Pakistan can win 2015 World Cup even if Saeed Ajmal doesn't play, says Javed Miandad

Saeed Ajmal is aiming for a comeback before the 50-over World Cup next year

Pakistan cricket legend Javed Miandad has said that Pakistan still have a chance of winning next year’s ICC World Cup in Australia & New Zealand even if Saeed Ajmal remains unavailable for the tournament due to the suspension he is facing at the moment for an illegal bowling action.

Ajmal had been suspended by the ICC a couple of weeks back after biomechanical tests in Brisbane found his elbow to be flexing well beyond the permissble 15 degree limit while bowling.

"We have won the title and that's history so we can win the title again if our players play to their potential," Miandad, who was part of Pakistan’s sole World Cup triumph in 1992, said.

Miandad added that there is no point in thinking about a player that, in all likelihood, will be missing the World Cup and urged the other players to raise their game in Ajmal’s absence.

"We should not depend on one player," he said. "Don't think of a player who is not there, and others should fulfil their responsibilities."

Ajmal has already started undergoing remedial work on his action under the guidance of former Pakistan offie Saqlain Mushtaq and can apply to the ICC for a reassesment of his bowling action when he so wishes.

Pakistan open their World Cup campaign with a game against India, their arch-rivals, in Adelaide on February 15.