In any case, Razzaq's loss is Azhar's gain. The Surrey all-rounder has been mistreated by the PCB, ever since, in fact, he gave me a commendably frank interview for Cricinfo. Azhar's bowling is a stronger suit than Razzaq's. He can also be an explosive hitter, but Razzaq is extra-special in that regard.

But the question is whether or not Malik and Hafeez can step up and provide the Pakistan batting with some solidity? In addition, Hafeez's one-day bowling form is impressive although Inzamam has tended to underuse him.

More than the rest, though, Afridi can be a talisman. His bowling form is good enough for him to be selected on that alone--and a wise coach and a smart captain will use that to take the pressure off him. But when his batting comes off, he wins matches. Now that may not happen enough for many people's liking but Afridi has hit rich veins of form in the past. Can he do it in a World Cup? If he hits straight and true, like he did memorably in Chennai, he could emerge as a true champion rather than a breaker of hearts. On this one, you all know, I'm with Boom Boom. Let's hope he doesn't boom out.

Can we please get away from the BOOM or BUST mentality and back consistency!

Razzak's injury is a big blow but one should not look too much into it. As you mentioned, if anythign we have a plenty it is the allrounder department. Razzak's loss of bowling form meant was actually a worry, but his explosive batting capabilities meant that he couldn't be left out of the side. I actually think razzak is very much replaceable by azhar mahmood. We need a stock bowler who can hit good channels and mahmood may be the right guy for it.
As far as hitting 100 runs in the last 10 overs, afridi, akmal and hafeez could do so....however what remains to be seen is how we perform in the slog overs without both afridi and razzak.
My last point is, if symonds could be sent "hoping" that eh will be fit for the super eights, why not razzak?

Kamran, could you possibly repost your interview with Azhar? I've always thought that Azhar was given a bum rap all these years along one or another political line, although he and Razzak made their debuts in the national team practically at the same time. The World Cup is probably Azhar's only chance now to come good and win favor with the administration and the public.

About Razzak's injury, it appears to be more serious than a two-week rehabilitation process according to the press, but then one never knows what actually may be playing behind the scenes.

On an unrelated item and going back to Nandrolone and the decay curve in clearing out from a person's system, even if this drug is found at very high levels at this time in Shoaib and Asif but in keeping with the curve, can they be banned for life? Wouldn't this be considered Double Jeopardy, or being found guilty twice for the same offense. We all know past history, but how can the past be applied once again to ban them? The matter is up before WADA so it is ongoing and would not be new. Surely the lawyers would take that into consideration if such a thing were to come up.

Razzak's injury is another shock. I dont know how many more are still in the waiting. Shoaib and Asif are OUT. I dont know why the PCB is delaying this announcement. So, technically Pakistan is out of the Semi Finals. Yes, they should take Razzak with them along with Azhar.
Hafeez is not that stuff like Razzak and Afridi, so just forget him. Afridi will have to Boom Boom otherwise he will make a villian of himself. You are right that he is a valueable bowler - but we need sixes and fours. I will beg him to keep his bat straight. Target the stands not the skies...

Although I am very low on any hope, still I pray from the depth of my heart for Team Pakistan...

Buckle up! Mohammad Yousuf, make it a World Cup of your own..

Losing Abdur Razzaq is a huge loss as his destructive power would have been great for Pakistan in the small grounds. Azhar Mahmood is not as good a batter as him but he is a better bowler and hopefully can prosper. Afridi needs to play for his country now, more than ever when he comes back and i think Shoaib Mailk should bowl more as i think he is a better bowler then Hafeez.

"But the question is whether or not Malik and Hafeez can step up and provide the Pakistan batting with some solidity" -- This is true with regards with Hafeez, but how can this be expected of Shoaib Malik when he's floating around in the lower-order, when he should be batting at 3? When Pakistan were at the height of their resurgence under Woolmer, it was Malik who was key at 3 in both building scores, and chasing large totals. Considering the flatness of the West Indian pitches, (technique isn't as important, as Khan easily outdoes Malik for this) Malik can bat at a quicker rate than Younis Khan, and has shown his expertise in building ODI scores, in comparison to Younis Khan. Also, considering the ineptitude of Pakistan's various openers in recent times, where is the elevation of Afridi to the opening spot? Who was it that opened when Pakistan beat India (in India, on pitches not too unlike those in the Windies for flatness) in '05 in the 6 ODI series, hitting a century in only 45 balls? Afridi. Next, Kamran Akmal should be dropped lower down the order (firstly, to focus on his 'keeping, and secondly, to lessen the load on him), and he should be at 7, with Mahmood coming at at 8, now that Razzaq is out of the equation. That leaves 3 places for bowlers... Gul, and then here's hoping Akhtar and Asif complete a great escape... (with a bit of help from the PCB)...

Kamran,

Over the years, Razzak has done a great job for Pakistan team and have played crucial role in many ODI and a few test victories. In his prime, he was a great all-rounder. However, it seems that he has past his prime and is on a downward spiral for the last couple of years. He batting has been very pedestrian, bowling under-par, and fielding very sub-standard. He has recently dropped more catches than anyone in Pakistan team. It almost seem like he has lost his drive and initiative.

Azhar Mehmood, on the other hand is hungry to make a place for himself in Pakistan team and has been in good form lately. He has to make up for the lost opportunities and to prove himself. I personally wanted to see Yasir Arafat to be groomed by PCB to replace Razzak, but I have come to expect only blunders and stupidity for the bosses of cricket - so under the current circumstances, I think Azhar Mehmood is the best choice for medium-pacer all rounder for Pakistan.

GO PAKISTAN

I think Kamaran, you are underestimating Azhar. He will go gr8 guns, and u cant forget his close fielding skills. Dropping him was very stupid esp. after he didnt do much wrong in SA. It woul be another slap in the prsetigious selctors' face when he proves them wrong oince again. But I know that wouldnt changes anything. Same people will keep destroying our cricket

I don't think its a good idea to send Razzak to West indies in hope for him to recover.
Azhar Mahmood is good player and i think he is good replacement. Even though he may be on downside to Razzak as compared to making runs in last 10 overs, but i think make it up with his bowling

The loss of Razzaq was huge, because he is an experienced all rounder who's been a main stable to this team for a long time. I have doubts with the selection of Azhar Mahmood, because in 2003 he didnt play a single game in the world cup. Pakistan should of selected Yasir Hameed who in his last four one days his lowest score is 41.

i think your right about razzaq being a big blow. however i think we still have enough all rounders to cope without him.were just cursed with injuries i think.lets hope everything goes well for pakistan in the world cup.

I would tend to agree with Kamran's opinion to take Razzaq along to the carribean and withdraw in couple of weeks if deemed unfit till then - but that depends on the severity of the injury which hasnt been made ultimately clear as yet.

Eventhough an apt substitute has been found in Azhar Mehmood, the onus is now on the the captain to chose the correct mix of his all-rounders available for every (important) match of the world cup.

On a side note, Kamran, it does appear from your the language of your article that its finally your instinct that sides with the Pakistan team and not your mind.

Do you ever speak about anything other than Pakistan? You do know that Pakistan is not the center of the world, right?

