Led by Younus Khan, a 15-member Pakistani squad left here for England on Saturday to take part in Twenty20 World Cup that will get underway from June 5. Pakistan will play warm up matches for the Twenty20 assignment by playing a couple of practice games in Nottingham and London. A warm up match will also be played between Pakistan and India on June 3.
The income of this match will be donated to the victims of Sri Lankan team attack at Liberty Chowk Lahore, said the team coach, Intikhab Alam. Talking to reporters before the departure of Pakistani squad here at Allama Iqbal International airport, Intikhab said, "Pakistani players are in high spirit and we will return back home with good results."
SQUAD LEAVES FOR ENGLAND He also said that players are totally fit and determined to show outstanding performance to give some positive news to the nation in the terror-hot atmosphere. He said boys had worked hard and made full preparations to deliver well. In Twenty20 format, he said none of the team declared favourite because any team, which would deliver on a particular day, could win.
Pakistani squad is comprised of Younus Khan (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Ahmed Shahzad, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Yasir Arafat, Shoaib Akhtar, Umer Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal and Shahzaib Hasan.
Pakistan, runner up of first Twenty20 World Cup, would face England in its World Cup opener on June 7 and second match against Holland on June 9. Pakistan, which is included in Pool B, will play last group match against minnow' Netherlands on June 9 at Lord's.
REUTERS ADD: Pakistan are confident that a tough conditioning camp and psychological counselling will make up for a lack of playing time and prepare the team for a serious assault on the Twenty20 World Cup in England. The Pakistan squad departed for next month's tournament on Saturday with coach Intikhab Alam, advocating the strength of careful preparation going into the second edition of the 12-nation event.
"No one can make any predictions about Twenty20 matches, but I am backing my team to do very well because the preparations have been top class," Intikhab told reporters before the team boarded a London-bound plane.
In 2007, Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India in the final of the inaugural event in South Africa, a defeat that Intikhab said still hurt his players and acted as an incentive to go one better this time around. Intikhab said Shoaib's absence was unfortunate, but there were plenty of capable players in the side. The Pakistan coach said his team had some very experienced players, who had the ability to adjust quickly to English conditions.
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