After the world cup Pakistan cricket team would tour Bangladesh in third week of this month. Three different squads have been selected for the three formats in the upcoming Bangladesh tour: Tests, One-Days and T20.
The new selection committee has picked players with the aim of rebuilding the team/s. The return of spin maestro Saeed Ajmal in all three formats after almost seven months’ suspension is welcome. Hafeez is also back in all three squads despite not clearing a bowling test yet. Out of form Nasir Jamshed and Umar Akmal have been dropped while Ahmed Shehzad has been confined to T20 only. It is good that young blood has been infused in the team. New prospects like Sami Aslam and Muhammad Rizwan could strengthen the batting while the inclusion of Yasir Shah and Sohail Khan could boost the bowling attack. Three different captains have been named for the three different formats a decision that meets the requirements of modern cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board should stay focused on appointing a deputy captain in each format so that future captains are groomed over time. The most talked about decision is the selection of Azhar Ali as the captain of the One-Day team. Now it is up to Azhar how he performs to silence his critics. Surely, he has tough challenges ahead given his poor form in One-Days in recent years, which saw him excluded from the World Cup squad. The inclusion of Fawad Alam can be termed a sensible decision.
Pakistan must be cautious about resurgent Bangladesh and should not take the rival team lightly. Bangladesh proved itself a more confident side in the World Cup with much improvement in their batting, which remains a cause of concern for Pakistan. Besides, reaching the quarterfinals is no mean feat for Bangladesh. However, Pakistan can still excel in the series. Pakistan has four years to prepare a champion team until next world cup.