Who should be in the Pakistan squad?

[Gowza]

So the recent article titled "Misbah critical of Pakistan batting failure":

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan...ry/646697.html

basically he says how they're not doing well enough and need to work on things, he says they've been picking the right players and that they've performed in the past and that they need to actually do the real work to improve. what i want to discuss in here is whether they do have the right players (looking to the future) in the squad/team.

the first thing i want to say is why have they dropped umar akmal? for a youngster he's got a fine ODI record, has the game for t20s, has done well in domestic FC cricket and did fine although not outstanding in his limited test match outings. this kid should be in the team for all formats, possibly as keeper in the shorter formats.

nasir jamshed has been a great find he's worth having as one of the opener in all 3 formats.

the 2nd opener spot or possibly first drop should go to ahmed shehzad, hafeez is useful and performs well sometimes, not just as a batsman, but in the long run ahmed shehzad has a lot more potential to be a quality opening batsman, hafeez has some years in him but i feel it's time to give shehzad more opportunities. if hafeez wants a spot in the team he has to perform better as a batsman or compete for the all rounder spot/s.

babar azam should also be in contention for a spot whether it be opening or otherwise.

get rid of imran farhat, he's been given plenty of chances, he's not a youngster anymore, he should be a back up option.

haris sohail, get this guy into the team in all formats, he's averaging over 50 in FC cricket after 50+ matches, 40 in list A cricket and 72 (obviously will go down) in t20s and he's only 24. i don't care that he has a lot of not outs, he's also got a highest FC score of 211* so he can bat for long periods, obviously a great middle order prospect.

another prospect for batting spots should be shoaib ahmed, still early days but do well in multiple formats.

keep misbah and younis around for experience as well as azhar ali (tests), and asad shafiq (for tests) and you have a good mix of experience and up coming talent.

the keeper spot can either go to kamrul or latif in the shorter formats, or as mentioend earlier possibly umar can keep in shorter formats, and in the longer formats sarfraz comes into contention.

for the bowling junaid khan should be the main fast bowler with ajmal being the main spinner and build your attack around those 2. plenty of fast bowlers to pick from as they have ifran, asad ali, rahat ali, wahab riaz and eshan adil. for spinners there is also rehman, yasir shah and raza hasan.

as far as allrounders, like said above hafeez can contend as an allrounder, but also hammad azam looks a great prospect, in fact he could push for a spot purely as a bowler.

make your squads from these guys:

openers (batsmen):

nasir jahmsed
ahmed shehzad
babar azam

middle order:

umar akmal
haris sohail
misbah-ul-haq
younis khan
azhar ali
asad shafiq
shoaib ahmed (maybe)

allrounders:

hammad azam
mohammad hafeez

keepers:

kamral akmal
khalid latif
sarfraz ahmed
umar akmal

fast bowlers:

junaid khan
mohammad irfan
wahab riaz
asad ali
rahat ali
eshan adil
hammad azam

spinners:

saeed ajmal
abdur rehman
yasir shah
raza hasan

seems like a lot of players but there are 25 there, those 25 players are the ones you select from for all 3 formats. some of them only suit particular formats while others are capable of playing multiple formats. you have youth, experience and talent.

[BengaliPagol]

Getting rid off Umar Akmal was just plain stupidity. They are just an inconsistent team. They can destroy any bowling lineup but at the same time look very bad. Is seaming conditions their main weakness?

[Jadukor]

Don't think Umar Akmal was dropped for on field performance.

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Don't think Umar Akmal was dropped for on field performance.

interested to know why he was dropped?i know there were issue with kamran and umar when one or the other wasn't selected they said they wouldn't play or something...but kamran is back playing so that shouldn't be an issue anymore...i know they said umar needed to work on batting for longer periods but that isn't so relevant in ODIs, especially since he has a good ODI record.

[BengaliPagol]

Originally Posted by Jadukor
Don't think Umar Akmal was dropped for on field performance.

What for then bhai?

[Gowza]

they need to find players who know how to be consistent

[Jadukor]

In Pakistan team there is always internal grouping and politics. I remember reading in an article when the three Akmal brothers were in the side one time they refused to play if any of the brothers were dropped. They are also a side which suffers from discipline issues. I don't think Shoaib Malik or Imran Farhat is in the side because of merit. Umar Akmal is a more talented and an attacking option for pakistan in the middle order and his stats are not bad at all. That's why i believe his on field performance might not be the issue but perhaps the team management finds him a difficult player to include for other reasons.

[BD_TigerZ]

My squad from my knowledge of Pak players.

Ahmed Shezad
Nasir Jamshed
Harris Sohail
Misbah Ul Haq *
Umar Akmal +
Shoaib Maqsood
MD Hafeez
Saeed Ajmal
Wahab Riyaz/Gul/Asad
Junaid Khan
Md Irfan
------
Raza Hasan
Asad Ali/Gul
Fawad Alam/Hamad Azam
Asad Shafiq/Azhar Ali

[BD_TigerZ]

Squad announced.

T20 - Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez (C), Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal (WK), Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Zulfiqar Babar & Junaid Khan.

ODI - Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah Ul Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Mohammad Rizwan, Abdur Rehman & Haris Sohail.

Team Management - Dav Whatmore as Coach. Naveed Akram Cheema as Manager. Mohammad Akram & Julien Fountain to remain as bowling & fielding coach.

[Gowza]

good to see umar akmal back in there, also good to see haris sohail and hammad azam getting called up. zulfiqar babar? this SLA has incredible FC stats! didn't need to bring afridi back imo but decent squads nonetheless.