Squad capable of excelling in the World Cup: Moin Khan

He said that the team was announced after consultations with head coach Waqar Younis and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.

“This is the best possible squad from the available resources, and the selectors believe it has the requisite talent and skill-set to recapture the World Cup Down Under after 23 years”, said chief selector Moin Khan.

‘’My request to all Pakistanis is to back the national team in its quest for glory,” Moin said.

“Four factors were of prime import for selectors: Suitability to play in conditions in Australia and New Zealand; performance in international contests; performance in domestic cricket and preference to the choices suggested by captain and head coach of Team Pakistan,” he said.

“Of the selected squad of 15, eight have played in the last World Cup, while the remaining seven have been picked after their recent form impressed the selectors. This makes it a pretty decent blend of experience and youth.

“Despite a recent poor run of form in limited-overs cricket, in my mind, there’s no doubt on the capability of this side to excelling in the World Cup.

“It indeed is a formidable unit, with the potential and natural flair to perform well at the ICC’s premier global showpiece event. And if the boys hit form individually and as combinations and peak at the right time, this bunch has the capacity to go all the way to the winners’ podium,” said an optimist Moin.

He added that replacements could be made during the tournament if some of our players pick injury during the tournament.

Moin Khan said that the emphasis has been on preferring specialists over bits and pieces players. The squad contains two openers, four middle order batsmen, five pace bowlers, one spinner, two all-rounders and a wicket-keeper batsman.

To fine-tune preparations for the global event, PCB has also decided to organize a short training camp for the team, which has been scheduled from January 13 to 17 at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.

Team Pakistan will embark from Lahore on January 21 for New Zealand via Dubai for the two-match ODI series against the Black Caps before flying over Tasman Sea to Sydney for its warm-up games before moving on to Adelaide for its much-anticipated first World Cup 2015 encounter against India on February 15.

Fifteen-member squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Muhammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Younis Khan, Harris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Ehsan Adil, Yasir Shah.

Team Management: Manager: Naveed Akram Cheema; Head Coach: Waqar Younis; Batting Coach: Grant Flower; Spin Bowling Coach: Mushtaq Ahmed; Fielding Coach: Grand Luden; Physio/Trainer: Brad Robinson; Assistant Coach: Shahid Aslam; Media Manager: Agha Akbar; Security officer: Col. (Retd) Muhammad Azam Khan; Analyst: Talha Butt