Sports
4 spin-bowling all-rounders, 3 wicket-keepers seem to disrupt balance: Rashid Latif on Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad
The long-awaited announcement of Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the Twenty20 World Cup finally came on Sunday.
Among many talking points, the biggest was the exclusion of speedster Haris Rauf; despite his good showing at the Big Bash Down Under.
Perhaps he’d lost the trust of chief selector Aaqib Javed.
Pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi suffered an injury during the Big Bash League, having missed the previous tri-series against Sri Lanka due to fitness issues.
With Haris absent, Shaheen will have to bear greater responsibility; needing to take wickets in the early overs, and the death overs — which will be particularly challenging for him as his performance in that phase has not been great.
Salman Mirza has emerged as a good pacer, performing well with both the new and old ball, while Naseem Shah’s fitness and performance were satisfactory, leading to his selection.
Many others were overlooked. The selectors did not choose Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr., or Ahmed Daniyal, opting instead for fast-bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf.
Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub, and skipper Salman Ali Agha are the spin-bowling all-rounders in the team, but their increased number, as well as the presence of multiple wicket-keepers seems to disrupt the team balance.
The squad includes three wicket-keepers, none of whom were the first choice for their Pakistan Super League franchises. Khawaja Nafay is with Quetta Gladiators, but the keeping is handled by Sri Lankans Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal.
Usman Khan played as a batsman for Multan Sultans and occasionally kept wickets, but Mohammad Rizwan was the number one choice.
Sahibzada Farhan kept wickets in just one match for Islamabad United, as Andries Gous and Azam Khan were the main wicket-keepers.
In comparison, the cricketing world has wicket-keepers who are match-winners.
Pakistan’s philosophy is different. Instead of a specialist, any batter who can keep wickets is given a chance without considering how costly it could prove for the team.
Babar conundrum
Further beyond, there are questions regarding former skipper Babar Azam’s selection, as his performance in the shortest format of the game hasn’t been very impressive of late; the batter coming off a below-par in Big Bash.
There is also a striking likeness between Babar and captain Salman Ali Agha. They are similar batters, occupying number three and four spots in the line-up. They may perform well in low-scoring matches, but could face difficulties in high-scoring games.
The batting lineup has five openers who are capable of batting at different numbers, including Saim, Sahibzada, Babar, Fakhar Zaman and Nafay, who have all been seen playing in the top order for their franchises. However, when it comes to the middle-order, batters like Irfan Khan Niazi and Abdul Samad have not been given opportunities.
The spotlight has been on the performance of Pakistan players in the Big Bash, while overlooking their performance in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Opener Sahibzada scored 185 runs in nine innings with a strike rate of 118.58, which is not particularly commendable. Similarly, Saim Ayub scored 68 runs in four innings with a strike rate of only 117.24.
Fakhar Zaman, who went to play in the International League T20, performed below his standards, scoring 260 runs in 12 innings with an average of 21.66 and a strike rate of 124.40.
Babar, meanwhile, played seven innings in the Big Bash, scoring 131 runs at a strike rate of 99.2.
Spin strength
Overall, Pakistan’s spin department looks the strongest with two specialist spinners in Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq, who are world-class. However, it might be difficult to see both play together since Nawaz, Shadab and Saim are the three spin-bowling all-rounders available. With their presence, it is likely that only one of Usman or Abrar is able to secure a spot in the playing eleven.
Pakistan could benefit from the conditions in Sri Lanka, with the team playing all their matches in Colombo. Their biggest test will come against holders India, with the United States, Namibia and the Netherlands the other teams in the group.
On paper, Pakistan should advance from the group stage. Further ahead, it remains to be seen whether they can forge a combination that can help them go all the way.
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday arrived in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad had arrived in the country.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said in an earlier post, the informed of the squad’s department for the global event’s venue.
In the latest update about the aquad’s arrival in Colombo, the board said the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
BULAWAYO: India completed the semi-final line-up for the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a comprehensive 58-run win over Pakistan in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The victory in the final Super Six match at the Queens Sports Club means the Indian colts head into the knockouts unbeaten and as Group 2 toppers.
After a late surge helped them to 252 in 49.5 overs, India put in a clinical performance in the field to dismiss Pakistan for 194 in 46.2 overs.
India joined Australia, England and Afghanistan into the final four. The Ayush Mhatre-led side face Afghanistan in the semi-finals in Harare on Wednesday. The first semi-final, between Australia and England, takes place in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Put into bat, India powered past 250 thanks to the acceleration provided by the lower order in the last 10 overs.
With a spot in the semi-final on line, India were expecting another blockbuster innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Though the left-hander gave the team a brisk start, striking five fours and a six as he motored to 30, he was living dangerously. After two close calls, Sooryavanshi fell to a shorter delivery from Mohammad Sayyam, with a bottom-edge carrying to wicket-keeper Hamza Zahoor.
Starting with Sooryavanshi, India lost three and in the space of four balls. While Sayyam also dismissed India captain Ayush Mhatre, Abdul Subhan bowled over opener Aaron George to reduce India to 47-3.
In their previous match in Bulawayo, India had scored a mammoth 352-8 against Zimbabwe. But on Sunday, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat as well and stayed low. Vedant Trivedi led India’s fightback with 68. His 62-run fourth-wicket partnership with Vihaan Malhotra (21) helped steer India clear of immediate trouble. Trivedi also put on handy stands with Abhigyan Kundu and RS Ambrish.
After the middle order had kept the scoreboard ticking, the lower order provided the late flourish. Kanishk Chouhan (35 off 29) and Khilan Patel (21 off 15) helped India notch 71 runs in the last 10 overs, lifting the score to 252.
For Pakistan, Subhan dismissed Chouhan and Patel to finish with 3-33 in 9.5 overs.
To qualify for the semi-final at India’s expense, Pakistan needed to chase down the target within 33.4 overs; otherwise, if the innings ended with a six to reach 258, they had until 34.3 overs to get there.
Pakistan showed some early intent, scoring 13 runs off the second over. It seemed their chances hinged on Sameer Minhas, but India were able to send the star opener back fairly quickly. He was trapped leg before wicket by Henil Patel.
Following the early setback, Pakistan never showed any urgency to make a run for the semi-final spot. Hamza Zahoor (42), Usman Khan (66) and captain Farhan Yousuf (38) hung in there gamely even as runs slowed down to a trickle.
Chouhan conceded 30 runs off his 10 overs and claimed the wicket of Zahoor and was named the player-of-the-match. Skipper Mhatre claimed three wickets for 21 in his overs while Khilan Patel got 3-35.
Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026
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