As I write this article there are 55 days to Pakistan's opening match at the World Cup; the mouth-watering clash against arch rivals India. Worryingly though, 55 could also amount to the number of permutations the selectors have in their minds for Pakistan's starting eleven against India.

By Saj Sadiq (22 December, 2014)

The recent one-day series against New Zealand in conditions that are well known to the Pakistani players and conditions that should in theory have favoured Pakistan has actually raised more questions than providing answers. Yes Pakistan played some good cricket, but they also played some very ordinary and lacklustre cricket which was difficult to comprehend and digest at times.

The tactics and approach, irrespective of who is the captain seem to be based on winning the toss, batting first and hoping the batsmen can somehow put up enough runs on the board for the bowling combination to defend. Whereas a number of one day sides around the world give their top order license to attack when the fielding restrictions are in place and continue to attack within reason when wickets fall, the Pakistani effort is based on survival, losing as few wickets as possible in the early overs then hoping that the likes of Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi can somehow score at a rate of ten an over to drag the score to an acceptable level.

When chasing, the Pakistani approach seems to be equally narrow-minded and blinkered ; survival, followed by rebuilding, more survival, rebuilding, followed by playing catch-up cricket, then the hope that the lower order has a blue-moon evening, can smash it around the park and chase down the target. Required run rates generally climb to nine and ten an over ; the lower order must be getting increasingly frustrated with the top order's lethargic efforts.

The Pakistani batting tactics seem to be from a bygone era. It almost reminds of the 1992 World Cup when Imran Khan realised that his team's form was poor and the confidence was low, so he and Javed Miandad took it upon themselves to orchestrate Pakistan's innings and guarantee they took on the responsibility of ensuring that Pakistan made some respectable totals for a high-quality bowling unit to defend. Those tactics worked, because Pakistan had the likes of Wasim Akram, an in-form Aaqib Javed and also the brilliant leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed who had the ability to take wickets at key moments against any opposition. 

The sedate approach and tactics from the Pakistan think-tank is flawed and this game-plan will only result in failure at the World Cup if this is not changed with immediate effect. The top order's over-reliance on Mohammad Hafeez having a good day is nothing short of high-risk. It seems that if Hafeez fails, the top order falls flat and the burden of responsibility falls on Ahmed Shehzad's young shoulders. Now what about the others? What is their role? Are the likes of Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq picked just to occupy the crease and ensure that Pakistan can actually last 50 overs?

Younis Khan has been a wonderful servant of Pakistan Test cricket but picking him in the current one-day side is a logic that is mystifying. If the idea is that he will help the Pakistan batting unit last fifty overs in foreign conditions and other batsmen can bat around him, well that theory is completely wrong. Younis made a century against New Zealand which was his first in six years. Putting aside the lack of hundreds, his strike rate and lack of runs in one day cricket can hurt Pakistan. The batting unit doesn't have too many stroke-makers and if you add Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq into the mix with their style of batting, then most of the time the lack of runs and the strike-rate will damage the team's potential to chase or when batting first, to put up big totals.

Asad Shafiq, the one day player hasn't worked and won't work. That is so obvious, but somehow and for some unknown reason the selectors seem to think Asad has the makings of a one-day batsman. Get real, forget it, don't ruin him and ultimately affect his pedigree and potential in Test cricket.

Umar Akmal, what can be said about him that already hasn't be said. The skill-set, the ability, the variety of shots, what's missing though is the quantity of runs, temperament and consistency. Dropping Umar for the World Cup would be a risk and a surprise, but it's high time he started to put runs on the board on a consistent basis. In a strange way, the World Cup could be the making of Umar, but there again it could also break him. 

The tactic of going into a match with four frontline bowlers is one that can backfire on any given day. All it would take is for one of the main bowlers to suffer an injury and Pakistan could be in a situation where they are relying on an Ahmed Shehzad to have to fill in. Haris Sohail was a revelation with the ball against New Zealand but let's be realistic his chance came through luck (Hafeez's suspension) rather than through some major masterstroke by the think-tank.

I assume the selectors will sit down with Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi to discuss what occurred against New Zealand, what changes in personnel are required and what tactical amendments are needed. There are too many ifs and buts and maybes and not enough certainties in the Pakistan one-day side.

However at the moment, when it comes to Pakistan's chances at the World Cup, the chances are a distant dream due to woeful selections, outdated tactics. If Pakistan is to compete with the best in Australia and New Zealand then some tough and drastic changes are needed.

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