Karachi, Mar. 17: Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has said that the Pakistan team would put a smile back on the face of Pakistan cricket by winning the World Twenty20 championship to be played in England this summer.

“Our cricket is going through a rough phase. But we have to fight on and one way to do that is to start winning titles like the World Twenty20 championship,” said Alam, while referring to the woes of Pakistan cricket.

Pakistan are currently trailing at the fifth spot in both the ICC Test and one-day rankings following a series of unimpressive showings in both forms of the game in recent years, The News reports.

In the inaugural Twenty20 World championship in 2007, Pakistan managed to reach the finals, but lost it to India by five runs.

For this year’s edition too, experts believe that Pakistan will be in contention for the title. West Indian Brian Lara has in fact picked Pakistan along with India as his favorites to lift the title at Lord’s on June 21.

“There is no doubt that we can win the title in England. We have a very good and reliable batting line while our bowlers are also pretty solid for the shorter version of the game,” ,” said Alam.

Alam said that Pakistani cricketers would undergo a strenuous training camp ahead of the England assignment to achieve those targets.

“At first glance, twenty20 seems to be a batsman’s game. But if you look closer, bowlers can play an equally important part. I mean if you have pacers who can bowl accurately with effective yorkers and mixing it with slower deliveries and spinners with an ability to take wickets then your chances of winning go up big time,” he said.

Pakistan is facing a problem when it comes to quality pacers. Their key strike pacer Mohammad Asif will be unavailable due to one-year ban for doping, while Shoaib Akhtar is facing fitness problems.

However, Alam said that Pakistan could raise a potent attack consisting of bowlers like Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and Shahid Afridi. (ANI)