Pakistan's suspended off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is of the view that his country will not make the semi-finals in the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking on Geo Super channel, the seasoned campaigner tipped Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India to be in the semi-finals.
“Pakistan's bowling is not strong for this tournament, and if Muhammad Hafeez is also not cleared to bowl then our bowling is going to be tested a lot," he said.
- Schedule: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Ajmal, who will fly to Chennai this week for the official ICC bowling assessment test to get his modified bowling action cleared, said without him and Hafeez Pakistan have no experienced bowlers in a mega event.
He said the Pakistan batsmen will have to perform extraordinarily well in all matches to give the team a strong chance of winning.
"But I still don't think Pakistan can be counted among the favorites to make the semi-finals. I see Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India in the top four because they are the teams in form at the moment."
Ajmal, suspended from international cricket since last September, said the sort of form AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Brendon McCullum have shown in the run-up to the World Cup indicates they are going to score in the mega event.
"I regard de Villiers as a class act. The fastest fifty and century he scored against West Indies just shows the sort of talent he possesses. He is one batsman who plays his shots with complete assurance and power and after taking into count the strength of the opposition's bowling," Ajmal said.
The off-spinner said senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan will have to play their best cricket if Pakistan is do well in the event.
"They will have to provide the way for the other players with some big scores."
The off-spinner said he was disappointed at missing out on the World Cup as he loved bowling on Australian pitches, where spinners generally get more bounce than in other places.
Image: Saeed Ajmal
