Pakistan's pace attack for the 2023 World Cup

[MenInG]

Could this be it?

Some time to go but given the outcome of the NZ series, this may well be the group who will form our bowling attack

 

[Rana]

At this moment, I would honestly take Waseem JR over Rauf at least

 

[MenInG]

At this moment, I would honestly take Waseem JR over Rauf at least

But is Naseem that much of a sure selection?

 

[Rana]

But is Naseem that much of a sure selection?

He’s probably the only decent second new ball option if Pakistan doesn’t want to take Amir.

Rauf is the specialist first change and death bowler. Personally I think Wasim JR is a better option for that role because he always does well when asked to come on around the 7th-8th over, and he actually reverses the ball when it gets older unlike the others

 

[Zeshan547]

Shaheen , Naseem and Ihsan Ullah for me, Wasim Jr 4th choice and I won't even pick Rauf aka Wahab 2.0 even in squad, his bad days are too often and too costly , Ihsan Ullah will have surprise element and nasty bounce. He can and will be our best fast bowler actually for WC.

 

[Firebat]

Shaheen is the only certainty.

Naseem, Rauf, Ihsanullah, Wasim Jr need to fight it out over the next few months. Hopefully a couple of them come into form.

 

[topspin]

Shaheen - open the bowling and also bowl in the middle overs
Amir or Naseem - open the bowling and bowl at the death
Ihsanullah - 1st change and bowl in the middle overs and at the death

 

[Major]

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Waseem Jr, Ihsanullah, Shahnawaz Dahni, Faheem Ashraf

Shaheen: Only bowler that walks into the team
Naseem: Inexperience, hasnt been good in t20. A fast bowler that bowls pace isn't required to be economical, but to take wickets.
Waseem Jr: The guy is bowling well in one days. He isnt made for t20, but very good for one day cricket, as he can take wicekts in the middle over.

Rauf: Inexperience, does nothing in one day

 

[hitthestump]

Shaheen - open the bowling and also bowl in the middle overs
Amir or Naseem - open the bowling and bowl at the death
Ihsanullah - 1st change and bowl in the middle overs and at the death

Could Imad be our opening bowler on Indian wickets?

 

[Zeshan547]

Depends upon opposition , match up and pitch conditions, but would rather have Two shahs opening under normal scenarios. Than Ihsan Ullah, and for spinners ideal combo would be one of Imad or Nawaz along with Shadab and Agha as batting all rounder and handy off spinner as 6th option to cover all bases. This attack of Shaheen , Naseem , Ihsan Ullah , Sahadab Nawaz/Imad and Agha salman can be best all round attack on typical Indian wickets, if they are all and firing , Not many batting line ups are scoring 300 vs this attack. And if Pak select this below batting they will be hard but to Crack.
1. Fakhar
2. Imam ( ideally Shafiq , plus it allow left right combo and Shafiq has better range and more strokes)
3. Babar
4. Harris Sohail
5. Agha Salman (better spin player than Chacha ifti)
6. Rizwan ( ideally Muhammad Harris because rizwan can be liability with his below par strike and so far he is flop in ODIs)
7. Imad/Nawaz ( who ever is in best all round form special with bowl leading into WC)
8. Sahadab
9. Shaheen
10. Naseem
11. Ihsan Ullah
I would pak as third favorite after England and India , After long time we would have realistic chance of wining WC if we play this XI.

 

[topspin]

Could Imad be our opening bowler on Indian wickets?

As a bowler, I see Imad as a part-time option in ODIs. He's better suited to bowling in T20Is because he's economical. He's more of a specialist lower middle order batsman.

In ODIs, we need Nawaz and either Usama Mir/ Shadab Khan. Currently, I prefer Usama Mir because he's a better spinner but also because I don't think Shadab adds much to the batting.

Would I open the bowling with a spinner? Maybe after 5 overs if there's little assistance for the pacers and the wicket is like the Sharjah surface that we saw in the first two matches during that 3 match series against Afghanistan.

 

[Zeshan547]

As a bowler, I see Imad as a part-time option in ODIs. He's better suited to bowling in T20Is because he's economical. He's more of a specialist lower middle order batsman.

In ODIs, we need Nawaz and either Usama Mir/ Shadab Khan. Currently, I prefer Usama Mir because he's a better spinner but also because I don't think Shadab adds much to the batting.

Would I open the bowling with a spinner? Maybe after 5 overs if there's little assistance for the pacers and the wicket is like the Sharjah surface that we saw in the first two matches during that 3 match series against Afghanistan.

