Did #BabarAzam Select The Right Playing XI For The #PAKvsBAN Match?

#BabarAzam led Pakistan have already announced their playing XI for the #PAKvsBAN match of the #AsiaCup2023. The men in green have been called out on more than one occasion during the last few months for misreading conditions and selecting the wrong players to represent them on the field and so, here is a look at whether or not their XI for the game today makes sense.

Read: #AsiaCup2023: 3 Facts You Need To Know Before The #PAKvsBAN Game

So, Which Players Have Been Picked By #BabarAzam For The #PAKvsBAN Match?

Pakistan’s playing XI for the first match of the super four stage of this year’s Asia Cup comprises of the following players.

Babar Azam (c), Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.

Read: #AsiaCup2023: A Look At Where Pakistan & India Need To Improve

Does It Make Sense?

Mohd. Nawaz’s performance has not been satisfactory for a while now. Also, Pakistan certainly missed the services of a paceman during the #PAKvsIND match. Hence, to include Faheem Ashraf ahead of Nawaz seems to be an obvious decision. Nevertheless, conditions in Pakistan where the game is scheduled to take place today are significantly different from what we have seen in Sri Lanka where the green shirts bowled India out for 266 runs.

Read: #AsiaCup23: 3 Reasons Why The #PakvsInd Match Holds Significance

Bangladesh can surprise Pakistan if they play to their full potential in Lahore today. Seamers might not be able to enjoy the same of level assistance from the pitch that they received in Sri Lanka and so, it certainly makes little sense to play Faheem ahead of Nawaz who could have come in handy in Lahore.

Read: #AsiaCup2023: 3 Takeaways From The #PAKvsNEP Game

Giving match practice to Faheem is the only argument that can go in favor of Pakistan’s think-tank however, if the all-rounder is unable to deliver on what is expected to be a docile Lahore pitch then his confidence is almost certain to go down prior to the next match against India that is likely to be shortened by rain again and during which fast bowlers are likely to receive assistance because of the conditions.

Read: #AsiaCup: 3 Things That Pakistan Must Do Ahead Of The #ICCWC23

Hence, it seems as if the green shirts have made a mistake while announcing their playing XI. But, for the sake of Pakistan we all hope that they are able to get away with it and that Bangladesh fails completely to capitalize on the national side’s misjudgment.