Good thread.
The performance against WI was pretty good, considering that they had home advantage and we still won the series.
Who should be dropped?
IMO:
Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman and Asif Zakir- no point bringing a player to the Champions Trophy without any experience. Ideally, they would've debuted in WI, but this isn't an ideal world. The last time Pakistan debuted a player in a big match was Iftikhar Ahmed. We all know how that went...Experience is a better option.
Ahmed Shehzad or Kamran Akmal. One of these players should be dropped. Or maybe even both. They had very poor series. The former struggled with his strike rate, while the latter failed to make a single 50+ score. The problem is that there are no replacements. Especially since Sharjeel has been banned. I'm guessing these two will stick around, unless an opener does well in the Pakistan Cup.
Wahab Riaz. I know he is a big name around the world, and all of the people from other countries are looking forward to see him, but they shouldn't be. He is rubbish in LOIs. He probably won't get dropped; But he should be.
So 5 or 6 players should be dropped for the Champions Trophy. Not ideal, but, alas.
Team composition:
Openers: We need 3. Two main openers. And one backup. Nobody has cemented their place as of yet. Mohammad Hafeez has done well as of late, in the WI series, albeit in the middle order. However, he is an opener, and should be moved up. Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad are the only other options. Akmal should get the chance over the latter because of his superior strike rate. Opening with Shehzad and Hafeez would be a recipe for disaster and would put way too much pressure on the middle order.
Middle order: This area is pretty strong for Pakistan. Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed are locks. Now with Hafeez moving up, there is an extra spot at #6. This can be for either a middle-order player, or an all-rounder. There aren't many ready batsman waiting in Pakistan, so instead of throwing Asif Zakir in there, Umar Akmal should be thrown to the wolves. As for an all-rounder, Imad Wasim can move up to #6, and a fast-bowling all-rounder like Hammad Azam or Aamer Yamin can be played at #7.
Bowlers: The spinners are settles. Variety is there in terms of off-spin, left arm spin, and leg spin. Hafeez, Wasim and Shadab Khan. Shadab should play only if the pitch is slow,, otherwise, 4 fast bowlers is a better option. If this is the case, then a good #8 is needed to replace Shadab. Sohail Khan should get the nod here. He has shown his hitting prowess in Test matches against NZ and Aus. A big, clean striker of the ball who also works very hard on his batting. He should replace Wahab Riaz. The three other pacers are set. Junaid Khan doesn't have an impressive skill set, but he has done well in recent times. His aggression and attitude is invaluable to the team. Mohammad Amir is very much the opposite. Tremendous skill set, yet returns that you wouldn't expect from him. He should be fired up for this tournament though. Hasan Ali is the third pacer. Very good in the middle overs and at the death. Playing 5 seamers with Wasim as 6th bowler is also an option. This is where the fast-bowling all-rounder could come in.
Seeing these factors, the team for the first match against India should be:
1. Kamran Akmal
2. Mohammad Hafeez
3. Babar Azam
4. Shoaib Malik
5. Sarfraz Ahmed*+
6. Umar Akmal
7. Imad Wasim
8. Sohail Khan
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Hasan Ali
11. Junaid Khan
---------------------------
12. Ahmed Shehzad
13. Shadab Khan
14. Mohammad Nawaz
15. Aamer Yamin
