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Summary
Pakistan cricket team captain Shahid Afridi has said that the on-going controversies surrounding Pakistan cricket would not affect the morale of the players and the team would still be one of the favorites in the upcoming World Cup. Pakistan cricket has been rocked by a series of controversies, the latest being the spot-fixing allegations against seven top players. Three players have been suspended by the ICC and four more are under the scanner. Afridi, veteran of more than 300 ODIs for Pakistan said that Pakistan will be amongst the top contenders of the teams in the World Cup. He also said that the team has a nice mix of batsmen and bowlers, which will surely put up a good show.However, he said that hosts India are one of the strongest contenders for the mega event, which kicks off on 19 February 2011 in India.He added that India, Pakistan along with Sri Lanka and Australia will be in the semi-finals of the tournament, being in the sub-continent after 15 years. However, he said that these are the countries which will have to bear extra pressure because of home conditions and the expectations of the fans.While praising India, he said Indian captain MS Dhoni has been an amazing captain and India is doing amazingly well under his leadership. He also spoke volumes in favour of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, and said that his hunger for runs is growing day by day and teams need to have be extra cautious against him.Afridi also rued the fact they have lost the opportunity to play before the home fans in the prestigious tournament.This is a huge loss for Pakistan Cricket. Foreign teams are not playing here and it has definitely affected us. We cannot do anything in this matter. Thank god, we have enough international exposure prior to World Cup.After playing against South Africa in UAE, Pakistan team is going to tour New Zealand from 26 December 26 to 5 February 5. They will play two Tests, three Twenty20s and six ODIs.Speaking about the motivation of his team, he said, Pakistan has suffered a lot. Flood, terrorism and the spot-fixing scandal in Cricket. Our Hockey team has given us a reason to smile after winning the Asiad gold and now we want to complete the success saga. InshaAllah we will win the World Cup for our countrymen.
