It would mean the world to our fans: Afridi

Dubai: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi believes his team are inferior to no one and is confident the men in green can go all the way and deliver World Cup glory to a nation that has suffered a lot, both on and off the field in recent years.

Thanks to Monday's seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe, Pakistan have advanced to the knockout stage of the ICC World Cup for the first time since the 1999 edition. And in an exclusive interview to XPRESS, Afridi was in an upbeat mood as he looked ahead to the business end of the tournament.

"I've said it all along, once we are in the quarter-finals, then it is all about the team which performs well on the day," said the all-rounder, "And in my team, I have the best unit in this World Cup. So I am confident that we have the ability to go all the way and accomplish what we've set out to do."

The 31-year-old made no secret of what hoisting aloft cricket's greatest prize would mean to him and his cricket-crazy countrymen who have had to live through a harrowing few years. First Pakistan were stripped of their status as co-hosts of this year's World Cup following a terrorist attack on the touring Sri Lankan team in Lahore two years ago. Since the shocking episode that left five Sri Lankan cricketers injured, no international cricket has been played in Pakistan.

Worse was still to come as the country was hit by the worst floods in its history in July last year affecting at least 18 million people. Around the same time, things were hardly any brighter on the pitch as Pakistan cricket was again in the news for the wrong reasons due to the spot-fixing scandal which revolved around then Test captain Salman Butt and the pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.

The trio were all handed bans by the ICC last month. Afridi said: "Pakistan and Pakistanis crave this [World Cup victory]. It would mean the world to our fans back home.

"They have suffered a lot in recent times and the whole team is focused on trying to give them something to smile about.

"For me it would be an immense moment of pride to be a Pakistani and lift the World Cup." Come the knock-out stages which begin on March 23, Pakistan could run into arch rivals India, whom they have failed to beat in each of their four World Cup meetings. But Afridi believes a potential showdown with M. S. Dhoni's men could finally see his team smiling for a change. "I don't look at the past. I'm focused on what needs to be done, not what has or hasn't been done before," he said. "Ask me if I think we can beat India, and the answer to that is a confident yes."

The flamboyant captain has certainly been leading from the front, particularly with the ball as he sits atop the wicket-takers' chart with 16 scalps from five matches. "I have been bowling well for a while now. I've been working on my bowling and I see myself as more of a bowler. I have faith in my God-given ability and will always give 100 per cent," he said.