Cricket Update: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 unveils strong squad for New Zealand ODIs
Pakistan Cricket Board’s selection committee has unveiled a strong 16 member squad for the six matches ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wellington-c864
with Pakistan enjoying a 1-0 lead in the series courtesy their 10 wicket win at Hamilton. Pakistan will play six one-dayers against the hosts, with the first game taking place in Wellington on January 22nd.
The announcement of the squad lay to rest the speculation that the PCB was seeking another captain in place of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 for the tour and also the World Cup that is set to be played in the sub-continent from next month.
There were reports emanating in a certain section of Pakistani media that BOOM BOOM was set to be replaced by Misbah Ul Haq, the test captain who led the team to the win in Hamilton, yet in a wise move Afridi was retained ahead of the all important World
Cup.
On paper, the squad looks a balanced one with some explosive names that can turn the course of a match with in minutes, there are 16 players named in the squad and Board insider suggest that either Sohail Tanvir or Tanveer Ahmed would drop out of the team
when the final World Cup squad is unveiled later this week.
The rest of the squad is likely to travel to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 for the start of the tournament unless there is a dramatic turn of events which cannot be discounted at any stage in Pakistan cricket.
Meanwhile the batting department looks solid with the presence of stalwarts Younis Khan, Misbah and Afridi around the upcoming young stars Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq. Umar Akmal’s brother Kamran also makes a return to the team after spending
three months in the wilderness due to an internal PCB probe on spot fixing.
Hafeez is likely to open the innings with Lahore born Ahmed Shehzad who made it to the team courtesy of his impressive fifty in the last match of the three matches T20 series that preceded the test series in New Zealand.
The Pakistanis shot out the hosts for 80 runs in the tie played at the AIMs stadium in Christchurch and Shehzad was successful in making a lasting impression and earning a chance of representing the team in the ODI format also where he has not done much
yet.
The spin department would be handled by Saeed Ajmal and the rapidly improving Abdul Rehman, the left armer was a revelation in the Hamilton test where he captured 6 wickets on his way to a man of the match award winning performance.
The two would also have Hafeez and Afridi for support making the Pakistani spin attack one of the most potent in the tournament on wickets which are set to support them.
The Pakistan team also has a battery of explosive fast bowlers in Shoaib Akhtar, Umer Gul, Wahab Riaz, Tanveer Ahmed and Sohail Tanveer.
These bowlers have a proven track record with even Tanveer Ahmed the least experienced of them all in the international arena having the experience of nearly 100 first class matches.
The team is rounded by Abdul Razzaq the hard-hitting all-rounder who led Pakistan to one of its most exciting wins ever in the second match of the recently concluded ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, all in all the team is a serious contender for the World
Cup despite a plethora of controversies surrounding them. There first target is the series in New Zealand where they would be firmly installed as favourites.
Pakistan ODI squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Muhammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972, Asad Shafiq, Umer Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umer Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanveer, Tanveer Ahmed,
Ahmed Shehzad
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