Feb 22: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis believes the recent spot-fixing scandal will not have a detrimental effect on their World Cup campaign which gets underway against Kenya here on Wednesday.
Former Test captain Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were banned on charges of corruption relating to last year’s Lord’s Test against England.
All three also face criminal prosecution. But Waqar said his team, who are in action for the first time since the bans were announced, are not worried about the past.
“Whatever happened last year is now history. This is a new place and an important tournament, so we want to be fully focussed and start the event like India and New Zealand did,” said Waqar. Pakistan are also eager to put behind them their tragedy-hit 2007 tournament.
Four years ago, Pakistan suffered an embarrassing three-wicket defeat at the hands of outsiders Ireland in Kingston and crashed out in the first round.
As if the humiliation was not enough, their English coach Bob Woolmer died the very next day, threatening the World Cup and putting the players under investigation by the Jamaican police who initially treated the death as murder.
Even after the death was declared as due to natural causes, Pakistani players came in for severe criticism from home fans who wanted them punished for their first round exit — their second in as many events.
The current Pakistan squad has only four survivors from that Irish defeat — Younis Khan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal — but Afridi said no player has forgotten the shattering loss.
Not even Kenya’s abject 10-wicket surrender to New Zealand in a Group A match in Chennai on Sunday, makes Afridi feel at ease. Pakistan opener Ahmed Shahzad and middle-order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq hit centuries in the first warm-up match against Bangladesh last week and senior batsman Younis Khan scored 80 in a lost cause against England.
Younis and Misbah will be the key in providing a solid base for hard-hitters Afridi, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq, who can run riot in the final overs and in the batting powerplay.
Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande vowed to have a different approach against Pakistan, after his team was shot out for a paltry 69 against New Zealand. “Next game, it’ll be different opposition and a different approach from us. I would be happy as long as we improve each and every game,” said Kamande, whose team reached the semi-final in the 2003 World Cup.