Pakistan announce probable squad for ICC CWC 2015

Misbah leads with Afridi and Gul also featuring.

Pakistan, the winner of 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia is looking to repeat the feat again after 23 years with Misbah-ul-haq taking the lead. They will face arch rivals India in their opening group match. It should give Pakistan a much needed boost if they win the game as India has a very straight record of not losing a single match against them in World cup games.

The squad announced contains five openers, nine middle order batsmen, six pace bowlers, four spinners, four all-rounders and two wicket-keepers.

The latest setback though for Pakistan before the game begins is the ICC’s suspension of Mohammad Hafeez from bowling in international matches with immediate effect. However, he can apply for a re-assessment after modifying his bowling action according to the clause 2.4 of the Regulations for the Review of Bowlers Reported with Suspected Illegal Bowling Actions.

Chief Selector Moin Khan has said:

“At the moment, winning or losing aside, Team Pakistan is performing adequately well in all three formats of the game. The belief in the think tank is that the squad holds immense potential and promise to perform in any conditions.

The most positive aspect is that some of our foremost proven talents have overcome physical issues and are raring to be given an opportunity to have a tilt at the global honours.

In our assessment, by the time the five 50-over games in the UAE against the Black Caps and the away short ODI series against New Zealand as well as the practice games are over in the next two months or thereabouts immediately prior to the mega event, Team Pakistan will be close to hitting its peak.

For me personally, the 1992 World Cup victory ranks amongst our greatest cricketing achievements. I am positive that the present outfit too has the capacity to replicate that triumph Down Under”.

The Squad:

Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Yasir Shah, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal.