Former chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Salahuddin Sulla, believes that there are no favourites for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2013 and said that all the teams are evenly balanced.
The mega event is going to be played next month in England, with Australia looking to defend their title.
Salahuddin was of the opinion that the team which will employ its resources well, according to the conditions in England will emerge as the winner.
“There are no favourites in this edition of the Champions Trophy,” the former selector said. “All the teams are strong, but none is stronger than the other. Pakistan have a raw team. They need to utilize their players to their full potential.”
While talking about Pakistan’s chances in the all-important tournament, the former Test cricketer thinks that the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Hafeez will have to take the responsibility on their shoulders.
“Misbah, Hafeez and Asad will have to play anchor roles and ensure the team play 50 overs. Pakistan will definitely miss the experience of Afridi and Younis in English conditions. Pakistan have a very tough group and it will not be easy for them to advance to the semi-finals,” said the former cricketer.
Apart from Younis and Afridi, Umar Akmal has also been dropped from the Champions Trophy squad and Umar Gul has been ruled out due to a knee injury.
Taking into account a strong and balanced bowling attack in the presence of Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan and Saeed Ajmal, the major concern for Pakistan in the global event is going to be their batting line-up, which has a tendency of being extremely inconsistent. The English conditions, which are known to assist the swing bowlers at this time of a year, are likely to test the techniques of the Pakistani batsmen.