Usama over Shadab as full package ? Have you anything personal against him otherwise it's not even a debate man.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Like many have said, Shaheen is the only automatic option right now. Maybe Ihsanullah due to the surprise factor about him right now.

Naseem is still young and raw in LOIs, Rauf & Wasim Jnr are inconsistent, Hasnain hasn't unfortunately improved (maybe him carrying bags every series doesn't help actually hmm), Dahani could be a option but is a one trick pony, Amad Butt is a good option but hasn't played any games for Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf ain't it chief and then you left with the likes of Aamir Yamin, Khurram Shehzad, Mir Hamza and various other pacers.

The problem is, the reliance on Shaheen & the workload on him will be too great for the other pacers to shoulder. Naseem is the only other new ball bowler, Haris Rauf is one 1st change bowler likewise Ihsanullah, Wasim Jnr is more death bowler, Mir Hamza is opening bowler but his lack of pace makes him better suited to red ball cricket whereas Aamir Yamin is more middle over bowler.

The options are plenty'ish but not good enough to win a tournament or go to finals/semi-finals.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Shaheen
Amir
Naseem
Wasim
Rauf
Ehsanullah


I will start with

Shaheen
Amir
Ehsanullah
Shadab
Imad

 

[Zeshan547]

Like many have said, Shaheen is the only automatic option right now. Maybe Ihsanullah due to the surprise factor about him right now.

Naseem is still young and raw in LOIs, Rauf & Wasim Jnr are inconsistent, Hasnain hasn't unfortunately improved (maybe him carrying bags every series doesn't help actually hmm), Dahani could be a option but is a one trick pony, Amad Butt is a good option but hasn't played any games for Pakistan, Faheem Ashraf ain't it chief and then you left with the likes of Aamir Yamin, Khurram Shehzad, Mir Hamza and various other pacers.

The problem is, the reliance on Shaheen & the workload on him will be too great for the other pacers to shoulder. Naseem is the only other new ball bowler, Haris Rauf is one 1st change bowler likewise Ihsanullah, Wasim Jnr is more death bowler, Mir Hamza is opening bowler but his lack of pace makes him better suited to red ball cricket whereas Aamir Yamin is more middle over bowler.

The options are plenty'ish but not good enough to win a tournament or go to finals/semi-finals.

Give me better all round attack than what i put in Above pak eleven ? Many teams have individually better bowlers but as overall bowling side none will have such versatility and utility.

 

[Zeshan547]

Shaheen
Amir
Naseem
Wasim
Rauf
Ehsanullah


I will start with

Shaheen
Amir
Ehsanullah
Shadab
Imad

Current 2023 version 125 kph of Amir over Naseem. Sorry to say but you don't have strong enough case on merit and statistics just pure nostalgia.

 

[Rana]

Current 2023 version 125 kph of Amir over Naseem. Sorry to say but you don't have strong enough case on merit and statistics just pure nostalgia.

What nonsense? How is Amir bowling 125?

 

[TeymurBlake]

Give me better all round attack than what i put in Above pak eleven ? Many teams have individually better bowlers but as overall bowling side none will have such versatility and utility.

Quite a few teams will have better versatility & utility then Pakistan, From Aussies Hazlewood, Starc & Cummins to England with Archer, Wood & potentially Curran/Topley. Saffers with Rabada, Nortje & Ngidi, Kiwis with Boult, Southee & Ferguson are all better round bowlers then Pakistan.

Besides Shaheen, we can't match up Pakistan pacers with these ones. There more well rounded and experience.

 

[Zeshan547]

Quite a few teams will have better versatility & utility then Pakistan, From Aussies Hazlewood, Starc & Cummins to England with Archer, Wood & potentially Curran/Topley. Saffers with Rabada, Nortje & Ngidi, Kiwis with Boult, Southee & Ferguson are all better round bowlers then Pakistan.

Besides Shaheen, we can't match up Pakistan pacers with these ones. There more well rounded and experience.

I am asking as full bowling line up , including spinners, and our all three spin options may not be best as solo slow bowlers but as package and with their batting ability give real depth to our batting. And they are not much behind as bowler from specialist spinners either. My purposed attack will have Left arm 140 kph plus strike bowler , a right hand new ball swinger in Naseem, who can crank it upto 145 kph, plus 150 kph Ihsan Ullah with his height and nasty bounce, Quality leg spinner in Shadab who can be handful with slightest help from surface, Quality and controlled left arm spin of Nawaz plus more than handy off spin of Agha Salman. What else you want. they by no means are ATG but boy they won't let many teams score 300 plus batting first or second ,you can mark my post .