Well to me it does not matter what all rounder pak playes with in WC. The most important thing to remember is that our players all rounder or not dont have the mental toughness to over come any crisis anyway. What pak need is to induce the the competitiveness, read the game well under different circumstaces, mental tougness, never die attitude and courage to meet any challenge head on. You can take any Pak player who can win matches for you single handedly but our players mind set is that if they can win one match for pak they can become integral part of pak for longgggggg time. We need to become more professional in all aspect of cricket specially taking responsibilty when team needed it. Our fielding is more like pakistani police one over they look so active and smart and second over comes and we pretend that its sin to even touch a ball. Right now our whole team is like scary cat who dont know where to turn for cover. Whatever Inzi is saying in press is nothing but a pep talk. We can win a world cup only and only if team have the passion and right attitude to begin their WC journey. Great teams perform well when their backs are against the wall. My fantasy and my wish is that pak and india get to the final and pak wins it by Afridi hitting six on the last ball of the match. Boom Boom Pak

its really sad to miss out ARAZZAQ...i wish he could go to world cuplets hope for the best n perform there .......ALL THE BEST .........for PAKIS.....lets hope they win ...PAKISTAN ZINDABAD...please please bring the world cup to PAKISTAN

Kamran i must say u choose a very debatable topic, pakistan strength is in their all rounders no doubt...but the scale is more tilted towards batting side rather then bowling side....i am saying this with respect to shoaib malik and azhar mahmood. we all know both of them are at best when u defend them, but when u attack them, even street bowlers can bowl better then them. Hafeez is always under utilized so cant say much about his bowling. Afridi bowling is superb from last many one days, apart from him i cant count on any other all rounders in bowling department. If pakistan have to win the world cup, their 2/4 all rounders must have to click, else they are drowned....well if mr boom boom clicks...then who cares what other all rouders are doing. I hope to see Shoaib malik opening, he is really the best in technique if we compare with other 2 allrounders.

None of Pakistan's all rounders can really be termed as genuine allrounders. In fact, Pakistan has failed to produce a hgih caliber all rounder since Imran Khan. Wasim Akram left too much to desire in his batting and was wasted by never really being elevated into the top six. We need someone like Kallis, Pollock, Symonds, Flintoff or Cairns.

Of the current Pakistani crop, they are not genuine all rounders, simply just good pretenders. This means their abilities are lop sided and they should be given one main responsibility and one minor role.

Hafeez has yet to convince me of any batting ability. He averages less than 20. His bowling is average and of not much use if he can't contribute to a decent total.

Abdul Razzaq is a typical Pakistani story of not learning from his mistakes. he has let his boowling slide from medium fast to rubbish. Gone is his ability to share the new ball, bowl at the dearth and those yorkers have long disappeared. How he was allowed to fall into such an abyss is a mystery. His batting is another conundrum. On his day he can turn any games in just a few balls, on others you are left wondering where the aggression is. He has not developed any range of shots apart from a lusty hits and is unable to really manoevre the ball for ones and two. In tests his slow batting rate has been a mystery as well.

Azhar Mahmood, is someone who I admire for at least making the effort and not giving up. He has limited bowling strength but makes up for deficits with a big heart. Honestly, he should have done a lot better. When he first burst on the scene he was destined for great things but again mysteriously he fell by the wayside. It is remarkable he has picked himself up and is playing his thrid WC, at least he is courageous. Anyone who can score three test hundreds is something special, why he wasn't looked after better, I don't know.

Afridi, well for me he is a Wasim Akram. He should be made to bowl his full quota and any runs anywhere in the order should be a complete bonus. To expect runs and wickets from him is plain silly not that it will not happen every once in a while.

Malik is a much better batsman and has a cool head. I think his record and performances deserve a top three place in the order at test and one day. Someone who started at number 11 and has opened for Pakistan scroing hundreds in both versions is incredible. His bowling though cannot really be termed world class, but should operate sending down a few overs now and then like Scahin or Sehwag or Salim Malik used to do.

Why Yasir Arafat is not in the team despite good county and domestic performances is yet another mystery as is why another "all rounder" like Naved Ul Hassan is.

A. Razzaq will be a costly miss for Pakistan. Although he was quite poor in bowling in recent times but he is cleaner hitter of the cricket ball especially in the last 10 overs. To be honest, Pakistan has slim chances to lift the world cup!!!

In my view Pakistan team selection was stupid. They dropped better openers and selected a bunch of allrounders. Some of them could bowl few overs but no one other than Afridi will be able to complete full quota of 10 overs even against team like Zimbabwe or Ireland. No one is able to bat for long period. Afridi or Razzak could change a game on their day but the frequency to get such effect is low (may be 1 in 20 games). Razzak needed to stay longer to be set before start hitting. Afridi play like hit or miss. They yet have confirmed their 15 (Asif/Shoaib still uncertain).
Mr. Abbasi, you selected this topic in a very wrong time as you are (actually nobody) not sure about the team that would be on the plane.

Selectors could have waited for Razzak for two/three weeks like they are waiting Asif and Shoaib. I beleive they also selected Inzamam despite he is not fully fit!!!!!

Pakistan may miss the cut!!!

And wait at least one week for your next cloum of this series otherwise you have play with lot of if (guess games).

I don't think I can argue with what you've said there Kamran. I especially agree with your verdicts of Afridi and Hafeez. The latter's bowling contribution is often overlooked in the many discussions over Pakistan's openers.

That aside I feel for Razzaq. While he may not be as important a player for Pakistan as say, Symonds is for Australia, he is nonetheless a very solid all-rounder who keeps a cool head. At the age of 27 though, it is still possible for him to play well enough to be a part of Pakistan's World Cup in four years (insha-Allah).

The talk of azhar mahmood being mistreated goes without accessing the modern day English county standards, which could be described as 'laughable' at best. Every Pakistan player in the recent past who has been part of the English county circuit has performed exceptionally well. Even the likes of Yasir Arafat and Mohd. Akram; have been county juggernauts. Thus one should not take too much out of Azhar Mahmoods county performance

This is not to say that Azhar's selection is unjustified, after all in our cricket crazy minds still lay the memories of the 1999 world cup and the tour of South Africa in 1997 where did appear to be a complete all-rounder and was for greater parts at par if not better than Razzaq.

Alas, it would be vain of me to hope for similar performance after seeing Azhar in the recently concluded series in South-Africa. He looked like an aged and over weight has-been. His line was continuously a foot too wide at least, and on the carribean pitches i dread of thinking what the likes of Gayle, Jaysuria, Tendulkar, Gilly would do to him. He still has the awkward one-step-too-many batting stance/style which might have worked earlier but would prove a curse for an overweight Mahmood drastically hindering his ability to time the ball well

This is not to say that Azhar's selection is unjustifed, after all in our cricket crazy minds still lay the memories of the 1999 world cup and the tour of South Africa in 1997 where did appear to be a complete all-rounder and was for greater parts at par if not better than Razzaq.

Alas, it would be vain of me to hope for similar performace after seeing Azhar in the recently concluded series in South-Africa. He looked like an aged and over weight has-been. His line was continoulsy atleast a foot too wide and on the carribean pitches i dread of thinking what the likes of Gayle, Jaysuria, Tendulkar, Gilly would do to him. He still has the akward one-step-too-many batting stance/style which might have worked earlier but would prove a curse for an overweight Mahmood drasticlly hindering his ability to time the ball well.

Who would be better option? I really cant say, if fawad alam was given a chance an argumnet could have been made for his inclusion, but right now we would have to do with the part time spin of shoaib malik and hafeez

The injury to Razzak has been a blessing in disguise,he has been completely out of form of late and has been a burden on the team,I think we need a regular bowler or a regular batsmen instead but again pcb has selected Azhar Mehmood I hope he performs well,He has been working hard to get back in the team but given the current circumstances i dont think there are too many other options available.
Since Razzak is out the middle order will be under more pressure to score runs quickly and there will be more pressure on Afridi and Kamran Akmal and since Afridi is not available for the first two games pakistan has to play exceptionally well to qualify for super 8,my suggestion would be to leave your baggage behind and focus on every game
as it comes,you are good enough to beat these teams.

