Was the 1999 World Cup squad Pakistan's strongest?

[Abdullah719]

Wasim Akram (c)
Moin Khan (vc, wk)
Abdul Razzaq
Azhar Mahmood
Ijaz Ahmed
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Mohammad Yousuf
Mushtaq Ahmed
Saeed Anwar
Saleem Malik
Saqlain Mushtaq
Shahid Afridi
Shoaib Akhtar
Wajahatullah Wasti
Waqar Younis

 

[MenInG]

Wasim Akram (c)
Moin Khan (vc, wk)
Abdul Razzaq
Azhar Mahmood
Ijaz Ahmed
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Mohammad Yousuf
Mushtaq Ahmed
Saeed Anwar
Saleem Malik
Saqlain Mushtaq
Shahid Afridi
Shoaib Akhtar
Wajahatullah Wasti
Waqar Younis

Apart from Wasti - I would have considered this our dream team!

 

[Energy]

Can't envisage a stronger squad than this.

 

[Faiz1978]

96 team was the strongest.

 

[Markhor]

No !

Strongest bowling yes, but the batting was fragile in English conditions against the white Dukes and heavily dependent on Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and late order cameos from Moin Khan and Wasim Akram. Ijaz and Salim were way past their primes, while hacks like Wasti, Afridi and Razzaq occupied top order places.

You cannot lose four times in a World Cup and claim to have been the strongest Pakistan side ever at a WC.

1996 and 1987 were our strongest and it's criminal how we choked in both.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

No !

Strongest bowling yes, but the batting was fragile in English conditions against the white Dukes and heavily dependent on Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and late order cameos from Moin Khan and Wasim Akram. Ijaz and Salim were way past their primes, while hacks like Wasti, Afridi and Razzaq occupied top order places.

You cannot lose four times in a World Cup and claim to have been the strongest Pakistan side ever at a WC.

1996 and 1987 were our strongest and it's criminal how we choked in both.

World cups are all about luck. Look at South Africa, having so many ODI greats yet never won anything

Above team did beat Australia in Australia. That's how good they were.

 

[Bewal Express]

When taking all things into consideration, it is def one of the best squads. Nobody dominated or came close to dominating that attack, batting was good, but it was a little too reliant on Saeed Anwar, MY showed glimpses and Inzi was similar but he also played one of the worst innings ever against Ind at Old Trafford. Made an attack composed of the likes of Robin Singh, Tendulkar, Prasad look like the best of the Windies attacks in the 70s and 80s.

 

[Bewal Express]

96 team was the strongest.

No balance, either too many batsmen or too many bowlers because there was no all rounder

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Wasti as opener and chief blocker Abdul Razzaq at 3 who had a tournament SR of under 45 when Dravid had SR of 80+ in the same tournament.

Lacked a truly outstanding Captain.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

2 blockers in the top 3 - Wasti and Razzaq

 

[Markhor]

World cups are all about luck. Look at South Africa, having so many ODI greats yet never won anything

Above team did beat Australia in Australia. That's how good they were.

? Later that year they got hammered in the 99/00 Carlton and United Series, and were whitewashed 3-0 in the Tests.

We did beat Australia much later in 2002, however we were humiliated in subsequent clashes.

We beat Australia in the 96/97 Carlton and United series though.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Lost to Bangladesh
Lost to India
Lost to South Africa
Lost to Australia


Yes.. very strong squad it was.

 

[Saj]

That bowling attack was superb but the batting had weak links which showed up in the final as Pakistan collapsed.

 

[Zaz]

On paper it looked good However in reality it had too many holes mainly in the batting

It was too reliant on inzy and saeed anwar

Wajatullah -not good enough
Ijaz Ahmed - past it
Salim Malik - past it
Yousuf Y - newbie
Razzaq -Newbie

If it had another couple of established confident batsmen then yes it wouldve been

 

[Savak]

Waqar was past it, Salim Malik was past it but otherwise it was a solid squad.

 

[Pakpak]

Lost to Bangladesh
Lost to India
Lost to South Africa
Lost to Australia


Yes.. very strong squad it was.

BD, lets be honest we know the game stinks.
India: our bogey team
SA: At that point were on a ridiculous 13 or something unbeaten run against us. They were 50-5 chasing 220 odd, Klusner saved them
Aus: We did beat them once and then collapsed into the final, that same Aus became one of the most dominant team any sport has ever seen

I dont think it was our best squad, one of the best but not THE best.

