I really wonder what Mohammad Hafeez has done wrong to not be a part of Pakistan's ODI team.

Just last year he was an integral part of Pakistan's Champions Trophy winning team. He played an instrumental role in propelling Pakistan to 338 in the final with a smashing unbeaten 57 off 37 deliveries. It seemed like Hafeez had found a new home in the middle order.

Following on from the Champions Trophy, Hafeez hit a couple of 30s against Sri Lanka including an unbeaten one, also while batting in the middle order.

Then in the series against New Zealand, where no Pakistan batsman really clicked, Hafeez had scores of 60 and 81, again while batting in the middle order. Those were the only two occasions that Pakistan surpassed a score of 245 in the entire series.

When Pakistan played again, a 5-match series against Zimbabwe, Hafeez found himself on the bench. He did not get a single game on tour.

Come the Asia Cup and Hafeez was out of the squad.

So after giving a solid consistent middle order performance over one year, Hafeez first found himself on the bench and then out of the squad altogether.

And I really do not understand why!

If the Asia Cup proved anything was that Pakistan dearly missed Hafeez's services.

Not only would he have strengthened Pakistan's middle order, he would have provided great value through his bowling.

His replacement in the XI, Asif Ali, is at best a T20 batsman. He definitely is not ODI top 6 material and it was apparent that even the team management thinks so when they decided to send Shadab in at the fall of the 4th wicket inside 20 overs.

Hafeez's inclusion the XI will not only strengthen Pakistan's middle order, it will give them an additional bowling option, and it will also allow them to include Asif Ali's hitting prowess at number 7.

That way Pakistan can actually field an ODI team with enough batting till number 7, followed by their allrounders, spinners, and pacers.

For those that feel that Hafeez is past his best and does not belong in Pakistan's ODI XI, here is a look at the performance of Pakistan's batsmen since the start of 2017.


That is actually a great record for someone who has been floating around numbers 4-6 for the past year or so.

The records of Babar, Fakhar, and Imam are inflated because of the run spree they all had against Zimbabwe, a series during which Hafeez warmed the benches.

If we exclude that series from this analysis, Hafeez's performance relative to the others looks even better.


In fact he averages better than Pakistan's current most popular batsman - Fakhar Zaman.

If one takes a look at the performance of Pakistan batsmen in ODIs in this decade, you may be surprised to realize that Mohammad Hafeez has been Pakistan's highest run scorer, as well as, their most consistent ODI batsman.


During this 8 year and a bit period, Hafeez has played the most ODIs for Pakistan and scored the most ODI runs for Pakistan.

Only Misbah Ul Haq and Babar Azam have a better average than him during this period, among all batsmen with at least 1,500 ODI runs.

Hafeez is also far ahead in the number of centuries for Pakistan during this period with 11 ODI centuries. And he has scored them against the likes of England, New Zealand, and India besides bashing the Sri Lankans and West Indians.

Then why is Hafeez out of this ODI Team?

It definitely cannot be due to cricket. There is probably something else brewing. Issues with the coach or management perhaps. Maybe a tiff with the captain.

I don't know what it is.

But whatever it is, for the sake of Pakistan cricket, it is better if this matter is resolved and Hafeez is brought back into the fold as Pakistan can really do with his services.

Pakistan started off the Asia Cup as favorites and ended the tournament as an embarrassment. They had an easy win against Hong Kong, barely scraped through against Afghanistan and faced embarrassing losses against India and Bangladesh.

When you go back in history and think of all those times when Pakistan entered the tournament as favorites, I don't think you will find any tournament where they actually lived up to the tag.

World Cup 1987, World Cup 1996, World Cup 1999, World T20 2010, Asia Cup 2018 and so many more.

At the same time, take a look at the tournaments they won and it was those where no one gave them a chance at all.

World Cup 1992, World T20 2009, Asia Cup 2012, Champions Trophy 2017.

There are so many bilateral series and triseries that have gone the same route for Pakistan.

Why then even give Pakistan the tag of favorites?

We were so confident about the Asia Cup. The fans, the team, the odd makers, everyone thought the tournament was Pakistan's even before it began.

