Coach Waqar Younis remained upbeat about achieving targets for the 2017 Champions Trophy qualification as Pakistan flew out of Lahore to lock horns with Sri Lanka in the upcoming Test and ODI series.
Pakistan will play three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 games against the hosts, with the first Test beginning on June 17.
Pakistan, who is ranked ninth in one-day rankings, have to beat Sri Lanka to climb to the eighth spot or better before the September 30 deadline for the Champions Trophy, which will feature the top eight teams.
Waqar said that they have set targets for Tests as well as one-day series, insisting that he is confident they would qualify for the Champions Trophy, the Dawn reported.
Pakistan had lost five one-day series before claiming a 2-0 win over Zimbabwe at home last month since Waqar assumed charge as the head coach.
Waqar admitted that there's always pressure being a coach, and cited the absence of Saeed Ajmal among others as the biggest factor for Pakistan's recent slump.
