Pakistan Cricket Board announces cricket squad for New Zealand ODI series - Part 1
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally announced the ODI team to play 6 limited over games against New Zealand. The team was scheduled to be announced a week ago but after the meeting of the selection committee, the decision
was postponed as the committee was awaiting clearance from the PCB regarding a few players that included Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik.
Shahid Afridi has been retained as captain but the big surprise is the inclusion of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 and the Test captain has been appointed the deputy for Shahid Afridi for the tour. A big name not in the team is of the former captain
Mohammad Yousuf; he was also not included in the Test team and now his exclusion from the ODI squad sends a message that his days in the national team may be numbered. Kamran Akmal is another man who has made his way back in the team; he was under an inquiry
by the board regarding his assets but after being given the greenlight he was included in the 30 probables for the World Cup and now he is in the ODI squad for New Zealand.
There were some rumours earlier that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 may not be given the captaincy, and there were reports that the selection committee was not entirely happy with the right-hander and were considering naming a new man at the helm.
However, for the sake of Pakistan cricket, one should be pleased that sanity prevailed and Shahid Afridi has been retained as the leader. It’s not due to his leading abilities - he still has to prove his worth – but the simple truth is that there is no one
else in the team that can be handed the responsibility. The all-rounder no doubt has the ‘X’ factor about him and does demand respect. He led the team in world Twenty20 and initially his team looked in disarray but he managed to get them together and results
did start to show. The stats, though, do not lie: he has not been able to win much since taking the post. 3 major events in which he has led the team have all ended in defeats: the Asia Cup, and the ODI series against England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. Playing devil’s
advocate, however, if he is to prove his worth as captain, he needs to be given proper time to impose his style.
The One-Day series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 would play before the World Cup begins at the end of February. Therefore, there is a feeling that the team announced for the ODI series will pretty much be the
same that would go for the World Cup; a couple of adjustments here and there may all be what changes.
Pakistan’s performances against New Zealand in the 3 T20s was disappointing to say the least. The first two matches were very one-sided and even though Pakistan managed to win the final match convincingly, there were a number of
questions raised after the miniseries. The batting line-up remains a big worry for the men in green in basically all formats of the game, and once again the leading abilities of Afridi will be under the scanner throughout. Pakistan did well to win the first
Test against New Zealand convincingly and looked to have gotten somewhat adapted to the conditions, and by the time they are done with the 2nd Test, they should be much more ready for the 6 ODIs. All said and done, though, a tough series is to be
expected.
To be continued.
Tags: