Canada can reach World Cup quarter-finals - Bagai

Canada captain Ashish Bagai has said his team can make it to the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup. "Our realistic aim is to get two wins in the first round against Kenya and Zimbabwe and we are really gunning for an upset in the other four games," said Bagai. "If we get three wins then we have a chance of making it through to the quarter-finals and that is our goal. If you don't have that goal then there is no point going to the World Cup," he said.

Bagai outlined two goals for Canada in the run-up to the World Cup. "The first one is to get individual skill levels and strategies worked out for every single player on the squad," he said. "The second aim is for myself and the coaching staff to find a combination that is going to work well in those conditions and identify key roles for every player. We are still trying to find the perfect formula and that is hopefully going to be worked out in our trip to India later in the year and at a training camp in Dubai."

Bagai was confident of Canada's prospects in the upcoming ODIs against Ireland on September 6 and 7 despite his side's defeat against them in their recent Intercontinetal Cup fixture. "As a group we are pretty confident as although we lost the four-day game, our boys are more suited to the one-day form of the game," he said.