Sri Lankan league will boost Pak team's T-20 WC chances: Whatmore

Lahore -  Pakistani players participating in the Sri Lankan Cricket League will boost their country's winning chances in the World Twenty20 to be held in the island nation from September 18, according to head coach Dav Whatmore.

Whatmore welcomed the opportunity for his players to prepare in the Sri Lankan League.

Nearly all-Pakistani players selected for the Twenty20 Wolrd Cup feature in the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL).

Whatmore, 58, who coached Sri Lanka to their 1996 World Cup title, said his players would get good practice in the venues where the World Twenty20 will be held.

"There is an opportunity for some of the boys to participate in the SLPL and it's a good thing and I have no problem with it," The Nation quoted Whatmore, as saying.

"At least they are playing on ground and in the similar conditions and in those two grounds where we are going to play our matches and placed in Group D with Bangladesh and New Zealand," the head coach said.

"There are a few other (countries) doing the same thing and they are getting good practice."

Pakistan were runners-up in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, won the 2009 event held in England and finished semi-finalists in 2010 in the West Indies.