Younis and Umar need to perform for Pakistan to do well: Coach

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis today said experienced batsman Younis Khan and talented youngster Umar Akmal need to fire, if his side has to do well in the World Cup, starting on Saturday.

Expressing disappointment at the failure of the two in the warm-up match against Bangladesh on Tuesday, Younis said he expected more from both the players.

"I think Younis and Umar have a lot to contribute in this World Cup if we are to do well and they need to really work hard to find their form and touch. We can't afford to not have them firing in this World Cup," Waqar said.

Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the warm up match with Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq scoring centuries while the rest of the batting did not contribute much.

"It was amazing the way Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq played under pressure particularly for Misbah to come in at number five and score a-run-a ball century," Waqar said.

The former Test pacer said other batsmen also need to show responsibility.

He pointed out that in a major event like World Cup, he would prefer to see all of his batsmen contributing small totals rather then having to depend on one or two players to do the bulk of the scoring.

"We have a lot of expectations from Younis in this World Cup as he is our most experienced batsman and he needs to find his touch soon," he said.

Younis is playing his third World Cup while Umar is appearing in his first.

Many of the Pakistan squad members are making their maiden World Cup appearances including Muhammad Hafeez, Shehzad, Misbah, Umar, Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul and Junaid Khan.