Pakistan, for the longest, have been the most unpredictable of teams. They have come to love the tag of underdogs. They have used it to their advantage, too, if one remembers their unexpected triumph in the Champions Trophy in 2017.
It was thus not surprising when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Inzamam-ul Haq named 11 players from the Champions Trophy squad in the team for the World Cup. Pakistan have enough experience of playing in England and have a fair idea of the conditions. Despite that, the team captained by wicket-keeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed has launched an intense preparation towards the World Cup.
Pakistan landed in England a full month and a week before the start of the mega-event. They played matches against Kent, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire before engaging with England in a one-off T20 and a five-match ODI series. In addition, they would also play two warm-up matches. By the time World Cup begins, Pakistan would have played a total of 11 matches over a month in England.
At the time of squad announcement, the omission of out-of-form Mohammad Amir and big hitting Asif Ali came as surprises. The two were kept in the reserves. However, as per the latest information, the two are all set to be drafted in the squad which is to be finalised before the May 23 deadline. The two will replace struggling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and newly selected opener Abid Ali.
The 1992 champions have brought a young team for this edition. Besides Amir, the pace-battery has the 18-year-old Mohammed Hasnain who is known for his raw pace. Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan are the other pacers. The pace-attack remains Pakistan’s strength. However, they have also got some good bowling all-rounders in Imad Wasim and wrist-spinner Shadab Khan.
In batting, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman are the openers. Besides they have Sarfraz and the experience of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez. Ali, however, has not played much in English conditions. Malik, on the other hand, doesn’t boast of a great average on English pitches. It is an opportunity for him to sign-off from the ODI assignments on a high. The challenge for Pakistan batting is consistency.
Also, the team has been hit with fitness issues.
Imad is nursing a chronic knee injury, Hafeez too is said to be recovering from a thumb surgery while Shadab is returning from a bout of herpes.
Pakistan, however, remain confident of their chances. Captain Sarfraz has already set a pitch of aggression by stating they would treat “every match as a match against India”. Whether it will translate into action will be watched with interest.