Game on: Four players from K-P secure berth in World Cup mission

A native of FATA, Shahid Afridi will retire from ODI cricket after the mega event

PESHAWAR: With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 round the corner, Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection committee has announced the 15-man squad to don the 1992 replica kits in Australia.

The team includes four cricketers who hail from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and one from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

First in the pecking order are star players Younus Khan and Shahid Khan Afridi who are nearing the end of their flamboyant careers and will perhaps see their last World Cup in the team this year. Besides the two obvious choices, pacers Junaid Khan and Sohail Khan along with leg spinner Yasir Shah will also accompany the team to Australia.

Born in Mardan district, 37-year-old former captain Younus Khan needs no introduction. Since his one-day international (ODI) debut back in 2000, he has consistently played a pivotal role in anchoring Pakistan’s unpredictable batting line-up. Khan recently came out openly against the selection criteria in place and famously said that a player like him should “commit suicide”.

Following the fiery remarks Khan went all guns blazing during Pakistan’s series against Australia and New Zealand in the UAE in 2014 and, as an analyst quipped, “broke the record of breaking records”.

The other obvious choice was the mercurial Shahid Khan Afridi, who despite his unpredictable antics, both on and off the pitch, is a valued addition to the squad. Afridi was born in Khyber Agency, Fata and since his ODI debut in 1996, earned the reputation of being one of the most hard-hitting sloggers of the cricketing world.

‘Boom Boom’, as he is known amongst his fans, has already announced to retire from ODIs once the World Cup is done and dusted.

While his critics hope he abides by the decision this time, his loyalists hope he steers Pakistan towards glory in Australia.

Ever since the spot-fixing debacle of 2010, a dearth of flamboyant fast bowlers has hit Pakistan hard. Born in Swabi district, Junaid Khan made his ODI debut in 2011 and soon earned the reputation of being Pakistan’s striking force in the absence of Muhammad Amir, Muhammad Asif and Umar Gul. The 25-year-old’s career although has been marred by injury and inconsistency; Khan was probably the selection committee’s safest bet.

The second leg spinner in the squad, whose inclusion has raised eyebrows all around, is 28-year-old Yasir Shah who also hails from Swabi district. Shah’s impressive Test debut against Australia in the moribund conditions of UAE in 2014 catapulted him to the fringes of Pakistan’s World Cup squad.

Thirty-year-old fast bowler Sohail Khan was perhaps the wild card entry in the squad. Born and brought up in Sakhakot, Malakand Division, Sohail’s claim to fame was his consistent First Class bowling figures. Despite playing only four ODIs and two test matches for the national side, Sohail was given precedence over the likes of the experienced Sohail Tanvir and Anwar Ali. He has been away from the international circuit for a long time but the selection committee has faith in his ability to exploit the bowling conditions Down Under.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2015.