Pakistan are set to meet West Indies in the first quarter-final of ICC World Cup 2011, at Mirpur, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, March 23.
Afridi's men are overwhelming favourites to win the game and become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals, for a possible meeting with the winner of the India-Australia quarter-final match, on Thursday, March 24.
My list of the best Pakistan eleven to take on West Indies is as follows: Kamran Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Misbah, Umar Akmal, Razzaq, Gul, Afridi, Ajmal, Rehman, Akhtar. You would have noticed that I have omitted Hafeez, who has proven to be a walking wicket for rival bowlers to whet their appetites with. Asad Shafiq has had good outings in his last two games and was particularly impressive under pressure against Australia. Pakistan need his calming influence at the top of the order and if the opening batsmen can last through the first power play, they should have set the stage for Younis and Misbah to peddle their wares, in the middle order.
Afridi has named Umar Akmal as a possible contender for Man of the Tournament, and those who watched the young batsman's innings against Australia won't scoff at the Pakistan's skipper's statement. In my ideal team, Razzaq would come ahead of Afridi in the order. Afridi's indifferent batting form translates into an additional cheap wicket, before Razzaq appears, and adds to the pressure. I would also advocate sending Gul ahead of Afridi. Gul has been very effective with the bat and unlike his skipper appears to understand his batting limitations and operates within them.
The dropping of Hafeez will give Pakistan the option of playing five bowlers and that fifth bowler is Ajmal whose spin bowling should help keep the Windies batsmen in check, more effectively than a seam bowler would.
I have also included Akhtar in place of Riaz, because Pakistan can afford to experiment in this game. While Akhtar's confidence was shattered against New Zealand, his speed makes him a formidable bowler for any batting line up, and he could prove an asset, in the semi-finals, against an Indian middle order that does not relish the short fast stuff. But before that happens, Akhtar will need to regain his confidence and the West Indies match will give him that opportunity.
The Pakistan think tank has been extremely loathe to experiment or else they would have brought in Asad Shafiq much earlier in the tournament, or tried Razzaq as an opener. The fact that they did not do so makes me wonder whether they would actually go with five bowlers. But they must realize that the Windies game is their last chance to experiment.
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Suresh Iyer is an avid sports fan and blogger.
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