Wahab Riaz: “Winning in 2009 and 2017 in the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy is a huge advantage for us”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Pakistan left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz is confident that his side can win the World Cup as he feels they have a lot of advantages going into the tournament.

Wahab was initially not included in the list of 23 probables for the World Cup, but was the third-highest wicket-taker in this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) with 17 wickets in 13 games for the Peshawar Zalmi at an average of 19.88.

However, he ended up being included in the finalised World Cup squad after the Pakistan seamers struggled during the five-match ODI series against England.

Wahab noted that in addition to having a lot of support from the fans in England, Pakistan have fared well in major tournament in England as they won the 2009 World Twenty20 and 2017 Champions Trophy.

“There is a lot of support here in England for Pakistan and we love it because it’s almost like a second home,” he was quoted as saying by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s website. “Winning in 2009 and 2017 in the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy is a huge advantage for us.

“We love playing on one-day tracks as the ball comes on high, and this is also to our advantage, so it’s now time to execute.”

Pakistan’s second World Cup warm-up game will be against Bangladesh in Cardiff on May 26.

They will then begin their World Cup campaign against the West Indies in Nottingham on May 31.

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