Pakistan’s Champions Trophy Squad:
Playing XI:
1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Azhar Ali
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Aamir Yameen
8. Imad Wasim
9. Shadab Khan
10. Mohammad Amir
11. Hassan Ali
Extra Batsman:
Umar Amin
Ahmed Shehzad/Umar Akmal (Prefer Akmal)
Extra Spinners:
Mohammad Hafeez
Mohammad Nawaz
Extra Bowlers:
Sohail Khan
Wahab Riaz/Junaid Khan (Prefer Wahab)
Total Players: 17
Why this setup?
Firstly, currently we have two opening spots where Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal have both been very disappointing. We had Sharjeel Khan, and if he is cleared, he would be a top choice for the opening spot.
Based on that, we need two openers. Azhar Ali had a decent ODI series against England last year, and scored at an 80+ strike rate. He is currently the best option we have in our domestic circuit. I would not include TTFs Khurram Manzoor (because of his failed experience and also his career 65 strike rate), nor exciting prospects like Sahibzada Farhan, Khushdil Shah, etc. as they do not have enough experience at this time. Also, I think that because he is no longer the caption, he can focus on the batting and do a much better job than last year in England.
Therefore, the second opening spot is up for grabs. We could include MoHa, as he is an all rounder and did well in West Indies, but he is not good against pace, and he did not do well against England last year at all. Therefore, I would not include him in the playing XI, but would put him on the bench. For the second opening spot, I would then choose Fakhar Zaman. Yes, many do call him a hack, and some will point out he has no experience, but he can hit pace very well, ODI’s are his main format, and the guy has averaged 50+ opening, with 90+ strike rate. Even if we don’t win CT, we need to be looking towards the future. If he does good, we end up keeping him, but if he turn out to be a hack, then we can look at others. He has played the most games in List A amongst the other exciting prospects, and has the strike rate and average to back up his selection. Last time when we played a rookie in the World T20s, we ended up winning it all. Heck, maybe with this Azhar Ali/Fakhar Zaman combo, we won’t have such a poor run rate in the first power play. I don’t care if he is a hack, if he has the numbers to back it up.
Babar Azam is set at number 3 and should not be moved around. He needs to be groomed to be our best batsman, and his record at number 3 speaks for itself. Sarfaraz and Malik have earned their respective spots in the team as they both did very well in England, esp. Sarfaraz. Therefore, Sarfaraz should bat at 5 and Shoaib Malik at 6. He can accelerate after 15 balls, and can hit a quick fire 50 if he comes in even in the last 10-12 overs.
For the West Indies tour, our number 4 batsman was Hafeez, but as I mentioned above, he can’t do that well in England, and so for our number batsman, we need our best batsman possible. I believe that will be Haris Sohail. I think he can become a player who averages 45 plus in ODI’s and tests, and can be the type of batsman that Inzimam was for us in the past. Of course, I am basing this on his potential and not his current form, as he still has not regained the form he was in before his injury, albeit he is getting there soon.
As for our number 7 batsman, this is where our tail begins. Firstly, we need two pacers, two spinners, and one batting all rounder. For the batting all rounder, I would play Aamir Yameen. He can hit a 50 with a decent 130-140 strike rate, and is a proper batsman. He can accelerate very quickly. He is also good with the new ball and can take a few wickets with the swing of a new ball. I would bowl him 5 overs on the trot in the first ten overs and have him as a batting all rounder. I would not choose Hammad Azam, as he disappears in big matches, even in domestics. Similarly, Anwar Ali doesn’t have the same batting talent and just slogs, and guys like Fahim Ashraf, Asif Zakir etc. don’t have the same bowling skills. Additionally players like Hussain Talat and Agha Salman, etc. haven’t played enough domestic cricket tournaments to be considered at this time.
For my two spinners, I would play two of the following three, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, and Mohammad Nawaz. All of them have ODI experience, and of the three, I would prefer Imad and Shadab. Imad was on fire with the bat in the England ODI series last year, and as evident in the West Indies series, he can also bat very well even though he takes his time. He is also a very economical bowler, and not a wicket taker. For taking wickets, I would prefer Shadab Khan as he is a leggie. He may be expensive, but he can take wickets, especially with the way Sarfaraz keeps on holding him accountable for the bad balls. This is why Imad and Shadab would be my number 8 and 9 batsman.
Going on to the two pacers, we all know that Hassan Ali has his place cemented because of his performances for the last year or so. Mohammad Amir also is almost guaranteed a spot as well. This is why they are in the team.
Mo. Amir can open the bowling with Aamer Yameen for the first ten overs. In the middle overs, Hassan Ali can bowl (as he is used to). Imad Wasim will be the economical spinner, while Shadab will be the wicket taking bowler. Remember Shoaib Malik and Fakhar Zaman can also roll their arms if needed as well. Hassan Ali and Mo. Amir can bowl at the death, while Aamer Yameen can fill his quota between overs 20-40, or the 6th or 7th bowler can take over for him.
As far as the bench squad is concerned, we need wicket taking bowlers like Sohail Khan (who was excellent in England last year, esp. in tests) and Wahab Riaz/Junaid Khan (I would prefer Wahab in England). Nawaz did well last year in England and can be the backup spinner, along with MoHa. Umar Amin is a classy batsman who will be better than Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, and he can open as well as play the three or four positions. That kind of flexibility will help Pakistan in case of an emergency, and so this is why he and MoHa are in the squad as well.
In this squad, if Pakistan needs to go with four pacers and one spinner only, I would remove Shadab Khan and put in Sohail Khan instead. MoHa can also then play in place of Azhar Ali in the opening slot. This would give us MoHa and Imad as spinners with 4 pacers in Hassan Ali, Mo. Amir, Sohail Khan, and Aamer Yameen.
If we need to remove more players and keep just 16, I would then remove Ahmed Shehzad/Umar Akmal from the squad, as we already have other openers in MoHa and Umar Amin. If we need to bring it down to 15, we can eliminate Nawaz, as MoHa can also be a frontline spinner. I would also consider playing MoHa against India’s spin attack instead of Azhar Ali.
With this batting lineup, we will have fit players who can do two of three things really well; batting, bowling, and fielding. We also bat deep down to 7 proper batsman, and two excellent batting allrounders in Imad and Shadab. Lastly, this team has a good balance of youth and experience to help us play in England. Guys like MoHa, Mo. Amir, Sarfaraz, and Malik are vastly experienced, while guys like Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Hassan Ali, Azhar Ali, etc. have some experience playing in England. We then have some amazing youngsters in Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Haris Sohail, and Aamer Yameen, playing their first games in England.
