After the return of spearhead Umar Gul and fast bowler Wahab Riaz, there will be tie between Tanvir Sohail and Aizaz Cheema who will make his way in the team and will create difficulty for the selectors. Cheema proved to be the most successful bowler of the series as he also took four wickets in the final one-dayer.
Will Cheema be able to keep his spot in the Sri Lanka home series to be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as these wickets help spinners and it will be imperative for the selectors to include an extra spinner? According to cricket gurus, the inclusion of left-arm spinner Raza Hassan will be very fruitful for Pakistan as Raza can be very successful blower on slow turning tracks of the United Arab Emirates. He is the only spinner in available lot who can bowl very well under pressure.
Pakistan has had opening problems for ages and Imran Farhat has been a centre-piece in that problem and it was a high time to try out Rameez Raja Junior to see if he can form a good solid pair with Hafeez, who is doing very well now. In opening, Imran Nazir is also performing well in the domestic cricket and waiting call from Pakistan Cricket Board. Nazir is now pretty mature opener and his inclusion will strengthen Pakistan team batting line-up.
In middle order, Pakistan have a dependable senior batsman Younus Khan who played well in the series but sometimes he threw away his wicket while playing irresponsible shot. He must remove his this weakness and play responsible knock. At number three, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are the best choices.
Misbah failed to play his mark during the tour though Shoaib Malik inclusion strengthen the team batting but he looked off-colour in the series. He had to gain form for inclusion against Sri Lanka series.
All-rounder Abdur Razzaq should also be recalled for Sri Lanka and England series as he is a good all-rounder and can turn tables on opponents on his day.
Umar Akmal has to change his batting attitude as he always threw his wicket when he is at 30s and 40s. He should remove this weakness and start play with determination to convert 30 or 40 into fifty and then century. Rush of blood is harming his cricket.
Adnan Akmal is an ordinary wicket-keeper and he must improve his keeping and batting to cement his place in the side. The PCB should also include an extra keeper for Sri Lanka and England series to avoid any injury scare. Sarfraz Ahmed and Salman should be included in reserve players to avoid any incident.
Kamran Akmal should be called as a batsman and should also be checked in keeping as well because when a good player returns to cricket either he performed extra ordinary or lost all his form and then sacked.
In bowling, senior bowlers’ presence is necessary along with young bowlers to give them exposure in big matches as some time young guns fail to deliver so senior a must for their guidance.
The PCB must prepare a spinners pool for the UAE home series as wickets at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are slow and started turning after couple of days’ play. Zimbabwe series has become history now and Pakistan team now should go forward with full strength. If Pakistan want to win series against the heavyweights, they should go with complete homework to avoid any embarrassment.
