LAHORE, Oct 31: Pakistan cricketers have vowed that they will not let the nation down with sloppy and poor performance  they had displayed in the past three months.

“It’s our commitment and promise to the nation that the team would work together for glory. We know that this is a crucial period with World Cup just round the corner. We are aware that if we have to lift ourselves, this is the time. We owe a lot to the nation and hopefully we will succeed in restoring the confidence of our fan club,” the team said in a statement.

Pakistan’s dismal run started in the three-nation tournament in Morocco in August and continued through in Nairobi and Colombo before Australian trounced them in all three Tests this month.

Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe features two Tests between Nov 9 to 20. The one-day matches will played from Nov 23 to Dec 1.

From Zimbabwe Pakistan will reach South Africa to play another two Tests and five one-day matches against the home team before returning home on Jan 7.

Test squad comprises of Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq  (vice-captain), Taufiq Umar, Saleem Elahi, Shahid Afridi,  Yousuf Youhana, Hasan Raza, Faisal Iqbal, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib  Akhtar, Mohammad Zahid, Mohammad Sami, and Saqlain Mushtaq.

Hasan Raza and Sami will return home after the Tests and will be replaced by Misbah-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram and Azhar Mahmood for the one-dayers.

Meanwhile, Wasim Akram will have to obtain permission from the organisers of the next World Cup for using insulin, a treatment for diabetes.

Wasim who has been suffering from the disease since the past three years is using the medicine on a regular basis.

Dr Meesaq Rizvi, while delivering a lecture on anti-doping to the Pakistan cricket team Thursday said that insulin was also a banned medicine for athletes. However, anyone required to use it medically must obtain prior permission from the World Cup organising committee.

The World Cup is scheduled to be held in South Africa from Feb 7.

The players were also informed of the procedure of collecting samples for doping and doping-info with the help of slides.

All players and officials of the Pakistan team proceeding on the tour were present at the lecture.

International Cricket Council (ICC) has declared doping tests mandatory for the very first time at the World Cup. PCB organised the lecture to create awareness among the Pakistan team in order to avoid any untoward situation.