford it right now as Bangladesh have given some surprises in the tournament,” he noted.

“What is happening here that some weaker teams have caused upsets. Look at the way Zimbabwe defeated the mighty Australians and then Bangladesh surprised the West Indies and anything can happen because these teams are still playing with the same vigour and passion,” he maintained adding, “We don’t want to be another example of such treatment.”

Shoaib said it was very essential to maintain the continuity of victories by showing consistency which, he urged, was only possible if all the team members gave their best.

“I don’t want fielding lapses, I don’t want to see batting flaws and we should be better in batting as we must win this match to go into the semi-finals with a higher level of confidence,” he emphasised.

Shoaib also hoped that out-of-form opener and vice-captain Salman Butt will return to form as the coming stage of the tournament, the semi-finals, is very crucial.

“We have three openers in Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez and Salman. So far all of them have struggled for runs and much has been left on the middle order to support the side and luckily the middle-order batsmen have risen to the occasion to save the team from any major disaster. But now they (all of three) should realise the demanding situation to regain form,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain has declared that his side are capable to stop Pakistan’s flow of wins at the global Twenty20 event on Thursday.

“I know we are very inexperienced compared to Pakistan but event though we are capable of giving them a surprise,” said Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful on Wednesday.

The young skipper added that his team’s confidence is high after their big win against the West Indies earlier in the tournament, adding now Bangladesh are targeting Pakistan, another strong opponents.—Agencies

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