Pakistan Team in Champions Trophy 2009

Next week, it is mini world cup for cricket fans around the world. We are trying to cover this tournament in this blog and we hope that you will enjoy our coverage. Pakistan has announced their squad long ago and we should have given it by this time. Here is the list of players:

Younus Khan (capt), Imran Nazir, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Rao Iftikhar, Saeed Ajmal.

To me, it looks a very balanced side with some top quality players. However, the Pakistani fans are worried for two things. First of all, for the last two years, Pakistan cricket team has not seen much action. So, they have less experience. This lack of match practice can be a big headache. Another cause of worry is that despite winning the trophy of Twenty20 World Cup, the performance of the team is totally unpredictable. After winning T20 World Cup, Pakistan team went to Sri Lanka and lost totally.

I think that Pakistan team will do well in Champions Trophy 2009. South African pitches are always ideal for pace bowlers and this is the main strength of Pakistan cricket team for long time.