2014 Asia Cup Teams Preview: Pakistan

Pakistan, the most unpredictable team in the world is all set to defend their Asia Cup crown. The defending Champions who beat Bangladesh in the 2012 edition will look to repeat the same this time too. Pakistan had a successful 2013 as they are the only team to win an ODI series away from home along with some other series triumphs. Pakistan will look to kick-start the preparations for the 2015 ICC World Cup in the upcoming Asia Cup. They go into the tournament as favourites and they has the knack of losing their way in a tournament within no time. Their unpredictability makes the Asia Cup more interesting. Here is Pakistan’s preview for the Asia Cup.

Squad:

Captain: Misbah-ul-Haq

Coach: Dav Whatmore

Batsmen:

•          Ahmed Shehzad
•          Sharjeel Khan
•          Sohaib Maqsood
•          Misbah-ul-Haq

Bowlers:

•          Junaid Khan
•          Umar Gul
•          Bilawal Bhatti
•          Mohammad Talha
•          Anwar Ali
•          Abdur Rehman
•          Saeed Ajmal

All-Rounders:

•          Mohammad Hafeez
•          Shahid Afridi
•          Fawad Alam

Wicket Keepers:

•          Umar Akmal

Strengths:

•        Pakistan have the strongest bowling attack in the tournament.
•        Presence of three world class All-Rounders bring stability to the side.
•        The form of their skipper Misbah will lure the Pakistanis.
•        Presence of the best spinner in the world Saeed Ajmal.
•        Pakistan has the ability to defend small totals with ease.

Weakness:

•        They are unpredictable.
•        Their batting line-up is not as good as their bowling.
•        Fielding is a big concern for the team.

Players to watch out for:

Saeed Ajmal:

Pakistan are masters in defending some low totals and the man behind it is their spinner Saeed Ajmal. Ajmal has a lot of variations in his bag to confuse the batsmen. The condition suits him the best and he will be looking forward to go on a leather hunt in the Asia Cup. He not only picks up wickets, but he is also economical with the ball and apply brakes on the opposition scoring rate. He will be well backed by Pakistani All-Rounder Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez.

Ahmed Shehzad:

Pakistan will be relying heavily on their opener Ahmed Shehzad to give the team a decent start. Shehzad is a kind of batsman who looks to spend some time at the crease before going for the big shots. He likes to bat for a long time and put his team in a comfortable position. He will key in Pakistan’s big run chases as he has the ability to go after the bowling right from the word go. Apart from his batting, he is also a brilliant fielder and saves some runs for his team from the backward point position in the field.

X-Factor:

Mohammad Hafeez:

Pakistan is a side that banks on their spinners while bowling. They have two world class spinners in Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi. Apart from the duo, they also have Mohammad Hafeez. Hafeez, unlike Ajmal and Afridi opens the bowling for Pakistan and bowls majority of his ten overs early on in the innings. He is an economical bowler and he rarely picks up a wicket. Adding to his bowling strengths, Hafeez is also Pakistan’s opening batsman and gets them off to a flier. He is a complete All-Rounder and Pakistan will be expecting Hafeez to fire in order to win the tournament.

Possible Playing XI: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Shajreel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal.

Schedule:

Date	Against	Venue
25-2-2014	Sri Lanka	Fatullah
27-2-2014	Afghanistan	Fattullah
1-2-2014	India	Mirpur
4-3-2014	Bangladesh	Mirpur
8-3-2014	Finals	Mirpur