*Apologies for the long thread in advance 
I think the ascension of the Pakistan ODI team has taken all of us by surprise (at least it has for me), when just a few months ago we were down at number 9, not sure of whether we will qualify for the world cup.
There has been a thread on PP about how things look good with the induction of young players in the team and indeed, things look much better! Winning against SA, SL, Eng and India in the CT and then 4 games against SL in the UAE on a trot can not be a mere fluke. There is definitely reason for hope in the way the team has risen from the doldrums to where they are today. Indeed, greater and tougher tests lie ahead (esp next year), but things look good.
However, it is also important to look into some holes in the team and what they need to do to become better. I for one am a great believer in mixing experience with youth (which we have currently), however not at the expense of a place in the side. Secondly, I previously had a thread about this as well, I am a great believer in utilizing the resources you have to their best potential, which Pakistan doesn't seem to do more often than not.
So let's see if we can get a thread going on what we believe are the deficiencies in the side that they need to address to really become challengers for the 2019 world cup.
I have 3:
1.) Opening:
Fakhar Zaman had a great champions trophy. Came out of nowhere and along with Hasan Ali, changed our champions trophy campaign around completely. However, since then he has been a bit quiet. I think he deserves an extended run in the side though. This is his second coming. Hopefully, he will find his way. Important thing for him is to know his role in the side is to provide fast starts. Not to play at 70 strike rate and try for a big innings. For me his role should be getting a quick 30 on average at a strike rate above 100.
Opener Number 2: This is where the real problem lies (provided Fakhar Zaman is able to cement his place). So we have seen Azhar Ali, who was a decent support for Fakhar in the champions trophy. We have seen Ahmed Shehzad who has completely lost his batting skills. We have seen Imam ul Haq who scored a century in his first game. Now between these 3, personally I am not convinced. I would loved to be proven wrong. I could be wrong, but Imam ul Haq for me seems a right handed version of Azhar Ali. Seems a bit limited. Doesn't seem to be a player who can go at an 80 85 strike rate (considering Fakhar is going at over a 100) without much fuss. If that is the case, then I'd rather just have Azhar Ali in the side. However, like I said, perhaps its too early to judge Imam ul Haq. We will see when he bats on better pitches than these ridiculous pitches in the UAE. The other option I have seen is Umar Amin. I have heard he has been playing up the order recently in domestic and seems to be in the form of his life. Maybe, he should be considered for the opening slot but only once Imam ul Haq has been given enough chances to either justify his selection or warrant a return to domestic cricket.
2.) Batting position/order:
I am not going to go too deep into this as I had thread about this earlier. But there's no way anyone can convince anyone that Sarfaraz Ahmed is best suited to the number 6 position in ODI cricket. Part 2 to this argument: there is no way anyone can convince anyone that Mohammad Hafeez can do better than Sarfaraz Ahmed at number 4 in the line up. Sarfaraz ahmed has the least dot ball percentage in the side. He is the player who can easily keep the score board moving in the middle part of the innings. and to top it all, Sarfaraz Ahmed is not the player you want walking in at the 40 over mark when a foundation has been laid. The best use of Sarfaraz Ahmed is at number 4! He even showed it in the last tour to England! For me, Pakistan HAS TO have Sarfaraz batting at number 4. This is good for Sarfaraz himself, for Pakistan, for the entire balance of the team!
Now that leaves us with the mysterious case of Mohammad Hafeez. Over the last 2 years, Shoaib Maliks statistics speak for themselves. With Hafeez's bowling a quesiton mark again, Hafeez needs to be benched as he doesn't justify a place in the side for his batting along.
I would rather have Harris Sohail batting at number 6. But if the Pakistan management is adamant on still having hafeez in the side. He should be batting at number 6.
Which leads me to point number 3:
3.) A big hitter:
This is a big one. Pakistan has been one of the worst teams in the last 10 overs of the innings because of the lack of power hitting ability. THe best hitters we have in the team are probably shoaib malik and Mohammad Hafeez. Imad Wasim has a player a few cameos as well.
For me, this place needs to be either Imad Wasim or Fahim Ashraf in ODIs batting at number 7. Aamir Yamin is another option but I don't think he can hit big. I would have Amir Yamin in my test team in all conditions though.
You can pick and choose between Imad and Fahim based on the pitch. Imad against SL is not as useful because they have mostly lefties. But any team that has most right handed batsman, I think Imad is a good option. He may not take a lot of wickets, but his economy really helps put the squeeze.
In summary, my best Pakistan ODI team would be:
Fakhar Zamar
Opener 2
Babar Azam
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Shoaib Malik
Harris Sohail
Fahim Ashraf/Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali
Mohammad Amir
Ruman Raees/Junaid Khan
I think the ascension of the Pakistan ODI team has taken all of us by surprise (at least it has for me), when just a few months ago we were down at number 9, not sure of whether we will qualify for the world cup.
