Analysis of the Pakistan Squad against Australia – Part 2 - Opinion
Continued from the previous part...
The changes made in the fast bowling department clearly indicate that the Green Shirts are going to rely on their spinners to deliver the goods against the Kangaroos. In the presence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdur-Rehman-c41691, Pakistan’s slow bowling
looks to be in safe hands. On top of that, they will be supported by all-rounders like Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
The chief selector also hinted that spinners will have to play a vital role in the series, taking into account the climate and tracks in UAE.
"http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 have been relying more on spin bowling, and in view of the pitches and conditions in the UAE, the onus will be on spinners," Qasim said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shakeel-Ansar-c89546.
The 30-year-old cricketer is making a comeback to the national team after the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 Cricket World Cup 2011, where his performance behind the stumps was found wanting.
However, there is no question about his ability with the bat and is unarguably the best wicketkeeper/batsman in the country. Qasim admitted while announcing the squad that the selectors faced a difficulty in replacing Kamran, because of his exceptional batting
skills. With 11 international hundreds under his belt, Kamran is surely a match-winner with a bat in hand.
The chief selector is also hoping that the experienced cricketer will prove his worth in the World T20, a format which suits Kamran’s stroke-play.
"Akmal is our first-choice as wicketkeeper-batsman for limited-overs cricket mainly because of his assured batting skills," Qasim said. "So drafting him in the ODI squad could help him gain more confidence ahead of the World T20."
Former Pakistan captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Malik-c90088, who has been struggling to cope with the pressure of international cricket since last year, has also made a comeback to the 50-overs version. The right-handed middle-order batsman looked to have regained form during
the T20 series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 and the Pakistan cricket fans will be hoping that he can start to do well consistently.
Once Malik gets going, he can be a true game-changer and possesses the ability to score runs on regular basis. PCB also wants the cricketer from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sialkot-c842 to do well and gain confidence as he can solve Pakistan’s captaincy problems for some years to come.
The all-rounder has experience of leading Pakistan in past and has also done brilliantly for Sialkot Stallions. However, his poor form with the bat forced the authorities to appoint http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 as the T20 captain.
Overall, the team looks balanced in all departments of the game and should give a hard time to the Kangaroos, but dropping some senior players ahead of the World T20 is a little surprising.
Basit Ali, the former middle-order batsman from Karachi, also feels that the players selected for the World T20 should have been given confidence.
"I’m unable to understand what they’re preparing for. Are they preparing for the 2015 World Cup? You have to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup," said Basit.
The selectors have taken a harsh decisions by excluding http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595 need proper chances to prove their mettle in the 50-overs format,
as the Green Shirts look to rebuild ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, to be held in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 jointly.
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