Well, I think now Pakistan can not win 2007 World Cup.

I don't know what you people think, but if you ask me I think top 5 of Pakistan Batsmen play for Razzaq that he will win the match alone for Pakistan. Razzaq hits more then miss. I think 75-25%.

Afridi is just a big slogger nothing else. He doesn't care that if he gets out then what will happen after him. He is always keep saying that I've no fix batting slot but what about Razzaq and Shoaib? Both of them have batted nearly at all places and never compained about that since teams are built upon that kind of players not with players like Afridi.

Can anyone tell me that for how much time we will just invest on players like Afridi, Sami, Azhar, Imran Nazir, Hafeez etc etc???

On Afridi Pakistan has waisted 10 years now and he is a plain disappointment. An everage of 23 in Batting & average of 37 in bolowing and you still call him an Allrounder. Plain Rediculous.

Razzaq & Shaoib Malik are players who always give their 100% in the field wether bowling or batting. You can't ask much more to them. Azhar Mahmood cannot be a replacment of Razzaq and Hafeez cannot be of Shaoib. Afridi is mere disappoinment.

Can anybody remeber that when last time Afridi even tried to build an inning? You may that he is a hitter but even hitters should become a little better batsman after 10 Years of cricket. He will never produce goods in a pressure match. I can bet on this.

I think in case of Razzaq missing, Pakistan should now play with 4 specialist bowlers and 5 Specialist Batsmen with 1 allrounder in shape of Shoaib Malik.

Please for GOD sake don't start talking that IF Afridi gets going then match gone. 9 out of 10, it will NOT happen its confirmed.

And last thing, please get Razzaq in anyway. He is Crucial.

if u think about it azhar mahmood will do the job cos to be honest can eny of u remember last time abdul razzaq made his 50 or do u remember him taking a wicket recently he is been in bad form and it looks like he bowls to end overs and not try to get a wicket hopefully azhar mahmood will do a gd job and perform this world cup

I have always been a sucker for high strike rate batsmen. Hence loved Saeed Anwar, Mohsin Khan, Afridi... even Imran Nazir. Issue is they have the tendancy to get out anytime (exception was Saeed in his latter days.. but then he got a little boring too.) With players like Shahid, Azhar & co. One always has the capability to put the match beyond the opposition. But you need a back-up plan that Inzy seems to be missing. We panick when these hitters get out, and we either graft like there is no tomorrow or play like a deer caught in headlamps.

We need a foil for every pinch hitter. If I were Inzy, (with this team) I’d open Imran with Younis. (Imran being the pinch hitter and Younis taking singles feeding the strike to the hitter); and depending on who got out, replace the hitter with a hitter and the strike rotator with another.

Pinch Hitters would be:
Imran
Azhar
Afridi
Akmal
Shoaib Malik
Hafeez

Strike rotators would be:
Younis
Yousuf
Inzy

As you can see we have (and need) more strikers than rotators, the current team selection supports this tactic. The advantage we have is that we have in Shoaib, Hafeez and Inzy, players than can take on either role.

The batting is fairly flexible and deep provided we play the basics well. For example when we are losing wickets, we tend to drop the shutters and use up limited balls we can face and do not take singles… what is the deal with that? We need to rotate the strike regardless. Woolmer needs to work on each batsmen’s understanding of basic calling… Inzy should be no exception.

Afridi should be protected against the new ball.. especially if the wicket is bouncy. Save him for the middle overs when the medium pacers/ spinners are operating. He is too precious to send up to open. We may not be favorites and we may not win the cup, but lets make a match out of it and surprise a few pundits and win some crucial games … Lets at least play to our potential… THAT is something we can definitely do.

With Razzaq out of contention Pakistan is going to ahve a tough time as no other all rounder has the capabilities as Razzaq. Afridi has been effective but his batting still remains mercurial. Shoaib Malik is a good batsman but his capabilities in bowling is still not considered to be among the best. So Pakistan has to do a lot of strategy to overcome the deficit caused by Razzaq. It depends now a lot on Inzi and Bob how they utilize their resources.

We will for sure miss Razzaq. Luckily when it comes to the allrounders we have some big names, as Kamran you also mentioned, our beloved Afridi BOOM BOOM, Shoaib Malik, Hafeez and now to replace Razzaq, Azhar is there. I see this coming WC contest depends a lot on our all rounders performance. Our key bowlers shoaib Akhtar and Asif may be missing the WC and in their absence our all rounders got to show 110% of their abilities to earn respect in the cricketing world for Pakistan.
In the balling dept. Inzamam should use Hafeez, Malik, and Afridi effectively and wisely.
And AFRIDI if you can read this, WE NEED COUPLE MORE 30-40 BALLS CENTURIES FROM YOU.

I don't whether this is good news or bad. Razzaq like you said uncle Kamran is a very special player one of the best at times, but in the recent series in south africa his 2 gear (1 and 5)gearbox seems to have got stuck in 1. However on the otherhand wwe know that razzaq can be very good at gear changes when he feels like it.
Why azhar Mahmood, he had his chance in south africa and he didn' do anything outstanding. why not Yasir arafat, or an extra specialist bowler like anwar ali, why is it that pakistan dont like their average age for the falling below 30.

Come on we need some young blood who will be raring to go and prove them selves on the biggest stage of all.

Not only Boom Boom, I pray and hope that Afridi comes out like this:

BOOM BOOM shaka laka BOOM BOOM...
BOOM BOOM shaka laka BOOM BOOM...

and in every match

BOOM BOOM shaka laka BOOM BOOM...

:)

Razzaq will be missed but there is no point in including him for 2-3 weeks hoping he gets better. Pakistan need to go with the guys that are fit because that group needs to be mentally geared up as well. Keeping some guys in limbo hoping other guys get fit leaves us in a worse spot so the move to go with Azhar and giving up on Razzaq is the correct one. There are also likely to be other injuries and if Razzaq can recover in 3-4 weeks, he may yet get another chance in the Super 8s to replace some one else. All in all, the expectations from this team are as low as they can be and that is probably a good thing.

razzaq's injury is a massive blow to the team coz he is more consistent batting-wise than afridi. he is a class all-rounder n i dnt think azhar is ready for such a big tournament and he is not as good as razzaq anyway. BUT i still think pakistan will win.

I have a feeling that Afridi will hit gold in the WC and might as well end up among the top performers. Razzaq's loss could be a blessing in disguise as his bowling form has been nothing short of pathetic of late. Shoaib Malik can be the stabilising option if used properly and as for Hazeef, calling him an allrounder is injustice to people are Kallis, Symonds, Afridi and co. Hafeez would not make my final eleven.

I would really like to see change in the batting order with Younus Khan opening with Nazir and Inzi coming one drop. Will be ever take up the responsibility and lead from the front? The rest of the order can be the same as in the recent SA series. All the best lads. Bring that trophy home. Its been a while, really!

First of all i would like to say i am really disappointed for abdul razzaq that he is out of the world cup. He is a key player and it is a big blow that he is out especially as he is experienced and dangerous, and gives the side a settled look. However, i have, and always will be a big fan of azhar mahmood who has clearly been mistreated by the pcb, but now is his oppurtunity and i think he could be one of the players of the tournament. He is a gutsy player who can play well under pressure and he could be a great bowler at the death with his effective yorkers and slower balls. But he and Razzaq would have both been in my squad in the first place anyway. Azhar is a like to like replacement for Razzaq but i think we could have done with having both in the squad just like the previous two world cups.

