A selection dilemma is not new when it comes to Pakistan cricket. Pakistani selectors have always had difficulties in choosing the right players for the right formats and whilst some players went on to cement their place permanently in the team, others were not lucky enough to prolong their careers and one could argue that they were dropped rather unfortunately. After being dropped, they somehow disappeared from the international arena.
Here is a list of some promising players that could have been stars for the men in green.
4) Yasir Hameed
In 2003, a young batsman emerged onto the international arena and tumbled records in only his first ever Test match at the age of 25. The ever so elegant Yasir Hameed became only the second man in test cricket history to score a ton in each of his innings on test debut. His scores of 170 in the first innings and 105 in the second ensured a comfortable victory for Pakistan against Bangladesh, with the opener bagging a richly deserved Man Of The Match award.
A solid batting technique coupled with the ability to score runs in quick time made him a prime candidate for opening the batting for his national side. The man from FATA went on to score some valuable runs for Pakistan cricket team both in Tests and ODIs. His exploits in the shorter format of the game were initially as impressive, and he forged a superb combination with Imran Farhat at the top of the order. One would remember their superb efforts against New Zealand in 2003, at home, when the pair put together a record four consecutive century stands; a rare sight these days in Pakistan cricket.
His positive approach and fluid timing remained but he, somehow, lost temparement in quick time and failed to score big on many occasions; getting plenty of good starts but throwing them away cheaply almost every time. Yasir played 25 Test matches for his national side, averaging just a touch over 32. His limited over span lasted even shorter as he averaged just 36.8 over a span of four years.
Now 38 years old, Yasir Hameed still plays first class cricket but one could argue that his time with the national side is all but over. Yasir would definitely be remembered by the fans as the one that could have been for Pakistan.
3) Shabbir Ahmed
A 6'5” fast bowler from Khanewal who troubled the batsmen with his ability to extract bounce on almost dead pitches, Shabbir Ahmed showed great promise in his time in international cricket. Not only did he equal the Pakistani record for the joint quickest to 50 wickets in Test cricket (alongside Waqar Younis), he also managed to convince the critics in comparing him to the great Glenn Mcgrath with his lanky bowling action from close to the stumps, much like the great Australian, which allowed him to stick to a tight wicket-to-wicket line.
Shabbir Ahmed announced his arrival in Test cricket with an impressive 8 wicket haul against Bangladesh in Karachi, on a track that offered no assistance to the fast bowlers. What was most impressive about Shabbir, however, was his great control, bowling a line that ensured a blockage in the flow of runs.
Shabbir was express when he made his debut in the shorter format of the game, in 1999, against West Indies as he picked up an impressive 3 wicket haul (2 of them coming in his very first over) giving away 52 runs in his 10 overs. He continued to perform in both the longer and shorter formats managing impressive averages of 23.03 and 36.12 respectively.
His career came to a standstill, however, when he was reported for an illegal bowling action against England in the summer of 2005. Shabbir Ahmed managed comebacks after his time off but was never the same; inconsistency being his enemy.
2) Yasir Arafat
Perhaps one of the greatest assets for a top quality team in modern day cricket is an all rounder who can score quick runs when needed and trouble the batsmen with a great variety in bowling. Yasir Arafat was a character that was perfectly suited for modern day cricket; perhaps, that was his only undoing, the fact that he was born in the early 80s and not the late 90s. Yasir Arafat is an all-rounder of typically Pakistani ethos: ideal for the attacking mood of the limited-overs formats.
Yasir made his Test debut in the winter of 2007 against India in Bangalore, where he started alongside the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami and still managed to make his presence felt as he bagged an impressive 7 wickets also playing a handy innings of 44 in the first innings.
Arafat remained in and out of the national team because he failed to make an impact in the 50 over format. When his international career came to an end in 2009, somewhat prematurely with his 30th birthday still distant, he proved himself a staple of the English county circuit, sharing his talent around six counties by the time Hampshire signed him for their T20 campaign in 2015. He proved to be an awesome death bowler in the Big Bash League and gained his reputation overseas as a T-20 great.
His variety of slower balls, cutters and Yorkers and his ability to hit the ball out of the park made him first choice in the shorter format of the game. But, like many others, he could not perform to his fullest for the men in green. Come to think of it, he could have been the next Abdur Razzaq for that matter.
1) Asim Kamal
One of Pakistan’s most underrated batsmen, Asim Kamal was a middle order batsmen tailor made for Test cricket. His resilient approach and the ability to nudge the ball around for runs made him a solid middle order batsman. Asim showed promise as soon as he got his first call up in Test cricket, making an impressive 99 against South Africa on his debut.
His fluent cover drives often kept the board ticking as he continued to impress even after his debut. His notable contributions being an impressive 87 against the mighty Australians and 91 and 73 against India in matches where wickets kept tumbling at the other end.
His consistency slipped in the following months and he spent a three-year exile from the squad. He was the subject of contentious debate among several selection committees and captains before finally earning a recall during the home series against Sri Lanka in 2009 where he failed to impress the selectors.
Asim’s exclusion may be unjust but he should have only himself to blame. After his exclusions, Asim claimed that he had been wrongly stripped off from the squad and instead of proving a point to the selectors in the domestic circuit, he chose to protest.
It is safe to say that Asim could have been a world class Test batsmen had he performed consistently but luck wasn’t on his side and to add to that, he himself, chose the easy way out. Both ways Pakistan lost a potentially good test cricketer.