Pakistan national cricket team selectors are in a dilemma over the selection of the final 15-member squad for the World Cup, which is scheduled to be announced on January 7 in Karachi.
Their indecisiveness stems from the recent chain of events affecting key players in recent months and now in the ongoing Pentangular Cup one-day tournament in Karachi.
“The main dilemma is whether to go back and repose confidence in some senior players or not, whether to take a chance with the fitness of pacer Umar Gul or select Muhammad Hafeez purely as a batsman if he is not allowed to bowl in international cricket by the ICC,” a source close to the selectors said.
Discarded allrounder and former captain, Shoaib Malik appears to have become the main talking point for the selectors, as after having thrown the gauntlet at them in a press conference, he has responded with two match winning half-centuries and some steady bowling for his Khyber Pakthunkhawa team in the Pentangular Cup.
Malik, before the start of the tournament, made it clear that he was available for the World Cup. But the selectors needed to see what would be his batting position and how many matches they were willing to give him to prove his mettle.
“Not only has he scored runs in the middle order but also bowled well, clearly staking a claim for the key allrounder’s spot in the team,” the source stated.
With Saeed Ajmal out of the World Cup and with doubts still remaining over whether Hafeez will be cleared to bowl in the World Cup, a source said Malik was close to a dramatic comeback to the team.
“If Hafeez is not cleared to bowl then Malik is the best available choice for the selectors,” another source stated.
The selectors are also facing a dilemma over the third opener’s slot as the uncapped young wicketkeeper-batsman, Muhammad Rizwan has been in prime form in the domestic season.
Rizwan, 22, hit another ton for KPK in the Pentangular Cup on Thursday after scoring 224 runs in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy earlier this month.
Although Rizwan toured with the Pakistan team to the West Indies in mid 2013, he has not played any internationals. But his form poses a serious challenge to a comeback attempt by veteran keeper-batsman, Kamran Akmal who has also been in devastating form with the bat in the domestic season.
“It appears to be a direct tie between Rizwan and Kamran for the reserve keeper opener’s slot,” the source said.
The form and fitness of Umar Gul also remains a concern for the selectors as he conceded lot of runs in his first match of the Pentangular and questions remain over his fitness after undergoing a knee operation in May, 2013.
Though Gul has claimed he is now fully fit and is slowly returning to his best, but the source said the selectors still have doubts, especially after the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Shaharyar Khan recently claimed that the medical report on Gul was not very encouraging and he had slim chances of making it to the World Cup squad.
The selectors led by Moin Khan have been closely monitoring all matches of the Pentangular Cup as the event will eventually form the basis for the selection of the final World Cup squad.
Few Out of the Box Suggestions for the Selection of Pakistani ODI World Cup Squad..! Part 1
Before selecting Pakistani players for the ODI World Cup 2015, we must refresh the results of the ODI matches played since the last Asia Cup, held about a year ago in Bangladesh, during February – March 2014.
– Pakistani team lost the final match of the Asia Cup Vs Sri Lanka in a most pathetic manner.
For details please read “How the Asia Cup was lost?” Link:- http://www.snayyar.com/loud-thinking-april-22-201…
– In August 2014, Pakistan again lost 2-1 ODI series played in SriLanka.
– Pakistan also lost two ODI series against both Australia (3-0) and NewZealand (3-2) played during October – December 2014, at the UAE.
