Former English cricketer Mark Butcher pointed out a hole in Pakistan’s One-Day International (ODI) starting XI, while speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
According to Butcher, the Pakistan team struggles to identify and pick the right players.
“I think they are as good as they ever were. They are a dynamite team. There is a bit of a hole in the middle where they have struggled to identify and pick the right players for the roles of five, six, seven, finishers, all-rounders,” said Butcher.
Mark was full of praise of Pakistan’s top order, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq and Babar Azam, who are in top-ten of the ODI world rankings.
“Top order batting is fantastic. They’ve got Fakhar, Babar and Imam all in the top ten of the ODI world rankings,” said the 50-year-old commentator.
He also said that Pakistan has a “dynamite” bowing attack while highlighting Shadab Khan.
“The bowling is dynamite no matter which combination of quicks they play. Shadab is a terrific leg-spinning all-rounder. And on their night they can beat anybody. Which is why they make finals. So I think their chances [for the World Cup] are pretty good,” he added.
Butcher also could not stop himself from appreciating the amount of talent Pakistan has. According to him, Pakistan could become a very tough team to beat if they are managed properly.
“It is extraordinary really that given everything that Pakistan cricket contends with over time, the one thing that is not in question is the amount of talent there is in this country. With a bit of better management and more accountable decision making they could be very tough to beat,” he concluded.
It must be noted that the Men in Green became the number one team in ODI cricket after taking a 4-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand on home soil.
In order to cement their place at the top, Pakistan will have to win the series 5-0. A defeat in the last ODI on Sunday (today) will see them drop to number three spot with Australia reclaiming their number one ranking.