 

[TeymurBlake]

I am asking as full bowling line up , including spinners, and our all three spin options may not be best as solo slow bowlers but as package and with their batting ability give real depth to our batting. And they are not much behind as bowler from specialist spinners either. My purposed attack will have Left arm 140 kph plus strike bowler , a right hand new ball swinger in Naseem, who can crank it upto 145 kph, plus 150 kph Ihsan Ullah with his height and nasty bounce, Quality leg spinner in Shadab who can be handful with slightest help from surface, Quality and controlled left arm spin of Nawaz plus more than handy off spin of Agha Salman. What else you want. they by no means are ATG but boy they won't let many teams score 300 plus batting first or second ,you can mark my post .

Marking it then.

 

[Zeshan547]

Marking it then.

Good job ,and now please also give any better and realistic alternative Pak have?

 

[TeymurBlake]

Good job ,and now please also give any better and realistic alternative Pak have?

Beside Shaheen have no good options and have to rely on young & raw bowlers. I wouldn't go into the tournament with Naseem starting, I would give Mir Hamza to start due to him being more experience with the new ball compared to Naseem. You could make a case for Usama Mir to start ahead of Shadab. I wouldn't go with Nawaz, he's had far too many opportunities as a allrounder. I would try out Aamer Jamal as a allrounder. Agha Ali Salman as a off spin batting allrounder.

6. Agha Ali Salman
7. Aamer Jamal
8. Shadab Khan/Usama Mir
9. Shaheen Shah Afridi
10. Mir Hamza
11. Ihsanullah

Right this is the best I could give you.

 

[hitthestump]

As a bowler, I see Imad as a part-time option in ODIs. He's better suited to bowling in T20Is because he's economical. He's more of a specialist lower middle order batsman.

In ODIs, we need Nawaz and either Usama Mir/ Shadab Khan. Currently, I prefer Usama Mir because he's a better spinner but also because I don't think Shadab adds much to the batting.

Would I open the bowling with a spinner? Maybe after 5 overs if there's little assistance for the pacers and the wicket is like the Sharjah surface that we saw in the first two matches during that 3 match series against Afghanistan.

Personally i'd like to see Imad be our number 6 in India. I'd have Shadab plus one of either Usama or Nawaz.

Imad's bowling in ODI's was pretty solved by the time he got dropped for Nawaz but i think he retains most of his effectiveness in the powerplay as someone who keeps it tight and builds pressure.

Imad's bowling might be a little more handy on Indian surfaces and it could help unlock Shaheen who can attack hard at the other end knowing his bowling partner will be keeping it tight at the other.

We can use Imad for 4-5 overs up front then let Shadab and co take over spin duties for the rest of the innings, freeing up Babar to be more flexible with his bowling options for the rest of the innings.

 

[moghul]

Ideally the five pacers should be

Shaheen
Amir
Ihsanullah
Naseem
Waseem Jr

Amir most likely will not be selected , for non-cricketing reasons so I would included
Harris Rauf

Waseem Jr is improving steadily and with his easy action , getting more control with pace.

 

[moghul]

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Waseem Jr, Ihsanullah, Shahnawaz Dahni, Faheem Ashraf

Shaheen: Only bowler that walks into the team
Naseem: Inexperience, hasnt been good in t20. A fast bowler that bowls pace isn't required to be economical, but to take wickets.
Waseem Jr: The guy is bowling well in one days. He isnt made for t20, but very good for one day cricket, as he can take wicekts in the middle over.

Rauf: Inexperience, does nothing in one day

Never knew Faheem was a fast bowler, never did anything with his bowling.

 

[Justcrazy]

Fakhar
Harris ( WK )
Babaar
Saud Shakeel
Harris Sohail
Nawaz
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Aamir
Rauff

This is the XI pakistan should play. Lot of spin options as well as solid depth in Batting.

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Logically , the attack will be Shaheen, Naseem and Ihsanullah. The best new ball option to pair with Shaheen is Amir, but he needs to actually show some sense to make a comeback.

I agree with the lads that Wasim needs to be in the squad, given his record. He’s also one of the better proponents of reverse swing in our squad, so he’s on the plane for me.

