There is a lot of cricket to be played between now and the worldcup and any cricket follower will know that uncertainities of pakistani cricket might surprise us all come this march. But if you were to pick a team of 15 players for the worldcup based on current form, fitness and proven pedigree.
Pool of players: (you can still choose any player out of this pool)
Batsmen: Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzimam, Faisal Iqbal
Bowlers: Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Rana Naveed ul Hasan, Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Rao Iftikhar, Abdul Rahman, Danish Kaneria, Sami ullah khan Niazi, Shabbir Ahmad.
All Rounders: Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Arafat.
Wicket keeper: Kamran Akmal
I would pick the following players
Imran Farhat
Yasir Hameed
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzimam
Younis Khan
Mohammad Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Rana Naveed
Umar Gul
Abdul Rahman
Lets hear from you. It will be interesting to see how this thread shapes up around mid feb.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
No imran farhat in my team,he does'nt play according to the situation and is trying to be gilchrist or jaysurya all the team.afridi's lack of commitment can no longer be tolerated,he stays out.since shahid nazir would never be considered by selectors it comes down to sami and rao in the end.Its a toss up between rao ifikhar and sami,samis record is much better than raos in one dayers, but rao has bowled well with the new ball in recent times.it comes down to who performs better from now till the world cup.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
My fifteen would be same as Saby's except Yasir OUT and Faisal IN. Yasir has zero improvisational skills and we just have no option but to rely on Faisal. Hopefully between now and March we will discover the 5th regular batsman.
Imran Farhat
Faisal Iqbal
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzimam
Younis Khan
Mohammad Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Rana Naveed
Umar Gul
Abdul Rahman
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
My fifteen would be the same as Saby except that instead of Afridi I would take Shabbir and if he is not available I would go for another batsmen possibly Faisal.
Imran Farhat
Yasir Hameed
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzimam
Younis Khan
Mohammad Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Rana Naveed
Umar Gul
Abdul Rahman
Shabbir Ahmed
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
In order of preference:
Imran Farhat
Mohammed Hafeez
Yunus Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
5. Inzimam
Shoaib Malik
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Rana Naveed
Umar Gul
Mohd Sami
Abdul Rahman
Faisel Iqbal
Choice btw Afridi and Shoaib Malik was difficult given recent poor form for both players, it was Afridi's poor attitude which makes all the difference.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
afridi has to make way for a specialist bowler in the side, omar gul or abdul rahman.those guys can also hit a couple of boundaries and then get out,but they will bowl better than afridi.and u gotta have 3 openers in the side.farhat has to go,hes not good.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
Agree with Saby for all except I will bring in Sami for Farhat/Yasir.
1. Hafeez
2. Akmal
3. Younis
4. Yousaf
5. Inzi
6. Malik
7. Razzaq
8. Rehman
9. Shoaib
10. Rana
11/12. Asif/Gul
13. Farhat/Yasir
14. Sami
15. Afridi
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
You could pick the squad now
A little help from Kamran Abbasi http://blogs.cricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2006/12/you_could_pick_the_squad_now.php
Pakistan dealt West Indies an important psychological blow before the teams meet again to launch next year’s World Cup. Between now and then awaits South Africa and a very different series to the one just concluded or the crucial tournament that will follow. Pakistan must ensure that the confidence that they have recaptured is not eroded by the seamer friendly wickets of South Africa.
The machinations of this year have left Pakistan with a far stronger pool of bowlers to choose from and some clearer possibilities around the opening slot, their weakest area. These factors combined with Bob Woolmer’s local knowledge should give Pakistan a good chance of being competitive in South Africa and perhaps even overturning their poor record in that country.
But before that can happen it is imperative that the PCB confirms that both Inzamam and Woolmer will lead these two upcoming campaigns. Pakistan have a real opportunity to win the biggest one-day prize and any dithering now will be detrimental to their challenge.
Despite WADA’s posturing, both Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will be available next year and that leaves Pakistan with an unimagined selection problem. Umar Gul, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, and Mohammad Sami–yes the bowler who couldn’t bowl two balls on the same spot–have all made indisputable cases for selection. As has Abdur Rehman, who has been nothing short of sensational in this series. At Karachi, on a wicket that favoured batsmen, he bowled an intelligent line, even keeping Brian Lara in check. That fills six places.
Among the batsmen, Yasir Hameed has shown enough to earn a place along with Mohammad Hafeez. Follow those with the inevitable selections of Pakistan’s middle-order trio of Inzamam, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf and you have five more places with people’s names on them.
Among the allrounders, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, and Kamran Akmal–providing he continues to rebuild his confidence in South Africa are virtual certainties, which builds the squad to 14.
That only leaves one place, and you can see why Woolmer is claiming that the squad selection is becoming clearer, although this final spot might prove controversial. Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, and Danish Kaneria, to name but a few, will be saying their prayers. Who will win a trip to the Caribbean? It could be any of those three but it might be a wild card, and Pakistan has no wilder card than Shahid Afridi. He’d win my vote–as you all know–and I suspect he might even win the vote of the selectors.
Much can happen, of course, between this December speculation and the reality of next March but barring major upheavals I wouldn’t bet on Pakistan’s World Cup squad being much different to this. It is a squad of experience but also enough youth to hunger for success. The bowling riches are the team’s strength and the batting should not be found wanting on the Asian wickets of the West Indies. The rest is all mind games. Over to you Bob and Inzi.
I don’t usually post comments that include team XIs or squads but since that is what this article about then feel free to speculate.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
I think Afridi will make it to final squad because whether you like him or not, he is one mercurial player who can change a match. Woolmer would like to have him at his disposal.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
Yeah it is 14 only this time. West Indies is a small country on smaller islands. Space is an issue. So 14 only. Sorry and no player over 195 lbs either.
Re: Lets play selector- selector: Pick your team for the worldcup
My squad will be :
Salman Butt
Yasir Hameed
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzi
Mohammad Hafeez
Razzaq
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Rana
Gul
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Abdul Rehman
The bowling department looks prettygood. However, this list is subject to change after South African tour. My Stand by's wud be Shabbiraaa(If he performs) & Faisal Iqbal...
I hope that Farhat and Rao are not picked for the world cup squad
