Can Pakistan cricket team win Asia Cup 2010?
There are teams that are always favourites when they enter any competition, be it one-day cricket, tests or T20 internationals. And then there is the most unpredictable of cricket teams, the Pakistan cricket team which never live up to the favourites tag and win only when the chips are down, and when they are not in contention. Their wins in the 1992 World Cup, 2000 Asia Cup and 2009 T20 World Cup were not only unexpected but shocking to some. Yet they have continued to descent into politics, ruining the game after every great win.
The appointment of Shahid Afridi as skipper of the Pakistan cricket team may seem awkward to many but it is the best possible decision the board could have made in the aftermath of banning the best players for the wrong reasons. With no Rana Naved ul Hassan, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan to assist him, reclaiming the Asia Cup might prove a tough task for the Pathan in-charge, but he believes the newcomers will help Pakistan win.
The weak links in the team outweigh the strong ones, yet with the ‘not-favourite- tag’, the team might do something unexpected. The biggest chinks in the squad are Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Malik and Shoaib Akhtar, who will feature largely due to their reputation than their performances in the domestic circuit. While the out-of-form and scandalous Asif had to take a different air-route to avoid Dubai as a stopover due to the ‘banned-for-life’ tag, the others have the board to thank for their comebacks. Shoaib Akhtar hasn’t played competitive international cricket for more than a year while Shoaib Malik has been in the news due to his marriage to Sania Mirza, than his exploits on the field.
Then there is Imran Farhat who has only made it to the side because his father-in-law Mohammad Ilyas is one of the selectors. He will be opening the innings, if Shahzaib Hasan fails in the inaugural match against Sri Lanka on June 15th. The other opening batsman would be the in-form Salman Butt who has been elevated to vice-captaincy after returning to form, during the T20 World Cup.
The form of skipper Shahid Afridi will be crucial to Pakistan’s chances because he seemed out of sorts during his first event. He couldn’t take wickets, score runs and call the shots correctly, and if he fails in the Asia Cup, his team is likely to follow suit.
The team will bank on the new blood included in the side, which will be led by Umar Akmal. Both Umer Amin and Asad Shafiq have been in good form at home and it remains to be seen how they transform themselves when asked to represent their country. Shoaib Malik will also be part of the middle-order but he hasn’t played much cricket in last 12 months, and his future depends on how well or ill he performs.
Kamran Akmal and Abdur Razzaq will also be hoping to deliver their due as seniors while Saeed Ajmal will be hoping to excel and forget about the thrashing he received during the T20 World Cup at the hands of Michael Hussey in the all-important semi-final. The two successes of that mega event, Muhammad Aamir and Abdul Rehman are all-rounder’s and they might have to bat as well as bowl if the seniors desert and the juniors fail, something that happens a lot when Pakistan is playing cricket.
The tour will be crucial for Pakistan because the performance of the players will depend on their selection for the 3 month long tour of England where the players will be involved in six Tests and a T20 series against Australia and England and an ODI series against the hosts. The successful players on that tour will be selected for the World Cup next year where Pakistan will play in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
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