KARACHI: Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, rated as the best spinner in world cricket today, believes that the team which handles the pressure well will win next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in England.

“Since eight top teams are competing in the event, it is very tough to predict a winner. But I think whoever gets the right balance in their team and copes well with the pressure will go on to win the Trophy,” Saeed said in an interview on Wednesday.

“There are no weak teams in the tournament. Even West Indies and New Zealand teams are well-balanced outfits with several players who can change the course of a match in matter of few overs,” he said.

Talking about Pakistan’s preparation for the high-profile tournament, Saeed said it was pretty much on target.

“I feel Pakistan can go into the tournament with a lot of confidence,” he said. “We have six matches ahead of our first game so that gives us plenty of time to get the team balance right and field a settled eleven.

“We are full of confidence, preparations have gone well and we are all looking forward to the event. If we play to our potential we can definitely win,” he stressed.

Commenting on the new ODI rules, Saeed admitted that they have made life much tougher for spinners in one day cricket.

“Bowling in limited-overs cricket was hard enough for the slow bowlers but now, by allowing an extra fielder in the circle for non-powerplay overs means that the batsmen can free their arms and take on a spinner without much fear,” he said.

“On the other hand, the fast bowlers have been given the luxury of bowling two bouncers in an over which seems a bit unfair.”

Responding to a question about captain Misbah-ul-Haq not using him as an attacking bowler, Saeed said: “No, I disagree with that assessment. Misbah is an excellent captain and not a defensive one. We’ve played a lot of cricket together over the years and he knows how to utilise my bowling and when to bring me on.

“You cannot be a defensive captain when you have won as many matches as Misbah has as skipper and also his win-loss ratio is almost as good as any other Pakistani captain over the years,” said the ‘doosra’ wizard.

Paying tribute to Misbah, Saeed said that he is one of cricket’s great thinkers and has led Pakistan from the front on most occasions.

He also had a lot of praise for fellow pace bowlers Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan, claiming the two bowlers when on song can bamboozle any opposition.

“We are blessed in Pakistan, our fast bowling resources never run dry.

“Sooner or later, from somewhere and somehow we always manage to produce great fast bowling talent,” he said.

“Both Irfan and Junaid will be Pakistan’s strike bowlers in the Champions Trophy, mark my words. Wasim Akram has worked closely with them during the recent camp and both will be more destructive now.”

Speaking about the much-awaited Pakistan-India game at Birmingham on June 15, Saeed said: “It is always a fantastic occasion playing against India. The atmosphere wherever we play is always electrifying. It is like playing the final of any tournament and it will be no different this time.”—APP