My Ideal World T20 Pakistan Squad

Pakistan’s World T20 Squad needs to be finalized now so they can play the squad and prepare them for the major event. With the conclusion of the Pakistan Super League‘s (PSL) 9th edition, Pakistan’s international commitment resumes next month when New Zealand tours Pakistan for 5 T20Is. Then Pakistan tours England in May to play a 4-T20I series. I believe nine T20Is are more than enough for the preparation.

In my opinion, the squad should be selected by considering the PSL 9 performances. I could have preferred Pakistan’s local T20 tournament National T20 Cup but I emphasize PSL because that is the latest competition when the form of the player must be determined.

So I forward you my ideal WT20 Pakistan squad with short details:

MY WORLD T20 SQUAD

1. SHAHEEN AFRIDI (CAPTAIN)

Even if he had not performed or played the PSL, having him would be the priority. The matter of argument is obviously his captaincy that was the weakest amongst all the captains who led their teams in the PSL. In fact, Lahore Qalandars was the first team not to qualify.

Even he is not my choice, Mohammad Rizwan is. But the only reason I have considered him to continue is, (A) It is unethical and very harsh for the Pakistan Cricket Board to select Shaheen as the captain of the format to lead the WT20 and then drop him after one series. And (B) We cannot judge his captaincy from one international series. With the announcement, he should be trusted, given confidence, and the team must be united under him.

2. MOHAMMAD RIZWAN (VICE-CAPTAIN)

407 runs in 12 innings that included 4 half centuries BUT at the strike rate of 122. Due to this reason, he must bat in the middle-order. The biggest plus is his leadership quality, Shaheen will be lucky to have his output on the field. 

3. BABAR AZAM 

Pakistan’s no.1 batsman in all formats and the leading scorer in the PSL. Thankfully is back in form and will be under less pressure because he will not be relied as a captain. The edge over Rizwan is that his strike rate in the PSL (142.6) was far better than Rizwan (122.22). So he must either open or come at 3.

4. NASEEM SHAH

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Doing heavy duty at such a young age and naturally a quick bowler. Returned from injury with 15 wickets in the PSL and that too at an economy rate of 7.56 (the second-lowest among all Pakistani bowlers who took minimum 10 PSL wickets).

5. SAIM AYUB

A unanimous choice and the brightest prospect in batting who can bat in all three formats. His shots-selection, powerful hitting, and his amazing opening-run with Babar has cemented his place. Saim scored 345 runs at a strike rate of 157 in 11 innings. He also hit most sixes in the tournament (21). He also turned out to be a handy part-timer who took more wickets (8), with better average (22.37) and economy rate (7.45) than Faheem Ashraf (6 at 46 and 9.85 respectively).

6. SHADAB KHAN

One of the key players whose lack of form disturbed Pakistan’s performances in the ODIs and T20s last year was one of the best captains in the PSL, scored over 300 runs and took 14 wickets too. Shadab led Islamabad United to PSL glory and was declared Man of the Series. 

7. SAHIBZADA FARHAN

266 runs in 8 innings at 133.66 is impressive and fits in the bill to open with Saim if Babar is not planned to start with latter. 

8. IFTIKHAR AHMED

259 runs in 11 innings including 7 not outs! A strike rate of 193.28 which was the highest among the top-scorers with minimum 200 runs. He hit 17 sixes which was the highest after Saim. He is the most-wanted hitter any team would rely at 6 or 7.

9. USAMA MIR

Easily the most improved T20 player who was also the leading wicket-taker in the PSL with 24 wickets at an economy rate of 8.13. The only genuine spinner of my ideal squad has only one competitor, Abrar Ahmed who took 16 wickets at a better economy rate (7.82).

10. AZAM KHAN (WICKET-KEEPER)

The big show is yet to impress in T20I but his franchise T20 form keeps pressing the national side to give him more time. Why? He is unarguably one of the biggest smashers from Pakistan for T20 games. And in the PSL, he proved once again why Pakistan still needs him. He scored 226 runs at a heavy strike rate of 171 which is the highest among the top scorers after Iftikhar. He was also declared the wicket-keeper of the tournament. 

11. MOHAMMAD ALI

Second-highest wicket taker with 19 wickets. There is no reason I will not include him in the bowling department. With Shaheen and Naseem, he is the most ideal fast bowler to start the match. 

12. AGHA SALMAN

In the last few months, Agha Salman has build some reputation as a batsman. He is quite a favor in all three formats and offers all kinds of shots. With a given situation, he is flexible to bat at any position. Scored 310 runs at a strike rate of 140.27. 

13. HASAN ALI

Pakistan’s Hasan Ali reacts during the ICC men’s Twenty20 World Cup semi-final match between Australia and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on November 11, 2021. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

My ideal choice was Zaman Khan but the reason why I chose Hasan over Zaman is because not only that he had more wickets (14) than Zaman (11) but also had a better average (22.42 > 28.72) and a better economy rate (8.26 > 9.87). Hasan adds more aggression and spirit in the team and is a handy slogger. 

14. SAUD SHAKEEL

Saud Shakeel is another impressive consideration to rival Sahibzada Farhan for opening with Saim. In comparison, Saud Shakeel scored more runs (343) than Farhan at a better strike rate (141). He can easily be played in the middle if Pakistan decides not to play Azam Khan in the match. Then having Saud, Rizwan, and Iftikhar in the middle will boost run-rate acceleration.

