Your Pakistan Squad for the 2019 World Cup

All experiments have come to an end, no more international cricket to be played before the World Cup squad gets announced, now we can all choose our world cup squad in peace without changing our mind every day.

So what do you guys think should be the World Cup squad?

This is the squad that I would realistically choose:

1. Fakhar Zaman - The only top order batsman in Pakistan who can play at a strike rate of 90+ so we definitely need him, despite his poor run of form. He has a good record in England, due to the Champions Trophy of course and due to that I believe he deserves this spot aswell.

2. Imam ul Haq - A lot of criticism about him, but he batted extremely well in the South Africa series and therefore secured his place for the World Cup, for me at least. He was decent in the PSL aswell, which shows he can play attacking cricket too.

3. Babar Azam - Not done anything great in particular recently, but he is our best batsman apparently and he has cemented his spot at number 3 for the next years. Automatic selection.

4. Haris Sohail - Highly impressive in the AUS series, everyone knows he is talented, can bowl some handy slow left armers aswell. Fitness has been his only issue and for that I would keep Abid Ali, Asif Ali and Umar Akmal on stand by.

5. Muhammad Rizwan - Anyone who scores 2 centuries in a series cannot be dropped for the next one. He provides the team with a back up wicket-keeping option aswell and since Umar Akmal has not made my squad, Rizwan automatically does.

6. Muhammad Hafeez - I don't know how fit Hafeez is, but he is a must have in this line up. A batsman who can finish well for us, brings calmness and experience to the side and bowls handy off spin. Again, as mentioned previously, if he is not fit for the World Cup, and it would be very unfortunate if he isn't, I would keep Abid Ali, Asif Ali and Umar Akmal on stand by.

7. Shoaib Malik - Last World Cup for him, not been in the greatest of form recently, but he isn't going nowhere, so I hope he can finish games for us in the World Cup.

8. Sarfraz Ahmed* - We don't really need his keeping skills or his batting skills, one thing however, which I think we did miss is his leadership qualities. Malik and Imad captained the side very poorly, so Sarfraz has to be there. Won the Champions Trophy for us aswell.

9. Imad Wasim - Must have, probably the only one in Pakistan who can bat at a strike rate of 100+, he can bowl tidy overs and has been in excellent form of late aswell.

10. Shadab Khan - Not been in the greatest of forms recently, but we invested in him as our front-line attacking spin option. A lot will be expected of him.

11. Faheem Ashraf - Not really impressed by him at all, would personally prefer Junaid over him, but the management sees him as a must have. Him and Junaid are probably more or less on par, bowling wise.

12. Hasan Ali - Has had a great PSL. A lot will depend on him to take wickets for us in the middle overs, even though we haven't seen much of that recently. Still a key player in the team.

13. Muhammad Amir - His track record in England and in ICC tournaments seem to be going in his favour. We haven't seen anybody superior to him to be fair, Junaid would be the same as him, but Amir will be favoured over him.

14. Shaheen Shah Afridi - Our main weapon, if he can take wickets with the new ball Pakistan will have a great World Cup.

15. Usman Khan Shinwari - I think he has done enough to warrant his selection for the World Cup. Pakistan needs someone who can bowl 140kph+and Wahab is out of favour, Haris Rauf has not been given an opportunity and Hasnain does not look ready yet, so Shinwari who bowled okay in South Africa and excellently against Australia would get the nod.

Notable absentees: Junaid Khan and a lower order hitter i.e. Umar Akmal/Asif Ali

 

I agree with your squad except I'd replace Rizwan with Asif Ali. We dont need another slow run scorer however many centuries he might hit.

 

Or replace malik with Asif ali. Asif ali is not great, but we need some power hitter down the order, if hafeez doesn't make it coz of injury, then this batting lineup will be nothing but a joke.

 

I would take one of Hafeez or Shoaib. Most probably Hafeez because he can bowl better than Malik. In Malik's place I will take an attacking batsman but not Asif Ali. I will take Junaid Khan in place of Shinwari or Amir.

 

You can't replace Rizwan with Asif Ali. You can only replace him with Umar Akmal because Pakistan needs a back up keeper.

