ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Team Review - Pakistan

Pakistan Squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Misbah-ul-Haq(captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfraz Ahmed, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz

Batting -

Strengths

The Pakistani batting has always been a unit of talent laced with uncertainty and enigma. Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad will try to provide a strong base from which the likes of Umar Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shahid Afridi can have a blast late in the innings. The calm and experienced hands of Younis Khan and Misbah be always be there to guide the youngsters in choppy waters.

Weakness

Pakistani batting can be very brittle and they must guard against it if they are to go deep in the tournament. The pace and bounce of the hard Australian pitches will also pose a challenge for the group.

Rating - 6.5/10

Bowling - 

Strengths

The tall Mohammad Irfan and the pacy Junaid Khan will pair up for Pakistan and will be looking to make early inroads. The leg spinner Yasir Shah and the showman Afridi will be the key spinners.

Weakness

The absence of Saeed Ajmal will be a huge loss to Pakistan and they will miss Hafeez too, both of them banned for illegal bowling actions. Junaid Khan is also nursing an injury and is not a certainity to take part in the World Cup. The experienced Umer Gul is also missing due to injury.

Rating - 7/10

Fielding - 

Strengths

One of the lesser known fielding sides, Pakistan will be looking to put up a good show in the World event. On a positive note the absence of Kamran Akmal will be a strength!!

Weakness

They are quite prone to have unbelievably bad days in the field and lose matches in the field.

Rating - 5/10

Overall Summary

This Pakistan side is not as strong as some of the other participating teams but they are always known to up their game in multi nation tournaments. The absence of pressure and expectation may work in their favor. The experience of Afridi, Misbah and Younis may also count in big match situations.

Rating - 6.5/10

Given Below are the other Team Reviews that I have done

Australia
Bangladesh
England
India
New Zealand
South Africa
Sri Lanka
West Indies