It has taken just one defeat for Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to narrow his focus to the first round of the World Cup.
KARACHI: It has taken just one defeat for Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to narrow his focus to the first round of the World Cup.
The skipper had been optimistic in his 'Daily Jang' column that Pakistan would do well and had the semi-finals in sight.
After the defeat to West Indies in the tournament opener on Tuesday, however, Inzamam said his team was just concentrating on qualifying for the next stage.
"We didn't play well and lost. Right now we are just looking at winning our next two games," said Inzamam in an interview to Geo television with whom he conducts an exclusive 'captain's corner'.
He also indicated that Shoaib Malik who top-scored with a valiant 62 in the opening match could bat up the order.
The opening match finished well into the night in Pakistan and there was no immediate reaction in the media on the defeat.
But former players hit out at Pakistan's performance.
Former captain Rashid Latif said that Pakistan had lost the match when they allowed West Indies to score 200 plus runs.
"Contrary to what everyone says, it was not a comfortable pitch to bat on. We conceded too many runs. I thought the bowlers were not used well," he said.
Another former captain Intikhab Alam said Inzamam needed to use the spinners as strike bowlers in the absence of pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in the remaining matches.
An official of the Pakistan Cricket Board warned a poor show from the team could lead to wholesale changes in both team and management.
"The World Cup has just started and we can still do well. But if not then the players and team officials should be prepared for the worst," he said without wanting to be named.
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