Sri Lanka
is going to host the ICC World Twenty20 Championship next year, and
before the start of the event all the participants are preparing
themselves to compete against the best of the best.
In this regard, Pakistan’s preparation to
build up ideal squad for the tournament would be a tough challenge for
the selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following
controversies and unavailability of big names
because of different issues.
At the moment, Pakistan’s former captain, Shahid Afridi, is having rifts with the PCB, and the wicketkeeper batsman, Kamran Akmal, is not part of the team because of poor form, which he displayed during the recently concluded ICC
World Cup.
Apart from the hard-hitting batsman, Afridi, and the wicketkeeper, Kamran PCB is also not considering some key players such as Abdul Razzaq, which can disturb the team’s combination for the Twenty20 event.
Assuming that all the controversies and
performances related issues for the selection of the Men in Green’s
squad would be fixed before the start of the Twenty20’s Championship;
Pakistan should include Kamran, Mohammad Hafeez,
Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Abdur Rehman, Imran Nazir, and Rameez Raja in the squad.
First 11 players from the above mentioned
list should be picked in the final XI during the competition, as they
are best players for the Twenty20 format of the game, and can give tough
time to any side of the world, whereas, remaining
4 options can be included in the team in case of any injury, and if
someone fails to perform according to his potential.
Moreover, if Afridi and PCB settle their
confrontation as soon as possible then the star all-rounder would be
best option to be considered for the captaincy of the team considering
his excellent leadership qualities.
The hard-hitting batsman, Afridi captained
his national side in the ICC World Cup 2011, and has proved that he is a
fighting skipper, who can lead from the front.
If PCB would hand over ranks to the
dashing batsman, Afridi for the next year’s battle then it can brighten
Pakistan’s chances to win the event.
The other important decision which the
governing body of cricket in Pakistan has to make for the Twenty20
Championship is to appoint vice-caption of the side, and in this regard,
the all-rounder, Malik, who captained his home team
in the same event in 2007.
Afridi-Malik combination can boost the confidence of the above mentioned team by using their experience.
Coming back to the squad, Kamran and
Hafeez as an openers can hammer the any bowling line up of World with
their aggrieves intent, which would set the momentum for the upcoming
batsman to set the big total on the board or chase
the score comfortably.
The inclusion of the young batsman, Asad,
the experienced batsman, Malik, and the attacking batsman, Umar would
provide variety to the team in the middle-order department.
Afridi and Razzaq
are the best hard hitters of the World, therefore their presence in the
unit can shatter the opponent during the ending overs of the match.
Whereas, Riaz’s pace, and Tanvir’s
unorthodox action would create problems for the batting side, while, Gul
can restrict any batsmen by scoring easy rung during the death overs
with the help of his unplayable Yorkers.
The selection of the off-spinner, Ajmal,
who has always been outstanding with his ‘Doosra’, will be handy to pick
wickets in the middle overs, whereas, the leg-spinner, Afridi, and
off-break bowler, Hafeez can also strengthen the
spin department of the team.
Junaid, Rehman, Nazir, and Rameez Raja are also fully capable of displaying excellent recital if they will be given opportunity to play.
The left-arm pacer, Junaid has recently
shown magnificent piece during the English County, and the slow left-arm
spinner, Rehman has always been admirable with tight bowling line and
length to tease the batsmen, which eventually
helps the strike bowlers of the side to wreck the batting team.
Whereas, the aggressive batsman, Nazir,
who has proved his talent in the recent past, can spoil bowlers’ rhythm
on his day, while the emerging batsman Raja, who recently performed
wonderfully during Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20
tournament, Faysal Bank T20 Championship, can also help Pakistan’s team during the ICC’s competition.
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