Every News: Pak cricket team reaches London

Pak cricket team reaches London
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LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team reached London to take part in a bilateral series against England next month, followed by the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 starting from May 30.The World Cup squad, led by Sarfraz Ahmed, took off from Lahore in the early hours of Tuesday and reached London via Dubai. Pakistan will play three warm-up matches before taking on joint-hosts England in a five-match one-day series and a Twenty20.The 1992 World Cup winners start their campaign against the West Indies in Nottingham on May 31. Before departure, Sarfaraz said his side would give equal level of importance to every game.Pakistan have never beaten their arch-rivals India at a World Cup, though clashes between the two sides have always been among the most exciting. However, this year, Sarfraz admitted his side would treat “every match as a match against India”.“For us all nine matches are important so we will take every match as a match against India,” said Sarfraz.Sarfraz added that his side would take the confidence from the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy triumph, where they defeated India in the final by 180 runs, saying: “We have beaten India in a bigger event recently so we will have that advantage”.There has been a lot of talk around England and India being among the favourites going into the World Cup this year. However, this isn t something that s worrying the Pakistan skipper. “Look, when we go as favourites, then it s a problem, but if we go as underdogs then other teams feel the danger, so I think being underdogs is good for us and eases the pressure.”All ten teams will play each other in the tournament starting on May 30 with England taking on South Africa in the opening fixture. The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals.Sarfraz said the theme of Pakistan’s World Cup mission is “we have, we will”, citing the team’s previous glories.Pakistan have named two extra players in their squad for the five-match one-day series against England, with paceman M Amir and batsman Asif Ali in addition to the 15 for the World Cup. The team has until May 23 to finalise its squad for the tournament.Meanwhile, team coach Mickey Arthur, under whose guidance the team has risen through the ranks, won the coveted Champions Trophy and also currently sits at the No.1 spot in ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, believes the coming months “are exciting times for Pakistan cricket and for the team”.“We leave on a journey for which we have worked really hard,” he said, and added that they have “a good team, both in talent and attitude”. “The initial thing is to qualify for the last four and take it from there, so I think we have the potential to certainly go all the way but before that we have to play very well,” he concluded.