The inclusion of speedster Sohail Khan in Pakistan’s World Cup squad has taken a large number cricket followers by surprise. However, to be honest, I had been expecting it all along since I know fully well that the 30-year-old pacer has earned his place in the team through sheer hardwork and determination.

Having known him personally and closely for quite a few years now, I have invariably seen Sohail in high spirits and raring to go despite being consistently ignored by the selectors in the past. His never-say-die approach has been instrumental in keeping him afloat and he has earned his place on the dint of his fine performances in the national tournaments.

It is never easy to keep giving your best when you are not getting the due rewards or recognition. But Sohail has been taking every practice session seriously and his understanding of work ethics has helped him in raising his performance. Just last week, I found him all fired up in the pre-match session of the Sindh Knight’s opening game at the Pentangular Cup. He was incredibly confident about his chances of making the World Cup squad and never, for once, did he complain about being ignored by the selectors.

I could see that he completely believed in himself and reckoned that his continuous hardwork in the domestic season will, indeed, yield good results. Ultimately, the selectors were unable to overlook his outstanding performance and were compelled to include him in the World Cup party.

It is a just reward for the highly-talented Sohail. He was the top wicket-taker in this season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (Gold League) and also performed extremely well in the Pentangular Cup one-day tournament, mainly due to the variation in his bowling and for showing a big heart and fighting spirit, particularly in the death overs.

I am a witness to the amount of hardwork Sohail continued putting in during the practice sessions at our Customs Cricket Academy, with the specific goal of making a comeback into the national team. Most importantly, he was enjoying the game. Besides polishing his bowling skills, the well-built pacer has also developed lot of interest in batting and improved it to a great extent. But I still believe he could not be categorised as a genuine all-rounder at for the top level yet, as the chief selector described him at the time of announcing the squad.

The decision taken by the selection committee to include Sohail was a hard one for them. They are believed to be divided on many issues. Although they announced to have selected the squad unanimously, their body language suggested otherwise.

I strongly feel that because Sohail has been picked purely on the basis of his performances, he will be more focused on the game compared to the others. I firmly believe that his presence will make Pakistan a stronger outfit in the upcoming World Cup.

Having said that, I would like to point out here that while Sohail got selected on sheer merit, something not very common in our culture, his recall yet again proved that the system is not working well. In the first place, Sohail should have not have been omitted from the list of initial 30 players for the World Cup for he was the top performer in domestic circuit.

The selectors ought to understand that our strength is our bowling. We always focus on our batting which is a wrong concept. Here we need to take some bold decisions. Pakistan’s ideal combination can be six batsmen including the wicketkeeper, two all-rounders plus two pace bowlers. Ideally, there should be one spin-bowling all-rounder and the other one a fast-bowling all-rounder. This combination suits us.

Also, during the World Cup, we should devise our own strategy and gameplan on match-to-match basis. But frankly speaking, Pakistan’s chances of lifting the trophy appear quite bleak in the prevailing circumstances. Compared to others teams, it is quite clear that we are much weaker than Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand and even India. However, if the team management provide a relaxed atmosphere in the dressing room and the players develop faith and trust in the decisions of the team management, there is an outside chance that Pakistan may raise their game in the mega event. They will play without fear of failure and give hundred per cent on the ground in they have piece of mind.

I feel the presence of both Moin Khan and Naveed Cheema in the dressing room may not augur well for the team.

The ICC World Cup 2015 will bring an end to the international careers of quite a few senior players and I wish that our team wins the tournament for their sake and for the millions of fans at home who will be praying for the team’s success.

The writer is a former Test cricketer and qualified coach

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2015

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