Former Pakistan captain and bowling great Waqar Younis feels Sarfraz Ahmed and his boys can pull off an upset this World Cup, much like they did in 1992 by winning the coveted trophy.
"It is 27 years since Pakistan won the World Cup for the first time and this year feels like it did back then," Waqar was quoted as saying by ICC.
"It was party-mode, it was a carnival. Hopefully, that will happen again, but there is work to do," said Waqar who coached Pakistan, besides being credited with the man who really put the reverse into swing bowling.” said Waqar, who was Pakistan captain during the 2003 World Cup.
In 262 ODIs, Waqar has taken 416 wickets while in 87 Tests, he has returned with 373 wickets to his name.
Since winning the Champions Trophy in 2017, Pakistan have won only two of the seven series they have played. The first of these was against a dismal Sri Lankan side and the second was against Zimbabwe. Three of the series defeats have been whitewashes.
Despite that, Waqar feels if Sarfraz and Co. can get their fielding right, they have talent in their arsenal to pull it off.
Pakistan lost the series to England 4-0 but managed to put up 300+ totals on three occasions. Waqar said the top four looks sorted for Pakistan with Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq doing well.
"Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq have also done well so the top four looks really good. That issue has been solved.” he said
Waqar said he looks forward to watching Mohammad Amir in action, adding the overall bowling is headed in the right direction although they looked all over the place against the mighty English.
"The bowling is moving in a good direction, with Wahab Riaz coming back into the side and Mohammad Amir restored. I am intrigued to see how Mohammad Amir gets on." said waqar
Pakistan will take on West Indies in their opener on 31 May.
"That first game against the West Indies will be vital. It will be worth watching that! Both are very exciting teams and very unpredictable, you never know what you are going to get.
Trent Bridge is a flat pitch too, so there will be runs and it will be a fun game.
Despite everything having gone on in the last couple of months, the country is behind the team. They all believe these guys can win the World Cup. If we can get off to a strong start, then you never know this team has a history of producing magic," the 47-year-old said.
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