Former Pakistan wicket-keeper captain spoke with PakPassion.net to give his views on the strengths and weaknesses of the 15 man squad chosen for the 2014 World Cup.

By Amir Husain (9th January,2015)

A major milestone on the road to the 2015 World Cup was crossed on the 7th of January when the Pakistan selectors announced their choice of the 15 member squad that they hope, will emulate the 1992 success of their illustrious predecessors.

The announcement of the 15 member squad has quite understandably ignited intense debate amongst fans and experts alike where opinions are divided over the selection of individual players as well the ability of the Pakistan team to mount a serious challenge against the likes of Australia, New Zealand and current champions, India.

In exclusive remarks to PakPassion.net, former Pakistan wicket-keeper and captain, Rashid Latif discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the Pakistan squad including the apparent lack of all-rounders and offered his advice for a possible Pakistan success in the upcoming mega event.

Whilst the selection of the fifteen man squad for the World Cup did offer some surprises in the shape of the selection of pace bowler Sohail Khan and the exclusion of Umar Gul, to Rashid Latif, Pakistan’s main issues lie elsewhere as he stated “Yes the selection of the squad is always a contentious matter but in my view more than the squad itself, overconfidence is the biggest threat to our chances of success. What I refer to here is the overconfidence in our batting top order. If we are not careful, that will be the real cause of our downfall in the World Cup. However, in terms of the overall team strength, I would say that our spin bowling department is the weakest part of our team and is a cause of concern. Although we have two good bowlers in the shape of Shahid Afridi and Yasir Shah but we do not have the likes of Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar and very likely Mohammad Hafeez at our disposal, which could become problematic for us”, he added.

Pakistan's recent one day record where they have failed to win series against New Zealand and Australia does not make for great reading and the popular perception is heavily weighted against a successful 2015 World Cup campaign. To Latif, talk of a dismal performance by Pakistan is a little premature given the ability of any Pakistan team to spring a surprise on it’s opponents.

“Undoubtedly, this will be a tough tournament as all of the teams are very well prepared, however, given the format of this tournament, you cannot write off Pakistan. If they qualify for the knock-out part of the tournament then as we all know, the Pakistan team is capable of defeating any team on a given day so it could be very interesting.”

With a history of producing match winning all-rounders such as the legendary Imran Khan, it would have shocked many to note that the Pakistan squad for the 2015 World Cup does not contain the name of any specialist all-rounder. In fact, with the suspension of Mohammad Hafeez from bowling in international cricket due to a suspect action, Pakistan’s overall bowling resources have been reduced further. For his part, Rashid Latif understands the dilemma faced by the selectors and supports the exclusion of two possible candidates from the World Cup line up.

“The fact is that we didn’t invest enough in grooming a good all-rounder in the past and now it’s too late to find one to take to this tournament. For all their talent, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali cannot be depended upon to deliver ten overs with the same intensity or skill as Abdul Razzaq would have in the past. What we needed and what Pakistan is lacking is a good batting all-rounder and whilst Bilawal Bhatti is a good bowler, he cannot bat that well and the converse is true for Anwar Ali who is a good batsman but cannot bowl that well. This makes their selection difficult for a high profile tournament like this. Additionally, in Australia we will need pace and we have the likes of Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan so that department is well covered,” he added.

Pakistan’s preparations for the 2015 World Cup have come under intense criticism in the recent few weeks, with many former cricketers feeling that Pakistan look underprepared for a tournament of this importance but the former Pakistan captain feels that this issue has been exaggerated a little and that Pakistan have enough time on their hands to do the necessary groundwork but their real concern is the lack of good spin bowling resources “I believe there is still time to prepare and iron out issues and to prepare well for this tournament. One could say that Australia, New Zealand and India have all done good preparation but the other teams are not far behind. In Pakistan’s case the only real setback and complication is the absence of the bowling power which we had through Saeed Ajmal and possibly with Mohammad Hafeez as well. That is the only real worry for Pakistan at the moment, " he concluded.

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