LAHORE: Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam has said his team has the potential to win One-day International and Twenty20 series against the West Indies.
Talking to reporters on the first day of the two-day conditioning camp here on Tuesday, Intikhab said though his team lost the World Cup semi-final to India, it had the potential to beat the West Indies on their home ground.
He said the conditions of West Indian pitches had changed as they were no more bouncy, having equal opportunities for spinners to grab wickets.
He said Pakistan had a quality spin attack in Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Shahid Afridi and hopefully they would play their role.
The coach said the players had to improve their fielding as no team could win without showing outstanding performance in this department of the game.
“We lost to India in the semi-final only after dropping so many catches. We were not lucky that day,” Intikhab said.
He added that even Pakistans best fielders like Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal dropped catches against India.
He said no team wanted to lose the match and every player and the entire team management was disappointed after the defeat.
“Many of our players were weeping after losing the semi-final as it was shocking for all of us. But we have to keep the eyes on future and work towards our next assignment,” Intikhab said.
He appreciated the gesture of the public and government, as they all encouraged the national team, and said it would help the players forget the nightmare.
He said no one could rectify the loss of the semi-final but as manager he could only ask for apology from the nation.
Intikhab said Pakistan had entered the World Cup as no contenders but topping the pool ‘A’ with 10 points was a big achievement which had stunned the experts.
He said the team fought well in the semi-final as it restricted the Indians from notching up a 300-plus total, which was looking possible when opener Virender Sehwag started the innings with belligerence.
“Our bowlers restricted them to a getable total of 260 but then our batsmen failed to face the pressure,” he said.
He said certainly the team needed a batting coach to groom the youngsters.
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