Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi said on Thursday that the major reason behind his side’s stunning performance in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2011 so far is their unity.
“Unity is our secret recipe,” said Afridi while talking to media. “The boys knew there is no other way we can win the World Cup. It was necessary to gel together and play as a unit. We've done that; now it's our greatest strength.”
Pakistan came into the World Cup after a tumultuous year plagued by a number of controversies. The cricket pundits did not have high hopes attached with the Men in Green and there were not many favouring the side to be among the top four teams of the tournament.
But the Afridi-led side stunned cricket lovers with their impressive win against World Cup favourites and co-hosts Sri Lanka following a mammoth 205-run crushing of minnows Kenya.
Sri Lanka vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene and his coach Trevor Bayliss feel Afridi and his men have as good a chance as anyone else in the tournament to lift the coveted trophy.
The hard-hitting batsman of Pakistan Abdul Razzaq echoed his skipper and said, “The thing is that when you trust each other, then you play for each other. You start enjoying whatever role is given to you. That's the way we are going right now. The team is completely united and focused on winning the World Cup.”
Pakistan team manager, Intikhab Alam reckons better communication in the team is the reason behind unity. The manager, who led Pakistan to their solitary World Cup glory in 1992, added that misunderstandings are created when people are not talking to each other.
Pakistan are placed in Group A of cricket’s mega event along with Sri Lanka, Canada, Zimbabwe, Kenya, New Zealand and defending champions Australia.
The Men in Green play their third group stage game against Canada on Thursday, 3 March, 2011.
