'Pakistan team in the World T20 as good as Team India'

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has said that their team is just as good as the Indian World Twenty20 team.

Afridi, who recently played in Bangladesh and led Pakistan to a thrilling victory against archrivals India during the Asia Cup, said that their team had just returned from Bangladesh and therefore they should take advantage of it.

According to the Express Tribune, Afridi said that even though the Indian team was strong, they have not been performing well given their recent performances.

The all-rounder further said that the team should make lesser mistakes for better results and they need to put in a lot of hard work for the World Twenty20, the report added. 

'Pakistan has 'good' chances of winning World T20: Mahmood

Meanwhile, former cricketer Azhar Mahmood has rated Pakistan's chances highly for winning the World Twenty20 tournament, dismissing critics' writing off the team as a no-show in the mega event.

Mahmood, who played 21 Tests and 142 ODIs, decided to move to the United Kingdom to play county cricket and look for opportunities around the globe and has played in a variety of T20 competitions around the world such as the IPL, Ram Slam T20, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, Caribbean Premier League and others

According to www.PakPassion.net, Mahmood said that Pakistan have 'good and bright' chances of winning the tournament, adding that the fact they recently played in Bangladesh in the Asia Cup will work in their favour.

However, Mahmood said that the team needs to play disciplined cricket, adding that they will have to improve on the way they bowled in the 50-over format in the Asia Cup as they mostly depend on their bowling to win games.

Mahmood also said that he believes in general, the Asian teams have a very good chance of winning the World T20 tournament given the similar conditions.

Image: Shahid Afridi

Photo: Andrew Biraj/Reuters