For the detailed analysis of these performances please read:
1. How to win the ODI World Cup-2015? Proposals sent to the PCB in Sept.14 confined to the dust bin.. !http://t.co/tfZeNe6lOq
2.Pakistani cricket in the abyss..Patron in Chief of the PCB must act now..! – See more at: http://www.snayyar.com/loud-thinking-october-12-2…
3. A clarion call to the Prime Minister and Patron in Chief of the PCB. .http://t.co/L6gUnZ9Prg
4. Why the chief selector is larger than life for the PCB..? Honourable Prime Minister and the Patron.. http://t.co/i9B8goXuQt”
The conclusion drawn from the above analysis, is summarised as below:
1. The proof of pudding lies in its eating. Since, the take over of the PCB affairs by Mr. Najam Sethi, our team’s ODI performances reached historical low levels; by losing the Champions trophy in a manner that our team earned 8th position, amongst the 8 participating teams; and then even lost an ODI match Vs Zimbabwe, as well. And after all that down slides, leaving aside the Proteas, each and every ODI tournament/series was lost in such a pathetic manner that with World Cup almost at hand, we created a sort of a world record, in last ODI series vs Sri Lanka, by scoring only 19 runs in the first 10 overs of an ODI, when only 2 repeat 2 fielders, are stationed outside the 30 yards circle.
2. With such an ignominious recent past record, the entire PCB never ever thought to get rid of Misbah ul Haq and his coterie of few other bunch of oldies, who seems to have burnt their entire fuel, for the ODI version of the game.
3. What is now needed is to re-build a Pakistani team, with an eye on the future, by inducting promising and talented young players, which should also be led by a young dare devil and fearless youngster, as a captain.We need a captain, with a heart of a lion and agility of a tiger…جوانوں کو پیروں کا استاد کر
4. Since, Pakistan’s national team is no body’s personal team, PCB should not hesitate to say good bye to the oldies, who have given their contribution since long and are a sheer liability, for any future ODI games, particularly on the wickets and conditions of the down under. Even if these highly respected oldies are physically fit, the problem lies with their defensive and negative mental approach. Yes these seniors can still stand in the field but they are unable to gather the team to put up a fight. Actually, putting up a fight does not mean hitting sixes. In cricket, it means giving the opposition a run for their money and snatching victories from the jaws of defeat.
5. Even if our team of the youngsters is not able to give any worthwhile performance during the World Cup, they will gain a lot of experience for the future. Moreover, no heavens fell, when all the stars studded seniors team lost miserably in the Champions trophy matches, where our team got the last position. So, why to shy away in banking over the youth and giving these raw players a feel of the World Cup atmosphere. In a national team, there is no place for joy riders. The fact is that these senior players also know that their steam is totally consumed. Otherwise, why they are ready to quit after the World Cup? Any player who can not deliver beyond the World Cup, how can we take a chance with him to perform at the fag end of his career? As such, we must bet on the performances of the rising stars. As far as the element of the experience is concerned, this aspect should be the specific responsibility of the coaching staff.
6. One very important matter which must be considered for NOT selecting the oldies, is the VERY HIGH chances of physical breakdown of the senior and old players, during the World Cup.
Few Out of Box Suggestions for the Selection of Pakistani Squad for the ODI World Cup…
In view of the foregoing, it is suggested that the following players should be selected for the Pakistani team for the ODI World Cup 2015.
1. Ahmad Shahzad (Captain material)
2. Awais Zia (with license to play very positively/aggressively)
3. Umer Akmal
4. Sami Aslam
5. Imam ul Haq
6. Sarfraz Ahmad (captain material. If Shahzad is nominated as Captain, Sarfraz should be Vice Captain)
7. Adnan Akmal (regular wicket keeper is a must)
8. Anwer Ali
9. Bilawal Bhatti
10. Imran Khan (one right arm fast bowler is a must)
11. Muhammad Irfan
12. Yaser Shah
13. Raza Hassan
14. Azhar Ali
15. Fawad Alam
Break up
Batsmen. 8
Spinners. 2
Pacers. 4
WK. 1
Total. 15
Reserves:
1. Wahab Riaz.
2. Sohail Tanvir.
3. Muhammad Hafeez.
4. Harris Sohail.
5. Azhar Ali.
Junaid Khan and Sohaib Maqsood not considered on the reports that they are not 100% medically fit. However, if they are fit, then Bilawal Bhatti and Azhar Ali can be dropped in lieu of the above named two players.
Comments are closed.