A left field choice for me, is Zaman Khan. In the very likely scenario that Aamir doesn’t get picked again, you need a new ball bowler on the bench. Zaman can play that role, but needs to be tried.

Lastly, agree with that guys, it’s either Ihsanullah or Rauf for me. Rauf hasn’t been exceptional in ODIs ( he’s done enough in T20s to be given a long long rope). However he does add to that fielding unit and isn’t completely useless with the bat. Ihsanullah is currently the more impactful bowler, but has a lot of room for improvement in the field.

Thus my 5 realistic pace picks for the 15 man squad are:

Shaheen
Naseem
Ihsanullah
Waseem
Haris Rauf

My ideal 5 are:

Shaheen
Naseem
Ihsanullah
Aamir
Wasim

 

[zarak]

Fakhar
Harris ( WK )
Babaar
Saud Shakeel
Harris Sohail
Nawaz
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Aamir
Rauff

This is the XI pakistan should play. Lot of spin options as well as solid depth in Batting.

Where did Saud Shakeel come from. This team has 4 left arm spinners. Better to play Rizwan instead of Saud Shakeel, both are essentially the same. No need for Imad Wasim, rather play ifti chacha for off spin or Agha Salman

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistani pace attack for ODI World Cup should be Shaheen, Naseem, and Rauf.

 

[Firebat]

If I had to pick now, I'd go with Shaheen, Ihsanullah and Naseem.

 

[shamaan]

Shaheen and Naseem are automatic picks as they are the only two specialist opening bowlers for the third pacer I will pick Rauf for now.

 

[gazza619]

I am getting good vibes with our bowling resources. Pakistan will never be a team who would pile tons of runs (even with an extra batter), as such it is so important to have in your arsenal an attack who can defend low scores.

I present to you my 6 bowlers who absolutely need to be in the playing XI for the all important ODI WC this year:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Babeikh]

I suspect our starting XI will have...

Shaheen
Haris
Naseem
Shadab
Fifth 10 overs shared between Nawaz, Salman and maybe an over or two from Haris Sohail. Potentially Ihsanullah could come in for Haris or Naseem.

Fifth ten overs will be a weakness so we will need to decide whether to put someone like Usama Mir in which would weaken the batting

 

[hitthestump]

With a 6 man bowling attack i think Imad is a neccessity to prevent the tail getting too long. I'd take out Nawaz because i like the idea of two leg spinners in India while Imad keeps the economy rate in check.

Amir is a pipe dream. He is a finished cricketer. His last performance in international cricket was a long time ago. It's going to be either Naseem or Rauf, take your pick.

 

[Liverpool_Faizan]

Considering it is in India

Shaheen
Ihsanullah
Rauf
Shadab
Nawaz
Imad (if his batting sucks then chacha can play this role)

Naseem I suspect won’t offer much in India.

 

[gazza619]

With a 6 man bowling attack i think Imad is a neccessity to prevent the tail getting too long. I'd take out Nawaz because i like the idea of two leg spinners in India while Imad keeps the economy rate in check.

Amir is a pipe dream. He is a finished cricketer. His last performance in international cricket was a long time ago. It's going to be either Naseem or Rauf, take your pick.

Amir on his last legs is still better than Naseem, Waseem & Rauf.

 

[MenInG]

Out of interest, will reverse swing play a role in the World Cup in India? If so, who is the best proponent of that amongst our fast bowlers?

 

[Justcrazy]

Imad , Nawaz , Shadab all three should be in the playing XI

Number 6 to 11 should be

Nawaz
Shadab
Imad
Amir
Shaheen
Raauf.

This is ideal combination. You have three seamers , three spinners. Batting depth is also there.

 

[hitthestump]

Amir on his last legs is still better than Naseem, Waseem & Rauf.

This will only ever be a subjective opinion as the man himself cannot be bothered to turn up for anything lengthier than 4 overs and in nothing other than a pyjama league.

Regardless of what his ability may or may not be in 2023, Amir does not deserve a recall.

 

[Snowflake]

Amir on his last legs is still better than Naseem, Waseem & Rauf.

He is well below Naseem and Rauf but on par with Waseem.

 

[gazza619]

He is well below Naseem and Rauf but on par with Waseem.

How is he well below?

 

[gazza619]

Out of interest, will reverse swing play a role in the World Cup in India? If so, who is the best proponent of that amongst our fast bowlers?

Very little I think.

If there is any reverse swing, then Shaheen, Amir & Ihsanullah should take advantage.

