Pakistans selectors today announced the squad that they hope will return to Pakistan with the trophy in their grasp.

 by Saj Sadiq

18 January 2011

Pakistans selectors today announced the squad that they hope will return to Pakistan with the trophy in their grasp.

The 15 man squad is the same as the one day squad announced for the six one dayers in New Zealand, barring Tanvir Ahmed who has struggled with fitness during the ongoing two test series.

PakPassion had learnt and reported earlier this month that the squad was likely to be announced without a skipper or vice captain and that the team and captain's performance during the one day series in New Zealand would determine who leads the side in the World Cup ; that is precisely what has occurred. 

The PCB has not announced either a captain or vice captain for the World Cup and this surely increases the pressure on Shahid Afridi to improve the team's form and also prove to the Board that he has the leadership skills to lead the team in the prestigious one day event and beyond.

With the test side performing well under the leadership of Misbah ul Haq in the series versus South Africa and New Zealand, some observors feel that Misbah could indeed be the right man to be at the helm for the World Cup.

The squad is of course missing Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt who for one reason or another are not available to the selectors. If the "missing" players had been available then Pakistan would surely have been amongst the front runners especially with the tournament taking place in the sub continent. However as things stand, a semi final spot would be an achievment.

The squad boasts plenty of experience, with only Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal being classed as the inexperienced players. Potential match winners Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar will be key to Pakistan's chances.

Mohammad Yousuf who currently seems to be out of favour with the PCB is not included and one has to question now whether we will see Yousuf in a green Pakistan shirt in future. 

The squad is probably the best available to the selectors, barring one or two questionable choices. Picking Sohail Tanvir who has struggled for fitness will raise a few eyebrows as Rana Naved ul Hasan may have been a better choice, especially after his Big Bash stint in Australia.

Kamran Akmal quite rightly returns behind the stumps to add some flair and flexibility to the batting lineup and the spin options are made up of Rehman, Ajmal, Afridi and Hafeez.

The World Cup represents the last chance saloon for several Pakistani players to lift a trophy, but I think given the lack of clarity over the captaincy and the missing players, this World Cup will be a bridge too far for Pakistan.

Squad: Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad