Wahab Riaz has flourished since grabbing five wickets against England on his ODI debut last year.—AFP photo

KARACHI: Pakistan's attack in the absence of banned new-ball pair Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir should not be underestimated during the World Cup, pace bowler Wahab Riaz warned on Wednesday.

Asif and Amir were barred from playing for at least five-years by an International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal earlier this month after being found guilty of spot-fixing elements of a test against England last year.

“Obviously we will miss Asif and Amir who were in top form. But even without them we have a potent attack,” Riaz told a privaye news channel in Bangladesh.

The 25-year-old Riaz has flourished since grabbing five wickets against England on his ODI debut last year and the left-arm bowler's tally stands 23 ODI wickets from 13 matches.

Riaz also pointed out that Pakistani bowlers are well versed in the art of reverse swinging the old ball and this should hold them in good stead during the tournament.

“In the hot and humid conditions and on the slow pitches in Sri Lanka, we will definitely try to fully exploit this art to our advantage,” he said.

“We are strong in both departments even without Asif and Amir, we still have a top bowling attack so other teams should watch out.”

Pakistan are in Group A with Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe Canada and Kenya and will play all their preliminary matches in Sri Lanka from Feb 23.