There has been a thread on PP about how things look good with the induction of young players in the team and indeed, things look much better! Winning against SA, SL, Eng and India in the CT and then 4 games against SL in the UAE on a trot can not be a mere fluke. There is definitely reason for hope in the way the team has risen from the doldrums to where they are today. Indeed, greater and tougher tests lie ahead (esp next year), but things look good.
However, it is also important to look into some holes in the team and what they need to do to become better. I for one am a great believer in mixing experience with youth (which we have currently), however not at the expense of a place in the side. Secondly, I previously had a thread about this as well, I am a great believer in utilizing the resources you have to their best potential, which Pakistan doesn't seem to do more often than not.
So let's see if we can get a thread going on what we believe are the deficiencies in the side that they need to address to really become challengers for the 2019 world cup.
I have 3:
1.) Opening:
Fakhar Zaman had a great champions trophy. Came out of nowhere and along with Hasan Ali, changed our champions trophy campaign around completely. However, since then he has been a bit quiet. I think he deserves an extended run in the side though. This is his second coming. Hopefully, he will find his way. Important thing for him is to know his role in the side is to provide fast starts. Not to play at 70 strike rate and try for a big innings. For me his role should be getting a quick 30 on average at a strike rate above 100.
Opener Number 2: This is where the real problem lies (provided Fakhar Zaman is able to cement his place). So we have seen Azhar Ali, who was a decent support for Fakhar in the champions trophy. We have seen Ahmed Shehzad who has completely lost his batting skills. We have seen Imam ul Haq who scored a century in his first game. Now between these 3, personally I am not convinced. I would loved to be proven wrong. I could be wrong, but Imam ul Haq for me seems a right handed version of Azhar Ali. Seems a bit limited. Doesn't seem to be a player who can go at an 80 85 strike rate (considering Fakhar is going at over a 100) without much fuss. If that is the case, then I'd rather just have Azhar Ali in the side. However, like I said, perhaps its too early to judge Imam ul Haq. We will see when he bats on better pitches than these ridiculous pitches in the UAE. The other option I have seen is Umar Amin. I have heard he has been playing up the order recently in domestic and seems to be in the form of his life. Maybe, he should be considered for the opening slot but only once Imam ul Haq has been given enough chances to either justify his selection or warrant a return to domestic cricket.
2.) Batting position/order:
I am not going to go too deep into this as I had thread about this earlier. But there's no way anyone can convince anyone that Sarfaraz Ahmed is best suited to the number 6 position in ODI cricket. Part 2 to this argument: there is no way anyone can convince anyone that Mohammad Hafeez can do better than Sarfaraz Ahmed at number 4 in the line up. Sarfaraz ahmed has the least dot ball percentage in the side. He is the player who can easily keep the score board moving in the middle part of the innings. and to top it all, Sarfaraz Ahmed is not the player you want walking in at the 40 over mark when a foundation has been laid. The best use of Sarfaraz Ahmed is at number 4! He even showed it in the last tour to England! For me, Pakistan HAS TO have Sarfaraz batting at number 4. This is good for Sarfaraz himself, for Pakistan, for the entire balance of the team!
Now that leaves us with the mysterious case of Mohammad Hafeez. Over the last 2 years, Shoaib Maliks statistics speak for themselves. With Hafeez's bowling a quesiton mark again, Hafeez needs to be benched as he doesn't justify a place in the side for his batting along.
I would rather have Harris Sohail batting at number 6. But if the Pakistan management is adamant on still having hafeez in the side. He should be batting at number 6.
Which leads me to point number 3:
3.) A big hitter:
This is a big one. Pakistan has been one of the worst teams in the last 10 overs of the innings because of the lack of power hitting ability. THe best hitters we have in the team are probably shoaib malik and Mohammad Hafeez. Imad Wasim has a player a few cameos as well.
For me, this place needs to be either Imad Wasim or Fahim Ashraf in ODIs batting at number 7. Aamir Yamin is another option but I don't think he can hit big. I would have Amir Yamin in my test team in all conditions though.
You can pick and choose between Imad and Fahim based on the pitch. Imad against SL is not as useful because they have mostly lefties. But any team that has most right handed batsman, I think Imad is a good option. He may not take a lot of wickets, but his economy really helps put the squeeze.
In summary, my best Pakistan ODI team would be:
Fakhar Zamar
Opener 2
Babar Azam
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Shoaib Malik
Harris Sohail
Fahim Ashraf/Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali
Mohammad Amir
Ruman Raees/Junaid Khan
