Rao is just garbage, and Kaneria is not a ODI bowler. Rehman would have been a much better choice, as he is better than Kaneria is all deparments in ODI’s. Rest of the team is good. I guess I can’t complain about Rao…cuz I’d pick him over Sami any given day! and the kind of form Shahid Nazir was in during the test matches…we really had no choices except pick Rao. With Akhtar, Asif, Gul fit…rao wont be playing anyway…he’s a back up for Akhtar and Gul.
Overall I’m pretty satisfied with this team. About time Yasir Hameed is dropped…and I hope he’s dropped for good. He’s still the same batsmen who made hs debut 2 years ago and can only score runs against Bangadesh Let him play with kids in domestic along with Faisal Iqbal and Hasan Raza. These guys are only good enuff at that level.
I agree Rao is not the best bowler in the world, but people have to remember that among the backups, it was either going to be Rao or Sami. And I will anyone over Sami any day. Ras has been taking 1-2 wickets consistently without leakign 90 runs, and that is something Sami can only dream of.
Selection of Kaneria seems to be made under intense pressure from people who kept whining for months. We already have Afridi as our legspinner who takes 2-3 wickets and is handy in other departments. That new guy (Rehman?) did great in the Pak-WI series. I see no use for Danish in the team, it's the waste of a berth that could have been used to accomodate an extra seamer/opener.
I would have preferred Salman Butt over Imran Nazir. We have PLENTY of strikers in our teams and our lower order can score more than any other lower order granted we have wickets in hand. Salman does have the ability to play long(er) innings compared to Imran Nazir or Imran Farhat. We already have Kamran Akmal as the other opener, who if he doesn't get out, scores quite quickly. So we should have gone for the 'consolidation' option rather than a 'pinch hitter' option.
I think its a very good move to have Imran Nazir as an opener over the likes of Farhat, Butt, and Hameed. WI pitches are mostly gonna be flat, thus, the chance of Imran Nazir getting us off to a flying start is more likely than it is in SA.
No matter how flat the pitch is, Butt, Farhat, Hameed, and Nazir aren't gonna stick around and we all know that. But, the question is, who can score the runs fastest and quickest out of all of them? Nazir by far. When we know they're gonna score the same amount of runs, I'd rather gamble with Nazir because if it pulls off, Pakistan will be in a very strong postion. Also, even if Nazir scores 10 runs and one of the other openers could have scored 20...Nazir would most likely save about 20-30 runs in the field due to his brilliant fielding.
Watch the current SA-Pakistan series and you'll know how important fielding is...just as important as Batting and Bowling in the modern game, and this is where Pakistan lacks the most, led by Inzi. We can hire any fielding coach in the world, but we will never be at the level of other teams simply because we have players like Inzi, Yousuf, Razzy, Akhtar, Asif who simply don't enjoy fielding. Ask any coach, and they will tell you to be a successful fielder, you must first enjoy fielding and then you can try and improve.
I don't have much hopes from this team unless Shoaib, Gul, Asif, and Rana are 100% fit and are on top of their game. Otherwise, we in for another pathetic WC campaign just like the last one. :(
the only justification for kaneria is that he is a "strike" bowler. whether or not he has justified that mantle is questionable, but in a scenario where all of your other bowlers are newbies/support bowlers you do need someone who looks like taking wickets, or atleast puts that idea in the oppositions mind that he could potentially one day take a wicket, which is more than you can say for rao/rana/razzaq.
abdul rehman does not have that image yet, and its worth having kaneria in just so there is atleast one bowler in your team who doesnt make the opposition ask "whos that?".
What we saw today in the last ODI, we certainly need replacement for Hafeez, Rana(I still think he is a good bowler but he needs a break and gather himself). Akmal( once again his main job is to keep wickets and not to create a buffer zone b/w players or fill the opener spot just cause we dont have any.
Once again we dont have any specialist openers, the way Nazir was playing looked like he is along lost Afridi’s brother. I hope the change of wickets in WC’07 will help them.
At the moment no one really knows how the wickets will fare during the WC ..... if the last few years in WI r to go by then i see problems for AUS, SA, ENG, NZ coz all these teams rely a lot on well paced and touch bouncy wickets to score runs where as subcontinental teams will find it easier to adapt to such conditions
Smaller grounds means that anything wih good pace like Shoaib, Lee, Bond could go for runs on regular basis (e. g. mis**** goes for 6) ..... so medium pacer who can bowl well disguised slower ones could do harm like D. Bravo of WI
Spinner who r not afraid to attack could be a real force
So i don't want to rush a judgement here but i'm pretty sure u guys will see an altogether different Pakistan Team and much more Positive results Insha'Allah
Pakistan named opening batsman Salman Butt and veteran all-rounder Azhar Mahmood among five reserve players for the World Cup in the West Indies.
Pacemen Mohammad Sami and Shahid Nazir, plus reserve wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider, can also fly to the Caribbean if any of the main squad are injured.
Pakistan already have fitness problems with selected fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif.
They lost a recent Test and one-day series in South Africa.
Pakistan named opening batsman Salman Butt and veteran all-rounder Azhar Mahmood among five reserve players for the World Cup in the West Indies.
Pacemen Mohammad Sami and Shahid Nazir, plus reserve wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider, can also fly to the Caribbean if any of the main squad are injured.
Pakistan already have fitness problems with selected fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif.
They lost a recent Test and one-day series in South Africa.
Instead of at the PCB (Pakistani nation) cost Nasim Ashraf, Bari, Mushtaq and few ad hoc committee members going to Carribean for holidays, it will be better if PAK keep all the reserve players along with the team to acclimitize especially if they are carrying half of the unfit players in the squad.
Re: Pakistan announce World Cup 15 ( Asif, Aktar, Gull, Danish in Team)
Dont think so brother.
:) thats good. Let me think my way, then.
Asif is just another addition to the line of (he is not even a fast bowler) bowlers, that are used as replacement options for Akhter. With 3-wickets in 5 ODIs, he is our strike bowler. :D Even Afridi performed better than him (that is with ball). Asif is a good bowler if used as someone supporting Pak's strike bowlers.
Pollock crashed Pakistan's strong batting line-up with 10 overs straight and Pollock is a strike bowler, for you.
Let him play with kids in domestic along with Faisal Iqbal and Hasan Raza. These guys are only good enuff at that level.
I hope the change of wickets in WC’07 will help them.