Pick Kamran Akmal And Shoaib Malik

I am not the only one who is confused why Pakistan Cricket Board is not interested in picking Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik in their world cup squad. All this talk about spot betting has something to do with it but the fact of the matter is that both of them has not been charged of anything in official.

By picking both Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik in the squad, Pakistan can strengthen their batting attack immensely. Kamran Akmal is a pretty dangerous batsman at the top of the order and if he fires, Pakistan is going to be in a much better shape. With regard to Shoaib Malik, I rate him very highly. Not only he is a good batsman who can play in number of modes (Attacking, grafter, can change strike regularly and run brilliantly between the wicket). In addition, Malik is also a good fielder and a tidy enough bowler. In short, a must in the team like Pakistan who is struggling for the last few years.

Some of you will say that Malik has been given quite a bit of chances and he is not able to perform. This is true to some extent but tell me one thing: Is there any regular batting spot been given to him in the last three or four years. At one moment, he is opening the batting, next day batting at number 6 or 7. Such kind of instability can have a negative impact on any player. In my opinion, Malik should bat at number 3. Not only he can take the advantage of fielding restrictions but also rotate strike which is often missing with the top order of Pakistan.

Regarding Kamran Akmal, he is a match winner and should be in the team all the time. No doubt, his wicketkeeping needs improvement but until and unless you give him confidence, how he is going to improve. Despite being an Indian, I think Pakistan Cricket Board should select these two for world cup squads as it will make them much stronger.

In the Betfair market of ICC World Cup, Pakistan at present is trading at 10 which is a decent prize to back especially if they pick Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik in the team. I will jump to these prices immediately once Pakistan announce their squad.