I guess a combination of Pakistan's Champions Trophy win, 'home ground' conditions in the UAE, and Pakistan's recent decimation of Zimbabwe 5-0 resulted in everyone feeling that Pakistan was a great ODI force.

When in fact they really are not.

Pakistan is currently ranked 5 in ODIs and just last year they won a global ODI tournament involving the top 8 ODI sides in the world, but that Champions Trophy win was an exception amidst an abysmal run in ODIs.

If you take a look at 3-year ODI performances of the 10 teams that will be playing the ICC World Cup in 2019, Pakistan's W/L ratio is at the bottom half of the table.


Sure, one can say that Pakistan has won more ODIs than they have lost during this period and this cannot be termed as abysmal.

But delve a bit deeper into this record and you will realize that 26 out of those 32 wins have come against Sri Lanka, West Indies, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Hong Kong, which are teams ranked 8-12 (all below Pakistan) and a team that does not even have ODI status.

That leaves matches against the top 4 ranked ODI teams - England, India, New Zealand, South Africa - plus Australia and Bangladesh.

Take a look!


6 wins in 31 matches over 3 years!

That is a success percentage of 19%.

PATHETIC!

Now if that is not abysmal, I do not know what is.

Plus, 3 out of these 6 wins came in the Champions Trophy last year. Signs of improvement? Maybe so, but then we were blanked 5-0 in New Zealand earlier this year!

So no. We are not a good ODI team.

We recently reached the top in test cricket. We leveled a test series in England this year. We are the current number 1 T20 team. But when it comes to ODIs, we are at the middle of the table with a pathetic record against the top 7 ODI teams.

We have not beaten Bangladesh even once since the last ICC World Cup in 2015.

And here we were thinking we were the favorites to win the Asia Cup.

Quite delusional, aren't we?

This brings me to World Cup 2019.

The round robin format means to qualify for the semifinal a team will have to win, at a minimum, 5 out of its 9 matches. Even then it may not make it. 6 wins might guarantee a spot.

Who will these 5-6 wins come against?

Think about the opposition Pakistan will face.

On one hand you would think about the matches that you should win, i.e. the bottom ranked teams - West Indies, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

Pakistan have not beaten Bangladesh in the past 3.5 years and have lost 4 consecutive ODIs to them. And they just scraped through against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.

Are these 4 games sure wins for Pakistan? Definitely not.

For a minute consider that Pakistan does manage to win these 4 games. It then still has to win 1 or 2 games out of the matches against India, Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand - teams against whom Pakistan has won only 6 times in 31 games since 2015.

Do we really think we are among the top 4 ODI teams or capable of being among the top 4 at the ICC World Cup in 2019?

Growing up in Abu Dhabi in the 80s and 90s, I always used to look forward to the annual cricketing event in Sharjah.

Sharjah Cup, Champions Trophy, Wills Cup, Australasia Cup, Rothmans Trophy, Coca-Cola Cup, Pepsi Cup, there were a plethora of tournaments played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in last two decades of the 20th century.

Pakistan and India squared off 24 times at Sharjah during that period with Pakistan winning 18 times!

At the turn of the century, it all stopped. There were barely any more tournaments in Sharjah. India stopped coming here, and the annual Pakistan vs India fare became a rare commodity.

The only time India have come to the UAE since 2000 was in 2006 for a 2-ODI series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, and later for a few IPL games.

The Dubai Cricket Stadium has been open since 2009 and India has not played there even once.

All this will change from Wednesday.

In the span of 4 days, on the 19th and 23rd of this month, Pakistan will square off against India twice in Dubai!

The Asia Cup has brought back excitement to the same 80s and 90s level.

The 25,000 capacity stadium in Dubai was sold out within minutes for the 19th. Soon after the 23rd was sold out too.

Potentially, the two could meet in the Asia Cup final as well on the 28th, which will make it 3 games in 9 days at a venue where Pakistan and India have never met before.

I have been at the Dubai Stadium at full capacity.

A Pakistan vs Australia T20 a few years ago that ended in a Tie and went into a Super Over, a few PSL games, and a couple of other matches.

The atmosphere there is electrifying to say the least. The noise, the cheering, the music all make it quite deafening.

But I have never been there for a Pakistan vs India match and I can only imagine what it is going to be like this Wednesday.

