You know the nation is skeptical when the loss of an opening batsman through an unfortunate injury is met by overwhelming cheers across the social media.

While I do feel sorry for Mohammad Hafeez, let’s be honest, with an illegal bowling action, the otherwise useful all-rounder from Sargodha isn’t skilled enough to justify his place as a specialist batsman.

His replacement, the 25-year-old Nasir Jamshed, is an opener whose 45-match ODI record isn’t significantly better, yet his best innings have shown more potential. While Nasir needs to iron out some technical flaws, his defenses are stronger than those of the man he replaces, and he carries the ability to both graft and attack.

Nasir Jamshed’s entry should please Misbah-ul-Haq, who reportedly fought for the young specialist opener to be part of the original squad.

On the other hand, news that Saeed Ajmal has been cleared by the ICC has been understandably met with caution by the team’s management, including the captain, vice captain, and the PCB chairperson.

While a possible injury to Sohail Khan opens a window, the management would be reluctant to replace a fast bowler with a slow bowler. What’s more, at the age of 37, with an untried and untested remodeled action, Ajmal could result in some dangerous friendly fire on the battlefield.

Regardless, Ajmal’s loss is a big blow to Pakistan.

A more precarious situation than 1992

 

Some have argued that Pakistan’s current misfortunes, where we have lost our best all-rounder (who happened to be our opener and most economical spinner), as well as our best spinner and our steadiest seam bowler, are similar to the adversities we faced before the victorious 1992 World Cup campaign.