Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces 15-man World Cup squad (7 April 1999)

7 April 1999

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces 15-man World Cup squad

Samiul Hasan

KARACHI, April 6: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday released the England-bound World Cup squad with no changes in the 15-man party submitted by the national selectors on March 31.

The PCB, however, dispelled the impression that the announcement of the squad was deliberately delayed since the selection was finalized within the extended date, i.e April 6 as agreed with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

And if that was the reason for the delay, the PCB should have the courtesy to inform the media beforehand, instead of creating confusion.

The notable inclusion in the squad is that of former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, who was not named in the provisional 19-man squad announced last month.

The former captain, who has already said that he would retire after the World Cup, was dropped after the Test tour of India.

But on Tuesday morning the 35-year-old batsman flew to Sharjah to bolster the Pakistan middle-order in the Champions Trophy that begins from Wednesday under floodlights.

"Salim Malik was recalled after the middle-order struggled in the tri-nation series in India. Imran Nazir is too young while Yousuf Youhana remained inconsistent and out of sorts," chief selector Wasim Bari said.

Bari said Malik was not named in the provisional squad because the selectors thought the youngsters would cement their places on the tour of India. "But we reviewed our decision and decided that his (Salim Malik's) experience was required in England."

The World Cup begins at Lord's from May 14. Pakistan has been bracketed with Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, Scotland and Bangladesh in Group `B'.

The 1992 champions begin their assault on the title against Scotland on May 20 at Chester-le-Street.

Bari stated that skipper Wasim Akram was also desperate to have Salim Malik in the team. "He (Wasim Akram) believed that Salim Malik's vast experience of English conditions would be beneficial to the team."

Malik, who has toured England in 1987, 1992 and 1996 for Test series', also played a season for Essex in the 1991 English County Championships. It is his fourth World Cup selection.

Besides Malik, speed merchant Waqar Younis and leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmad were named in the team.

It has aggressive openers in Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi; cool and calculated middle-order batsmen in Ijaz Ahmad, Salim Malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana; tearaway fast bowlers in Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar; crafty, shrewd and intelligent spinners like Mushtaq Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq; and budding and energetic allrounders in Azhar Mahmood and Abdur Razzak. And last but not the least, the gutsy Moin Khan who keeps lifting the morale of the team from behind the wickets and with the bat.

The only inexperienced batsman in the team is opener Wajahatullah Wasti who has been selected purely as a cover-up for Anwar and Afridi.

Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmad, like Salim Malik, were overlooked after the Test tour of India. Younis was said to be struggling with his rhythm while Mushtaq Ahmad had a nagging back and neck injuries. Both the experienced bowlers are reported to have recovered completely.

The selectors have given preference experience over the youngsters.

"The conditions in England change after every hour. History tells that only experienced players, who can adjust to the continuously changing situations, have excelled in England. In addition to this, it is World Cup and we can't take the risk to blow our chances by including youngsters," confessed the chief selector.

Asked why an experienced opener was not considered for selection, Bari replied: "Obviously we wanted experience in the opener's slot but for certain reasons that wasn't possible. In the present circumstances we picked the best available openers."

The experience of the team can be gauged from the fact that Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq have previously played in World Cups. In fact, Akram, Malik and Ijaz Ahmad have been selected for their fourth successive World Cups while Mushtaq has been picked for the third time.

Statistically, the openers have played 244 one-day internationals between them (Sharjah event not included) in which they have scored 7,925 runs, the middle-order batsmen have 691 one-dayers between them in which they have totalled 18,991 runs, the fast bowlers have shared 667 wickets while the spinners have 326 wickets between them.

The two allrounders Azhar Mahmood and Abdur Razzak may be new but have played 69 matches between them in which they have scored 692 runs besides picking up 60 wickets. Moin Khan is by no means a rabbit with the bat as he has produced 2,625 runs besides accounting for 158 batsmen behind the stumps.

"We have selected the team on merit. Many might not agree with us but this is the squad which we think is the best. I sincerely hope that it delivers the goods in England," Bari hoped.

Pakistan, after a troubled 1998, have clicked at the right time. They played a highly respectable and morale boosting drawn series against India and then clinched the inaugural Asian Test Championship by beating both the rivals India and Sri Lanka. That triumph was followed up with their tri-nation series success as they thrice defeated India and once Sri Lanka.

But despite their current form and experience, England has not been a happy hunting ground for Pakistan. In the 1975 World Cup, Pakistan lost two matches out of three, while crashed out in the semi-finals of the 1979 and 1983 World Cups.

This decade, Pakistan toured England twice. On both the occasions they won the Test series but their performance in one-day matches remained poor. In 1992, they lost four out of five games while in 1996, they were beaten twice in the three-game series.

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)