Kamran you have made some very good points in this article but again u have let urself down with ur liking of mohammed hafeez.

"In addition, Hafeez's one-day bowling form is impressive although Inzamam has tended to underuse him." That sentence is quite bizarre - if anything, Inzamam has over bowled him (though i would say that since i am anti-hafeez as he takes away the balance of the side with his bits and pieces cricket).
Hafeez bowling means that shoaib malik's allround abilities are being wasted and he should bowl the overs that hafeez bowls while hafeez should ply his trade at county level. Kamran please go and compare hafeez and shoaib maliks one day bowling records at both county and international level and u will see the mediocrity of the former and the class of the other...... ENOUGH SAID!

certainly Razzaq will be missed in the carrbain.He is a sort of an allrounder who can change the state of the game at any time,but for the past few months he is out of form and i think Azhar will prove to be a useful allrounder as we saw him in south africa.With his pacey and swing bowling and also his batting,i think he is the right choice for the carribain.Lets hope he can prove himself there and play a useful role in getting us that Glory.
Imran Afridi

Although Razzaq is in a very bad patch of form these days, he is still a very very vital part of this team and will be greatly missed. Just his mere presence in that middle order is a concern for oppostion captains. His replacement Azhar is also a very decent player probably more consistant than Razzaq but is not a match winner. Pakistan will have to do without Razzaq and this will definitely put added pressure on Afridi. He has to come through if Pakistan are to win the WC. The loss of Razzaq could also mean that Afridi can not open the innings as we need an explosive bat in the middle order for those last 10 overs of the innings. Lets hope that atleast one of Asif/Shoaib go to the Carribean with the team if not both. GO PAKISTAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disappointments after disappointments, I was so looking forward going to Jamaica…Seeing Pakistan win, but everyday has been full of bad news. I just want to hear some good news from somewhere! You see, I was proud of Pakistani team that I even made a banner to take with me to Jamaica which read as: “Proud Passionate Pakistani” but I am not sure anymore.

You mentioned few weeks ago in regards to Afridi might be able to play from the starting of the WC07, if the warm-up matches are official. I’ve been trying to find out if the first 2 warm-up matches are official or not, and if yes will Afridi be able to play or not.

I wonder if any of the players from the Pakistani cricket read what their critics are saying. I mean, I guess it matter what we say right?, only if the read and try to implements on the recommendations we give them. I’ve heard someone say, “Hope is a good thing, and good things don’t dies” I just hope with a lot of question marks ????

First of all we would like to say we are diehard supporter of Pakistan inspite of being from India.

Pakistan has genuine quality all-rounders who holds the ability to change the course of the match with either bat or bowl within few overs....Afridi, Razzak, Malik, Azhar and Hafeez are capable of single handedly winning the match or their day.

Whereas a country like India with population of 1.2 Billion are unable to produce one average all-rounder after kapil dev.......and please dont call Irfan Pathan an allrounder as even Rana Naveed can bat equal to him....

I think Pakistan will do well in the presence of their all-rounders in the WC.

What devastating news for Pakistan. one minute you are up when hearing the good news about Gul and then you are down again, what is wrong with Pakistan players, they get injured like its going out of fashion. Razzaq is a match winner with the bat and reliable with the ball, we needed him. Its still 2 weeks to the world cup and if its taking 3 weeks for Razzqs injury to heal then we must take him because the only match we should miss Razzq in is against WI, we play Ireland on the 17th and ZIM on the 21th. If we finish 2nd in the group then the next big match is 27th march, thats one month from now. Enough time for recovery? I pray. We know the PCB has no concept of commonsense so think of something stupid and expect PCB to act upon it.
Who knows of the way of the Allmighty, maybe this is Allah's way of justice for Azar mahmood to go out on a HIGH and put egg on the PCBs face.
aamer
----------------PAKISTAN ZINDABAD-------------------

One looser allrounder is getting replaced by another looser.As I have said Kamran Bhaie these tidly bowlers are no solution for our world cup challenge.We need speedsters and stalwart bowlers and unfortunately we have it only in Gul,to some extent,and the others are Asif and Shoaib.The last two are in hot waters for their own doings and that has left our team with huge steps to take if they have to win the world cup.For me its almost taking the rabbit out of a hat.
To be honest don't get surprised if we get challenged by Zimbos.
To me what pisses me the most is that they couldn't get 11 players since 2003 who could star in the next world cup i.e 2007.From the time they were skittled from early stages of 2003 world cup there was this huge rhetoric that we are in rebuilding process for 2007 world cup.
I know building built on poor talent,injuries and loud rhetorics might look very tall but is bound to collapse.They keep talking about fielding but what they don't realise is if the batsmen are hitting the undertalented pakistani bowlers "which is our main strength" for as many bad deliveries then even the fastest athlete can't run fast to stop 4's and tallest fielder can't prevent the sexies.
God has mercy on this team with Captain low in confidence and the team management with all rhetorics about how great their team is and their huge chance to be the match winners on their day.I doubt even if this team would survive the whole day against the macho teams that too if they are lucky to sneak into super eight.
Keep dreaming for worldcup 2007 and start believing in 2011.Charios!

You are right to highlight Afridi - Pakistan will not win the world cup if he doesn't fire with the bat, and probably won't get out of the Super Eights, I'm convinced of that.

Why? Well, the batting has 3 quality, reliable individuals, you all know who they are. The bowling is average, weak if Asif and Akhtar don't make it. The fielding is poor. To get out of the Super Eights, somebody needs to make such considerations irrelevant, to turn a couple of games on his own.

Afridi is the only player capable of doing that, as far as I can see. Personally, I still don't think Pakistan have any where near enough to win the trophy, but you can never say never with Afridi around.

For Afridi to hit straight and true the pitches must have good consistent bounce, there should be little or no swing, the ball must come onto the bat, and of course, some stupid bowling is also required. One of the things we consistently disregard in analyzing Afridi's failures is that other teams have figured him out pretty well. Afridi does not offer a surprise element. Everyone knows he's going to come out and hit out. Unless he makes some very intelligent adjustments to his game, no team is going to be stupid enough to feed to his strengths. As it stands now, almost everyone knows how to get him out. The only way I see Afridi scoring big is through a complete overhaul of his gameplan. Or, perhaps on a belter with conditions favoring him.

Razzaq should never have been in the mix to begin with. All he brings to the team is more of that paindoo touch. "nuch panjaban nuch panjaban nuch panjaban nuch". One less false hope to hope against.

The "bongs" are nice and big in the Windies I hear. Azhar Mehmood has a reputation for passing it around well too. So who knows, with him around, our tableeghis will transform into the whirling dervishes that our president wants them to be. What's wrong with a little "Gaanja", a little reggae, some dreadlocks? Who gives a damn.

Even if Afridi satrts "booming" in the later stages of the tournament Inzi must capitalize on his bowling talents. He is too goog of an impact player to sit out.

