Pakistan team leaves for England tour: Arthur, Sarfraz express full confidence in World Cup team skill

Reposing confidence in the players' ability, head coach Mickey Arthur Monday said the Pakistan team is fully prepared for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales and also expressed faith in the players' ability to win the mega event. Addressing a joint press conference at Lahore's Qadhafi Stadium with skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, ahead of the team's departure to England for a bilateral ODI series and T20I, Arthur stressed that the players will have to give it their all.
Arthur said, "We are well prepared and full of confidence and targeting a spot in the semi-finals of the event. We have to bring all our capabilities to produce results in our favour." He added that they have worked really hard over the last two years. We are as prepared as we can be [for the World Cup]. We have to bring [out] all our capabilities to produce results in our favour," Arthur said.
About the inclusion of relatively new names in the squad, Arthur said, "Abid Ali was perfect and passed his test. He and Hasnain have been in the setup only for three weeks and they haven't been subjected to these standards before. Their performances have got better every time they've trained," he added.
Arthur said, "Our strategy will be to attack, we're going to look to take wickets and bowl sides out," he said. "We have got all our bases covered." On Yasir Shah's call-up as a replacement for Shadab Khan, who has been ruled out of the England series due to a virus-related illness, Arthur said it was a "like for like" replacement. "Shadab Khan is a wonderful cricketer. As the buzz word nowadays goes, he's 'three-dimensional'. He plays a key role for us just outside the power play. However, we have tried to cover [for him] with another wrist spinner Yasir Shah. We are replacing him [Shadab] with like for like.
Arthur praised Babar Azam and said expectations are high from the batsman. "Our expectations are high from Babar Azam as he's our best batsman in squad. He is so talented, he is a batsman who [can] get the required scores."
"Mohammad Hafeez will be available for us during the World Cup as an off spinner too. We have faith in our team. All 15 of those players have the ability to win games," Arthur said.
Skipper Sarfraz told media the team will give its best and play quality cricket during the World Cup. "We are heading to England with complete preparations and [dedication] to win the [World Cup]. Our players are ready to play their best cricket," he said. Asked about Pakistan's opening options, Sarfraz said Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq would be preferred as openers, while the newly selected Abid Ali could be a good choice for No. 3. "Both Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq are in good form," he said.
Talking about the Pak-India clash, Sarfraz said, "We will play all nine matches like a match against India as all matches are important. We have beaten India in a major event recently and that gives us an advantage." Sarfraz also made an important announcement that he will be batting in the top five positions of the batting order, during the mega event. He added that veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik will be batting at number six. "We will change our batting order in England," he said.
Pakistan team will leave for England on Tuesday (today). The 2019 World Cup will begin on May 30 and will conclude with the final on July 14 at the historic Lord's Cricket Ground.