Karachi: Pakistan cricket tour selectors face a huge dilemma over picking up the playing XI in the run up to their high octane clash against arch-rivals India in their World Cup opener in Adelaide on Sunday.
“Yes, the playing eleven has become a dilemma because after two weeks in New Zealand and Australia it is clear we have to play four specialist bowlers with Shahid Afridi as the fifth bowler,” an official in the team told PTI today from Adelaide.
“The problem is if we play four specialist bowlers then we have to play Umar Akmal as a wicketkeeper and that is a risky proposition.
“If we stick with Sarfaraz Ahmed as keeper, it means we can only play five specialist batsmen and no one in the tour selection committee is comfortable with that,” he added.
The official said the option of using a make-shift opener with Ahmed Shehzad had been discussed but head coach Waqar Younis was firm in his belief that a gamble should be taken with Nasir Jamshed flown in to replace the injured Muhammad Hafeez.
The official admitted the selection had become a dicey decision since majority of the tour selection committee also didn’t want to drop Sohail Maqsood from the batting line up. (PTI)
