Pakistan squad announced for 2015 World Cup

[Strike Rate]

PCB names Team Pakistan for ICC World Cup 2015

Moin Khan:'Squad capable of excelling in the World Cup'

LAHORE–January 7, 2015: Chairman PCB Shaharyar Mohammad Khan has approved Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after it was picked up by the six-member selection committee headed by Moin Khan after consultations with head coach Waqar Younis and skipper Misbah ul Haq.

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“This is the best possible squad from the available resources, and the selectors believe it has the requisite talent and skill-set to recapture the World Cup Down Under after 22 years”, said chief selector Moin Khan.

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Following is the 15-man Pakistan cricket team for the ICC World Cup 2015 to be played in Australia/New Zealand from February 14 to March 29. The squad contains two openers, four middle order batsmen, five pace bowlers, one spinner, two all-rounders and a wicket-keeper/batsman. The accent, said Moin Khan, has been on preferring specialists over bits and pieces players.


15-member squad: (In alphabetical order)

1. Ahmed Shehzad

2. Ehsan Adil

3. Mohammad Hafeez

4. Haris Sohail

5. Mohammad Irfan

6. Junaid Khan

7. Misbah ul Haq (captain)

8. Sarfraz Ahmed (w.k)

9. Shahid Afridi

10. Sohaib Maqsood

11. Sohail Khan

12. Umar Akmal

13. Wahab Riaz

14. Yasir Shah

15. Younis Khan


Team Management:

Manager: Naveed Akram Cheema; Head Coach: Waqar Younis; Batting Coach: Grant Flower; Spin Bowling Coach: Mushtaq Ahmed; Fielding Coach: Grand Luden; Physio/Trainer: Brad Robinson; Assistant Coach: Shahid Aslam; Media Manager: Agha Akbar; Security officer: Col. (Retd) Muhammad Azam Khan; Analyst: Talha Butt

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Quotes – Chief Selector Moin Khan:

“This is the best possible squad from the available resources, and the selectors collectively believe it has the requisite talent and skill-set to recapture the World Cup Down Under after 22 years.

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‘’My request to all Pakistanis is to back the national team in its quest for glory.

“Four factors were of prime import for selectors: Suitability to play in conditions in Australia and New Zealand; performance in international contests; performance in domestic cricket and preference to the choices suggested by captain and head coach, TeamPakistan.

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“Of the selected squad of 15, eight have played in the last World Cup, while the remaining seven have been picked after their recent form impressed the selectors. This makes it a pretty decent blend of experience and youth.

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“Despite a recent poor run of form in limited-overs cricket, in my mind, there’s no doubt on the capability of this side to excelling in the World Cup.

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“It indeed is a formidable unit, with the potential and natural flair to perform well at the ICC’s premier global showpiece event. And if the boys hit form individually and as combinations and peak at the right time, this bunch has the capacity to go all the way to the winners’ podium.”

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Training Camp:

To fine-tune preparations for the global event, PCB has decided to organize a short training camp for Team Pakistan, which has been scheduled from Jan. 13, 2015 to Jan. 17, 2015 at the Gaddafi stadium, Lahore.

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Departure Date:

Team Pakistan will embark from Lahore on Jan. 21, 2015 for New Zealand via Dubai for the two-match ODI series against the Black Caps before flying over Tasman Sea to Sydney for its warmup games before moving on to Adelaide for its much-anticipated first World Cup 2015 encounter against India on Feb. 15.



Officially Announced 15 Members Squad

 

[kamran_uk]

Sohail khan nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[Azlan Khan]

Pakistan's 2015 Cricket World Cup Squad [OFFICIAL]

The final 15 names are:

1) Misbah-ul-Haq (C)
2) Shahid Afridi (VC)
3) Mohammad Hafeez
4) Ahmed Shehzad
5) Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK)
6) Haris Sohail
7) Younis Khan
8) Umar Akmal
9) Sohaib Maqsood
10) Ehsan Adil
11) Mohammad Irfan
12) Wahab Riaz
13) Sohail Khan
14) Junaid Khan
15) Yasir Shah

 

[Asif321]

Sohail khan how ?

 

[miandadrules]

I hope Sohail Khan has improved exponentially since I last saw him.

 

[Sakss]

[MENTION=30287]Sakss[/MENTION] why you removed that thread all the 15 members were correct

Sorry bro, its official now so had to wait till then

 

[mmkextreme_1]

You guys think Sohail Khan has improved from the last time he played?

 

[miandadrules]

Apparently Sohail Khan is an "all-rounder".

 

[Arsal_AK]

As good as it can get.

Some great selections, particularly Ehsan Adil.

