Hey friends, Pakistan has announced the playing XI for the first Test match against the West Indies, and there's a fast bowler included. There's a batsman I thought might play, but he’s not in the squad. I’ll tell you who that is later. But first, let me give you the playing XI. The fast bowler they've included is Khurram Shahzad. And I always feel that when there's a match happening in Pakistan, the fast bowlers are like sacrificial goats, you know? Just take a look at it.
Pakistan had played some overs against England, and they brought in Aamir Jamal thinking he could contribute with both bowling and batting. He didn’t get to bowl much, though. Now they’ve added three spinners to the team. They had two before, and now there’s a third spinner on board, plus Salman is a separate addition. So basically, you can see how Pakistan plans to hunt down the West Indies – they’ve got two spinners bowling from both ends on the pitch.
"It's a turning track, and I think this match won't last more than three days if the pitch stays the same. The West Indies bowlers really struggle against spinners. We're talking about the squad, and you need to tell me if it's good or not. There's also a batsman who wasn't included, and we can discuss that later. Shan Masood is the captain now, and it's great that Mohammad Haris is getting a chance. He's going to open, with Babar Azam batting at one down, which is his usual position. Kamran Ghulam is at number four, and he stepped in for Babar before, and now he's solidified his spot in the Test team."
The ODI team has played well in both formats. Saud Shakeel was the captain, but since he wasn't mentioned, I just went ahead and said it. Mohammad Rizwan is, of course, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and then there's Salman Ali Agha, who's also a batsman. So, we've got about six or seven solid batsmen and four full-time bowlers. It's not like there's any mix-up there. Sajid Khan, who we added as a spinner, can really bat too. Ali is the left-arm spinner included in the squad, and Khurram Shehzad is a fast bowler who's also part of the team, along with another spinner we've brought in.
That mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed is going to bowl well here. We had high hopes for him when he played his first Test match in Pindi. In the recent series against England in Multan, he didn’t get much of a chance because the pitch was flat and nothing was happening. Later on, when the pitch turned into a spin track, they took him off and brought in Noman and Sajid, along with Zahid Mahmood. Zahid didn’t take a lot of wickets, but he bowled decently. Now, instead of Zahid, Abrar Ahmed is back in the mix.
Overall, there will be three regular spinners and one fast bowler, Khurram Shahzad. The rest are all batsmen. There's one batsman I mentioned earlier, Imam-ul-Haq, who hasn't been included. I think you brought in Harhara, and I always believe that when there's a lot of talent, you don't need to force anything. You picked Harhara, then dropped him without any reason, without giving him a chance. Now you've brought him back, so at least give him a proper chance and play him for a while. I always say that you should give as much time to the new guys as you have to others.
"Everyone deserves a chance, including Hareda. At the very least, give him seven or eight Test matches before you decide on him. The guy has shown talent; he scored well in Pakistan's domestic cricket and performed nicely in Under-19 too. He’s been playing in the Shahid league as well and has put up some good runs. It’s great that he’s being included. I think he scored over 70 runs in the practice match, and since Imam couldn’t perform, he got a spot in the playing eleven. Imam-ul-Haq isn’t in the mix, so overall, it makes sense."
"Looks like Shan Masood and Mohammad Haris are opening the innings, and the whole combination for Pakistan is really strong. Honestly, I don't think these two Test matches against the West Indies are going to make much of a difference for Pakistan or anyone else. By the way, there was a pretty funny press release from Pakistan this morning saying they want to end the World Test Championship on a high note. But seriously, what's a 'high note'? Coming in seventh or eighth isn't exactly impressive. It’s all about finishing in the top two or three, which isn’t happening. So, Pakistan really needs to win these two Test matches."
"Well, it's fine if they do go, but at least it's a good thing we didn't lose to the West Indies. I'm saying that in these conditions, the West Indies would be considered an even weaker team than Bangladesh, who we lost to 2-0. Bangladesh players are good against spin, and it's a different story that we didn't create spin-friendly tracks back then. But still, they handled the fast bowlers well. And on top of that, their fast bowler, Nihad Rana, bowls at 150 kph. Remember, he was picked up in the PSL by Babar Azam."
The team, especially Babar Azam, played really well because he bowled exceptionally. The West Indies are pretty weak in these conditions, so Pakistan should beat them easily without any problems. The spinners are going to be the heroes, and Khurram Shahzad will chip in a bit too, but he won't need to bowl long spells like he did in South Africa since there weren't any spinners playing there. A lot of people are saying this.
"Why didn't they feed Abbas? And what about Mir Hamza? Well, he had a bit of an injury, but I don't know how long that's going to take. They didn't play him either, and that's fine. Amir Hamza didn't get to play, and neither did Aamir Jamal or Shaheen Afridi. It's all good because on these spinning wickets, it's better to rest these players. If we play them here, they'll have to work really hard. It's a spinning track, and with three spinners already in the mix, plus Salman coming in as the fourth, that's the best option instead of exhausting our fast bowlers."
I often give the example of Jasprit Bumrah, who is now recognized all over the world. But the thing is, Jasprit Bumrah played his first 17 matches in the country, and then he played for his nation. He only played in India and in Asia, nowhere else. He knows that a bowler like him should be utilized in Asian conditions. He played everywhere in the country, but only in his own country for those first 17 matches. After playing outside, he finally got his chance.
"Over the last couple of years, they haven't played much in India, especially the spinners. We've seen that with Khurram Shahzad; his line is really good, and he doesn't rely too much on pace. He swings the ball well, but you’ll notice that on the first day, you'll get to see the fast bowlers. In the second innings, it'll definitely be an attack with spinners. I think the attack will be with spinners here too, because on one end, you'll have Khurram Shahzad, and on the other end, we'll see who else they bring in."
If there's a left-handed batsman, obviously Sajid Khan will come into play. If it's a right-handed batsman, then Numan Ali will step in. Also, Abrar Ahmed can bowl because he can handle the new ball well, even with wide deliveries. So, guys, this is Pakistan's strategy, and it's pretty solid. But I think Pakistan needs to build up completely from here because we just missed out on the World Test Championship. We weren't even in the running for the finals; we didn't even make it to the distribution stage.
So, we had a light discussion about this whole thing with Pakistan, but I believe that even though we lost the Test series against South Africa 2-0, we actually put up a good fight. We were really close to winning the first Test, and in the second Test, our batting performed a bit better in the second innings. We ended up getting clapped and lost, but the bottom line is we lost 2-0. Honestly, I think this is Pakistan's last series in the World Test Championship.
The key point is that we need to finish strong and prepare for the next challenge because now we also have to play in the finals. Our fans want our team to compete with the best around the world—Australia, India, South Africa, and even Sri Lanka have all been in a good position. Pakistan should be in that mix too, so we can have a solid series until the end. We don’t want anyone thinking this series is just about whether we win to make it to the WTC finals; it should mean something significant.
Nobody's really interested in the series, and it's not just because of the World Champions Trophy. It's mainly because the series feels pointless for both Pakistan and the West Indies. But the bright side is we won 2-0, and now we need to kick off the next phase well and build our team. We need to fully support our fast bowlers; our spinners are already set. I think Numan Ali has a lot of potential, and we might also need a good left-arm spinner.
"We need to look at which left-arm spinner we can bring in for the long haul. The other bowlers are doing well, like Saj Khan and Abrar Ahmed, but we might need to add a couple of new guys, especially a leg-spinner, since they can really make a difference in Tests. So, this is Pakistan's playing XI. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. That's all from me, take care
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