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Chandigarh, Oct 20: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer today showered praise on his team, saying it was "high on sporting intelligence" but not complacent to take their opposition lightly in the ongoing Champions Trophy tournament. "They may not have great university degrees, but I must say their sporting intelligence is very high which I have, in some cases, not seen anywhere else," Woolmer said. The coach also warned that their "feet are on the ground" despite a superb win against Sri Lanka in their opener.
"Winning against a good team may have given us a good start, but we know that we will have to keep performing," he told reporters after the team's practice session at the Sector 16 cricket stadium here. Woolmer said absence of players like Inzaman-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar had given the boys an opportunity to stand up and show their mettle and they have ably done it. "They have shown that given an opportunity they can even do without their three leading players. The boys are spirited and looking hungry for win," he said.
The team practiced at the nets for about two-and-a-half hours followed by some running and stretching exercises while Woolmer helped the players do fielding practice in the presence of bowling coach Waqar Younis. About their next match, Woolmer said weather at Mohali was much cooler in comparison to that of Jaipur and they would see how the conditions remain before their match against New Zealand on October 25. Woolmer admitted the dope controversy involving pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif would not be forgotten easily but stressed the team would learn to deal with it. "It's not going to be forgotten that easily, but I believe that every side learns to deal with it," he said.
The coach, however, said it was unfortunate that the issue erupted just before the team was to launch its campaign in the high-profile event but praised the players under the leadership of Younis Khan. "They (the current team) have not allowed external factors get to them and behaved as professionals," he said. The English-born South African blasted Dr Tauseef Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar's doctor, for suggesting that there could be a conspiracy behind the speedster's dope fiasco.
"Dr Tauseef Razzaq has no right to say there is a conspiracy," he said. "ICC has a new dope testing policy. We want to dope test our players not just one or two, but all our players on a regular basis. "We all have nandrolone in our body. Now the thing to be determined is that if something has been taken to enhance its levels," he added. (Agencies)
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