Afridi plays down World Cup hopes

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's ODI captain, has said Pakistan does not have high expectations for the World Cup since their preparations have been hampered by the spot-fixing allegations against a number of their players.

"I am not 100 % satisfied with the team's preparations for the World Cup," Afridi told AFP. "We've had problems on every tour, and although there aren't high expectations [of winning the World Cup], as captain I'm positive and will keep on motivating the team."

His comments came one day after manager Intikhab Alam said Pakistan was capable of winning the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2, 2011.

The trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif have been suspended by the ICC over charges of spot-fixing that arose on Pakistan's tour of England in August. On their subsequent tour of the United Arab Emirates to play South Africa, Pakistan seemed to have regained some form levelling the ODI series 2-2. But on the eve of the deciding game, wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider fled to England, due to alleged threats to his life from bookmakers, and has since retired from international cricket. Pakistan ended up losing the game.

For Pakistan's upcoming tour of New Zealand, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik have been left out of the Twenty20 and Test series after the PCB did not clear them, and Afridi said he did not know why they were not included.

"You should ask the PCB and selection committee about why Kamran and Malik were not picked," he said. "Both are good players and have been doing well in domestic matches." Kamran and Malik have both expressed disappointment at not being picked for the New Zealand tour.

Pakistan has until December 19 to select a provisional 30-man World Cup squad, which should be trimmed down to 15 by January 19. Pakistan is placed in Group A of the 14-team competition along with defending champions Australia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.