The national selectors who will be meeting this week to announce the Pakistan squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 have a tough job at hand by all counts.

While they will be assessing the players’ performance in the two back-to-back series against Australia and New Zealand held in the UAE late last year, as well as the performances in the ongoing Pentangular Cup, they will quite obviously be mindful of the various predicament faced by some of the country’s key players like Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul and others.

To say that this World Cup will be a stiff challenge for Pakistan is an understatement. In Australia and New Zealand, our players will be confronted with totally different playing conditions compared to the UAE. The ball will be bouncing a lot more in Australia, though not as much as it used to in the Dennis Lillee- Jeff Thomson days as tracks like Perth and Brisbane are much mellower today. In New Zealand, the conditions will be more conducive to seam and swing. So in order to counter the varying conditions, we will have to pick our best and most competitive fifteen players who are also mentally tough to tackle the pressure in an event of the World Cup’s magnitude.

I myself have been pondering over the possible players who can represent Pakistan in the mega event and have come up with the following names out of which the final 15 can be selected: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Harris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Sami, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan.

Out of these, almost eight or nine players including Ahmed Shehzad, Younis, Misbah, Haris, Afridi, Umar and a few others are absolute certainties for selection and are bound to be a part of every knowledgeable critic’s choice for the World Cup.

However, there are others like Azhar, Asad, Anwar and Zulfiqar whose places are not hundred per cent guaranteed as they have worthy competitors breathing down their necks for a berth in the final squad.

Just as every person has his own logic for backing a certain player for selection, I also have mine. Following his failed biomechanics test in Chennai, it is now a foregone conclusion that Hafeez will be making the squad purely as an opening batsman. In my opinion, Hafeez merits selection in a batsman’s capacity alone for his rich experience in international cricket and due to his fine understanding with dashing Ahmed Shehzad. However, I strongly feel that with the new found maturity and prolific form of Sarfraz, the wicket-keeper, can also open the innings in matches in case either of the two openers falter.

As for Azhar, I can say with confidence that alongwith young Haris, he can be a surprise package if his all-round abilities are fully utilised. Besides his excellent technique and temperament as a batsman, Azhar can bowl nagging leg-spinners at crucial stages of the game and is a brilliant close-in fielder which makes him an asset for the team.

There can be little debate on old warhorses Younis and Misbah, who I believe are the only two world-class players in our team. Younis is a pillar of Pakistan cricket and boasts a tremendous overseas record. In more ways than one, he plays a similar role in the team as Zaheer Abbas, Viv Richards or Ricky Ponting played for their respective teams during their playing days. I must emphasise here that I am focussing on the role Younis plays in our team. He may be a notch below the above mentioned trio in sheer calibre, but he is no less when it comes to anchoring the team in trying situations and has held the innings together for Pakistan on countless occasions besides grooming younger players on the field.

Both Younis and Misbah — under the spotlight prior to the Australia series in the UAE — stamped their class yet again when they rescued Pakistan from a miserable 7 for 2 in the first Test at Dubai to take them ashore with a truly brilliant partnership that set the tone for victory. They belong to the breed of players for whom the phrase was coined that ‘form is temporary, class is permanent.’

Few will doubt the immense talent both Asad and Umar Akmal posses. However, their ordinary record in international matches and a persisting problem of losing their wickets to poor shots may put them at a disadvantage against fellow players like Sohaib and Fawad who have put in more consistent performances in recent times. Either of them can win a call but not before all aspects of their cricket are thrashed out.

Now comes the thorny issue of fast bowlers and there’s no doubt that the department is in a beleaguered state today. Key bowlers like Junaid, Umar Gul, Wahab and others taking turns to be on the bench with serious injuries or niggles in the recent series and till today, the situation cannot be termed crystal clear as far as their fitness is concerned.

However, given that all of them regain top fitness ahead of the World Cup, I will put my money on Irfan, Junaid and Wahab. As for the fourth seamer, my vote goes for Mohammad Sami although hard-working Anwar is more in contention for a spot. Some may question my wisdom here, but the little that I have seen of Sami lately, he is still the fastest bowler in Pakistan and a whole lot mature than he ever was. He has been amongst the wickets this season as he was in the last, and judging from his record from Pakistan’s last tour to Australia, he can be a handful for the opposition on fast and seaming tracks in the Oceanian region.

The World Cup is a special moment for Afridi who showed glimpses of his prime in the five-match series against New Zealand. He is the only genuine all-rounder that we have today and can make this edition of the mege event truly memorable by emulating Wasim Akram of the 1992 World Cup. He appears mighty determined to go out on a high note and if he applies himself the way he did against the Kiwis last month, Pakistan have a bright chance of making an impact in the event.

Lastly, I would like to see the wily Yasir Shah making the grade. I have lot of regard for the Swabi-born Yasir who bowled with a lot of flair against Australia and New Zealand in the Tests. The leg-spinner can form a lethal duo with Zulfiqar if the latter gets selectors’ nod.

In the end I would like to point out that our fielding need to back our bowling regularly if we are to win matches and reach the podium in the event. Despite the specialised coaching available with the team, our fielding levels leave a lot to be desired. We must, therefore, focus our energies and expertise to raise the standards of fielding or else things can go awry for Pakistan.

I entirely trust Moin Khan and Company to select the best fifteen for the World Cup and, although there’s more than a month to go for the mega event, my faith in our players remains unflinching as ever since I know that they have the ability to beat the best and, if they play to their full potential, sky is the limit.

The writer is a former Test cricketer and chief selector

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2015

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