Bullish Pakistan have ‘mindset of T20 champions’ says coach

Pakistan’s interim head coach Saqlain Mushtaq declared that his team have “the mindset of champions” as they play Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Friday.

The 2009 champions thumped arch rivals India by 10 wickets in their opening match followed by a nervy five-wicket win over New Zealand, making them well placed for the semi-finals.

“We are playing with the mindset of world champions,” Saqlain said on Thursday.

“The two wins have given us the confidence and belief to achieve that goal.”

Saqlain replaced Misbah-ul-Haq, who resigned last month, and is bringing his experience as a spin-bowling consultant for England, Bangladesh and New Zealand in the past.

Saqlain said his team needed to be wary of a dangerous Afghanistan.

“We know Afghanistan is a very good team but our plans are well-placed and we need to execute those plans as we have done in the first two games,” he added.

Afghanistan crushed qualifiers Scotland by 130 runs in their first Group 2 game with off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman taking 5-20 and leggie Rashid Khan 4-9.

Himself a great off-spinner who played 49 Tests and 169 one-day internationals for Pakistan, Saqlain called Afghanistan’s spinners “world class”.

“Rashid and Mujeeb are quality spinners and have been doing well for their team as well as in the private leagues around the world, but we have plans against them,” said Saqlain.

Looking farther ahead, Saqlain hopes to meet India again at the World Cup -- this time in the final. 

“If India comes in the final, then it would be very good for the International Cricket Council, fans around the world and for world cricket,” he said.

“That will bring the two countries closer. For me, it should be a win for love and defeat for hate.”

Afghans only have cricket in mind

Since the Taliban banned women’s cricket in Afghanistan, their involvement in cricket is in danger as ICC rules state that a full-member nation must have a women’s team besides their men’s team.

After thrashing Scotland in their first game of the World Cup, Afghanistan will now face Pakistan on Friday to make it two wins out of two.

Ahead of the match, Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan said in the pre-match press conference that they are only focusing on their cricket and not other matters.

“To be honest, at the moment we don’t have anything in our minds. We have only this thing that we’re here for the World Cup and we’re playing five games and we need to win three games.

“And that is the theme we have in the mind as a whole team. And that’s a theme that we have the quality and the skills in the team that we can qualify to the semifinals, and that’s the only thing at the moment in the mind of each and every player.

“We don’t think about what’s happening in the future. We don’t think about what happened in the past. And that is something which is not in our hands, it is not in our control, and we shouldn’t think about it as well, that not even putting any extra pressure on us,” Rashid said.