The "Road to Jamaica" is indeed becoming a "Street to Jamaica". With leading players falling off the race, opportunities are opening up for stand byers. Azhar Mehmood, no doubt been mistreated by PCB in the past now has a point to prove. There was a time when the debate was either Azhar or Razzaq. This, I believe, has erupted again. If Razzaq is fit in 3 weeks, it will take him another couple weeks to be match fit.I guess by that time it will be too late.
Azhar showed some good application in SA and stakes are high. This is make or break for him and lets hope he can come good.
I agree, Malik, Hafeez and Afridi SHOULD take up the responsibility now. Malik appeared very mature in his game in SA but Hafeez is "Daawan Doll". Afridi also appears to have hit rich vein of form. At the end, the current squad as it stands appears to be part of "history repeating itself" and very well can be cornered tigers similar to 1992 World Cup. We only hope, that individuals take responsibility and transform their personal accomplishments into something big in this World Cup.
With daily musical chairs from PCB, I am keeping my fingers crossed and looking forward to baggy greens on the field in a 2 weeks time. Now its like .. Please put 11 players out on the filed and quit playing musical chairs.

Well put. Eve though razzaq will be missed I think it might be a blessing in disguise. Azhar although not as naturally gifted as razzaq is more of a thinking cricketer. He bowls and bats to plans whereas Razzaq is a bit more gung-ho.
Regarding Afridi - 92 was Imran's WC, 96 Jayasuria, 99 Klusener (although they lost) .. could 07 be Afridi's? -- lets hope and pray.

"A blessing in disguise" Maybe, maybe not. One thing is for sure Pakistan will miss Abdul Razzak's antics with the bat especially in the last ten overs. But Pakistan may not miss him in the field or his bowling judging by his recent form. Azhar Mahmood will surely be more dependable in the field and with the ball. Hafeez and Afridi should be Pakistan's main allrounders and Shoaib Malik's main role is of a batsmans. Luck has brought Azhar Mehmood from nowhere in the fold of things now it is up to him to prove his worh and cement his place for a possible renewed career.

First of all, games are won by specialists not allrounders. throughout history games have been won by people who specialist batsman or bowlers. given the affinity of all rounders these a sense of perspective is lost. If you look at your article, almost all the lines are based on hope. You start of sentences like any one of these all rounders on thier day can win it with bat or ball. I mean you can say that about every single person. Consistency is the key here which you fail to address. Kallis, pollock etc are true all rounders. the razzaks, afridis and all are nothing but meagre shadows of them

well it was '99 world cup, that the razzak-mahmood combi really came off, wasim used them very cleverly. I think azhar mahmood has 2-3 weeks to be match fit, which he surely will, he has gained bit weight. But considering his aggressive batting ability(the way he salughtered donald, pollock in 1997), and good swing bowler wat he is. Now its all on INZI to use him cleverly like wat wasim bhai used him in '99.
hopefully the u can say, mahmood=razzak

it is disappointing news but pakistan has other option. azahar mahmood is as good as razzaq in all of those departments. infect he is a much better fielder than razzaq. pakistan has chancess of wining this world cup if shoaib and asif play if not then there is no hope for them to win.
as far as afridi goes i think he is the one that we need for the world cup. his record in west indies is good and his bowling is improving. he is a good feilder and he is a team's man. hafeez should have been out of the team for yasir or salman butt. i don't see the reason why pakistan is giving hafeez chancess. if they want to use him as an all rounder we have better once in name of azahar, malik, razzaq and afridi. i don't see the fairness here. hamid score two fifties in Sa tour. hafeez's hightest score in the whole tour was 32. this guy gets a chance to play world cup but not hameed. based on what reason hafeez is still in the team?

Abdul-Razaq will be missed, along with Afridi he hits the ball miles and can induce loosebowelitus against even the toughest teams. The world cup will also miss the world of crickets fashion icon, the baseball cap behind the helmet was recently seen on the Milan catwalks.

His bowling prowess has waned a little, but with Shoiab and Asif most probably missing from the wrold cup, i'm sure he was going to play a more prominent role in the bowling attack.

So, now to Azhar Mahmood, he most probably will be selected for the XI, I think he can do a solid job, and his experience will be vital. Although not as explosive a hitter as Razaq, he has plenty of bottle, which in a knock-out tournament is invaluable.

All you Paki fans out there, stop whining, there are loads of good teams out there, and only one can win. If they come to the party, they can win it, but enough of the melodramatics when they lose.

You win some, you lose some.

i think the loss of razaq might be a blessing in disguise for pakistan.razzaq has been in the pakistan team for more than a decade but he is one of the most mentally weak players in the pak team.he is bad fielder less than average bowler and hit or miss batsmen who fires once in 10 or 15 outings.and i ve never seen a player with such a negative body languge.it seems he brings the whole team down with his attitude like he is playing club cricket not international cricket it was sad to see him afraid and running away from the bowling of harmison in the edgebaston test.and his weakness to the short ball is worse than a number 11 batsman.I think azhar mehmood is better choice anyway but i am not too sure about his fitness coz he looks a little overweight at the moment but i am sure he is kind of guy who is not going to take his place in team for granted like razzaq and give 100% every time he is on the field.I think the only way to get rid of inzamas favorites ie razzaq rana and akmal is if they get injured so lets hope rana and akmal get injured too

If I remember correctly Azhar's century in S.AFRICA was rated as one of the best ever by Wisden. How did this gem go wasted should be debated especially since he was doing fairly if not remarkably well in the county cricket circuit.Probably fell victim to the small mindedness rampant amongst us that makes us insecure of anyone speaking the inconvenient truth or speaking out of turn or both.

You are absolutely right Kamran.

Razzaq has become explosive as a batsman but deteriorated as a bowler. Azhar has deteriorated as a batsman but improved as a bowler.Yasir araffat is the only one Who has improved, in all three categories as a bowler batsman and fielder pity his not in the reckoning.

We find a similar situation with Hafeez and Malik. Malik has vastly improved as a batsman since his debut but sadly his form with the ball has dropped since his chucking controversy. Hafeez has yet to show any form in the one day format with the bat I personally believe hafeez should be batting lower down the order. With less pressure he may perform better.

Afridi deserves his place on his fielding and bowling form alone.As for his batting what a treat if he manages to find some rhythm.

But the loss of Razzaq is a major blow he can be simply awesome in the last 10 overs. This will put more pressure on the top order to score.

The question is ultimately with one problem after another whats next?

Pakistan cricket and team are in shambles. How many of the players are injuried. S.Akhtar, Asif, Gul and now Razzak. What is the team managers, docters etc. doing.

I really hope we have 11 players standing in ANY game

i think razzak is a big blow.but pakistan do have the replacements.do u remember that before 19992 world cup v had an injury crisis and v went on 2 win the world cup .in that world cup our first match was against west indies and this time too our first match is against windies.so these are all signs that v are gonna win dis world cup inshallah. GO PAKISTAN GO GO GO .

Pakistan cricket and team are in shambles. How many of the players are injuried. S.Akhtar, Asif, Gul and now Razzak. What is the team managers, docters etc. doing.

I really hope we have 11 players standing in ANY game

If he needs 3 weeks to get fit then y didnt they take him there is still 2 weeks left and first stage the team dould have done without him azhar isnt as good as razzaq not even close

Well the loss of Razzaq is huge.... and also problums with Akhtar/Asif.... and if they do not play as well and i think pakistans chances are NIL in the world cup..... it is very sad for all Pak supporters....

Afridi, a true champion!! How many pigs have you seen flying today? Maybe you should take a look at what he has done in the past World Cups and indeed his entire career. He will do the same in this World Cup. Sadly, your Afridi fantasies are unlikely to come true.

Unfortunately, this is also true for almost all of the “allrounders” you have listed. They are the weakest part of the team. As for Razzak’s injury, that could have been a blessing. Alas, his replacement Azhar Mahmood is worse.

The team desperately needs real batsmen and real bowlers. This strategy of filling the team with substandard players who can neither bat nor bowl (the definition of a Pakistani allrounder-sadly) will result in an even worse disaster than 2003.

