Its going to be a tough one to pick. Pakistan has 2 major dilemmas here. While everyone is focused on the Ganguly debate for India, Pakistan has trouble at the #2 and #6 spots. Shoaib Malik and Imran Farhat are both strong claimants to the #2 spot, and reasonable arguments can be made for either of them to start. I would think Imran Farhat needs the start here as the inform batsman. There has been some commentary that Shoaib may get the edge as he is a proven off-spinner, but Imran Farhat can also bowl some leg-spin, and has done so well at the first class level.
The Afridi/Razzaq controversy is more difficult to sort out. Both are key members of the squad, and are major contributors to any success Pakistan has had in the last little while. Afridi has recently been in trouble for "dancing" during the English series, but he is also the one who possesses almost a talismanic quality about him for many Pakistani fans. His batting may be hit and miss, but he has shown himself to be an effective bowler and he is one of the better fielders in the side. Razzaq on the other hand has shown himself to be far more consistent than Afridi, yet it is Afridi who has the higher test batting average and the higher average at Qaddafi stadium as well. Also given the fact that the pacers are likely to be Shoaib, Sami, Rana +/- Asif, Afridi may offer a good spinning option as well. My personal bias takes me to Afridi for the #6 position.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
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