Fast bowling great Waqar Younis is afraid of Pakistan's unpredictability and says with matches against big guns India and Australia on the horizon, they must perform against Sri Lanka in the World Cup.
Pakistan were hammered by the West Indies in their tournament opener but staged a dramatic fightback by stunning firm favourites England in the following game. Now, they await Sri Lanka but Waqar has his eyes trained on India and Australia.
"Pakistan's fixtures get interesting from here with Australia and India, who are both playing well, on the horizon. They are both formidable sides and so a win against Sri Lanka is important for us," Waqar, a former captain and coach, said in his column for the ICC.
Inconsistency has always dogged the Pakistan team.
"It's a cliché but we're back to that word with Pakistan – inconsistency," Waqar remarked.
"Sometimes frustrating and often brilliant, their two matches so far have been opposites of each other.
"It is a very difficult thing to answer because Pakistan have always been like that. It is not something new, if you go back to the 1980s and even 1970s, it has always been the same."
Waqar said Pakistan have the ability to go all the way, like they did under Imran Khan's leadership in 1992.
"Against England, they rebounded superbly from that opening loss to the West Indies. The capability is there, and they have the capacity to do special things. They need to be positive in every game. There is no doubt they were hurt by what happened against the West Indies and they came out to prove a point.
"The pressure was mounting on the players, the management and the captain. They were in it up to their nose and as you burn your chances, you take more risks.
"Now, it's time for another big game against Sri Lanka. I saw them take on Afghanistan and don't think they are a team that need to be feared. However, Pakistan cannot take them lightly," he added.
