fair selection except hafeez and shahzad.
Good to see maqsood back ,we need a hitter like him .... [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION].are u pleased?
Not so much to be honest.
I presume, both T20 & ODI squad will be announced from these 18, may be at best 1/2 last minute inclusion from out side (Shadab). Given that Azhar & Hafeez are automatic choices (even for starting XI, and they didn't take any chance with an open fitness test!!), I think 13/14 of these 18 selects themselves. Only about 4/5 open spots and I am not impressed with the 18 actually.
Of the list,
1. Sarfraz Ahmed
2. Azhar Ali
3. Fakhar Zaman
4. Babar Azam
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Muhammad Hafeez
7. Muhammad Amir
8. Hasan Ali
9. Haris Sohail
I think, these 9 selects themselves. Considering JK & UKS's fitness, Raees, was also certain.
Imam, averaged almost 100 in first series, so he deserved to be there, Shadab, Imad and Fahim are three all-rounders - that's 14 out of 19 for which you don't need selectors.
Rest 5 are Yamin, Nawaz, Ahmed, Amin & Maqsood. They picked Amin & Maqsood based on recent tournament, so kudos to them.
I don't think, there is any logic to select or even call Nawaz for NZ series when Imad isn't certain to start, while Hari can bowl a bit SLAO as well - I would have taken Aga Salman for that spot in 18
I was expecting Talat to make at least the preliminary squad, over Yamin or Ahmed - these squad has 5/6 batsmen for top 3 - Azhar, FZ, Imam, MoHa, Babar, Amin, add Maqsood as well; can't find any reason why Ahmed should be there, instead of Talat.
For fast bowlers, in NZ, on those wickets and boundaries, PAK is taking only 3 specialist pacers, which I think is a bit risky and poor planning - this means all 3 are almost certain to start every match, or PAK is risking Yamin/Fahim as 3rd pacer and play 2 spinners
in NZ - I think, a 4th pacer was a must. Both Wahab and Irfaaan were bowling exceptionally well in NT20 Cup, Irfaaan with new ball and Wahab with semi old ball, while Sohail was perfect fit for Amir's new ball partner and late order hitter - I would have definitely taken one of Irfaaan or Sohail for this series, as a short term solution. Wahab should have been in preliminary squad only for T20s, considering Irfaaan/Sohail's age & fitness, may be for T20 Wahab could have come as replacement, but not a big deal.
The biggest hole I see is that, even in 18/19 men squad, they haven't considered any back-up WK, which means Sarfraz has to keep even in practice matches. I think, it's a blunder - may not be Akmal bros., but one back-up WK had to be in the squad of 16 for 8 matches in 3 weeks. May be, we'll now see MoHa practicing WK, because that's one avenue still left.
PAK might win 8-0, or lose 8-0, but like CT, I won't give this squad too many points. But, it passes because of Amin & Maqsood's inclusion.
