Recently, Pakistan Cricket Team achieved their all-time best ranking in ODI cricket. They were number one, though it was not long-lasting. On May 5, Pakistan won the fourth One Day against New Zealand to achieve the number one position, In fifth Pakistan lost against them, and this loss brought them to the second position.
Pakistan cricket team is at its peak in ODI but there are a few fluctuations, Pakistan is looking to fix. Coming to the main agenda, should Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, and Sarfaraz Ahmad be deemed Pakistan’s ODI future? Are they capable of filling the gaps in Pakistan’s uprising ODI team?
Imad’s case
Coming to the Imad, a great talent. He came to Pakistan’s ODI Team as a replacement for Saeed Ajmal, who got suspended due to his controversial bowling action. He was not as good of a wicket-taker as Ajmal was, but he provided something extra. That “extra” is his batting.
His economical bowling and batting mastery earned him a permanent place in Pakistan’s white ball team. Something happened after the T20 World Cup 2021, which was his last campaign as a permanent member of the team.
He recently made his return to Pakistan’s T20I team against Afghanistan. It was a 3-T20Is series against Afghanistan, and PCB decided to rest the main players like Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi. Shadab Khan was captaining the team.
Imad Wasim’s performance in PSL eight earned him a place in the team, where he scored 404 runs at a nourishing strike rate of 170. His performance with the bowl was not good enough, he took 9 wickets at an average of 28.22. Despite the pressure on him as a captain of Karachi Kings, which was not doing well at all, he performed.
In his comeback series against Afghanistan, he scored the most runs, scoring 95 at an average of 47.50. His team lost again by 1-2. There is a joke among cricket fans that whenever Imad performs, his team loses. Imad was not up to the mark with his bowling, he took only two wickets at an average of 20.50.
One of his expertise is his economy, he gives away absolutely nothing to the batters, in his comeback series, he may not have got many wickets but his economy was 5.12.
His best chance to be considered for Pakistan’s ODI Future is his batting because his rival is Muhammad Nawaz. To earn a place in Pakistan’s ODI Structure, Imad has to be compared with Muhammad Nawaz.
Imad vs Nawaz: Who Is Better?
So far it seems like Muhammad Nawaz is in PCB’s plans for Pakistan’s ODI future, unlike Imad Wasim. Imad edges over Muhammad Nawaz in his batting, he averages 42.86 with an excellent strike rate of 110.29. Whereas Nawaz averages 17.68 with a strike rate of 87.34. So far things are in favor of Inad.
Imad biggest huddle is his bowling, which is stopping him from a breakthrough into Pakistan’s ODI future. Imad averages 44.47 with the bowl in one-dayers while Nawaz averages 30.94. The economy of both bowlers is almost identical, Imad’s is 4.88, and Nawaz’s is 4.94.
It is up to the selectors, either go with a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder, share your mind in the comment section.
Hassan Ali – Story Of Resilience
Debuting in August 2016, he got picked for the Champions Trophy, where no one knew that a star was going to be born. Hassan Ali became a hero when he took the wicket of Jasprit Bumrah in the final of the Champions Trophy to make Pakistan champions.
He not only took his side to the trophy but was named the player of the tournament as he took 13 wickets. From then, he never looked back, he was the number-one bowler in 2017 on the ICC ODI bowlers rankings. He also became ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year in 2017.
Everything was going well for Hassan Ali but in September 2019, he suffered from a back injury. He went absolutely into the shadows, all the fame he got in those years was now going into vain but eventually got his fitness back in late 2020, he played domestic cricket to make it again from scratch.
His biggest plus is he never stops hardworking, he regained his position on the Pakistani side. After two years of pain, Hassan Ali got selected for the home test series against South Africa.
He was also named player of the series against Zimbabwe where he took 13 wickets, later that he got selected for the ICC World Cup 2021.
He was selected for t20i because of his first-class stints, the biggest mistake of Pakistan’s selection committee. He failed miserably.
Failing by performance is another thing but he costed Pakistan a world cup, at least a semi-final. Shaheen was bowling to Mathew Wade in the 19th over of the second inning, Wade missed timed a shot and the ball was in the air, Hassan was under it, and he missed judged it and the ball fell. It was not only the ball that fell, it was the dream of 220 million people.
That dropped catch made him a villain because Wade finished the game with three calculated sixes after he was given life. Hassan seemed to be mentally depressed, and soon he was sidelined from Pakistan cricket.
While talking about Pakistan’s ODI future, he said
“I don’t think I’ll be in Pakistan’s World Cup squad”
How sad is it to think about his story, can he make it again?
Well as mentioned earlier, For Imad to get into the team he has to compete with Muhammad Nawaz only. But for Hassan Ali problems are way more complicated, as you know that Pakistan is a land of Pacers. He has to at least compete with 3 pacers. With no time left from the world cup, Problems are worse for Hassan.
What do you guys think about this exciting pacer?
He is currently playing in the county, he is giving a considerable performance. To know more about Hassan and other Pakistani player’s performances in the county
Read here:- Pakistani Cricketers: Shining Stars in English County Cricket.
Sarfraz’s Chance Assessment
Former Pakistan’s captain has given it all to Pakistan cricket, From winning the champions trophy to winning a record-breaking 11 consecutive T20I series. Known as “kaptaan” in Pakistan, He captained Pakistan in all formats from 2017 and 2019.
He was removed from Captaincy from T20I and Tests in October 2019 ahead of the Australian tour. Current All-formats captain Babar Azam was named as T20I captain and Azhar Ali was named as Test captain.
Under his captaincy, Pakistan won 28 matches out of 50 ODIs. In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was named in the 20-player squad for the away test series against England. But he didn’t play a single game.
He made a comeback into Pakistan’s Test team but he is yet to be considered for Pakistan’s ODI future. His rivals are Muhammad Rizwan and Muhammad Haris so far.
Sarfaraz averages 33.55 in One-day Internationals while Rizwan averages 34.34. Muhammad Haris is quite into the setup, known as a hard hitter. He averages 9 in 4 innings, quite a small sample size to judge a 22-year-old. Though he averages 31.07 in List A cricket with an explosive strike rate of 106.87.
For Sarfaraz to be considered as an option for Pakistan’s ODI future, we have to also look at how long-lasting an investment it’s for Pakistan. Sarfaraz or Haris? Both will be selected as a backup for Muhammad Rizwan, that’s for sure.
Rizwan is 32 years old while Sarfaraz is 36 years of age. Selecting Sarfaraz for Pakistan’s ODI future would mean that we are selecting a player, who can serve Pakistan a maximum of four years. While Muhammad Haris has a huge plus point here, he can serve a minimum of 15 years.
Assuming for a minute that you are selecting the team, who would you like to choose? Sarfaraz or Haris?
For Sarfaraz to be the main option, he has to compete with Rizwan. Stats are mentioned earlier that Rizwan isn’t miles ahead of him in One Day Internationals as he is in T20Is. But will PCB consider him for the upcoming world cup?
Conclusion
Out of Sarfaraz, Imad, and Hassan Ali, no one can be ruled out of the possibility of being considered in Pakistan’s ODI future. These three need to learn from the case of Fawad Alam, how to keep pushing.
However, Imad would have been considered if he had done hard work in List A as he has done in T20s. Hassan Ali is a rare case, he is the Pablo Picasso of comebacks, will he this time?
Sarfaraz’s critics say that he underestimates himself so much but he has done it in tests and he is trying in white-ball, what do you think? Will he play in this year’s World Cup?
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