Former West Indies fast bowler and one of the most iconic commentators Ian Bishop has named his greatest Pakistan ODI XI. Picking an all-time ODI XI from a nation which is known to produce cricket superstars is not an easy task.
“Choosing the greatest team for any nation in any format is difficult,”
SAID BISHOP
Pakistan is one of five teams who have won the World Cup and their players have set several records in the ODI game, some of which are yet to be broken.
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Bishop’s Pakistan all-time ODI XI
For his legacy and leading Pakistan to their only 50-over World Cup title date, Bishop named Imran Khan as the captain of his best Pakistan ODI side. He included one of the greatest batters to play for Pakistan, Zaheer Abbas as the opener.
“They have won the World Cup under Imran Khan, whom I’ve got as the captain of the team. Zaheer Abbas is opening the batting. He is too good a player to leave out. Although most his career he batter No.3, it isn’t too high a jump to go to opening the batting. He has had such a wonderful career that he had to fit in there,”
SAID BISHOP IN A VIDEO ON THE PAKISTAN CRICKET BOARD’S YOUTUBE PAGE
He also mentioned Mohammad Yousuf in his team and also the current Pakistan captain and the number one ranked ODI player in the world Babar Azam. One of the best match-winners to play for Pakistan Inzamam-ul-Haq also had his name on Bishop’s side. As for the bowler, it was a no-brainer for Bishop as he named two of the greatest fast bowlers not only in Pakistan but in the whole world, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
“Babar Azam’s legacy in a young career is top class so he had to get in there. Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain and he played a role in that World Cup-winning team under Imran Khan. Then you’ve got Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Two stalwarts who have done yeoman’s service for Pakistan across formats.”
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Shoaib Akhtar finds no place
To everyone’s shock, the key player missing from the ODI XI was Pakistan’s legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar is counted as the world’s fastest pacer who clocked past 100 miles twice.
In the end, Bishop admitted that there will always be a debate on this and he is not claiming to be true by all means. But these players will reflect some of the rich histories of Pakistani Cricket.
