With the Twenty20 cup and then the conditioning camp, atleast one thing is somewhat clear. Shoaib Akhtar and Shabbir Ahmed are not going to be ready. After the initial report from Khalid Husain in Jang (referred to in an earlier post), Khalid H. Khan raises the same issues in Dawn. It appears that despite multiple days and practice sessions, neither Shoaib Akhtar nor Shabbir Ahmed appear to be in match form.
While that is understandable for Shabbir, who has not really played at the highest level for about a year now, Shoaib Akhtar was playing till October, and then was supposedly practicing on a daily basis. More disconcertingly for the Pakistani squad, is the fact that while over this period, Mohammad Asif was able to retain his fitness, Shoaib Akhtar was not able to retain or recover his fitness. One wonders how much time is left for a pacer with Shoaib's pace, Shoaib's run-up and Shoaib's body wrenching action. However, the squad still retains hope that even if Shoaib is not ready for the test series, he may be able to make a comeback for the ODI series.
I still wonder though, about the decision making process with the batsmen, and the rest of the squad. According to this report, Shahid Afridi is still being left out, and Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal and Asim Kamal are all being taken along. How even a few of them will be able to play, I am not sure.
Inzamam, Younis and Yousuf will take 3 spots, with Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik to definitely figure in the lineup. With Kamran Akmal, with Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif and Danish Kaneria that only leaves 2 spots, with one being an opener. While Imran Farhat or Yasir Hameed (Yasir Hameed in my opinion) will fill that spot, Pakistan will have to pick a pacer for the last spot, which will be one of Naved, Shahid Nazir or Sami(They can only go wrong if they choose Sami). I can't figure out any permutation, barring injury, where Faisal Iqbal or Asim Kamal will get a shot. Taking Zulqarnain Haider along is a good idea. Might help to push Kamran Akmal a little bit, whose performance with the gloves has been shoddy of late.
Technorati Tags: shoaib akhtar, shabbir ahmed, pakistan, cricket, selectors
While that is understandable for Shabbir, who has not really played at the highest level for about a year now, Shoaib Akhtar was playing till October, and then was supposedly practicing on a daily basis. More disconcertingly for the Pakistani squad, is the fact that while over this period, Mohammad Asif was able to retain his fitness, Shoaib Akhtar was not able to retain or recover his fitness. One wonders how much time is left for a pacer with Shoaib's pace, Shoaib's run-up and Shoaib's body wrenching action. However, the squad still retains hope that even if Shoaib is not ready for the test series, he may be able to make a comeback for the ODI series.
I still wonder though, about the decision making process with the batsmen, and the rest of the squad. According to this report, Shahid Afridi is still being left out, and Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal and Asim Kamal are all being taken along. How even a few of them will be able to play, I am not sure.
Inzamam, Younis and Yousuf will take 3 spots, with Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik to definitely figure in the lineup. With Kamran Akmal, with Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif and Danish Kaneria that only leaves 2 spots, with one being an opener. While Imran Farhat or Yasir Hameed (Yasir Hameed in my opinion) will fill that spot, Pakistan will have to pick a pacer for the last spot, which will be one of Naved, Shahid Nazir or Sami(They can only go wrong if they choose Sami). I can't figure out any permutation, barring injury, where Faisal Iqbal or Asim Kamal will get a shot. Taking Zulqarnain Haider along is a good idea. Might help to push Kamran Akmal a little bit, whose performance with the gloves has been shoddy of late.
Technorati Tags: shoaib akhtar, shabbir ahmed, pakistan, cricket, selectors
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