New Delhi: Keeping the maximum age limit of 28 years as the criterion, Pakistan has seven gifted cricketers who can be split into new and established players.
The coming mega event will witness the class, finesse and power of the many time trusted players but some new entrants like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, David Warner, Eoin Morgan, Angelo Mathews and Shakib-al-Hasan have demonstrated their quality game in recent years.
Quinton de Kock, Joe Root, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Adam Milne, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Williamson, Jason Holder are the breeds which can be framed in the ‘new' class of youngsters seeking to come out with flying colours in Australia and New Zealand.
So where does Pakistan stand…..?
Pakistan have as many as seven players who can be placed under this ‘new' youngsters category in the World Cup brigade. They are: Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Yasir Shah, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood and Ehsan Adil who all will be looking to blossom during the extravaganza.
Apart from Sohail, Irfan and Shehzad, all the remaining six players mentioned above, will be donning Pakistan colours for the first time in a World Cup. The average age of the ‘new' players is 25 years.
ODI is a format which not only requires players with innovative ideas but demands great deal of athleticism.
It is much more sensible and practical to test the new resources rather than looking to recycle the assets that have either long burned out or were never of any use. If Misbah and company take a crunch World Cup encounter say against India, Australia or South Africa down to the wire, one reckons it will be fantastic. Match result in this case will not matter, but top-notch efforts will. And these efforts can be duly expected to come from a capable and enthusiastic young player, and not from an old, lethargic and unqualified performer.
Talking specifically of the upcoming World Cup, it is no secret that several World Cups have been won when some youngsters along with their senior pros excelled for the team. When the great Viv Richards dazzled the West Indies retained the World Cup title in 1979; Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Aamir Sohail, Mushtaq Ahmed and Aaqib Javed were all young guns when Imran Khan lifted the Waterford glass trophy in 1992; Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana set the tone as dashing young openers when Sri Lanka seized the 1996 World Cup.
All this shows that young players have a major role to play in the World Cup. If Pakistan cricket is to move ahead, upholding of merit and prompt grooming of the players is imperative.
If these youngsters stand up and deliver alongside their seniors in Australia and New Zealand, Pakistan may well repeat the 1992 feat.