Razzaq's injury will be a big loss. He is one of the cleanest hitters although his bowling recently has been lacklustre. I am a boom boom man too and would love to see Afridi open the batting. Allrounders win matches and they should be looked at and grromed as multi-dimesional / multi-tasked players rather than bits and pieces players. Come on guys....I know you can do it

I agree on kamran' assessent on razzaq exclustion based on his injury. razzaq can be murderer to bowlers when he keeps going. but quesion is how often he has done that..i would say once in a while...recently, he had looked totally out of sort.....anyway, there had been tie between him and afridi for playing eleven...and afridi is much better choice as an all-rounder

Salaam bhai, Hopefully I beat Lahoriyah and big D to it...

Anyways, My fav allrounder is now gone, we are doomed. Azhar is looking a bit lardy and bowling kinda slow.. we are in deep trouble!

That is intersting, because Razzaq is probably the cleanest hitter there is around. It will be a big loss. Also, I agree that Afridi should be played as a bowler who can bat, not a batsman who can bowl. Oh well, Razzaq always gets Tendulkar out so I guess its a good thing for me. But overall Pakistan look good as long as Shoaib can come back.

I agree with everything you have said there.

Yes, another blow. Razzaq's explosive batting will be missed, no doubt about that. But his bowling was not so good recently.

Azhar is not a bad choice, although not as explosive as Razzaq but relatively a complete batsman, who can bat in middle overs, unlike Razzaq and his bowling form is a plus point.

Afridi is special, so we cannot predict about him, his batting is as ever, but his bowling, if he bowls in rhythm, he looks unplayable sometimes, but sometimes bowls loose deliveries and releases the pressure on the batting side. But his form and confidence will help.

Hafeez , well he can bowl at any stage of the innings, even at the death; but always underused by captain, in one match he bowls a good tight spell and in the next match, he doesn’t even get the ball.

He has played enough twenty-20 cricket, so he can handle various situations. Malik should also be given confidence by providing him more chances to bowl.

So from all-rounders, Azhar and Afridi will have to concentrate on bowling more and Hafeez and Malik should be able to make good contributions with the bat, while also making some contributions with bat and bowl respectively. This way we can take full advantage from these four all-rounders.

Poor decision making once again by the PCB. Why not get all the has beens outta what ever their doing and bring em back as the last hope for pakistan during the world cup. It makes no sense whatsoever to have azhar mahmood come in and play. A team already filled with underachieving "all rounders" (mostly all round performace of poor batting, poor bowling and poor fielding) and now you throw in some guy who shouldve been at home watching the worldcup on his tv. If these morons had any notion of competance they wouldve added a batsmen as a replacement(asim kamal, yasir hameed, misba ul haq) But ofcourse they wouldn't want people to think that PCB actually has contingency plans?

Saleem to everyone,

As this is my first time writing in this blog, i feel the need to thank Mr. Kamran Abbasi for a great job in talking about critical issues in pakistani cricket. I think this will be a huge lose to pakistan as Abdul Razzaq is a good all rounder who can win a match any day with his bat and balling. The first match with West Indies will now miss Afridi and Razzaq which gives glimpse on how pakistan will do in this World cup . I Hope Azhar can regain his form and be the special piece in winning the World Cup.
Let's Go Pakistan!!!

This is definitely a huge blow for Pakistan Razzaq has been an integral part of Pakistan ODI team. Remember 1999 world cup where he had played a big role. On his day, he's such an exciting player to watch and certainly he's a world beater. I pray for his recovery soon.

Wajahat

San Jose, CA

most teams hope to have two world class allrounders in a decade but pakistan with the grace of god have four or five top all-rounders..i think if the ppl at the top of the board had a bit of akal pakistan wud b world beaters....lets jus pray that we can use these versatile players to our advantage...inshallah

Kamran bhai...

Razzaq's injury is a MASSIVE blow to Pakistan!!! and it's even worst that person replacing him is a useless allrounder (who can't bat and neither can bowl!). Sure Azhar has had success in county but anybody's Mum could take 50 wickets in a county season!

Our only hope is Shoaib Malik and boom boom when he comes back for Zimbabwe match!

How dare you call Mohammad Hafeez an allrounder???? 50 matches with an average of 19??? Rana naveed and Rao Iftikhar are better batters then him! (Rao Iftikhar has better batting avg in tests then Inzy and Mohammad Yousuf! LOL)

Dont worry Our AFRIDI will be enough to take on the world INSHALLAH

Dear Kamran,

First, I would like to ask you, don’t we already have named a squad of which, almost half have been named under the assumption that they would be either, cleared or declared fit at some point before or during the World Cup? If that is true than why not add Razzaq to that list as he can be a key factor if Pakistan are to make any significant progress in this World Cup.

In response to one of your previous Blog, I had suggested that Pakistan should pack the squad with all-rounder’s. Why? Again for the simple reason, in my view, in the absence of Shoib Akhtar and Asif (as of now, no one knows the final verdict about them) and Gul as, at the time of your Blog it was not clear whether he would be fit to participate (I am still unsure) Pakistan has no other bowler who can either contain or take MEANINGFUL wickets. Kenaria? He has either never shown that he can be a factor like Qadir was for Imran or he has never been able to gain the coach or Captain’s confidence. In Pakistan’s case, as we all know (I hope) looking at the history, our best bet has been, to get the opponent out instead try to contain them. Since, in the absence of key strike bowlers we have little chance to contain any quality opponent to an achievable total BY JUST OUR BATSMEN; Therefore, I had suggested Pakistan should build the team around all-rounder’s such as, Shoib Malik, Hafeez, Afridi, Razzaq, Azhar and to some even lesser extent Rana and Arafat. Yes, I am aware like many of your other readers and also yourself that, none of these fall into the category of Imran, Botham, Kapil, Hadlee, Chris Cairns and Flintoff. Still, I believe this is the best way for us to go about in this tournament. On the current form, and in the absence of Akhtar, Asif and possibly Gul, except perhaps Afridi, we can not say with any certainty which of the bowler including the above all-rounder’s can finish allotted 10 overs in key matches while conceding between 5 to 6 runs per over on a good day.

My whole argument is, if for example Rao Iftikhar or Sami (keeping in mind the current state he may get a call up) are played in all key matches, one can safely say most likely both of these will concede 50 to 60 runs in their allotted 10 overs while taking 1 or 2 wickets. I think, most of the above mentioned all-rounder’s would do almost the same or may concede 5 to 10 runs more. Yet, if we have more all-rounder’s in the team, they all don’t have to bowl 10 overs as another all-rounder can chip in if the first one is proving too expensive (or breaks down again, keeping in mind the current fitness level). On the same note, if we need few quick 30’s and 40’s we can expect (not guaranteed) couple of these 5 or 6 all-rounder’s to provide us the fire power in the batting to make up for what we have CONCEDED EXTRA in the absence of Shoib and Asif and maybe Gul.

As always, even though the writing is on the wall, BEST WISHES TO WOOLMER, INZAMAM, REST OF THE PAISTANINI TEAM and the SUPPORTERS LIKE MYSELF.

1st 2 post.. i win.. :P On a more serious note. Losing razzaq is a serious serious blow for pak. It means pakistan will have to play another seamer instead of just 2 fast bowlers and a few utility players. Mahmood is a good player but he hasnt played enough international cricket lately.