 

[Hasan123]

87 was a good team.

If you actually look at our record from 87 till the 92 WC you will see we were actually a decent team and the 92 win should not have been a surprise. It's just the way we performed in 92 that made it surprise. It's unfortunate that we now think you can always win World Cups by being unpredictable rather than be consistent and plan for the WC.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 1999. A World Cup semi-final at Old Trafford & a brilliant display from Pakistan. A fired-up Shoaib Akhtar took 3 wickets (all bowled), Saeed Anwar made 113* & Wajahatullah Wasti 84 as Pakistan beat New Zealand by 9 wickets to reach the World Cup Final <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/EXmxatdOtr">pic.twitter.com/EXmxatdOtr</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1405061541662183425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[sam_ahm]

Yes, I don't think any other WC they had such a strong squad.

This was one WC when it was almost certain that Pakistan will be in the final 4, before the tournament even started. The squad was strong and was very high on confidence.

 

[AMSS]

Their bowling carried them through, and Akhtar imparted a bleeding edge to that attack. Saqlain had a profitable tournament, and Akram, Razzaq, and Mahmood were all pulling their weight as bowlers. Only Waqar went missing. Easily the best bowling unit in that WC, ahead of both AUS and SAf.

But the batting was dire and would collapse every time the pressure amped up. I cannot think of a single Pak batsman who stood out. Anwar was the best of the lot and even he had a middling run by his standards.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Anwar, Inzi, MoYo, Razzaq, Mahmood, Wasim, Moin, Akhtar, Saqi were all performing and pulling their weight.

Waqar - in the midst of a long lean patch
Wasti - selected as opener for English conditions but
wasn't an ODI batsman atleast
Salim Malik - was done 2 years previously.
Afridi - Not good enough in English conditions with Dukes
ball.
Mushtaq - Hadnt played an ODI in over a year. Waste of a
spot.
Ijaz - Contrary to what many think, he was in the form of
his life in the 1998/99 season . Just couldnt bat in
those conditions.

Had that World Cup been held in Asia, Pakistan's batting would have looked stronger as they could have relied on Afridi to open and Ijaz to contribute in the middle order.

Afridi
Anwar
Ijaz
Inzi
MoYo
Azhar
Moin
Razzaq
Wasim
Saqi
Akhtar

That lineup would have won the 99 World Cup if it was held in India/Pakistan

 

[shaz619]

No !

Strongest bowling yes, but the batting was fragile in English conditions against the white Dukes and heavily dependent on Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and late order cameos from Moin Khan and Wasim Akram. Ijaz and Salim were way past their primes, while hacks like Wasti, Afridi and Razzaq occupied top order places.

You cannot lose four times in a World Cup and claim to have been the strongest Pakistan side ever at a WC.

1996 and 1987 were our strongest and it's criminal how we choked in both.

Overall in terms of its balance that squad by far is the best, yes they did underperform massively but just look at the names on the team sheet, the bowling is scary, you have the all round utility from Razzaq and Mahmood, then with the batting Anwar, Moyo and Inzi; Moin no mug down the order and a great pair with the gloves to. Which squad is greater then the 99 one on paper ?

 

[Bhaijaan]

Lost to Bangladesh
Lost to India
Lost to South Africa
Lost to Australia


Yes.. very strong squad it was.

Scary team that lol

 

[Jazx]

On paper it looked good However in reality it had too many holes mainly in the batting

It was too reliant on inzy and saeed anwar

Wajatullah -not good enough
Ijaz Ahmed - past it
Salim Malik - past it
Yousuf Y - newbie
Razzaq -Newbie

If it had another couple of established confident batsmen then yes it wouldve been

Ijaz ahmed was not really past his prime, he played some magical innings before that world Cup as an opener. Than suddenly Pakistan brought in mister technique Wasti as an opener for that world Cup for those english conditions. For other countries those conditions were normal as they continued with their attacking openers but only in Pakistan they considers them some alien conditions. In an ideal scenario ijaz should have been continued as an opener and in place of Wasti a solid middle order batsman should have been selected.

 

[Jazx]

96 team was the strongest.