If Sarfraz gets injured during the World Cup and we have no back up keeper selected, Sarfraz will be out of the World Cup permanently and will not be able to come back into the team once he is fit. That's a big big dilemma considering Sarfraz is the captain of the side and a long term investment from PCB's point of view.

A back up keeper has to be there at all cost. Whether it's Rizwan or Umar Akmal or Abid Ali, that's the question that remains to be answered.

 

And what if Sarfaraz is not fit for a crucial game? Will Shaheen Afridi keep wickets?

 

Agree with your squad!!

 

Same

 

That's only half the problem.

If a replacement needs to be called for Sarfraz he won't be able to come back into the side, and he is the captain...

 

What would be starting 11?

1. Imam
2. Fakhar / Hafeez
   
3. Babar
4. Harris / Hafeez
   
5. Malik / Hafeez
   
6. Imad
7. Sarfraz
8. Shadab
9. Amir
10. Hassan
11. Shaheen

How do you adjust Hafeez in the playing 11 is the question~

 

My squad is in line with PCB's thinking. Malik will be there at all cost. If anything, Hafeez will miss out. If Hafeez misses out, Asif Ali would be my first choice, even though he is also useless.

I want Junaid to be there instead of Faheem but Faheem is also someone who PCB consider as a must have.

 

Most probably they will not include Harris in the first playing 11 and have Hafeez in his place.

1. Imam
2. Fakhar
3. Babar
4. Hafeez
5. Malik
6. Imad
7. Sarfraz
8. Shadab
9. Amir
10. Hassan
11. Shaheen

 

Agree with the squad, but the temptation would be to include Asif Ali in place of Rizwan (unfortunate). Ideally Rizwan and Asif would be in and Malik will miss out but that's not going to happen.

 

Why is Imam getting a free pass on everyone’s list?

I’d have Abid Ali in there instead.

Rizwan, malik and Hafeez. Only one, at best two should be selected.

Bowling you need a wild card. Don’t know why they didn’t try rauf in this series. Because they did that, stick Hasnain in, no other choice really, unless you take the ultimate risk and pick Rauf - it’s idiotic to select him without trying him, but it was equally idiotic not trying him. So, if I’m reading the selectors’ minds correctly Rauf will be in.

Shaheen - I’m really not excited by him at all. Amir, tough one. Prob worth having in the squad, but one of these two misses out for me.

Shinwari, nothing special, I’d rather take Junaid.

 

What exactly does Malik bring to the side? 38yrs old. Been around for donkey yrs. And has mediocre stats.

I hope him & Hafeez retire gracefully after the WC.

 

I was talking about this Asif Ali. He's also a wicketkeeper...

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/39696.html

 

Experienced player! Can roll his arm over if needed too. A must have.

 

Not what i want but this will be the team

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Hafeez
Malik
Sarfraz
Imad
Shadab
Hassan
Amir
Shaheen

Faheem
Shinwari
Haris


One place up for grab.

opening slot between Shan, Abid and Rizwan (if Rizwan is selected then Hafeez will be considered as 3rd opener)


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and what do you want? :shrug

 

Sahibzada
Khanzada
Superstarzada
Matchwinnerzada
Muhammad
Shahid
Khan
Afridi


I think this team will beat any team in WC.

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This is my 15:

1. Imam
2. Fakhar
3. Hafeez
4. Babar
5. Harris Sohail
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Sarfraz
8. Rizwan
9. Imad
10. Fahim
11. Shadab
12. Amir
13. Hassan
14. Shaheen
15. Shinwari

My playing 11 out of these:

1. Hafeez
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar
4. Harris Sohail
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Sarfraz
7. Shadab
8. Fahim
   
9. Amir
10. Hassan
11. Shaheen

Win the toss and always bowl first specially against India!! @SwingNSeam

 

I think Asif Ali needs to be in the squad. We desperately need a hitter down the order - our lower order hitting right now is pathetic. I know he's not very good but he is the only one that can hit big. Not sure how we don't include him.

