Pakistan selectors in dilemma over selection of WC squad
3 Jan 2015 1:15 AM GMT
Pakistan national cricket team selectors are in a dilemma over the selection of the final 15-member squad for the World Cup, which is scheduled to be announced on January 7 in Karachi. Their indecisiveness stems from the recent chain of events affecting key players in recent months and now in the ongoing Pentangular Cup one-day tournament in Karachi.
“The main dilemma is whether to go back and repose confidence in some senior players or not, whether to take a chance with the fitness of pacer Umar Gul or select Muhammad Hafeez purely as a batsman if he is not allowed to bowl in international cricket by the ICC,” a source close to the selectors said.
Discarded allrounder and former captain, Shoaib Malik appears to have become the main talking point for the selectors, as after having thrown the gauntlet at them in a press conference, he has responded with two match winning half-centuries and some steady bowling for his Khyber Pakthunkhawa team in the Pentangular Cup. Malik, before the start of the tournament, made it clear that he was available for the World Cup. But the selectors needed to see what would be his batting position and how many matches they were willing to give him to prove his mettle. With Saeed Ajmal out of WC, a source said Malik was close to a dramatic comeback to the team.
“The main dilemma is whether to go back and repose confidence in some senior players or not, whether to take a chance with the fitness of pacer Umar Gul or select Muhammad Hafeez purely as a batsman if he is not allowed to bowl in international cricket by the ICC,” a source close to the selectors said.
Discarded allrounder and former captain, Shoaib Malik appears to have become the main talking point for the selectors, as after having thrown the gauntlet at them in a press conference, he has responded with two match winning half-centuries and some steady bowling for his Khyber Pakthunkhawa team in the Pentangular Cup. Malik, before the start of the tournament, made it clear that he was available for the World Cup. But the selectors needed to see what would be his batting position and how many matches they were willing to give him to prove his mettle. With Saeed Ajmal out of WC, a source said Malik was close to a dramatic comeback to the team.
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