LAHORE - Players participation in Sri Lankan Cricket League will boost Pakistan winning chances in the World Twenty20 Tournament to be held in Sri Lanka from September 18, said head coach Dav Whatmore on Friday.
Whatmore welcomed the opportunity for his players to prepare in the Sri Lankan League. Nearly all Pakistan’s players selected for the September 18 to October 7 tournament in Sri Lanka feature in Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL).
Whatmore, 58, who was appointed in March and coached Sri Lanka to their 1996 World Cup title, said his players would get good practice in the venues where the World Twenty20 will be held.
“There is an opportunity for some of the boys to participate in the SLPL and it’s a good thing and I have no problem with it,” Whatmore said.
“At least they are playing on ground and in the similar conditions and in those two grounds where we are going to play our matches and placed in Group D with Bangladesh and New Zealand,” the head coach said.
“There are a few other (countries) doing the same thing and they are getting good practice.” Pakistan play a limited overs series in UAE against Australia commencing from August 28 to September 10, comprising three one-day matches and three Twenty20s.
“We will do our best to perform in the conditions, which are closer to the conditions in Pakistan, but certainly it won’t be in Pakistan. The selectors have given us a group of players who are competitive enough to give us the right results and win the games.”
The first one-day match will be played in Sharjah on August 28. The next two matches will be in Abu Dhabi on August 31 and Sharjah on September 3. The three Twenty20 matches will be played in Dubai on September 5, 7 and 10.
Whatmore said Pakistan could do well in the World Twenty20. “Every team has started taking this form of the game more seriously. We have a good team for this format,” Whatmore added.
Pakistan were runners-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, won the 2009 event held in England and finished semi-finalists in 2010 in the West Indies. The coach said all teams have good squads but warned “it’s a volatile form of game”.