96 no way. That team comprises of an aged miandad, half fit wasim akram and declining waqar after injury.
99 was the strongest, wasti was the only week link in that. But youhana's injury in the middle of the tournament really imbalanced their batting line up.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Ijaz ahmed was not really past his prime, he played some magical innings before that world Cup as an opener. Than suddenly Pakistan brought in mister technique Wasti as an opener for that world Cup for those english conditions. For other countries those conditions were normal as they continued with their attacking openers but only in Pakistan they considers them some alien conditions. In an ideal scenario ijaz should have been continued as an opener and in place of Wasti a solid middle order batsman should have been selected.

Ijaz Ahmed couldn't play the swinging dukes white ball to save his life, and the ball in use at the time had an extra layer of lacquer that allowed it to swing for about 25 overs. He was never going to be successful in those conditions.

 

[Jazx]

Ijaz Ahmed couldn't play the swinging dukes white ball to save his life, and the ball in use at the time had an extra layer of lacquer that allowed it to swing for about 25 overs. He was never going to be successful in those conditions.

Those swinging dukes and all matters in test cricket more than in a limited overs game. ODIs are mostly played on flat pitches from a long time specially after the 96 world Cup. And thats the same world Cup where india made a record score against sri Lanka. Australia opened with Gilchrist, south Africa with Gibbs, Sri Lanka had jayasuriya and what Pakistan opted was Wasti.
Remind me if any other team had that kind of a defensive batsman in that tournament. This kind of defensive mentality from Pakistan is from ages. The only exception was anwar-sohails pair for few years, otherwise Pakistan have just always opted for mediocre batsmans for opening slot. Moreover if ijaz can't survive against swing why he was used at number 3 by Pakistan mostly during late 90s.

 

[Savak]

That team peaked too early. It lost steam in the later part of the tournament.

The game against SA should not have been lost.

 

[Justcrazy]

1987 Pakistan Team was strongest, no doubt about it.


1999 the team batting was very thin, lower-order were somehow clinging, the main batsmen were not performing.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Those swinging dukes and all matters in test cricket more than in a limited overs game. ODIs are mostly played on flat pitches from a long time specially after the 96 world Cup. And thats the same world Cup where india made a record score against sri Lanka. Australia opened with Gilchrist, south Africa with Gibbs, Sri Lanka had jayasuriya and what Pakistan opted was Wasti.
Remind me if any other team had that kind of a defensive batsman in that tournament. This kind of defensive mentality from Pakistan is from ages. The only exception was anwar-sohails pair for few years, otherwise Pakistan have just always opted for mediocre batsmans for opening slot. Moreover if ijaz can't survive against swing why he was used at number 3 by Pakistan mostly during late 90s.

They didn't use the dukes white ball for ODI cricket other than that World Cup, which was why it was different and so difficult for attacking batsmen to succeed. Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, and Gibbs to various degrees failed to come off during that tournament because the ball swung so much over a longer period. Ijaz was great when there was no movement off the surface and allowed him to play across the line, but his technique was woeful otherwise.

Pakistan's tactics during that World Cup, and to an extent South Africa's, to see off the new ball and keep wickets in hand for when the ball got old were largely successful and can't be faulted.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

A lot of these players were past it

 

[Jazx]

1987 Pakistan Team was strongest, no doubt about it.


1999 the team batting was very thin, lower-order were somehow clinging, the main batsmen were not performing.

In 87 also batting line up was thin. Except miandad and salim malik there was no other world class batsman. Yes imran was there but you can't consider him as a full fletched batsman. 99 atleast have a strong lower middle order where they saved them in most of the matches. And they suffered due to yusuf's injury also.

 

[Jazx]

They didn't use the dukes white ball for ODI cricket other than that World Cup, which was why it was different and so difficult for attacking batsmen to succeed. Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, and Gibbs to various degrees failed to come off during that tournament because the ball swung so much over a longer period. Ijaz was great when there was no movement off the surface and allowed him to play across the line, but his technique was woeful otherwise.

Pakistan's tactics during that World Cup, and to an extent South Africa's, to see off the new ball and keep wickets in hand for when the ball got old were largely successful and can't be faulted.

Those were just very sporting conditions for batting and bowling. Not some alien conditions as you are describing. Pakistan is the only team in odi history that used a night watchman as razzaq to see off the new ball. And what was so special with wajahat wasti who was considered better to play that Duke ball. Even anwar was not a very good player of swing/ seam but he still opened and played a match winning knock in semis.