Pakistan to select the best team for World Cup: Sarfaraz

Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmad has said the best team consisting of top in-form players would be selected for the upcoming Cricket World Cup.

"It is the dream of every captain to win a World Cup for their country," he said in an interview quoted by APP, as he expressed hope that Pakistan would play in the final of the mega event.

Sarfaraz said the World Cup squad would be finalised after consultation with all the stakeholders, and predicted that Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan would emerge as top teams.

“Pakistan cricket team has to show its best performance to win the cup,” he added.

Replying to a question, he said the team had alternate players in case of injury to any player during the tournament.

Sharing his views about the performances of different players, Sarfaraz said Hasan Ali had played well during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and hoped that Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman would perform well as openers in the World Cup.

On Mohammad Amir's lacklustre form, Sarfaraz said he was a good bowler but it was unfortunate that he could not succeed in getting wickets in last few series.

The decision regarding his selection for the mega event would be taken soon, he added.

The captain also appreciated the performance of Umar Akmal and Ahmad Shehzad in PSL 2019, saying that Moeen Khan had played a vital role in improving their performances.

To a question, he said Mohammad Hasnain was a good fast bowler and underlined the need to polish him by imparting further training so that he could perform well in future.

He also stressed the need of bowling on line and length rather than only focusing on speed.

"We have established a pool consisting of 23 players and selection for the World Cup would be made from this pool," he disclosed.

Shoaib Malik was the most senior player and the need of the team in the mega event, he said, adding that one leg- and off-spinner each would be selected for the event.