The stadium is going be full. It might be more than full actually. There will be hoards of people waiting outside trying to get in. There will be a traffic jam around Motor City and Sports City. Parking lots will be full. Cars will be diverted away. There will be some very frustrated fans outside the ground. It will be hot and humid. There will be a lot of hurdles getting to the ground.

But once you will be in, it will all be worth it!

It has to be, it is Pakistan vs India after all, and that too in the UAE after 12 years, and in Dubai for the first time ever!

Pakistan and India have played 26 ODIs against each other in the UAE, out which they played 24 ODIs in Sharjah and 2 in Abu Dhabi.

Those two ODIs in Abu Dhabi in 2006 was the last time the two rivals met in the UAE. It has been 12 years.

They have never played an ODI in Dubai, which seems strange considering the Dubai International Cricket Stadium opened in 2009.

And now they are set to square off twice within 4 days and potentially a third time a week later.

Come Wednesday, 19th September, Pakistan will square off against India for the first time ever in Dubai and for the first time in the UAE in 12 years!

The 25,000 capacity stadium in Dubai was sold out in less than an hour for this match.

I can't wait to be there. I was there for the two games in Abu Dhabi in 2006. I remember being there for at least half of the 24 Sharjah games that Pakistan has played against India.

Those were the days when Pakistan used to dominate India. Out of the 26 matches played in the UAE, Pakistan has won a whopping 19!

Besides their dominance in the UAE, Pakistan has many other things going for them at the moment.

• The last time they played an ODI, it was the Champions Trophy Final in 2017, and Pakistan completely destroyed India.
• The last time they played an Asia Cup ODI match, it was the game in Dhaka in 2014, where Shahid Afridi scarred Ashwin for life.
• UAE is home and a like a fortress for Pakistan.
• India is coming off a demoralizing England tour.
• India has come for this Asia Cup without Virat Kohli.

If all this does not make Pakistan overwhelming favorites for its two games against India in this Asia Cup, I don't know what will.

Pakistan are my favorites for winning the Asia Cup too. The team has been on a roll for some time now. The young and talented cricketers have been performing exceptionally and glory for all of them is right round the corner.

Actually, they got the glory with the Champions Trophy win last year, so an Asia Cup win will only solidify Pakistan's position as one of the top limited overs side currently.

They have a courageous captain, some outstanding openers, one of the best number three batsman in the world currently, a hard hitting middle and lower order, and a destructive bowling line up that possesses unlimited variety and skill.

India and the rest of Asia need to be wary of this talented Pakistan side.

When Pakistan's Asia Cup squad was announced last month, there was little surprise as most of the members were automatic selections. The only choice that created some news was the omission of Mohammad Hafeez and selection of Shan Masood.

But was it a surprise?

Shan has played 12 tests for Pakistan and has been pretty much termed a test match specialist.

He has rarely been given a prolonged run as opener for Pakistan, and hence the limited success, but everyone remembers him for his epic 125 in Palekelle, where he, in the company of the illustrious Younis Khan, led Pakistan to a successful record run chase.

So what led to his selection in the ODI team?

I had the pleasure of meeting Shan Masood this past weekend, thanks to a friend.

While I am usually at the top of records and stats regarding cricket (both international and domestic), but when Shan told me about the record he had established and currently held, I was pleasantly surprised.

Shan told me that he has the highest List A average in the world at the moment, and that his successful domestic season in 2018 led him to a List A average above Michael Bevan's, who had held this record for over a decade.

Shan's 58.2 average is a good 0.4 runs above Bevan's and gives him a record that was considered quite difficult to break.

For the uninitiated, List A includes all ODI Cricket and all domestic 50-over games recognized by the domestic cricket boards.

Shan has had a tremendous domestic season, which resulted in his selection for the Asia Cup that got underway yesterday in the UAE.

In 20 List A games, Shan amassed 1,325 runs at a phenomenal average of 94.6 and a strike rate of 93.8. He has the best average in the format this season, the highest number of fifties, and the joint second highest number of centuries.

No wonder he has been given a chance to represent Pakistan in the limited overs format.

Not surprised any more, are you?

Shan is a record holder and hopefully he can translate this domestic form into some international runs too!

