T20:- A Team For The Format

With all due respect, I rate T20 Cricket as exactly what it is, the third child of Cricket. I prefer Test Cricket any day and even rate 50 over Cricket higher in regard. One thing that has bugged me is that nearly every side haven't made a side that is specific for the shortest version of the game. A good Test or ODI player will not necessarily become a a hit in T20 and most definitely the other way round, a class T20 player might be a disaster in Test Cricket. As a Pakistani supporter, I will now choose my T20 team, that I would like to see playing in the Fourth edition of the World Cup in June next year.

Imran Nazir:-
Imran is a explosive batsman that is tailor made for 20 over Cricket, He opens the batting at a brisk pace and has a good track record in the format. He averages at 32 runs with a strike rate of above 160.

Mohammad Hafeez
Well what a turnaround he has in his return to International Cricket over the last couple of years. Not just a opening batsman that can bat through 20 Overs, his also a quality off spinner.

Shoaib Malik
Former captain Shoaib Malik has been out of the team recently, for non Cricketing reasons. Malik is one of very few players that can bat 20 overs at a very good strike rate. A Match winner full stop.

Umar Akmal
Umar is a raw talent and the ace in the pack. Once Umar gets going there ain't bowlers good enough to stop him. The sort of man that will win you matches from the jaws of defeat.

Hammad Azam
Hammad is a former U-19 all-rounder. He comes with youth full energy and the ability to become a World beater. Would pick him for raw ability and potential alone.

Abdul Razzaq
Do I need to say much about the Razzler? He can open the bowling and as a batsman in full flow can bat at over the strike rate of 200. A must!!!

Sarfraz Ahmed
Sarfraz is a specialist Wicket-Keeper and as a batsman has come leaps and bounds. Most Pakistani's will understand how costly a keeper can be for the team, after all we are long sufferers of this problem.

Rana Naved
One of the best T20 bowlers in World Cricket at Domestic level. He also has a good record at International level but has been out of the reckoning for some time, again due to non-cricketing reasons. As he has never been charged, can't see why he should miss out.

Wahab Riaz
The new 'Darling' of Pakistan Cricket. Naturally a very quick left arm bowler. Has the ability to swing it away from the right hander and reverse the old ball. In my opinion, if he learns to swing it back in to the right hander, he will become the best bowler in the world. Also he has shown glimpses of good aggressive batting, not least in yesterdays game against Glamorgan, where he got 32 not out from 15 balls to steer Kent to a great win.

Umar Gul
Gul has not performed to his best for some time. But saying that this is his format. He can bowl the yorker at will and is key for any Pakistan team.

Saeed Ajmal
Ajmal is again, like Gul and Wahab, a match winning bowler. The offspinner, bowls a excellent doosra and is one of the best bowlers in the game today.

If you add the likes of Babar Azam, Navid Yasin, Abdur-Rehman and Junaid Khan to this squad then Pakistan have a team of World beaters. In this line up, they have eleven match-winners that can win a game single handingly. Potential winners, in my opinion.

Ive left Shahid Afridi out purposely, as a result of the 'retirement issue'.