Adil, Junaid and Irfan seems to be the pace attack they are going with.

 

[Asif321]

Moin saying Wahab and Sohail can bat so we didnt need Tanvir,Anwar and Billawal

 

[Strike Rate]

Moin Khan saying Wahab and Sohail Khan both make it because they can bat a bit

 

[Sakss]

I wouldve taken Bhatti instead of Sohail...

Hope he just warms the bench..

GOod to see Ehsan there

 

[TNA]

Thank god no bits and pieces players in the squad

 

[Asif321]

anyways great squad well done Moin we have got rid of TTF but sad for Sami and Fawad

 

[Arsal_AK]

I hope Sohail Khan has improved exponentially since I last saw him.

He isn't getting a game unless two of the other four get injured.

 

[Strike Rate]

Sorry bro, its official now so had to wait till then

its ok no prob

 

[iHammad]

Good bye Asad Shafiq!

Still no Fawad Alam. Surprised Sohail Khan is there.

 

[DrSchultz]

Kudos to the selectors. A very decent squad. Only issue I can see is YK in Fawad's rightful place.

 

[imshally81]

Excellent Squad... except Sohail khan....

 

[miandadrules]

Sohail Khan and Wahab are very expensive bowlers. Without a 6th bowler (which I'm against) it's risk playing them if they have to bowl full quota of 10 overs every game.

 

[Azlan Khan]

Even Mohammad Sami would have been better than Sohail Khan.

 

[Strike Rate]

Apparently Sohail Khan is an "all-rounder".

based on his average of 17 in t20 and strike rate of 140 otherwise the guy average 10 in List A and 13 in FC

 

[iHammad]

Man, imagine if Fawad Alam was there instead of YK, this would've been the perfect squad.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Sohail Khan? What is he going to do there besides warming the bench! Pathetic!

 

[Ikball]

Sami > Sohail Khan

Rest squad is good.

 

[TNA]

Good bye Asad Shafiq!

Still no Fawad Alam. Surprised Sohail Khan is there.

Younis Khan is the most ''similar'' to Fawad Alam so you might well say he has taken his place

 

[imshally81]

My Final XI is :

M Hafeez (Hopefully he will get clear)
Ahmed Shazad
Harris Sohail
Younish Khan
Misbah ul haq
Sohaib Maqsood
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Shahid Afridi
Wahab Riaz
Junaid Khan
M Irfan

 

[Arsal_AK]

Shehzad.
Hafeez.
YK.
Haris.
Maqsood/Umar.
Sarfraz.
Misbah.
Afridi.
Ehsan.
Junaid.
Irfan.

Just hope that YK and Hafeez warm the bench when the knockouts begin. One of Umar or Sarfraz can open.

 

[Strike Rate]

So called all rounders Sohail Tanvir, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali dropped. Only two spinners in Pakistan squad. Afridi and Yasir. Both leg-spinners. No offie or left-arm spinner either.

 

[Strike Rate]

Sarfraz is the 3rd opener choice

 

[miandadrules]

Looks like only one of Akmal or Maqsood will be in the starting 11, which is unfortunate. We need them both more so than Younis and Hafeez.

 

[JibranAnsari]

7 bowlers?

and sohail khan? Khan cant move the ball an inch.

The squad should have 8 batsmen , a keeper and 6 bowlers.

 

[TNA]

Sohail Khan? What is he going to do there besides warming the bench! Pathetic!

He is selected as all-arounder in place of Tanvir,Bhatti and Anwar. Nice selection to be frank, he hits the deck hard, bowls good at the death and can strike some lusty blows.

 

[shah_1]

Squad is good, Sohail is not going to get game, so no real worry. Glad Eshan Adil got selected, he deserves it

 

[mr-k]

Good team. Only missing one name Malik since he is in great form and only few from current team who has played in Australia. Could drop one of fast bowlers to play Malik

 

[JibranAnsari]

the selfish will kill the balance of the team.

 

[adnan yasin]

Sohail khan LOL

this is crazy

when i was watch the recent matches Fawad Alam was scoring runs but younis khan didnt score and neither his one day is supreme

I think Selectors came under pressure of younis khan .... because i know MOIN KHAN himself said in an interview when he was not a selector. * Players are being selected in ODIs on test performance and in T20 team on the basis of ODI performance*

So what different he has done?

 

[arehaan]

Very Satisfied with the squad.

With Younis Khan in Fawad had no chance. Good to see the backs of no good Tanvir, Anwar & Bhatti.

I guess the emphasis has been on selecting proper players and less bits and pieces all rounders

 

[Ikball]

Moin Khan: All boys are match-fit, although some need to meet standards

 

[JibranAnsari]

Ehsan Adil is fragile , He will surely get unfit in the middle of the tour.

 

[Arsal_AK]

The question is which one of Umar or Maqsood will play against India??


Ideally both of them should be playing. YK is ruining the team combination.

 

[hussain.r97]

Sohail Khan Why not Sami or even Bhatti?

 

[Pete Rose]

This is a good team. Would have liked malik and Bhatti in there, but I think that would be unfair at this stage

 

[JibranAnsari]

Rahat ali and sami would have been better choices.

 

[Strike Rate]

Moin Khan: All boys are match-fit, although some need to meet standards

When asked about Misbah fitness he said we trust his word as captain lol it mean no fitness test for Misbah

 

[miandadrules]

Akmal or Maqsood will only bat at 6 according to Moin.

Don't like that.

 

[JibranAnsari]

The question is which one of Umar or Maqsood will play against India??


Ideally both of them should be playing. YK is ruining the team combination.

will be in the starting 11.

 

[Random Aussie]

Sohail Khan? What is he going to do there besides warming the bench! Pathetic!

It is mandatory for all Pakistan squads to include at least one *** player.

Good squad. A little sad it's not totally random like they can be.

 

[mmkextreme_1]

Good squad this, selectors took some brave decisions in not including ttfs (mostly), can't comment much on Sohail Khan, maybe he has improved his game from the last time he played international cricket.

 

[imshally81]

My Final XI is :

M Hafeez (Hopefully he will get clear)
Ahmed Shazad
Harris Sohail
Younish Khan
Misbah ul haq
Sohaib Maqsood
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Shahid Afridi
Wahab Riaz
Junaid Khan
M Irfan

 

[Ikball]

Moin Khan: inducted Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan because of our focus on genuine bowlers

 

[Arsal_AK]

7 bowlers?

and sohail khan? Khan cant move the ball an inch.

The squad should have 8 batsmen , a keeper and 6 bowlers.

Yup thats a problem.

IMO, there is absolutely no need of Yasir Shah. You have Afridi as a leg-spinner and if he gets injured or something, Yasir can be flown in.

Should have selected one more bat.

 

[Random Aussie]

That was a what the....player not an insult. Cursed editing block.

 

[MRSN]

So called all rounders Sohail Tanvir, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali dropped. Only two spinners in Pakistan squad. Afridi and Yasir. Both leg-spinners. No offie or left-arm spinner either.

terrible. Both Yasir and Afridi are similar type of bowlers who can't play in the same game. They should have picked one left arm spinner.

 

[Usman Chadda]

He is selected as all-arounder in place of Tanvir,Bhatti and Anwar. Nice selection to be frank, he hits the deck hard, bowls good at the death and can strike some lusty blows.

He is a tail-ender at the end of the day. Striking a few lusty blows should not be the criteria. Sami is potentially a better selection over Sohail given his express pace and more than decent batting credentials

 

[MRSN]

Three selection blunders apart from YK in the squad:

No third opener
Yasir Shah when you know Afridi will play all the games.
Sohail Khan.

Not a perfect squad.

 

[adnan yasin]

The question is which one of Umar or Maqsood will play against India??


Ideally both of them should be playing. YK is ruining the team combination.

Depends what the management is thinking... whether they want to go with 8 batsman and 4 bowlers with haris sohail filling the spot for 5th bowler....if this is the case SOhaib/umar/haris only 2 will play.

As younis khan is a burden now unless he get into runs.

 

[Pete Rose]

The other thing to point out is that most of the team select itself only Sohail khan and to a much lesser extent sohaib have benefitted from the pentangular.
I suppose the other way to look at it is that the tournament helped to weed out tanvir and Gul

 

[imshally81]

anyways great squad well done Moin we have got rid of TTF but sad for Sami and Fawad

oh.. you are sad for others TTFs

 

[Ikball]

Moin Khan: Hum nay 92 main bhi dekha k 2 Leg spinners thy

Hahahahaaaaaa

 

[adnan yasin]

HAFEEZ is always 50/50 in scoring runs.

Younis khan is out of form Till now

and they both will play in Top 4

 

[Arsal_AK]

I would go with the following:

Umar.
Shehzad.
Haris.
Maqsood.
Sarfraz.
Misbah.
Hafeez. (if he gets cleared)
Afridi.
Ehsan.
Junaid.
Irfan.

Hopefully by the time we get to QF, this is our team. Infinitely better than having Hafeez ,YK and Misbah at 2,3,4. A a very good team that can secure a Final berth as well.

 

[Hawkeye]

This is a great great squad.

