The absence of our main slow bowlers Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez hampers Pakistan’s chances in the World Cup to a great extent. In the absence of quality spinners, our weak fast bowling got exposed in the tour games, especially in New Zealand, and subsequently the team’s balance was compromised. However, the induction of the wily Yasir Shah in the warm-up games has made the difference and it shows.

The responsibility of the poor preparation of Pakistan team for the mega event lies on the PCB as well as the selection committee and the coach who failed to identify and groom good back-up players. Hence, at the end of the day, we were left with no choice but to bank on the senior players.

I am of the opinion that the people actively involved in affairs of the PCB and the team during the past two years or so should take the responsibility for the results in the World Cup. If Pakistan does well they should be appreciated, but if we lose they should be made accountable. These people include PM Nawaz Sharif, Najam Sethi, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Intikhab Alam, Haroon Rasheed, Shakil Shaikh, Mohammad Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed.

Besides these names, I also feel that the roles of Islamabad High Court and the new PCB constitution was also key in the scenario that emerged in the past two years in Pakistan cricket.

Coming back to World Cup, I feel Pakistan’s pace attack is lacking in experience and, in this situation, Mohammad Sami would have been an asset. Many may not be aware, but Sami’s ODI record is better than that of Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Tanvir but he has been out of favour since 2011 for reasons best known to the selectors.

In the absence of strong fifth and sixth bowling options during the matches, Pakistan will surely face difficulties in the World Cup. But, having said that, a win against India tomorrow can really lift the team. India’s bowling attack isn’t strong enough, therefore this is Pakistan’s big chance to beat them and gain in confidence. For various reasons, I feel confident that Pakistan will break the jinx against India this time, though they have lost all previous five World Cup matches to the arch-rivals.

I must clarify here that I donot ‘consider Pakistan a weak outfit by any means and if we can find a good combination, like we managed in the second warm-up against England, our chances to qualify for the semi-final will increase.

Pakistan is not a team which can written off easily, mainly because of the unpredictability factor. In 1992, when we had only three main bowlers to lead our attack, Pakistan won the Cup. In 2003, however, when we fielded a really formidable outfit, we failed to reach the Super Sixes.

Here I must also highlight a key point for the benefit of the readers. In 1992, even without a very strong bowling attack, the fielding restrictions of four fielders in the inner circle really benefited Pakistan to a great extent. This time, however, the alteration in field restriction rules — which says five fielders should be in the inner ring — will create problems for almost all the teams.

Pakistan must play Yasir as fifth bowler in all the matches because he will be the key for us against the West Indies, South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe. The other regular bowlers that we should play could be Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan.

As for the batting line-up, I will back Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Younis Khan, Misbhah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal and Haris Sohail.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play