I agree about Afridi. There are precious few players in the world who have the ability to change a match completely. Afridi is one of these.
Pakistan must seek to win games and tournaments. And despite the unpredictable and, yes, inconsistent nature of Afridi's performances, and how annoying it can be when he holes out, any Pakistan fan would be much happier and more confident with him coming out to bat than anyone else on the list of all rounders.
QED

Come on Mr.Abbasi. Is this all you can manage after four days of thinking? The lack of any fresh insight makes this piece immediately obsolete. Your "analysis": The Pakistani allrounders can blow "hot or cold"; in your view Razzaq can be a vital ingredient in the closing overs; Razzaq's loss is Azhar's gain; and when Afridi's batting comes off, he wins matches. Explain please what value this has added to the information set of a million other followers of the game? At this point in time Osman Samiuddin blows you clear out of the water, column after column. Show us something new, or don't bother.

I think it will hurt Pakistan as far as batting is concerned more importantly "batting in West Indies", but I think Azhar Mahmood is far better bowler than Abdul Razzak (now a days) he is more quick and experienced. Razzak can be dangerous when it comes to hitting in last few overs, not so with Azhar.

Those of you who are going to raise hue & cry over Razzaks Injury Please dont waste your time and energy Look at his record for 2006-2007
Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w
12 152 38* 19.00 0 0 9 4/50 44.11 0

He had the highest score of 38 his bowling was expensive we do not need big names we need players who perform.
Shahid Afridi has been bowling well but his batting was almost the same as Razzak.

Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w
7 122 77* 20.33 0 1 6 3/25 33.66 0

These players are highly inconsistent and their careers should have been over at least two years ago,but having said that we can still use Afridis
Bowling and if he bats well that will be an added
bonus.
The most expensive bowler in 2006-07 was Rana Naveed he is completely out of form and if you look at his one day record although he takes a few wickets he has been highly expensive,I hope he has regained some form otherwise his selection will be totally unjustified,I hope and pray shoaib and Asif get cleared otherwise worldcup for pakistan will be a very short tournament.

Shahid Afridi: One of the great enigma's. The man has such awesome talents which are plain for all to see when he plays knocks like his 70 odd vs SA. But he doesnt seem to want to use his talent. I feel all he needs is a little more application. He applies this to his bowling so why cant he do it with his batting. He was approaching the ability to harness his abilities in the India series last year and then he just seemed to completely lose the plot and retire from test matches. Unexplainable. Then again will anybody ever be able to explain the one and only Shahid Afridi

ya,shahid afridi is the first among equals when it comes to power hitting....and his bowling is a big bonus for any side...being from india though i would prey that he does not do well against us....but watching him play is a treat and it crosses the boundary and i ll say he is the peerless in winning hearts...but only thing that he has to improve is his consistency against non subcontinental teams which i think he has begun to do...he is the rarest of rare talents with bat and to add onto this he has got golden arm too...now razzaq not playing in the world cup would have given many a bowlers some sense of relief...but mahmood is good enough to fill in the gap may be partially but he can do it....i ve one suggestion for inzamam and company,do play shoaib because withought him pakistani bowling looks pedestrian though asif is the best fast bowler on the scene now.but still shoaib is their best weapon...and use afridi judiciously...he can win matches within the blink of eye and its not only winning or loosing of match but....its the effect with he does just improves the overall morale of own team and needless to say it drowns opposition even further....all the best shoaib show us what u can do.....

Kamran I have just read youre interview with Azhar Mahmood. Dated May 28 2004. There are some fabulous insights in to the inner workings of the P.C.B. And the treatment of Azhar Mahmood has indeed been appaling. I remember during the 1999 world cup Azhar was being touted as a future captain by commentators.

Razzaq should have been taken to the world cup if he would have missed only the league games. I doubt whether that was a certainity. I think it is the new ball bowlers and openers including Younis at 3, that will make or break Pakistan's chances. Cross your fingers and hope the openers are not "very sensitive" as infamously put by Younis Khan.

Afridi can be the difference. May be this is the right time, the right platform for him to return strongly and shrug the horrors of last year. I agree with you that his bowling is always taken for granted and also as a batsman, he deserves to be sent higher up the order.
Hafeez is not likely to get many chances but it would be nice if he is tried against weaker opponents to change his habit of making pretty twenties and losing his wicket. It can boost his confidence. His bowling and fielding can be a good bonus to have.
Malik is the sweetest catcher of cricket ball in this side. Imran Nazir can cartwheel, yes, but he can't hold it as beautifully as Malik does. His batting is an asset and he has a sharp cricketing mind. In my opinion, if he is used properly, he can end the tournament as one of it's best allrounders.
It is very hard to say anything about Azhar at the moment. He has hardly got any exposure on international scene lately and supposedly his confidence level is not on the higher side. On contrary, if he takes the challenge as he should, he can be handy as a first or second change bowler and later middle order blaster.

With the current state of the first choice Pakistani bowlers and considering the quality of the back-up bowlers the inclusion of more than just the regular mix of allrounders seems more than just reasonable; infact, absolutely necessary. Azhar is a far better bowler than Razzaq; atleast he shows some emotion rather carrying the face of a child being forced to bowl. The wickets should suit us perfectly and with shorter boundaries our allrounders can succeed in doing what they do best.....Slog!!!!

It's a good idea that Abdur Razzaque accompanies the team and hope for timely recovery for the remaining matches with his expected all round performances.

All-rounders along with a fully fit bowling line up form the most important part of the Pakistani line up.

The loss of Abdul Razzaq has dealt a hammer blow to Pakistan’s chances and that is no reflection on Azhar Mahmood’s ability as a replacement. Abdul Razzaq along with Shahid Afridi provides Pakistan with the lower order fire-power that enables Pakistan to chase or post big scores.
Azhar Mahmood is capable enough to bowl as effectively if not more so than Razzaq, but where Pakistan will miss him most is with the bat and as good as Azhar Mahmood can be he does not possess Razzaq’s big hitting abilities that Pakistan rely on so often.

This all puts more responsibility on Shahid Afridi to perform and to perform more consistently. Shahid Afridi could prove to be the most valuable member of the team as his performances with bat or ball can turn things Pakistan’s way, therefore it is very important Pakistan get the best out of him. This means they need to bat him at No6 where he can be so devastating and not to float him around the order and reduce his effectiveness. His bowling in the middle overs will help give Pakistan control and he picks up vital wickets too and in poor fielding side his performances as one of the better fielders could also prove to be important.

Shoaib Malik another of Pakistan’s multi-talented players needs to play at the top of the order as an opener. We all know Pakistan’s weakness is with its openers and Malik I believe can solve that problem. Before his injury just before the start of the England tour, Malik was a regular opener for Pakistan in both tests and ODI’s even managing to win matches from that position. Malik has the mental approach to give Pakistan a solid start and Pakistan need to use this. He should open with one of Hafeez or Nazir, this would give Pakistan a good combination of solid & attacking play.

Losing Razzaq is a big blow but Pakistan have a good a chance as anybody if they can get Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif on board AND if they use their talented all-rounders properly!

I am with BOOM BOOM as well. Razzaq's is truly a disappointment. I am not thinking much about the tournament at the moment. Just waiting for it to start since we have quite a few disappointments to deal with. Too many injuries have happened right before the cup. But once it starts, I think we would all be in a better position to judge Pakistan's chances.
Regardless, I have already put a waged on Pakistan and I don't think I'll be hedging it by putting the money on any other team. Pakistan all the way!

