TEAM AFRIDI

'Razzak can be Cup's best man'

Veteran Pakistan all-rounder can be as good as a Shane Watson or Yusuf Pathan, writes Wasim Akram

By Wasim Akram

As the ICC Cricket World Cup approaches, I can feel the urgency in the team camps. I can sense the butterflies in the stomach, no matter how good an outfit you may be. This is what makes world championships special!

Almost every pundit is choosing his favourite team and top player, but with great caution. It is foolish to predict in cricket and hence almost every erudite expert is ‘talking’ along predictable lines. And, I am not going to be any different.

Like all ODI championships, the all-rounders have a great role to play and the teams that have them will be at a great advantage. There was a time, when Imran (Khan), Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee would vie among each other for the No.1 all-rounder tag. In this ICC Cricket World Cup, it will be among Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan and Pakistan’s Abdul Razzaq. These three can make or break their team’s fortunes.

I will be keenly watching Razzak’s performance. He is definitely up there with Shane Watson and Yusuf Pathan, but is somewhat lacking in his bowling skills. Razzak will have to focus on pace and improve his fielding, too. In spite of his great experience, he is relatively young and a proven match-winner. If Razzak can be a bit more mentally tough and physically robust, he will definitely end up as the Player of the Tournament.

While cricket is always a team game, a few individuals will have to play leading roles for Pakistan. In the absence of Mohammed Aamer and Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul will have to spearhead the bowling attack. Gul is bowling quick and if he can utilize the reverse swing, he will be deadly.

I hope Shoaib Akhtar stays fit throughout the tournament. Shahid Afridi’s main job is to handle Akhtar well. In a recent interview, Afridi said he sees a limited role for the veteran pacer. I agree with him. Akhtar should be used in short bursts, of about four overs at the start of the innings, then he can bowl a couple in the middle and then in the slog overs. Because Pakistan need Akhtar’s pace, short spells will be best. His reverse swing at hostile pace will be really effective.

Sohail Tanvir’s absence will hurt Pakistan. After Razzak, he was a dependable all-rounder. Tanvir is a good bat and could have contributed to the score lower down the order. But it’s no point crying over spilt milk. I think, with Afridi around, there is plenty of option. Team selection will certainly be key.

For Pakistan, however, Ahmad Shahzad will be the player to watch out for. Apparently, I am his ‘hero’ but he compares his batting style after Sachin Tendulkar! Just 20, Shahzad is extremely promising. He left his mark with a century against New Zealand recently and he is high on confidence and won’t succumb to pressure easily. I have watched him play in the Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. He has got all the shots in the book and his best form of defence is to attack. I think Shahzad will be very consistent on sub-continental tracks.

It’s looking good for Pakistan. The captaincy dilemma has been sorted and Afridi has been rightfully chosen to skipper the team. Will he lead by example? That’s the million dollar question!

Dropped Tanvir says he is fit to play in World Cup

KARACHI: He has been dropped from Pakistan's World Cup squad due to injury but pacer Sohail Tanvir insists he is fit to play and should have been retained in the side for the quadrennial event starting February 19 in the sub-continent.

The Pakistan cricket Board on Wednesday dropped the unorthodox bowler from the 15-member squad on the recommendations of the national team management, a medical panel and the selection committee and replaced him with rookie left arm pacer Junaid Khan.

Tanvir, who has so far claimed 48 wickets in 36 ODIs, said, "I don't know why they dropped me and the selectors should tell me the reason because I was fit and getting better in bowling and fielding.

"It is hugely disappointing to be dropped from a major event like the World Cup at the last moment," Tanvir told The Express.

Tanvir was dropped after playing in five of the six one-day internationals in New Zealand.

Justifying its decision to omit Tanvir, the PCB said the medical panel had examined the 26-year-old bowler and decided he was not 100 percent fit to play at the top level.

"He still requires time to make a complete recovery from his knee problem for which he had an operation sometime back," PCB said in a statement.

Chief selector, Mohsin Khan said that it was on the recommendations of the team management that the pacer was dropped from the squad.

"The team management spoke to the board Chairman expressing its concerns over Tanvir's fitness. Subsequently the medical panel examined him and declared he was not fully fit.

"The team management felt that Tanvir was struggling while fielding because of his knee problem.

"Junaid Khan was called up because of his fine performances in domestic cricket," Mohsin revealed.

Meanwhile former test batsman, Basit Ali cautioned that Junaid was too raw and not ready for the international cricket.

