A few (potentially) good men
](http://blog.dawn.com/2010/09/17/a-few-potentially-good-men/#totalcomments)
http://blog.dawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/tanvirZulqAsad_300.jpg
With the spot-fixing scandal taking the limelight in blogosphere, I wanted to write about something different, something we can look forward to, something for the future.
As our Test team evidently struggled during the recent tour, and with the prospect of losing our best bowlers to the controversy, I decided to put together a group of players who can replace some of the players in the current line-up and represent the country for years to come.
Some players may have been over-looked or even omitted on purpose, given their age or poor performances in the recent past. One criterion for selecting these players was their age, so that they can play at the top level for at least five years. While some have already represented Pakistan in Twenty20, ODI and even Test level, they have not been able to cement their place. Some players have only been notably mentioned but that does not mean that they are any less deserving.
(Note: First-class bowling and batting ranks have been taken from the PCB domestic ranking system.)
**Batsmen **
**Asad Shafiq **](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/316397.html)(Right-hand bat)
Age: 24
First -class batting rank: 4
First-class average: 43.7
**2009/10 Quaid-e -Azam Trophy: **1104 runs @ 64.94 in 11 matches (Four centuries, four half-centuries)
2009/10 First-class season: 1244 runs @ 49.76
2007/08 First-class season: 926 runs @ 57.9
Notes: Highest scorer in the last season of Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Plays up the order and opens the batting in domestic cricket, a position that Pakistan has been struggling to fill at Test level.
Naved Yasin](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/208269.html) (Left-hand bat)
Age: 23
First -class batting rank: 17
First-class average: 54.05
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 1055 runs @ 70.3 in 10 matches (6 centuries, 2 fifties)
2008/09 First-class season: 517 runs @ 57.44
2009/10 First-class season: 1230 runs @ 64.7
Notes: Second highest scorer after Asad Shafiq in the QA trophy despite playing four innings less than him. Was included in the probables of Pakistan’s tour of England but was later declared injured.
**Aamer Sajjad **](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/39324.html)(Right-hand bat)
Age: 29
First-class batting rank: 1
First-class average: 43.54
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 831 runs @ 51.93 in 10 matches (2 centuries, 3 fifties)
2009/10 First Class season: 1435 runs @ 68.33
2008/09 First Class season: 669 runs @ 44.6
Notes: An experienced batsman who has been consistently performing at the first-class level. However, he has failed to break into the national side despite an impressive record as the position was occupied by world-class batsmen like Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq. He now has a chance to fit into the squad that desperately needs quality reinforcements.
Notable mentions: Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Fawad Alam, Taufeeq Umar
](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/43363.html)
Bowlers
Mohammad Rameez](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/270329.html) (Right-arm fast-medium)
Age: 20
First Class bowling rank: 4
First Class average: 20.21
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 70 wickets @ 18.39 (10 wickets/match hauls x 3)
2009/10 First Class season: 79 wickets @ 20.27
2008/09 First Class season: 41 wickets @ 17.61
Notes: Played for Pakistan Under-19 along with Mohammad Amir and Umar Akmal. Since then he has made a huge impact at the domestic level and is surely one for the future. He hails from Rawalpindi, so could possibly be Pakistan’s next Rawalpindi express.
**Zulfiqar Babar **](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/43871.html)(Slow left-arm)
Age: 31
First Class bowling rank: 2
First Class Average: 20.20
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 69 wickets @ 16.43 (10 wickets/match hauls x 2)
2009/10 First Class season: 96 wickets @ 16.8
2008/09 First Class season: 30 wickets @ 25.53
Notes: Came back into the first-class arena after a six-year hiatus and is knocking on the door of the national team after a career-best firsl-class season last year.
**Samiullah Khan **](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/43235.html)(Left-arm medium-fast)
Age: 28
First Class bowling rank: 1
First Class average: 19.10
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 27 wickets @ 16.55 (5 wickets/innings hauls x 3)
2009/10 First-class season: 45 wickets @ 15.88
2008/09 First-class season performance: 44 wickets @ 20.45
Notes: An experienced medium pacer who has an unmatched record at the domestic level. He has been playing for the last eight years and has managed to keep his season bowling averages under the elusive 20-run mark for four years.
Notable Mentions: Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Asad Ali
](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/222728.html)
Wicket-Keepers
**Zulqarnain Haider **](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/43860.html)(Right-hand bat)
Age: 24
First Class average: 34.85
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 495 runs @ 55 in 8 matches (one century, eight half-centuries)
2008/09 First Class season: 461 runs @ 35.46 in 11 matches
Notes: A gutsy batsman who took England head-on during the Edgbaston Test as his team faced the prospect of an innings defeat. With his resolute 88 was able to help Pakistan avoid follow-on and drew comparisons with Jack Russell and Javed Miandad.
**Sarfraz Ahmed **](http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/227760.html)(Right-hand bat)
Age: 23
First Class average: 43.34
2009/10 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: 129 runs @ 32.25 in 7 matches
2008/09 First Class season: 869 runs @ 48.27 in 14 matches
2007/08 First Class season: 649 runs @ 64.9 in 12 matches
Notes: An aggressive young batsman with an impressive batting and wicket-keeping record. He has been breathing down the neck of Kamran Akmal for a while as his widely known to posses the safest hands behind the stumps in Pakistan.
In addition to the above-mentioned players, it is worth mentioning that the Pakistan Under-19 team has been impressive at international level but very few members are able to break into the national squad. The players who have made it have been immensely successful at the international level. A few notable mentions in this category are Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and lately Umar Akmal and Mohammad Amir. Pakistan has been notorious for thrwoing young players to the national side and then disposing of them at their fist failure. Such casualties include Hasan Raza, Ahmed Shehzad and Sohail Khan. It is therefore imperative that these youngsters are handled with care and are given ample opportunities to prove their mettle.
