Pakistan will seek inspiration from its dramatic Champions Trophy win in England two years ago when it takes on a resurgent West Indies on Friday.
Pakistan has lost its past 10 ODIs, including a 5-0 whitewash by Australia and 4-0 thumping by England, and its problems were further compounded when it went down to Afghanistan by three wickets in a warm-up match.
But skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed hopes his side will draw inspiration from 2017, when the team was in a similar position.
“We will seek inspiration from our Champions Trophy win because then too we were losing and then lifted ourselves at the right time to win the trophy,” Sarfaraz said.
Pakistan had lost 4-1 in Australia before the tournament and India thumped it by 124 runs in the opening game. But it then beat South Africa, Sri Lanka and England on its way to the final, where it outclassed India again by 180 runs.
“The boys are motivated and by playing in England for a month, we are well prepared and you will hopefully see us doing well,” said Sarfaraz.
All eyes on Amir
Sarfaraz will also hope his pace spearhead Mohammad Amir will dismantle the West Indies top order, boasting the hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle and the impressive Shai Hope.
“Amir is fully fit and available for selection for tomorrow’s game,” Sarfaraz said in his pre-match press conference.
Amir’s form will be crucial for Pakistan, which has only won three times in 10 World Cup matches against West Indies.
Amir said playing in the World Cup will be a dream come true after he missed the previous two tournaments following a ban for spot-fixing. “It’s a dream come true,” Amir said.
Dream come true
“Every cricketer dreams of representing his country in a World Cup so this is my chance. My target is to take wickets and be a third-time lucky in England after winning the World T20 and Champions Trophy,” said the paceman.
Firing on
Andre Russell smashed 54 off 25 balls and Hope hit a century to propel the West Indies to 421 in its warm-up win against New Zealand on Tuesday.
West Indies is also returning to form after sneaking its way into the World Cup through a qualifying round in Zimbabwe last year.
The squads:
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (Capt.), Babar Azam, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz.
West Indies: Jason Holder (Capt.), Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Carlos Brathwaite, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach,Oshane Thomas, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cotterell and Shannon Gabriel.
