Waqar: Anything is possible here

"In these types of tournaments, everything is possible. The T20 game is such that if you play well for three weeks, the world cup is yours."

Waqar Younis has backed his captain Shahid Afridi to rediscover his form.

Pakistan is banking on the unpredictability of the T20 format to shake off the poor form besieging it in recent outings. The sultan of reverse swing, Waqar Younis, who is currently coaching Pakistan in the ICC World T20, believes if his team regroups in time it can deliver a knockout punch to any opponent in the tournament.

Refusing to believe that it is mission impossible for his beleaguered team, Younis said his team is capable of delivering and wanted the talents to click. “In these types of tournaments, everything is possible. The T20 game is such that if you play well for three weeks, the world cup is yours,” Younis said. “Every team is here to win. If you look at all the T20 World Cups so far, the winning teams have never been the favourites before the start,” he added.

Younis backed his captain >Shahid Afridi , who is struggling for form saying, “It takes less than a minute to lose form and to get it back as well. We are hoping that he is one innings away from getting back his old form.”

Younis congratulated Pakistan’s first Super 10 opponent, Bangladesh, saying the team has made really good progress in recent time. “Each team deserves to improve. It is good for world cricket and of course for Bangladesh. They are playing really good cricket for last one-two years. We have got to respect that,” he said.

Younis felt his team’s prospect cannot be judged by its Asia Cup debacle as the conditions there (in Bangladesh) were different compared to what the current tournament in India is offering. “This is a big stage, different conditions,” he said.

Bangladesh captain >Mashrafe Mortaza said his team has the momentum while Pakistan has history on its side. “If you go by history, Pakistan is much better. We have had good practice at home in the last one month in this format. We have had a good Asia Cup and had a better plan (in beating Pakistan in Asia Cup). We have got some exciting players,” Mortaza said.

Insisting on the reason behind the recent success, Mortaza said it was about self-belief and the ability to play fearless cricket. “We are trying to play fearless cricket. There will be wins and losses. Every single player knows his role. If we execute it 100 per cent we will be able to put it across,” the Bangladesh captain said.