5 Pakistan players to watch out for in the 2015 World Cup

There isn’t any other team that can tantalize and agonize its fans in equal amounts, as much as Pakistan can. Right from their maiden appearance in the first World Cup held in 1975, Pakistan Cricket has experienced the highs and lows, with a touch of drama each time. No one gave them a chance in 1983, yet they reached the semi-finals. Everybody considered them to be title contenders in 1987, but they stuttered in the semis. In 1992, some freak performances supported by inspiring leadership brought them the top prize. Quarterfinalists in ‘96, runner-up in ‘99, no shows in ‘03 and ‘07 and semi-finalists in ‘11. Unpredictable is the underlined word, chaos is the guiding principle, but repeated flashes of promise is a consistent appearance for Pakistan.The World Cup somehow brings the best out of Pakistan cricket. No matter what the previous year might have been like. Pakistan always manage to turn up and compete, and very few have been able to compete in the World Cup like the way they have. Come February, they return to familiar territory. The last time a World Cup was played in Oceania, Imran’s Tigers had pounced when cornered. And all the right noises have been made this time. No dressing room tiffs, no showdown with the coach and administration, batting practice on marble slabs and games in New Zealand. The preparation seems to be just perfect, add to that the possible scope of individual brilliance, there’s success cooking in the pot. Here are five individuals from Pakistan who can take the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 by storm:

#5 Yasir Shah

Yasir Shah’s last and solitary ODI for Pakistan came in September 2011. Often overshadowed by the genius of Saeed Ajmal, Shah’s watershed moment was when he was handed the spin bowling responsibilities for Pakistan in Test cricket, against Australia in 2014. He picked up 12 wickets at an average of 17.25 and followed it up with 15 wickets against New Zealand.

While there’ll be a monumental difference in the nature of the pitches and the demands of the formats, Shah continues to be the X factor in the Pakistan squad. Very few teams would have seen much of him, and it is of vital importance that Pakistan exploits this advantage.

Pitches in Australia favour leg-break bowlers, can Yasir Shah extract the most out of them?

#4 Mohammad Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez’s USP throughout has been his all-round abilities. But this time around, he might not just be able to bowl his willy off-breaks due to the ICC clampdown. So a lot will boil down to his batting and how he adapts his game. It’s most likely that he will be batting at No. 3, and will be banked upon because of his ability to switch gears and the vast experience that he carries.

The fact that he hasn’t played any ODIs in the last 12 months will be an added incentive for him to perform and repay the faith the selectors have showed in him by naming him as a specialist batsman.

#3 Mohammad Irfan

Out of the six sure shot games that Pakistan play, four are in Napier, Brisbane, Christchurch and Auckland. And the towering Mohammad Irfan will be the best suited to exploit these conditions. The 32-year-old has been Pakistan’s second highest wicket-taker in the last 12 months, giving away thirty-five runs per wicket.

Only recently, Irfan shared his dream of following Wasim Akram’s footsteps and winning the cup for his country. But whether the tallest cricketer in the world will be successful in doing that, is something that only time can tell.

#2 Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad, the modern day Afridi, has had a phenomenal year in ODI cricket. He was the highest run getter for Pakistan in ODIs in 2014, notching up two hundreds and four fifties in the process. Barely 23, Shehzad represents the future of Pakistani batting, and will be relied heavily upon to provide Pakistan with the starts during the World Cup.

In a short career of 56 ODIs, the batsman from Lahore boasts of a healthy conversion rate – something that comes handy in limited overs as set batsmen tend to capitalize better. The most heartening fact though is that Shehzad has scored three of his six hundreds in the unfamiliar territories of West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa. Scoring in overseas conditions always adds to the confidence of a player and trust something similar to happen when Ahmed Shehzad takes strike against India at Adelaide on 15th of February.

#1 Shahid Afridi

Pakistan cricket’s Superman will be playing his last World Cup, and unless he decides otherwise, his final few ODIs as well. Nine games if Pakistan make it to the final, seven, at least, if 2007 doesn’t happen all over again. In fact, a lot will depend on his individual performances if Pakistan are indeed to grab a podium finish. Afridi was one of the only two to have played all of Pakistan’s ODIs in 2014, and he is the talisman of the team this time round.

Be it with his aggressive batting, useful bowling or energetic fielding, Afridi is the person to watch out for. 389 matches, nearly 8000 runs and almost 400 wickets. All of this coupled with the recent form of 354 runs and 16 wickets in the last twelve months – it’s time to go boom boom with Afridi.