Javed Miandad says absence of Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal 'huge setback' for Pak's WC campaign

Former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad said that the absence of veteran bowlers Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul from the 15-man squad is a huge setback for the team, who would open their World Cup campaign against India on February 15 in Australia.

Reflecting on the upcoming India-Pakistan clash, Miandad said that it was tough to pick a winner of the 15 February encounter and Pakistan's loss of Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal was a huge setback, the Dawn reported.

Miandad further said that Gul and Ajmal could have proven handy for Pakistan against an experienced Indian batting line-up, adding that he hopes Mohammad Hafeez clears his retest as Pakistan needs experienced bowlers against a highly-experienced India batting line-up, the report added.

In addition, he said that India's recent 2-0 Test defeat in Australia would count for nothing in defence of its ICC Cricket World Cup title and would be more acclimatized and have more knowhow of the pitches than the Pakistan team.