15. IMAD WASIM

Now that is the most discussed player since the knockout phase of the PSL until now. He has retired from international cricket but hold on! He is from Pakistan and our cricketers don’t take retirement seriously. Jokes aside, what matters is that when a major cricket event is scheduled and Pakistan is expected like every other participant to shine, the pride of the country comes first. 

After this PSL, is there a doubt or a question about his being a better all-rounder than Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf? I don’t even remember when was the last time any of them clicked or did any favor to the national side. And here is this guy, who won four consecutive man of the match awards for his multiple clutch performances! It is about making your team a world champion, do yourself and us a favor, drop your retirement, and make yourself available for the upcoming series. 

CLOSING REMARKS

The chief selector must take the responsibility to shape a perfect T20 squad. No matter what squad is finalized, the best interest of the team should be prioritized. It will be highly annoying to see controversial picks that has mostly been the custom of national selection committee for announcing the squad. I say good luck for the preparations and may we see Pakistan champion again. 

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Where Pakistan stands after Two-Day International debacle?

See, it is not that Pakistan always suffers like that. It was a special day for the worst reason which is losing to your bitter rivals India by the heaviest margin in terms of runs between them. And it is better that this team got to show a mirror a ground reality before the World Cup.

 

All those talks about Pakistan being number one should be put on hold after what happened today. Babar Azam, the captain, made the first mistake, which is why the toss and the captain’s decision matter. This pitch was nowhere promising for bowling and he chose to bowl first.

 

Had Babar chosen to bat, I have full confidence that the same top 3 batsmen (Imam, Fakhar, and Babar) would have made Pakistan hit 300+. What Indian bowlers did in reply to our batting, imagine the wrath our pace trio of Shaheen, Naseem, and Haris would have brought.

 

The next mistake was by our own bowlers. They were neither clever nor bowled on length like they did in the group game. The team went delusional that Shaheen would have just another killer spell and game set. In fact, our fast bowlers bowled plenty of short pitches as compared to Indian bowling who focused to bowl fuller lengths. 

 

The third mistake that I consider is a SIN and needs to be avoided at any cost is the lack of F***ING INTENT. Observe, Rohit and Shubman went for a kill from the start followed by Kohli and Rahul who actually made a comeback.

In reply, what was our intent? The openers started exactly how they have been starting for some time, SLOW! Chasing 357, Fakhar and Babar faced 10 balls each to score their first runs. Yes, every single Indian bowler was on target but where was our aggression? The body language was missing. The wickets began to tumble and no one tried to smack anyone. Pakistan hit only 8 fours throughout the inning whereas Shubman alone hit 10 fours in the first 18 overs.

 

The fourth mistake, in fact, is not a mistake but a problem that we are unfortunately handicapped with, shockingly our SPIN DEPT! I don’t remember when Pakistan ever ran out of spinning threats like now. It is horrendous that our spin attack is Shadab–Iftikhar–Nawaz–Agha and none of them can contribute at least 2 wickets regularly. We somehow need to finish max 15 overs from them and this is where the opponent will lose their shoulders and hit us at a run-rate between 7 and 8, and cover the inning runs.

And Shadab is our leading spinner, in fact an all-rounder whose stats are not really helping as a strong case for the position. After 63 ODIs, Shadab has taken only 82 wickets at 32.53 and has scored only 731 runs from 38 innings. 

 

Another disappointing case of a player that I have been of concern for a while is Mohammad Rizwan. No offense, I know he is a senior player and has done a lot for us but in T20Is. I refuse to accept that he is our no.4 batsman. His keeping has been average and is responsible for wasting like half of DRS, but the runs that he is scoring, HE either move to lower-order or start opening and play like he does in the shorter format.

 

Now what? Well I am not in favor of shuffling the squad when the World Cup is happening in a few weeks unless somehow sadly gets injured. But the XI can be changed for good.

 

I am running out of patience on Fakhar. I mean seriously Fakhar-Imam is the most dynamic pairing STATS-WISE but is not the case anymore. That is Rohit-Gill now. Fakhar’s early dismissal is putting pressure on Imam and this needs to stop.

 

Two other batsmen that have not been tried and we have ran out of time on them are Haris and Saud Shakeel. Babar could have played them against Afghanistan in 3 ODIs.

 

So in my opinion, this is how I feel the XI should be from now on:

01. Imam

02. Rizwan

03. Babar

04. Iftikhar

05. Saud/Haris

06. Agha

07. Shadab

08. Faheem/Mir (depening on pitch)

09. Shaheen

10. Rauf

11. Naseem

A pace trio of Shaheen, Naseem, and Rauf, and a spin duo Shadab and Agha, with either a fast-bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf or a spinner Usama Mir our 6th option depending on the pitch, plus 1 part-time in Iftikhar. We have 7 bowling options. And two keeping options in Rizwan and Haris plus both can switch their batting positions if demands. One of Saud or Haris must compulsorily play in the XI to boost their batting. Iftikhar at 4 is a MUST. If he stays at least 10 overs, he can manage to build the inning.

I will say this again, one bad day doesn’t mean we are a bad team. The team has to learn from the mistakes instead of repeating it again. I wish my team good luck for the upcoming matches.