I do definetley agree that Azhar Mahmood has been very poorly treated by the PCB, and let's gace it he is not the only one when you think of people like mohammad Wasim and co. But it also true to say that there is a huge gulf between Razzaq and Mahmood. Sure Mahmood has done well in the past for Pakistan (i..e 7 years ago) and also for his county team, but Razzaq was something different, he has the respect of his peers, he drives fear in the heart of his opponents with his dangerous batting, and as you said he is simply irreplacable in the last 10 overs, especially considering that Afridi's form can be very erratic. We saw in the tournament against South Africa that Azhar was finding it hard to hit bowlers to the boundary in the dying overs, wheras Razzaq is quite profficient in that respect. But alas, every cloud has a silver lining, and if as you say Azhar is a better bowler (i reserve judgement until I see him in more than one game) then that is definetley something that Pakistan can use, especially considering that it seems ever more likely that Shoaib and Asif will not travel to the World Cup.

I totally agree with you in Afridi's case. Select him for his bowling. A smart captain will back him and ask him to be a bowling allrounder and a floater with the bat. This truly will take the pressure off him and whenever he has performed he has praised Inzi for taking the pressure off of him.

I agree, pakistan's all rounders will play an important part, and it's really important that inzamam and woolmer recognize and consider afridi an essential part of their bowling plan in the world cup especially after the dismall performances of the medium/fast bowlers in SA. With the slow nature of the west indian pitches, hafeez can also play a crucial part in restricting the opponents and also take wickets at regular intervals. If pakistan use these two very well along with malik, we won't have to depend solely on medium and fast bowlers. This is important considering the doubts on asif and akhar's availability. If the batting performances are consistent and a good bowling plan is implemented, pakistan are in for a good chance. The pitches will favor our team, but it is upto the players to rise to the occasion. We'll have to wait and see for that.

I think the Pakistani All-rounders of today dont compare with the all-rounders of yesteryears... Kapil, Imran, Hadlee, Clive Rice, Botham... Not to mention the great Sobers... Anyhow having said that I think I should talk about reality as well... Thes e are the only options we have right now in the absence of quality batsmen and bowlers... We have to use these *tit-bit* players (as Khan Sahib likes to call them) and then pray to God that they click..

Azhar Mahmood, in my opinion, is a better allrounder than Razzaq and its a blessing in disguise for Pakistan that he is playing in this World Cup.
Afridi is an enigma that Pakistan never have or never will solve. He is one of those players that is do damn good and yet so damn inconsistent that he always begs for the question: is he worth the risk? He is definitely not worth his place in the side on his bowling and fielding alone, but add the chance of a match turning batting performance and the tables turn in his favour. He is a crowd favourite and this makes Afridi's selection one of the hardest decision that the Pakistan selectors have to constantly make. Having all rounders is important to add balance to a side but those all rounders have to either perform with bat or ball or both on any given day. An allrounder who is often mediocre with both is a liability to the side like Afridi and Razzaq often are.

Well, Pakistan's chances seem dim.

HOWEVER, I think that's exactly when they emerge as champions to down the critics.

Mr. Kamran, it seems like you have been reading my comments from previous blogs... lol

I say this because I've been suggesting Younis Khan as opener for the last couple of months in your blogs and you suggested that idea in one of your recent blogs. Obviously, it makes sense since he tends to enter in the game within the first two overs.

Secondly, during the South Africa tour, I commented on your blogs saying that next to Asif, Afridi was the best bowler in the ODI's. His bowling merit alone should merit his inclusion and his hitting is an ENORMOUS bonus.

Nonetheless, I will agree with my previous comments and your's here. Cheers!

Another comment I have to make so repetitiously is that WHY YASIR HAMMED WASN'T SELECTED? I will never know??? Is it politics??? Because his performance in ODI's has always been good. Should someone get injured now, his inclusion would be phenomenol.

MOMENTO: In evey WORLD CUP there is alway a new comer which emerges to take over. In 1992, it was Inzamam. In this WORLD CUP my bets are on IMRAN NAZIR.

Sami Syed from Toronto

Azhar is no more neer Razzaq's calibre, he is mach winning al-rounder.

Pakistan will definately miss razzaq as he is the most dangerous player in last 5 or 6 overs.he also take 2 or 3 important wickets.hope azhar mehmood plays well in his place.

This could be done now as well.
Couldn't this be?
If he improves, couldnt he be added in place of Azhar later on.
Please correct me guys if I am wrong -
Participating Nations Agreement (PNA) clearly states that a player who is replaced in a squad cannot be reinstated.

I am not sure if this rule applies for replacement happening during the tour or prior to the tour.

Shoaib Malik - the most consistent of them all; can hold the batting really well and is a proven opener/#3 batsmen; his bowling is a weak point as it's easy to go after in the death overs.

Shahid Afridi - The biggest matchwinner of them all. Batting is explosive but inconsistent; bowling is almost on par to the greats in ODI bowling, which is awesome for an allrounder like him.

Mohammad Hafeez - The truest allrounder of them all in the sense that he'll get 20-30 runs and bowl 10 economical overs. Problem is that he can't continue for a big one and his wickets come spontaneously (which is good at times).

Azhar Mahmood - haven't seen him enough lately to comment.

I dont understand why Pakistan sticks with Afridi so much when they have better batsmen/bowlers to replace him. I agree when he clicks he clicks big time but that occasion is extremely rare and more often than not he is being carried around in the team. Inzamam should lay off his petty loyalties and give some other youngsters a chance. Same goes for his affinity towards Sami who is no more what he promised once upon a time. Kamran has been an eternal optimist where Pakistan cricket is concerned. Maybe they(the Pakistanis) should rely more on people who deliver rather than send their nonperformers in with a prayer.

Razaq's untimely injury is a devastating news for Pak fans. I am really sorry for him and we are going to miss him in the world cup matches. Luckily, we have a very similar all rounder in the team- A Mahmood. Although AM is missing ODI match practice, he is well in form thanks to his county cricket. Anyway, it seems difficult to play both Razaq and A Mahmood in the same match. Now, A Mahmood has been granted a chance from skies and he can play without having pressure of making place in the team by competing with Razaq. Recently, his bowling form and fitness looked better than Razaq's. Also he is a different sort of Pakistani bowler. He hits the seam consistently and does not rely much on swing. This will provide more variety to our bowling. It looks that Shoaib and Asif are going to miss the wc for one reason or the other. So Rana and Gul are going to be our main bowlers. If Rana can emulate the same performance that he had against India then we can still hope for the cup. In order to use Kaneria successfully, somebody will have to exert pressure from the other end otherwise Kaneria will loose it. Inzi will have to use his fast bowlers in such a way that Kaneria is provided with enough tight end from the other side. I hope A Mahmood will prove that he is up to the task. Despite our bowling problems, I reckon, it is going to be our batting that will mostly decide the outcome of our matches. Team unity under a proactive and determined captain can disguise a lot of weaknesses. Whatever happens in the world cup, we will miss Razaq.

Razzaq's presence will be sorely missed but i think it ensures Afidi's and Imran Nazir's presence in each game Pakistan plays.

Simply because we cant afford to lose either of them now that Razzaq's big hitting will not be replaced. So Afridi has to contribute in the last 10 overs and Imran Nazir can contribute in the first 10 overs and he lasts long enough to participate in all power plays then surely Pakistan will win the match. We need 2 fit fast bowlers. Umar Gul is one and i hope Asif is another.

Razzak will be missed, I still remember his 3 over masacre of English bowlers when 6o odd runs were scored, it was simply breathtaking. However, I am pleased for Azar. I have seen this guy play for Surrey for the last 3 seasons. Azar has scored big runs against good attacks on seaming wickets; his ability to score runs aginst good bowlers is a massive bonus for pakistan and I'm of the view he should