Pakistan coach hopes ban on home fixtures can be ended
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has praised the on-field improvement of his side amidst a number of controversies that have blighted them recently.
Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were last week given minimum five-year bans for breaching the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption code.
The spot-fixing scandal involving the trio had rumbled on since the fourth Test against England at Lord's last August.
In addition, Pakistan are unable to host any international matches due to the security situation in the country after the attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore two years ago.
The incident also led to Pakistan being de-selected as a host of the upcoming World Cup, with as many as 14 matches being switched to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
But there have been positive signs on the field recently, with a drawn Test series against South Africa followed by a successful tour of New Zealand.
Motivation
And Waqar believes that the aim of playing in front of their home fans once again is providing extra motivation for the Pakistan squad.
"I always say that the number of controversies we have had over the last eight or nine months, we needed something like this," Waqar said of his side's 1-0 Test series win and subsequent 3-2 one-day series victory in New Zealand.
"We need to bring the teams back into Pakistan and the only way we can do it is if we start playing well.
"I think this is one reason why we played well. Hopefully in the future we will try to play the best cricket we can."
The former Pakistan pace bowler is also hoping that his team can turn all their attention to preparing for the Word Cup, now the ICC tribunal verdict has been delivered on Butt, Asif and Amir.
He added: "It was important that the whole issue should have been finished before the World Cup starts and I am pleased that it all has just gone down the drain. Hopefully we can start fresh and deliver in the World Cup."
Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were last week given minimum five-year bans for breaching the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption code.
The spot-fixing scandal involving the trio had rumbled on since the fourth Test against England at Lord's last August.
In addition, Pakistan are unable to host any international matches due to the security situation in the country after the attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore two years ago.
The incident also led to Pakistan being de-selected as a host of the upcoming World Cup, with as many as 14 matches being switched to India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
But there have been positive signs on the field recently, with a drawn Test series against South Africa followed by a successful tour of New Zealand.
Motivation
And Waqar believes that the aim of playing in front of their home fans once again is providing extra motivation for the Pakistan squad.
"I always say that the number of controversies we have had over the last eight or nine months, we needed something like this," Waqar said of his side's 1-0 Test series win and subsequent 3-2 one-day series victory in New Zealand.
"We need to bring the teams back into Pakistan and the only way we can do it is if we start playing well.
"I think this is one reason why we played well. Hopefully in the future we will try to play the best cricket we can."
The former Pakistan pace bowler is also hoping that his team can turn all their attention to preparing for the Word Cup, now the ICC tribunal verdict has been delivered on Butt, Asif and Amir.
He added: "It was important that the whole issue should have been finished before the World Cup starts and I am pleased that it all has just gone down the drain. Hopefully we can start fresh and deliver in the World Cup."
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