Pakistan in West Indies

The Green Machine begin their tour of the Caribbean in a few days time, both WI and PAK have given a new look to their squads, several new comers for WI for the T20 game while PAK have dropped Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq and have rested Younus Khan and Umer Gul.

Mohammed Salman replaces Kamran, and there are places for Salahuddin a middle order batsmen and Sadaf Hussain, a left arm fast bowler, Hammad Azam, the allrounder, also gets a look in and replaces Razzaq.

This is the first of two big series that WI will be hosting, they clash against world champions India right after this series (and barely 6 days after the IPL ends, poor Indian players and right after the WI tour they head off to ENG for another long series!!!!) for PAK too this series is only the start of another long season, they have a couple of ODI's against IRE after this followed by a Tour to Zimbabwe and then a home series against SLN which might eventually be played at a neutral venue.

So time for teams to start building a team for the future.

List of Fixtures:

Mon Apr 18 14:00 GMT | 10:00 local 19:30 IST	University of West Indies Vice Chancellor's XI v Pakistanis Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Thu Apr 21 18:00 GMT | 14:00 local 23:30 IST	Only T20I - West Indies v Pakistan Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Sat Apr 23 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 19:00 IST	1st ODI - West Indies v Pakistan Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Mon Apr 25 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 19:00 IST	2nd ODI - West Indies v Pakistan Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Thu Apr 28 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 19:00 IST	3rd ODI - West Indies v Pakistan Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Sun May 1 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 19:00 IST	4th ODI - West Indies v Pakistan Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Thu May 5 13:30 GMT | 09:30 local 19:00 IST	5th ODI - West Indies v Pakistan Providence Stadium, Guyana
Sun May 8 - Mon May 9 14:00 GMT | 10:00 local 19:30 IST	TBC v Pakistanis Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana
Thu May 12 - Mon May 16 14:00 GMT | 10:00 local 19:30 IST	1st Test - West Indies v Pakistan Providence Stadium, Guyana
Fri May 20 - Tue May 24 14:00 GMT | 10:00 local 19:30 IST	2nd Test - West Indies v Pakistan Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts

Razzaq will never perform when he doesn't get to bowl his full quota of overs... or bat in the top 6. Pretty pathetic utilisation of such a talented player. Really he's wasted, just like Saqlain was. Shame on you Pakistan management...

Shame on Pak management indeed because once again they have made some very poor decisions. However, Kamran being dropped is the right decision, in fact had he been in any other team Kamran would have been dropped long long time ago.

I do agree with Zuhair that Afridi is not very keen on having Malik and Razzaq in the team and it will be difficult to see them in the line up as long as this management is in charge.

Shahzad though is a terrific young talent and I think it is just a matter of time before he comes good, he is still very young and I think once you identify a talent you need to back him and I do see a lot of potential in Shahzad. Hammad Azam too is a very fine inclusion in the side, PAK are perhaps already thinking long term and if these youngsters can come good it will be great for PAK cricket.

Not too sure how Usman Qadir is progressing, I was expecting to see him too in the near future.

Edited by MalhotraRaj84 - 10 April 2011 at 4:36am

Right on the money mate! Strong management and an intelligent captain. Pakistan just reached a world cup semi-final - they beat the world champions on the path to getting there too in the 1st round of matches. They are a very talented side... that's fact. They have the 2nd largest population of test playing sides and a very strong following , cricket's very popular in Pakistan. They have the culture for cricket and they are running out of excuses for their inconsistency.

I am not that worried about the bowing stocks - we have plenty to throw in in the fast bowling department. The spin department is fairly covered at the moment as well. Watch out for Junaid Khan - pity that the originally picked Aizaz Cheema got injured - he is a pretty fine seamer too. Yes, not easy to replace Amir - but we will still do reasonably without him and Pakistan has in fact accepted that and moved on with Amir and Asif's absence - there is no use regretting the loss of cheaters in my view.

there are a few youngsters in the batting area that are coming up - so I see the future in good shape. Just hope they maintain the blend of youth and experience. I would not mind losing a series or two with a new look side. But seriously, Pakistan need to look beyond Afridi for leadership.

Sadaf Hussain is a bright prospect too - and already has the inswinger - a rarity for left arm pacers at such young age. He needs to work up at his pace. But Aizaz Cheema would have been much better for the mix of the bowling unit - as Wahab Junaid and Sadaf are all similar type of bowlers - but I am excited for the new age of Pakistan fast bowlers. Bring it on.

Yes the same guy - pity that he does not have many years left in him - but he still is strong and is at the peak of his game.

It is not much about education Mikey - I mean you don't have to be that highly educated or something to know taking money to under-perform is blatant cheating. Yes, educating them on how t interact with people around and the dos and donts is required - yet what these guys did was horrible and nothing that the education could have changed.

Azeem Ghumman is another good young prospect I have heard.

I think PAK as a team need to be strong, I absolutely agree that they need to look beyond Afridi for leadership and it could be given to a younger player with a sharp mind and good temperament much like Dhoni, a street smart cricketer.

PAK as a team need to be strong, there is absolutely no consolation in reaching the Semis or losing a close series, that time is gone, they have been rebuilding since ages, now is the the time to win... the team has a good mix of youth and experience and the youngsters have got loads of talent, that needs to come out now.

I think PAK should aim to be the No.1 team in tests and ODI's in the next 2 years and I do not see any reason why it cannot be done.

Gosh Fawad Alam was a ridiculous selection. Genuinely talented batsman and decent left arm spinner left out of the test side... for who? Hafeez? Wow.

Well the thing is Malhotra, the kids in Pakistan practice in their own conditions, so home conditions and a home crowd will always be an advantage. It's fair enough however that tests are not being played in Pakistan at this point in time, but hopefully things will go back to normal in time.

Pakistan have an abundance of talent, just like their Indian neighbours. India certainly sorted out a lot its issues with regard to selection and management, which is a lot more shrewd than it used to be. Although I can't say I'm a fan of the BCCI.

Dude, SRL were not the best team in 1996 - they were not even the second best. They did win the World Cup though. I am not saying Pakistan will go further downhill from here - I also see an improvement - but I want a steady progress and with the talent pool that we have here - we can achieve it - if only the PCB starts functioning in a sane manner and the Board is corruption free.

The dream duo was Woolmer and Inzi and Pakistan reached number 2 in the world under them. We do need a good management set up and certainly a better captain.

I think they did reach number 2 somewhere in 2005 if my memory serves me right. Regardless of that, that was a fine fine combination and I hope we again find a decent coach and a good captain like those two.