Sarfraz Ahmed: “The World Cup is important for all teams”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has revealed that one of his main goals in 2019 is to lead his side to World Cup glory.
Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup, but have failed to make it to the final of the event since 1999.
However, with Sarfraz leading the national team to their first-ever Champions Trophy title in England last year, he is confident that he can guide them to the coveted World Cup trophy in 2019 as the tournament will be held in England and Wales.
“The World Cup is important for all teams. Our first match is against the West Indies,” he was quoted as saying by the Business Recorder. “The first match is always important, so all our preparations are geared towards that match and the tournament. We are trying to iron out our deficiencies during this period.
“The World Cup is one event in which the world is watching you and everyone is following you. The importance of players is realised during this crunch time. It makes heroes and superstars of players. For example, Wasim Akram’s performance in 1992 World Cup and MS Dhoni’s contributions in 2011 World Cup is well remembered.”
Given that his side triumphed at the Champions Trophy, Sarfraz firmly believes that Pakistan cannot be branded as an underdog going into the World Cup.
“Pakistan always goes into tournaments as underdogs, but I don’t think it will be the same this time because people remember that we have won the Champions Trophy,” he said.
Meanwhile, head coach Mickey Arthur expressed his excitement towards the World Cup and insisted that he will do everything in his power to help Pakistan come out on top.
“We can’t wait for the World Cup. We’ve started our planning, I’m sure, like every international team has,” he said. “Even though we have got so much cricket from now till the World Cup, before we blink, we are going to be at the World Cup.
“So everything we do at the moment is preparation leading up to the World Cup so that we can hit the tournament fully prepared and ready to go.”