"It would have been better if they had included Muhammad Yousuf in place of Tanvir. They already have too many pacers in the side and on the pitches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh you don't need so many pacers," Basit said
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Bowling during final powerplay is crucial: Afridi

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has emphasised that bowling during the final powerplay will play a crucial role in the outcome of the matches in the World Cup and his side is paying special attention to this area. "We are working hard on improving our bowling and options for the final power play ".This is an area we need to improve," Afridi told reporters here. He said the final power-play overs were crucial and any team which was unable to cope with the pressures of bowling in these overs will find it hard to do well.

The Pakistan squad will leave tonight for Bangladesh, where they play their warm up matches before going to Sri Lanka for the group matches. Afridi, who was named captain for the World Cup just last week, said they are almost ready for the mega event.

"We have completed 90 percent of our preparations for this big competition and if everyone puts up his hand we will do very well in the World Cup. If we are successful it will be to the credit of the entire team and if we fail this would also be responsibility of entire team because cricket is a total team game not a one-man show," he said.

The flamboyant allrounder, playing in his fourth World Cup, said that the players were working hard on coping with pressure situations. "In the World Cup it is all about how well a team handles pressure and coming out of this pressure is what success is all about.

I think we have a good combination ready for the World Cup." Afridi also promised to respond to his detractors with his performances in the tournament. "I think that is the best to answer those who are criticising you," he said.

Pakistan's WC hopes rest with Afridi, Shoaib

Despite a no-go zone for international cricket and a team trying to come out of a pile of controversies, Pakistan remain a dangerous prospect in the World Cup and the two men who can fire up the team remain the charismatic skipper Shahid Afridi and Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar.

But India's estranged neighbour has been surfing on tides that keep getting taller ever since their England tour where Pakistan cricket got 'tainted' with spot-fixing by Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt. The trio eventually got banned by the ICC, which, according to Imran Khan, has seriously dented Pakistan's chances in the World Cup.

As if that wasn't enough, the Pakistan Cricket Board made life difficult for itself with uncertainty over the selection of 'fixing' suspects wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria. The PCB made the situation even grim by delaying the announcement of captain's name, allegedly creating a divide between Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq, the two contenders for the leader's role.

But things started looking up on the New Zealand tour - Pakistan's last chance to impress before the World Cup.

It was a welcome end to Pakistan's victory drought, which not only brought them a Test series win but also triumph in the ODI series just ahead of the World Cup. That incidentally also gave reason to the PCB to retain Afridi as captain for the World Cup, with Test skipper Misbah as his deputy.

Despite all those controversies, there is no denying the fact that Pakistan remain a dangerous but unpredictable prospect in the one-dayers and their World Cup-winning skipper Imran Khan, along with some of his other illustrious teammates, seconds that.

But Pakistan needs to guard against a repeat of 2003 and 2007 editions when they had to catch an early flight back home after making first-round exits in both the editions, with a loss against minnows Ireland in the Caribbean still fresh in fans' mind. Incidentally, their preparation on both the occasions was surrounded by similar controversial circumstances as now.

But worse was to follow in 2007 when the shock defeat to Ireland followed their coach Bob Woolmer's death in mysterious circumstances in the team hotel in Jamaica.

Talking about the team's strengths and weakness, Pakistan's batting looks suspect in the absence of overlooked veterans Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik. That will make former skipper Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal central to Afridi's batting plans besides promising youngsters Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq and Ahmed Shahzad.

A second look at Pakistan's batting tells us that all-rounders Abdul Razaaq and the skipper himself would be pivotal in late flourishes while chasing and setting targets.

Traditionally, Pakistan has relied on their fast bowlers but the absence of Amir and Asif got compounded with the late exclusion of Sohail Tanvir from the 15 owing to fitness concerns. He was replaced by young Junaid Khan.

This means that Shoaib and Umar Gul have to step up and do bulk of the wicket-taking job. They will find able assistance in Wahab Riaz and Razzaq.

Shoaib, whose last World Cup was marred by a doping ban and fitness issues, will probably have his last crack in the premier event and would want to end his injury- and controversy-ridden career on a high.

The spin department will be spearheaded by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal who will make a return from injury straight into the World Cup, with Afridi taking over as the leading leg-spinner in the absence of Kaneria. Left-armer Abdul Rehman and part-timer Mohammad Hafeez are the other tweakers in the side.

Camped with teams like Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya in Group A, Pakistan look certain to be one of the quarterfinalists but their form can swing like a pendulum which makes them unpredictable as well as dangerous.

But a bird's eye view of the Pakistan team helps one single out that the X-factor to take them deep into the World Cup remains with Afridi and Shoaib. If the two con men fire, there is no reason why Pakistan can't fire.