World Cup 2019: 3 Cricketers who can lead Pakistan after the tournament

The Pakistan cricket team has been going through lots of ups and downs in recent times. The team is currently witnessing one of its poorest times in international cricket as, at the moment, it is on 6th and 7th position in ODI and Test Cricket respectively. It has lost its last 5 ODI series and the last series win came against Zimbabwe during 2017.

However, despite such a poor run, the Men in Green walked into the World Cup as one of the top 8 direct qualifiers and were expected to be the dark horses of the tourney. Howbeit, the one-time winners of the marquee tournament have hitherto failed to play as per the expectations and have been able to clinch off a victory in just one of the first five games.

Recently, the Safaraz Ahmed-led team took on the Indian cricket team in a high-octane clash. The game had lots of attention and expectations attached with it as cricket aficionados from all over the world were eagerly waiting for the game to begin. Nevertheless, the match eventually couldn’t live up to its grandeur as India won the match easily to make it 7-0 in the World Cups against their arch-rivals.

The match turned out to be rather disappointing for the Pakistan fans as their team miserably failed to chase down the target posted by the opponents. This defeat raised lots of questions and the whole cricketing fraternity attacked the Pakistan team with all its guns blazing. The captain Sarfaraz Ahmed turned out to be the main villain of this whole fiasco. The veteran cricketer was brutally trolled for his poor performance and laziness on the field.

The team is on the brink of the elimination and will have to win all their remaining four matches now which look extremely tough. There are chances that the board look beyond Sarfaraz Ahmed to lead the side after the tournament. There will be a lot of chopping and changing in the team as well.

Here we bring you three players who can lead Pakistan after the World Cup.

Imam-ul-Haq

Imam-ul-Haq, in a very short period of time, has turned out to be a batting sensation of Pakistan’s cricketing circuit. The 23-year-old has been making headlines ever since he made his international debut. The lad, who began his career amidst several havocs regarding his selection, has gone on to become one of the most integral parts of Pakistan’s white-ball setup.

He has now cemented his place in the team and holds several records like the highest opening stand in ODIs (alongside Fakhar Zaman). He is also the 2nd fastest player to score 1000 runs in the 50-over format.

Apart from his batting which looks technically solid, the Lahore-born cricketer is also famous for his competitive nature and the chip-on-the-shoulder attitude. He seems to have that command which can make him a good captain. Imam, in his short career, has been brilliant for the Men in Green and looks a decent prospect to take up the reins of the team.

Mohammad Amir

Mohammad Amir‘s career in international cricket has been no less than a roller-coaster ride. The speedster made his international debut in 2009 and a year later, a 5-year ban was enforced on him for deliberately bowling a no-ball in a Test match in England. The 27-year-old then made a comeback in 2016 and kept giving the batsmen a run for their money. He bowled a fantastic spell in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against India which is still fondly remembered.

However, what followed this glorious time was a horrible run in international cricket. The pace assassin bowled a total of 101 overs after the CT Triumph and could pick only five wickets until the start of World Cup 2019. He averaged a mediocre 92 during this period. His poor show in the Asia Cup eventually resulted in his exclusion from the Pakistan squad. Amir wasn’t picked in the preliminary World Cup squad either but the selectors included him at the last moment after a 0-4 series loss to England.

Nonetheless, the Punjab-born cricketer was ultimately added to the squad and this started a new chapter in his international career. The lad struck a total of 13 wickets in the first 4 games at a blistering average of 13.08. The seamer has now almost secured his place in the team and might go on to replace Sarfaraz Ahmed, as the skipper of the side in the coming days.

Babar Azam

Babar Azam is one of the best batsmen of the Pakistan batting line-up. The lad has gradually become one of the mainstays of the cadre. He holds the record of scoring the most number of runs after 25 ODI innings by any batsman. The Lahore-born cricketer is one of the best batsmen Pakistan has produced in recent times and is an epitome of consistency.

He is ranked 8th in the ICC ODI rankings for the batsmen and is at the top spot for a long time now in the T20I format. The premium batsman can certainly be seen as the next skipper of the side. He has shouldered the responsibility leading Pakistan during the U19  World Cup in 2012 and thus has experience as well. Hence, the nation must be seeing a future captain in the 24-year-old as he has most of the qualities which one requires to lead a side.