The heated cricket contest, ICC
Champions Trophy kicks off with warm up matches and is all set to heat up the
process with eight cricket loving nations backing up their respective cricket
teams to fight the battle of glory on the green grounds of England and Wales.
As the eight teams are getting ready for the next contestable eighteen days
where they will fight off each other to climb up the ladder of success, the
cricket fans have something good to look upon. From June 6, 2013 to June 23,
2013, the cricket fields of England and Wales will be staged up and filled in
full as the men of sports will show off their talents in this battle of glory-
ICC Champions Trophy.
Pakistan has grouped together a strong team- given that they play to their full-
since we all know that Pakistani team has the capability of turning the tables
and also has the ability to be highly unpredictable by losing an easy winnable
match. However the selectors have done their part by letting go of the senior
players like Shahid Afridi and Younus Khan who have not been able to perform
well for quite some time now. And the inclusion of new faces like the impressive
pacers Ehsan Adil and Asad Ali – both of whom have been pretty good with the
ball in the domestic season have the ability to prove themselves a valuable
asset to the team. With an impressive economy and stable performance in the
recent matches against Iceland and warm up match against South Africa, Asad Ali
has really proved his skills as a commendable seamer. Wahab Riaz has also been a
match winning card for Pakistan and he proved his good form in the game against
Ireland and the warm up match against South Africa.
On the other hand, Pakistani team can easily rely on its spinners as there is
hardly any concern with respect to spin bowling. Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez
are the key spinners who with their brilliant bowling can crush a winning side.
However, this time around more eyes will be on Abdur Rehman – the left arm
orthodox spinner, who is expected to prove his skills, add fuel to the fire and
get this show going.
Then we have a fast attack, ready to roll in almost any condition, in the faces
of reliable Umar Gul, the hard hitting Junaid Khan and the 7 feet tall Mohammad
Irfan.
With Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat in the opening line up and
reliable Misbah ul Haq and Shoib Malik coming in late, Pakistan has the chance
for building a good target against a competitive team however as ever batting is
still not the strong side or for that matter a strongly reliable side. And it
will be Pakistani bowling strategic action and the new talented bunch of bowlers
who have to go out there and fight with the opposing team to make the real
difference.
The first encounter of Pakistan is against West Indies on June 7, 2013; however,
the much anticipated and most awaited match of the tournament will take place on
June 15, when the arch-rivals Pakistan and India will fight the battle of glory
at Edgbaston. And as the analysts say: It will be Pakistan’s bowling against the
Indian batting line.
The 15 members squad of Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2013 includes: Nasir
Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Shoaib
Mali, Asad Shafiq, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Wahab Ria,
Umer Amin, Abdul Rehman and Ehsan Adil.