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, ShahidAfridi, is having rifts with the PCB, and the wicketkeeper batsman, KamranAkmal, 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, AsadShafiq, ShoaibMalik, UmarAkmal, Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, SohailTanvir, WahabRiaz, UmarGul, SaeedAjmal, Junaid Khan, AbdurRehman, ImranNazir, 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.