Pakistan owe their position in the Asia Cup Final to their hero, Shahid Afridi. If it wasn't for his match winning strikes against India and Bangladesh, Pakistan would probably not be playing the final tomorrow.

In Sri Lanka, Pakistan will meet a familiar opponent in the final. Even though Sri Lanka has been the more dominant team in the tournament, Pakistan should fancy their chances against them.

Head to Head, Overall

Pakistan won the last ODI series between the two teams 3-2, and their overall record against them is also better, which reads Pakistan 80, Sri Lanka 53, Tie 1. Even though there is not such a huge difference in the record in more recent years, Pakistan still leads the head to head 10-8 in matches since 2010.

Head to Head, Tournament Finals

The head to head in Tournament Finals however is even closer. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played 12 finals with each team winning 6. The last time the two teams met in an ODI final was in 2004 in the final of the Paktel Cup in Lahore. Sri Lanka won that by 119 runs. The last time the two teams met in an Asia Cup Final was in 2000 in Dhaka, which is where tomorrow's final will also be played. In 2000, Pakistan won the final by 39 runs.

Shahid Afridi's Milestones

Shahid Afridi's batting form has been key to Pakistan's success in the Asia Cup and if he proves to be the difference between the two sides once again in the final tomorrow, he may reach some new personal milestones.

1. Afridi is one man of the match award away from over taking Kallis and Ponting to become the sole third highest man of the match winner in ODIs.

2. Afridi needs 3 wickets to over take Brett Lee and 4 wickets to over take Glen McGrath to become the 6th highest wicket taker in ODIs.

3. Afridi needs 60 more runs to go past Inzamam Ul Haq to become the highest run scorer for Pakistan in Asia Cup matches.

If Afridi is at the top of his game tomorrow, he will probably reach one of these milestones, if not more.

Sri Lankan Milestones

Shahid Afridi is not the only who might reach some milestones. If Sri Lanka's best batsman in the tournament, Kumar Sangakkara, and their best bowler, Ajantha Mendis, are in top form then they could become the all time highest run scorer and highest wicket taker in Asia Cup matches respectively.

1. Sangakkara is 145 runs away from Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 1,220 runs in Asia Cup matches.

2. Mendis is 5 wicket away from Muralitharan's record of 30 wickets in Asia Cup matches.

If either of those milestones are achieved, then Sri Lanka will surely be looking at lifting their 5th Asia Cup title.

Misbah's Milestones

Misbah has been a prolific scorer for Pakistan in ODIs since taking over the team. He has bailed the team out on many occasions and on others has set up victories as well. In this Asia Cup, however, it has been a different story.

Misbah scored 73 in Pakistan's opening game against Sri Lanka, yet Pakistan lost the match. Pakistan won their next 3 games against Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh and Misbah's contribution in those games was 0, 1, and 4.

In two of those games, Misbah was run out.

What is interesting is that Misbah has been run out 7 times in his ODI career, and Pakistan has not lost any of those 7 ODIs - 6 were won, and 1 was tied, with 3 of the wins against Sri Lanka.

So it is not only Afridi's form with the bat that is key to Pakistan's success, Misbah running himself out is too!

Pakistan are the defending Asia Cup champions, and if they manage to win tomorrow Misbah will add another feather to his cap by becoming the only Pakistan captain to win two Asia Cup titles.

Interesting Pakistani Milestones

1. Moin Khan was the Pakistan captain in 2000 when Pakistan won the Asia Cup for the first time. It will be an interesting feat for him if Pakistan win tomorrow, giving him two Asia Cup titles - 1 as captain and 1 as coach.

2. Mohammad Akram will also be a part of a similar feat if Pakistan win. He was part of the team in the Asia Cup in 2000 and is currently with the team as bowling coach.

3. Misbah, Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Afridi, Gul, and Ajmal were part of the victorious Asia Cup campaign in 2012 as well. All of them will become the only Pakistan players to be a part of two victorious Asia Cup campaigns if Pakistan win tomorrow.

4. If Pakistan win tomorrow, Shahid Afridi will become the only Pakistani player to win the Asia Cup three times.

This Asia Cup has provided thrilling matches and one can look forward to the same tomorrow. Here's hoping for a cracking game and Pakistan achieving all these milestones!