I also am not sold on Shinwari. He's got too much of that ability to totally lose a game for us and I think needs to go back to domestics and get his line and length proper, show that he's not going to totally lose it. He's a decent bowler but that propensity to go for multiple 20+ overs is a serious downside. I'd rather take Junaid.

 

We dont need a lower order hitter in my opinion! Sarfraz, Shadab, Fahim and Hassan can do the job for us in my opinion!!

 

LOL

 

If both Malik and Hafeez are in the XI then they both have to be able to bowl 10 overs between them. There is no way we can play 5 bowlers and both Hafeez and Malik.

 

I know that's the likely XI but that really cuts short the batting. Only one of Imad or Shadab should be in the XI and Malik/Hafeez should fill in with their spin bowling. Need another batsman in there.

 

Malik is purely there because he’s a senior.

 

You could include Harris Sohail in the 11. He can bowl some overs too. But ultimately, I need my 4 pacers in English conditions therefore I think Fahim should play instead of Imad and I want to see Harris Sohail in place of Imam!

1. Hafeez
2. Fakhar
3. Babar
4. Harris
5. Malik
6. Sarfraz
7. Shadab
8. Fahim
9. Amir
10. Hassan
11. Shaheen

 

I'm imagining the following XI for the majority of the tournament:

Imam, Fakhar, Babar, Hafeez, Malik, Sarfraz, Imad, Faheem/Shadab, Hasan, Amir, Shaheen

 

The tail starts at Sarfraz LOL

 

Too many accumulators.

Can’t have two 39yr olds in the team if you want to win the WC (Malik/Hafeez).

 

Imran Khan needs to ask Afridi to reconsider retirement ala Zia-ul-Haq. Asif Ali is overrated he hardly performs and when he does have a decent hit it's something that can be matched by Hafeez. Hafeez since champions trophy is version 2.0.

 

Imad would be the one to miss out not Shadab as Shadab is a leg spinner and we need Shadab more than Imad!!

 

These will be bowler friendly conditions and you would need as many accumulators as you can get!!

 

Disagree. Imad is a valuable hitter and he's going to be part of the XI no matter what.

 

Bhai bowling Shadab ki required hai aur legspinner bhi hai aur Imad se bhi achi batting karta hai!! Imad aur Shadab donon ki batting aur hitting buhat achi hai! Team ki requirement Shadab hai not Imad cus middle overs mein you need variety to bowl aur in conditions mein sirf eik spinner khel sakta hai aur leg spinner hona zaroori hai!!

 

Imad averages 47 @ 105 SR in ODIs.

 

Its would be too tough to drop Imad on his current form. He has been hitting the bowl really well at the end. He is the only one at the moment who has the ability to make 40 in 20-22 balls for Pakistan.

On the other Shadab is a must. He is the genuine leg spinner and i feel, for Pakistan to do well in the WC, Shaheen and Shadab is the key.

 

This is my 15:

1. Imam
2. Fakhar
3. Abid
4. Hafeez
5. Babar
6. Harris
7. Shoaib
8. Sarfraz
9. Imad
10. Fahim
11. Shadab
12. Amir
13. Hassan
14. Shaheen
15. Junaid

On a track where management feel 2nd genuien spinner is not needed, Imad can be dropped and i would play faheem.
Another option is to play just 4 bowlers on bowling track and include an extra batsman. Hafeez and Harris will bowl 10 overs.

 

1. Fakhar
2. shan
3. abid

4. babar
5. haris
6. hafeez
7. Sarfraz
8. Rizwan

9. Imad
10. Shadab
11. Faheem

12. Shinwari
13. Afridi
14. hassan
15. Junaid

and my xi would be:

1. fakhar
2. shan
3. babar
4. haris
5. sarfraz
6. hafeez
7. Imad
8. shadab
9. faheem
10. hassan
11. Afridi

with shadab replaced by Shinwari if needs be - will weaken batting and fielding though.

however, crap playing xi will be:

1. imam
2. fakhar
3. babar
4. malik
5. hafeez
6. sarfraz
7. Imad
8. faheem
9. hassan
10. amir
11. Afridi