Pakistan at Cricket World Cup Player by Player Analysis: Pakistan has announced its 15-man World Cup squad.
Misbah-ul-Haq will be serving as the leader of the team while legendary
Shahid Afridi will be his vice-captain. There were numerous
speculations on who should be in and who should be out? The biggest
problem was the position of no. 6 and the inclusion of an all-rounder
who could fight alongside Shahid Afridi. Misbah-ul-Haq
will be serving as the leader of the team while legendary Shahid Afridi
will be his vice-captain. (Photo Source : ZeeNews.India).
Many names were in circulation which included former Pakistan Captain
Shoaib Malik and the newbie Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti. Asad Shafiq
was also in contention after performing so well in the on-going
Pentangular Cup. Veteran Kamran Akmal was thought to make a comeback but
none of the mentioned made it to the final 15.
Fans of a specific country are very vigorous about their team’s
chances in mega-events. A team’s prospect to win rests in its player’s
individual performances. Like drop by drop makes a pool, player by
player makes a collective team effort. We have combined the meticulous
data of Pakistan’s representation at the World Cup. The stats include
each player’s contribution in Australia and New Zealand as well as in
previous world cups. Most experienced in Australia/New Zealand: Shahid Afridi – 41 matches Most experienced in World Cups: Shahid Afridi – 20 matches
Players
Performance in AUS/NZ
Performance in WCs
Matches
Runs
Wickets
Matches
Runs
Wickets
Misbah-ul-Haq
5
203
-
8
248
-
Ahmed Shehzad
5
188
-
5
44
-
Mohammad Hafeez
12
241
8
10
230
11
Younis Khan
15
262
-
16
306
0
Haris Sohail
First Experience
First Experience
Sohaib Maqsood
First Experience
First Experience
Shahid Afridi
41
891
45
20
209
28
Umar Akmal
11
281
-
7
240
-
Sarfraz Ahmed
1
6
-
First Experience
Ehsan Adil
First Experience
First Experience
Yasir Shah
First Experience
First Experience
Wahab Riaz
4
3
8
5
8
8
Mohammad Irfan
First Experience
First Experience
Junaid Khan
First Experience
First Experience
Sohail Khan
First Experience
First Experience
As many as 8 players will be making their World Cup Debut this year while Shahid Afridi will be playing his 5th World Cup. Younis Khan will be playing his forth World Cup and Mohammad Hafeez will be playing his 3rd WC. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal will be playing their 2nd World Cup.
Shahid Afridi
has said that he will retire from ODIs after the 2015 World Cup. The
allrounder will continue to play T20 cricket, the format in which he
leads Pakistan, and wants to win the 2016 World T20 in India before
quitting international cricket.
Afridi had stepped in as ODI captain in the recent series against New
Zealand in the UAE in place of the injured Misbah-ul-Haq. He put in a
strong all-round performance, with 205 runs at a strike-rate of 164 and
eight wickets at an economy-rate of 4.03. Afridi told reporters in
Karachi that he wanted to go out on a high rather than being asked to
leave.
"I am the first Pakistan player to be able to announce his retirement properly," Afridi was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"I always wanted to do this having seen the problems faced by other
bigger players in the past. It was not an easy decision to take and I
think many of my seniors also found it difficult to go out at the right
time.
"I want to go out of ODIs with self-respect and with my fans wanting
more from me. But no one is indispensable in cricket and I am sure
sooner or later someone will take my place in ODIs as well.
"I have informed the Pakistan team management about my decision but not
the cricket board as yet. Having taken a decision it is a big burden off
my mind and I am confident I will be able to focus on giving my best in
the World Cup."
Afridi, who will turn 35 during the World Cup, has played 389 ODIs since
hitting the fastest century in his debut innings in October 1996
against Sri Lanka in Nairobi. The record stood for more than 17 years
before New Zealand's Corey Anderson broke it in January this year. "I am
happy about my achievements and records but the only regret I have is
losing fastest ODI century record," Afridi tweeted.
He has scored 7870 ODI runs at an average of 23.49 and a strike-rate of
116.29. He has also taken 391 wickets, the sixth-most in ODIs, at 33.89
and an economy-rate of 4.62. Afridi had quit Tests in 2010 before
leading Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup.
Afridi's fitness has been a matter of some concern in recent times and he was among some Pakistan players fined by the PCB
in September for failing to maintain the prescribed level of fitness.
The PCB had attached greater importance to fitness in its new contracts
and the players will be reassessed this month.