 

[shamaan]

Number 6 to 11 should be

Imad Wasim
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Naseem Shah
Rauf (Ihsanullah can challenge Rauf)

 

[cricket_cfa]

Usama mir can be very useful there

 

[gazza619]

I suspect our starting XI will have...

Shaheen
Haris
Naseem
Shadab
Fifth 10 overs shared between Nawaz, Salman and maybe an over or two from Haris Sohail. Potentially Ihsanullah could come in for Haris or Naseem.

Fifth ten overs will be a weakness so we will need to decide whether to put someone like Usama Mir in which would weaken the batting

It is very likely that what you have said here will happen.

As far as I am concerned, we will be knocked out early with that approach.

 

[JattMaula]

Out of interest, will reverse swing play a role in the World Cup in India? If so, who is the best proponent of that amongst our fast bowlers?

There will be no reverse at all. WC is in later half of year and at beginning of the domestic season. Pitches will be fresh and grounds will be green. Temperatures will be cooler so they wouldn't dry out.

That said, Pakistan may play their matches elsewhere so this discussion is moot.

 

[Asif321]

Hope they live Upto to hype

 

[Suleiman]

Amir on his last legs is still better than Naseem, Waseem & Rauf.

No he absolutely isn’t )

Amir on his last legs is Amir on his last legs.

Haris has been bowling like garbage, Naseem has a long way to go, but Amir is NOT the solution.

You can’t actually dial the clock back in time to 2017 or prior.

 

[CricVet]

If high scoring wickets are prepared as in IPL or PSL, I would like to see some tall bowlers in Shaheen and Ihsanullah as primary goto bowlers to attack the batsmen. Anyone can go for runs on such tracks, but these 2 will give us the best chance to get wickets.

Haris and Naseem are lottery. I just don't know what to expect from them. They lose their radars as soon as they are attacked. Naseem if got his act together can be pretty good option provided he gets his line right. He is fun to watch when he bowls at the 4th stump line. More than not, Pak will chose to go with 3 pacers. A 4th pacer has to be a good alrounder which there is none. Faheem is the only one with some experience.

I am assuming that Shadab will be the permanent spinner. This is where PCB as usual planned the WC wrong. If Usama Mir was given chances earlier, he might turn out to be a better option. If Usama is tried out against NZ and gets selected for the WC squad, he would be a better option than Nawaz. We all know how the senior culture or parchi plays the role in the final squad selection. More than likey, we will have Shadab and Nawaz as 4th and 5th bowlers while Usama even if got selected, will warn up the bench. The part timers will be Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail and Iftikhar. Let see first if Haris Sohail keeps himself fit for selection.

 

[CricVet]

I am thinking that 2 of the 3 part timers will be in the 11

 

[Third Man]

Very little I think.

If there is any reverse swing, then Shaheen, Amir & Ihsanullah should take advantage.

If there's reverse swing, the bowler best suited to take advantage is Mohammad Wasim. He might be an inconsistent bowler but if there's a bit of reverses, he becomes very difficult to hit and takes wickets with those inswinging full deliveries.

 

[MenInG]

Is Naseem Shah's place in the World Cup bowling attack under threat? if so, by whom?

 

[Rana]

Is Naseem Shah's place in the World Cup bowling attack under threat? if so, by whom?

By Mohammad Amir

He’s coming back I recon

 

[Fenrir]

Shaheen, Rauf, Naseem and Ihsanullah should in the squad.

 

[asadee]

Naseem was our only good bowler in the last ODI series vs NZ

 

[Marooned]

Is Naseem Shah's place in the World Cup bowling attack under threat? if so, by whom?

Why is it under threat? Let's not mix formats please.

In his last 2 odis he had 8 wickets and seemingly bowled on a different pitch to others.

Let him play more odis and we will know for sure. As of now he has been nothing short of excellent in odis.

 

[moghul]

By Mohammad Amir

He’s coming back I recon

Don't think so , he has burnt all the bridges.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Fakhar Zaman
Mohammad Haris (wk)
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Ifthikar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan

If we play this as our top 7 we will have 3 part time spinners (Haris, Imad and Iftikhar) and 1 genuine spinner (Shadab)

This would allow us to play 4 genuine pacers, which I know is an overkill in India but imo Ihsanullah and Rauf are too good to be sitting on the bench. Amir and Shaheen would be my new ball bowlers.


