Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
1

Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies seriesDAWN SPORT — UPDATED 4 MINUTES AGO

LAHORE: Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq on Sunday finalised the 16-member One Day International (ODI) team for three ODIs against the West Indies to be played in the United Arab Emirates starting Sept 30.
PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said Azhar Ali will remain skipper and Sarfraz Ahmad will be vice captain.
The new lineup sees batsmen Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq making a comeback to the ODI squad.
Akmal, 26, was sidelined for 18 months over disciplinary problems and played the last of his 111 ODIs in March during the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Negative comments about Akmal’s behaviour by former head coach Waqar Younis and ex-manager Intikhab Alam almost derailed his career. He was recalled to the Twenty20 squad earlier this month after being passed over for five months.
The last ODI Asad played for Pakistan was against Zimbabwe in October 2015 in Harare. The middle-order batsman has scored 1,318 runs in ODIs at an average of 25.34 while batting in the middle-order, and has expressed his willingness to bat at any position for the team.
Pakistan will play three ODIs against the West Indies on Sept 30 and Oct 2 in Sharjah, and Oct 5 in Abu Dhabi.
“While picking the squad, the team management and skipper were consulted and all concerned gave their consent in this regard,” said a Pakistan Cricket Board statement.
The squad includes: Azhar Ali (Captain), Sarfraz Ahmed (Vice Captain), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Muhammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali and Sohail Khan.

Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

2

Re: Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

I’m still surprised to see Azhar Ali being sustained as captain after humiliation we’ve seen in last 2 yrs. And so much is at stake as Pak can easily be excluded from worldcup.
But i guess considering the weak side of WI, they want to get Azhar Ali awarded with some wins but the same time could be utilized to polish a young captain. Apparently thats too much thinking for PCB to do :slight_smile:

3

Re: Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

The same pattern of selection continues which has left us at the bottom of the ODI rankings.

Notable omissions are: Haris Sohail, Fawad Alam, Junaid Khan and Aamer Yamin. Even Khalid Latif could have been considered.

Instead of selecting 5 pacers (4 would have been enough for such a short ODI series), the selectors should have given chances to some of the above mentioned players ahead of the more testing tours of NZ (tests only) and Australia later this year

Asad Shafiq (poor rotator of strike) has played 58 ODIs with a batting average of 25 and SR of 67, one of the lowest in the modern game. If someone cannot cement their place in a format after playing that many games, it clearly suggests that their game is not suited to that particular format. He might still surprise us so let’s wait and see. It seems that Asad has been selected based on his performances in the national T20 cup! Mickey Arthur who recently compared him with Sachin might have influenced his selection. Shafiq inturn credited the coach for his England success.

If a player has to earn it, he should perform well in List A cricket, not T20 cricket

By contrast Fawad who averages a very decent 40.25 after playing 38 ODIs (SR 74.47) still overlooked by the selectors.

And where is Haris Sohail? averages 43 after 22 ODIs

Babar Azam does a good job of building an innings. Pak surely cannot afford to play both Azhar and Asad in the same ODI XI. One or two consolidators are enough; the rest should all be attacking batsmen like Sharjeel (needs to work on his temperament though) and Umar Akmal or at least batsmen who are good at rotating the strike. Need to bin the outmoded 80s and 90s approach of batting over-cautiously initially and building a platform before going for a flourish in the late overs. Must learn to rotate the strike well from the outset.

Aamer Yamin is another promising cricketer who is being constantly overlooked by the selectors for some reason
Aamer Yamin | Pakistan Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

And just take a look at Sadaf Hussain’s domestic bowling figures.
Sadaf Hussain | Pakistan Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

Last chance for Azhar Ali to prove himself as ODI captain.

4

Re: Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

Fakhar Zaman is another one. Look at his list A batting record
Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan Cricket | Cricket Players and Officials | ESPN Cricinfo

5

Re: Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

Rahat is a rubbish bowler. Yaisr might get some purchase from the slow UAE wickets

6

Re: Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

Pakistan will not be excluded from the World Cup. ICC plan to have just 10 teams in the 2019 world cup. The hosts (England) and the top 7 teams will gain automatic qualification. I think the deadline is Nov 2017.

In the worst case scenario Pakistan will have to compete with Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan for the final two spots. ICC World Cup qualifiers will take place in 2018 in Bangladesh. Hope we avoid that.

7

Re: Akmal, Asad return to ODI squad as PCB announces 16-man lineup for Windies series

So umar akmal has been included as batsman or dab master?

There is no other talented player who has disappointed me more than Umar Akmal in last 10-15 years or so by on-field performance (or lack or it). I think guy have serious discipline issues