The best thing:
1. No Asad/Malik/Kamran
2. No Bhatti/Anwar

EXCELLENT! Can't believe it!

The haters who were running a hate campaign against our national captain and the management should be ASHAMED of themselves. Hope they can get the hatred out of their hearts.

I'm not really happy with YK and Sohail Khan, but not everything can be according to the wishes of every fan and individual.

I back this team to win the World Cup and bring back the glory to us Pakistanis. We need it King Misbah, bring the cup back home!

 

[Hawkeye]

This is a great great squad.

The best thing:
1. No Asad/Malik/Kamran
2. No Bhatti/Anwar

EXCELLENT! Can't believe it!

The haters who were running a hate campaign against our national captain and the management should be ASHAMED of themselves. Hope they can get the hatred out of their hearts.

I'm not really happy with YK and Sohail Khan, but not everything can be according to the wishes of every fan and individual.

I back this team to win the World Cup and bring back the glory to us Pakistanis. We need it King Misbah, bring the cup back home!

 

[JibranAnsari]

Yup thats a problem.

IMO, there is absolutely no need of Yasir Shah. You have Afridi as a leg-spinner and if he gets injured or something, Yasir can be flown in.

Should have selected one more bat.

We all know that only 4 bowlers will play , and 10 overs will be shared by shehzad/hariis (unless waqar has different plans now)

If we are playing 4 bowlers and ahmed/haris , then there is no way in the world another spinner will play in NZ/Australia unless our management is retard.

Shahid Afridi ,Junaid/wahab , irfan and sohail/ehsan will be sure starters.

We needed another option in batting , not in bowling.

 

[hur rizvi]

Sohail khan my word what a poor selection

Rest is good though

 

[menace2society]

Sorry bro, its official now so had to wait till then

Merge, don't delete.

 

[MRSN]

It is mandatory for all Pakistan squads to include at least one *** player.

Good squad. A little sad it's not totally random like they can be.

parach.i is censored I guess..

 

[Sam18696]

WOW. A good squad. Though I'd prefer Bhatti over Sohail and Fawad over YK.

 

[JibranAnsari]

This is a great great squad.

The best thing:
1. No Asad/Malik/Kamran
2. No Bhatti/Anwar

EXCELLENT! Can't believe it!

The haters who were running a hate campaign against our national captain and the management should be ASHAMED of themselves. Hope they can get the hatred out of their hearts.

I'm not really happy with YK and Sohail Khan, but not everything can be according to the wishes of every fan and individual.

I back this team to win the World Cup and bring back the glory to us Pakistanis. We need it King Misbah, bring the cup back home!

The worst thing about younis khan in the squad is that he will be a sure starter , if he would be in the squad like sohail khan no one would have bothered.

I think Misbah is an OK man , no one needs to hate him.

 

[Hawkeye]

This is really a slap on the faces of Malik/Kami supporters.

They were the ones particularly targeting our captain who has led this team beautifully in the last 4 years.

Let's go team Pakistan!

 

[Sam18696]

Spinning department look extremely weak though.

 

[Arsal_AK]

Three selection blunders apart from YK in the squad:

No third opener
Yasir Shah when you know Afridi will play all the games.
Sohail Khan.

Not a perfect squad.

Yup.

Ideally you would add one more bat. That should have been Babar Azam.

Hammad(pace bowling all-rounders are a must) to replace YK and in place of Sohail, I would have gone with Sami/Hamza.

 

[Azlan Khan]

 

[imshally81]

So called all rounders Sohail Tanvir, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali dropped. Only two spinners in Pakistan squad. Afridi and Yasir. Both leg-spinners. No offie or left-arm spinner either.

hmm good point... But in Australia... usually spinners don't make major impact.... spcially offie

 

[mmkextreme_1]

Why wasn't Yasir Shah tried in the recent ODI series? Are they trying to surprise the opposition or something?

 

[Ikball]

Chalo Squad ho gya ab Duain start kero saray

 

[fasihulhaq94]

This is a team i can get behind! Only YK seems out of place!

Lets go Pakistan!

 

[Hawkeye]

The worst thing about younis khan in the squad is that he will be a sure starter , if he would be in the squad like sohail khan no one would have bothered.

I think Misbah is an OK man , no one needs to hate him.

Haha you need to closely follow some posters like MRSN/Arsal_AK.

They'll be really disappointed with Malik/Kami out, and will again attack the leader.

 

[menace2society]

Likely player 11:

Shehzad
Hafeez
Younis
Haris Sohail
Misbah
Umar Akmal
Afridi
Wahab
Yasir Shah
Junaid
Irfan