Fakhar Zaman
Mohammad Haris (wk)
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Ifthikar Ahmed (2-3 overs min)
Imad Wasim (4-5 overs min)
Shadab Khan (10 overs)
Shaheen Afridi (7 overs max / no death overs)
Mohammad Amir (7 overs / new ball + death overs)
Haris Rauf (5-7 overs / no death overs)
Ihsanullah (7 over burst in the middle overs)

 

[hasanali]

I think a lot of elevens being suggested are influenced by the T20ization of cricket. This is an ODI World Cup in a place like India.

The team should be

Fakhar
Imam/Abdullah
Babar
Rizwan
Agha
Sarfaraz
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Haris
Naseem


You need to be able to get five economical overs from Agha in most matches.

 

[Justcrazy]

Where did Saud Shakeel come from. This team has 4 left arm spinners. Better to play Rizwan instead of Saud Shakeel, both are essentially the same. No need for Imad Wasim, rather play ifti chacha for off spin or Agha Salman

Saud is a solid batsman , you need such a player in middle.

Just trying to have variety is not enough for the sake of it. Imad is a better player than Agha Salman.

 

[MenInG]

Guys - thread is about the pace attack.

==

I am worried about Shaheen's lack of pace at the moment. He needs to build it up for the World Cup and hope it's not some remnant of his injury

 

[sam_ahm]

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf are certainties, the 4th option could be quite close between Ihsanullah and M Wasim... It is unlikely that Pakistan will go in with 4 Pacers in playing XI though unless they look at Shaheen as a bit if a bowling all rounder.

 

[Hextro]

Naseem's place is locked in unless he has a horror ODI series against NZ. It's pretty much impossible to drop someone that has taken 18 wickets in just 5 innings.

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf/Ihsanullah

 

[gazza619]

My 5 pacers for a squad of 15:
Shaheen
Ihsanullah
Rauf
M Waseem
Naseem ( very reluctant to pick him but it seems like M Amir has been written off by team think tank)

 

[sam_ahm]

My 5 pacers for a squad of 15:
Shaheen
Ihsanullah
Rauf
M Waseem
Naseem ( very reluctant to pick him but it seems like M Amir has been written off by team think tank)

Naseem's ODI record is better than all of those pacers. Unless you like to mix up formats you have no reason to leave him out.

 

[gazza619]

Naseem's ODI record is better than all of those pacers. Unless you like to mix up formats you have no reason to leave him out.

Records can be deceiving.

Naseem has an art of not taking wickets, specially when one is needed.

 

[Abdullah]

I don't want amir back, just don't think that babar would be able to deal with it. He needs a camp where everybody is behind him

 

[indianpanacea]

Babar
Sayim
Rizwan
Abdullah
Iftikhar
Agha Salman
Imad wasim
Shahdab
M.Amir
Shaheen
Naseem shah
In squad
Hassan Ali
M.Haris
Fakhar Zaman
Usama mir
Ihsanullah

 

[MenInG]

This is what we have available in terms of pace

 

[Bilal7]

The starters:

Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf

The bench:

Wasim jnr
Ihsanullah

This world cup will have a nine-game group stage so all five pacers will see games. Ideally though, Amir would stop his dramaybaazi and join the squad because outside of Shaheen, he is our best new-ball bowler.

 

[MenInG]

Umar Gul in a recent interview:

"If you talk about our bowling, the pace attack that we had during the New Zealand series should be retained and these are our best bowlers for the World Cup. They are Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Ihsanullah and Mohammad Wasim Jr"

"If you talk about spin attack, knowing that the mega-event is being played in India, then you require help from your spinners, you have top all-rounders, like Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, and I think we have an excellent and balanced bowling side.

"We have a lot of expectations from the bowlers and if we go there and participate in the World Cup, then the results can be positive and we have a lot of chances on winning the tournament,"

"The first choice will be the trio pace attack of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf for the mega-event, but if you look at the bench then you need to have the availability of Ihsanullah and Waseem Jr. In my opinion, Ihsanullah and Wasim should be given chances in the Asia Cup,"

"Before the World Cup we have to try Ihsanullah in the few matchs we get, in order to know if he is ready to play the fifty-over format, because there will be competitive cricket in the international level and I know he has the potential to serve Pakistan in the future,"

 

[FreakCricket]

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris Sohail
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Shadab
Usama Mir
Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf

 

[Muhammad Saad]

It would be stupid to not play Usamir in the playing XI , I am having a feeling he will not make it in to the 15 men squad