Abdul Habib

Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.Net; Aqib Javed expressed regret over the result of the ODI series in Dubai. He said that overall the Pakistan team played well enough to have won the series either 4-1 or 3-2 but it was the few pivotal sessions where they were really bad that cost us the series. He said "The third match in particular should've gone in our favour because at one point we were 95/1 chasing just under 200 runs, we should never have lost that game"

On a more positive note he said the players were very upbeat after winning the last two games of the tour and are now confident that they have the capability to beat any team in the world. When asked whether Pakistan struggle to beat Australia due to a lack of self-belief against the World Champions Aqib said "There may have been an element of that in the past but I think the close nature of the games in Dubai has shown that moving forward this Pakistan team will play against Australia with a lot more self-belief"

Aqib said that the camp in Bhurban had proven to be a very good idea because it isolated the players from other distractions and allowed them to concentrate on improving their fitness and training. He added "We've also organised other fitness related activities like hiking to keep them focused and entertained. Quite a few of the players have proven to be very fit but there are 4 that have really stood out. Younis Khan, Misbah Ul Haq, Umar Gul and Fawad Alam are the 4 fittest players in the camp. They set the standard for the others to follow but everyone in the squad has worked really hard"

I reminded Aqib that during our last interview he said that he had yet to see newcomer Shahzaib Hasan in action, Aqib replied "I still haven't seen him playing any cricket as of yet but all that will change in a few days when we play the T20 side games. From what I've seen of Shahzaib so far he looks strong but I can't comment on his batting till I see him play"

Expanding on the T20 warmup games Aqib said "There will be two equally balanced teams selected from the 30 (available) probables announced for the T20 WC. Originally we were going to play 6 games over 3 days but due to the heat in Lahore this would be impractical and we dont want to risk unnecessary injuries so it's been reduced to 3 games over 3 days. One of the teams will be led by Younis Khan and the other one by Misbah Ul Haq"

Aqib said that after the warm-up games the players would be playing in the domestic T20 tournament and then flying out to England.