India is a very consistent side, but it's really dependent on 6 players, their batting is literally their top 3 and if they fail it seems pretty ordinary afterwards.
England are obviously favourites being a home team and the kind of explosive batting coupled with the depth they have. Bowling also seems to be pretty decent with Adil Rashid being a trump card in the middle overs.
Now let's have a look at Pakistan.
Babar and Imam are reliable and they along with an in-form Fakhar would make for an excellent top 3.
Sarfaraz should get his mojo back as a batter, he should play at 4 just like he did in 2016 ODI series in England, I think he is gonna make an impact at 4 this year.
Although Malik has been ordinary in England throughout his career, but it just seems that this time he is going to be better equipped. His overall handling of pace bowling has improved slightly, and I believe a positive mindset might help him overcome his shortcomings this time.
Hafeez is a decent no 6 and can be destructive on truer surfaces of England. He would obviously should preferred over U Akmal because he can chip in with a few overs, and provide control to the captain in the middle overs. Considering Shaddy's terrible form, middle overs are going to be difficult to control.
Faheem has just started to chip in with the bat, and his bowling has really blossomed, and I wouldn't hasitate in saying that he is amongst the best death bowlers in the world atm.
Hasan's form before PSL was a concern, but he has been phenomenal in PSL, and might just be one of our gun bowlers.
Young Shaheen is a gun bowler. MA
Amir is reliable as a bowler, but he needs to proof his inclusion and should give his 100% in the WC
Shadab's form is a concern, but he is the best we have got and hopefully he would be okay after getting some rest.
Imad is okayish for English conditions, he is a darter and his batting seems to be decent on true surfaces of SENA.
Umar Akmal will be our backup keeper as well as somebody who could come in, if the side doesn't seem to be dynamic in the first few games.
Shan Masood will be our backup opener and if the ball starts swinging then he may bat at 3 to have some stability.
One of JK, Abbas or Hasnain could be our 4th seamer.
That's our 15 imo foakes!
Bowling Strategy.
Amir and Shaheen should share the new ball, with the newbie searching for wickets, and Amir supporting him by giving nothing to the batters to hit. Faheem and Amir are great death bowlers Hasan and Shaheen shouldn't be bowling at the death, they are our enforcers and should be used in 3-4 overs bursts to get us wickets. One of Shaheen and hasan should always be operating from an end to keep the batters on their toes till the 35th over. Hafeez, Amir and Faheem should support our gun bowlers. Gun bowlers (Shaddy, Shaheen and Hasan) should be used like gun bowlers, no point of bowling them in the death. I guess 1-2 overs in the death would be enough from them. We have got a special bowling attack with so many enforcers and should make it count by using our resources properly.
Batting Strategy:
Personally if the ball isn't swinging much, I would open with Azam and Fakhar and place Imam at 3. Babar can accelerate in PP in a safe manner and we would have a Left-hand right hand combo as well. It's pretty easy to assess that Babar's ability to play spin has regressed for the time being. Imam should be our accumulator, and should play for an anchor in most innings. Sarfaraz is going to be an enforcing accumulator for us at 4. His dot ball percentage is very low and his abilities should be maximized at 4. Hafeez, Malik and Umar Akmal are fighting for two spots, and I think with professor's batting, he is almost a certainty in our starting 11. So, it's between Umar Akmal depending on the conditions. The good thing with having Umar instead of Malik is that, we get a good hitter (considering those truer surfaces) and Shadab can also be used at 5 as an accumulator. At the moment with Malik at 5, Shaddy is pretty much being wasted at 7.
Faheem, Hassan and Amir need to step up, and chip in with useful contributions down the order.
IA the cup is going to be ours.
IA!
PS: The good thing about this WC is that I would be able to watch all of it, as my final semester would end by 26th May and would be relatively less busy. Currently, I am so busy with my FYP,research paper, recruitment drives and masters applications.
