PAKISTAN ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2015 TOURNAMENT PREVIEW & GUIDE

Scott Styris’s Prediction: Pakistan: Quarter- Final
“Pakistan is always the mixed bag at cricket World Cups. Always has class and always has inconsistency. The top order of Shehzad and Hafeez need to score runs to allow the real power of Sarfraz, Umar Akmal and Afridi to be able to cut loose. Watching the 7 ft 1 giant Mohammed Irfan bowl is a treat but unless they get Junaid back I fear they don't have the wicket taking ability to advance further.”

Quotes
"I am happy that we are not favorites. To be very honest it's big pressure of being favorites. We were not favorites last time (in 2011) too but we played excellent cricket. Similarly this time, there are teams which play on those bouncy wickets like Australia and South Africa, and are probably bigger favorites than us. But we hope that with the type of resources we have we can do well." - Waqar Younis, Pakistan coach.

“We are focused for the match and the players are going to play with lot of passion and commitment to try to win the match. I think we have our best possible preparations for the World Cup and we are going with a positive mindset and try to win every match and the World Cup. We have only one thing in mind that is to play our best cricket in this event because we know how closely the World Cup is followed by everyone and the expectations attached with our team.” -Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain.

“It (the World Cup) is a big event and every player has a desire to play. I want to do what Wasim Akram did for Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup. It feels good that I perform for Pakistan. It’s my greatest desire to do well for Pakistan so that people remember me when I finish my career.” - Mohammad Irfan, Pakistan pacer, on emulating Akram – the Man of the Match in the 1992 final.

Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz.

Fixtures:
Feb 15: v India, Adelaide
Feb 21: v West Indies, Christchurch
March 1: v Zimbabwe, Brisbane
March 4: v UAE, Napier
March 7: v South Africa, Auckland
March 15: v Ireland, Adelaide