SHARJAH - With the World Cup just a little over two months away, these five ODIs in UAE dish out a crucial opportunity for Australia and Pakistan to make the final amends to their plans.
In their hunt for the right players to fill the last couple of places ahead of the World Cup and to ensure that their key players are fresh when they embark on an almost three-month long journey to the British Isles, Pakistan made as many as eight changes to its squad from the one that lost to South Africa 3-2 in an away series. With their captain amongst the six mainstays rested, Shoaib Malik will take the reins once again.
That the Pakistan selection committee and Mickey Arthur are sure about who will occupy most of the spots in the final 15-man squad has been conveyed to the journalists on numerous occasions. But, at the same time, for those who were named in the squad after their runs in the PSL - namely Umar Akmal and Yasir Shah - this is a chance to pile up pressure on the national selectors.
For Australia, this is an opportunity to further consolidate on the momentum gained in India. And the fact that batsmen like Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb, who have previously not been able to capitalise on their opportunities, have raised their hands and that bodes well for the group, whose next 50-over outing will be the two World Cup warm-up games.
Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa will be in the spotlight as the Australian management, after finally recognizing the necessity of playing two spinners to maximize the advantage that the surfaces present, will look to bowl the two in tandem in the middle overs. After all, what better place is there to try out your spin strength than the UAE?
About Pakistan, there have been some serious debate over selectors’ decision of resting six important players - Sarfraz, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi - just ahead of the World Cup. In their absence, the likes of Haris Sohail, Junaid Khan, Umar Akmal, Yasir Shah, Abid Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain and Saad will look to make of this opportunity to push their names for the World Cup.
The most experienced player in the side, Shoaib Malik will captain Pakistan and look to make the most of available resources. Most of the above-mentioned players did well in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League, with teenage tearaway Hasnain making quite an impression. This series will also serve as a perfect chance for someone like Yasir, Junaid and Abbas to make an impact alongside Mohammad Amir and Usman Shinwari.
In batting, Malik, Akmal, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood will have to share the responsibility. It will be interesting to see how Akmal performs. The 28-year-old has been accused of poor behaviour both on and off the field which eventually led to his exclusion. Akmal is now back into the mix of things by performing consistently in domestic cricket and PSL and will try to make sure he doesn’t throw away this opportunity.
After Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins’s prolific run across the five ODIs in India and Marcus Stoinis’ all-round contribution at Feroz Shah Kotla, the tourists would like to test out the same lineup. Shaun Marsh, Australia’s best batsman in the format last year, might have to sit out for the most part of the series.
SQUADS:
PAKISTAN: Shoaib Malik (captain), Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saad Ali, Shan Masood, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari, Yasir Shah.
AUSTRALIA: Aaron Finch (captain), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa.