Alam confident of strong show

Pakistan team coach Intikhab Alam feels Twenty20 is an unpredictable game where even the weaker teams can gloss...

Pakistan team coach Intikhab Alam feels Twenty20 is an unpredictable game where even the weaker teams can gloss over their mistakes and upset stronger sides with their limited talents.

It is a 120-ball innings and any team can cause an upset. In the longer version of the game eventually weaker teams are found wanting but in T20 cricket they can escape and do well even with limited talent and exposure, Alam said.

Pakistan starts their World Cup Twenty20 campaign on June 7 against England. I am backing my team to do well in the World Cup because we have players with plenty of T20 experience and we have developed blend in our batting, Intikhab said on the eve of the teams departure for England.

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The Pakistani players wound up their home preparations for the 12-team tournament by holding a marathon counseling session with sports psychologist,Maqbool Bari and having a team dinner last night in Lahore. The competition will be tough and our first aim is to qualify from our group which is not an easy one. But we have got some momentum going with the players having played recently in the series against Australia,some target practice T20 matches, he said.

Missing Shoaib

Alam also added that Shoaib Akhtar would have been an asset had he been fully fit. It is unfortunate because if he was fit and in the team he would have been a big asset for us as he is a very experienced and capable bowler, Alam said.