The Pakistan captain told Arab News on Thursday that he is at the helm of a ‘balanced’ team, adding that he believes that even the pace attack – which some experts are rating as below-par – is good enough to deliver the goods in the Feb. 19-April 2 tournament.

“I don’t think that there is any cause for concern,” Afridi said as he and his teammates prepared to leave for Dhaka where they will feature in a couple of warm-up games against hosts Bangladesh and England before reaching Sri Lanka for their World Cup games.

“Our team is shaping up well and the boys are all highly motivated to give their best in the World Cup,” he stressed.

Pakistan will go into the World Cup after a morale-boosting series triumph over New Zealand earlier this month.

But in spite of the good results, most experts are not even counting Pakistan among the top five title contenders.

One of the many reasons why Pakistan will begin as one of the tournament’s underdogs is their pace battery.

Pakistan lost Mohammad Aamer, one of the world’s most lethal fast bowlers, as the youngster was thrown out of the game for playing a role in a ‘spot fixing’ scandal.

The Greenshirts brought back left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir from international wilderness and included him in their 15-man squad for the World Cup. But on Wednesday, they were forced to drop him from the touring party because of fitness problems. Uncapped pacer Junaid Khan was picked as Tanvir’s replacement.

An aging Shoaib Akhtar is at the helm of Pakistan’s pace attack that includes Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq.

Akhtar is in the twilight of his international career while Gul has had more than his fair share of fitness problems in recent years.

But Afridi is confident that they will fire in the World Cup.

“Let me tell you that Shoaib Akhtar is working really, really hard because he wants to be at his best in the World Cup,” said the flamboyant all rounder. “In terms of fitness, Shoaib may be a bit down but he is totally committed and is improving day by day. I won’t be surprised if he is back at his brilliant best at the World Cup.” Afridi was also all praise for Umar Gul, saying that the lanky pacer will be one of his key men in the World Cup.

“Gul is a valuable player. He is a match winner,” he said.

In fact Afridi is confident that each of his players can be a match winner on his day.

“I have complete confidence in my boys because each and every one of them is a match-winner. They need to click and I’m sure they will do that in the World Cup.”

On Tanvir’s last minute exclusion, Afridi said that the player didn’t have enough time to recover ahead of the World Cup. “He (Tanvir) wasn’t fully fit and we could have gambled on him for an important event like the World Cup.” The skipper hoped that rookie youngster Junaid Khan will make his presence felt in the World Cup.

Afridi, 30, said that his team will be banking on complete support from their compatriots back home.

“The support we get from our fans gives us strength and confidence.

It’s the prayers of our people that can help us beat any team, any day.” Pakistan will play all their Pool A matches in Sri Lanka, will begin their title campaign with a game against minnows Kenya on Feb. 23 in Hambantota.