Clicking on the photos in this article will take you to that individual’s career record site at cricinfo.org. The rankings noted in the following are valid as of November 25, 2006.
The recent post on statistics of leading Pakistani batsmen (here) prompted me to look at the ICC’s ‘Best Ever’ Player Ratings, to see where our players stand.ICC ratings take into account the quality of the opposition and the overall 
context in which each performance was achieved, unlike simple averages. Also, the ‘best ever’ ranking attempts to show how good players were at their peak, rather than over their whole career. As such, they suggest how players from different eras would have compared, though not everyone may agree with the conclusions drawn.
Generally speaking, ratings of over 800 indicate that the player has consistently produced outstanding performances, while anything over 900 is world class. There are only 19 bowlers and 20 batsmen who have achieved Test ratings over 900, out of the hundreds who must have played in the last century or so. Pakistan has two bowlers, Imran Khan and Waqar Younis, and one batsman, Mohammed Yousuf, in this elite group.
Test Match Dream Team
I thought it would be interesting to try and compile a Test squad from the top Pakistani players in the ICC’s list of 100 “best ever players.
Let us start by looking at the players who made it into the ICC list. I begin by looking at the bowlers and batsmen seperately.
World Ranking. Bowlers (rank; points):
Imran Khan (#3; 922); Waqar Younis (#10; 909); Fazal Mahmood (#25; 898); Shoaib Akhtar (#42; 855); Wasim Akram (#57; 830); Mushtaq Ahmed (#59; 827); Saqlain Mushtaq (#94; 771); Iqbal Qasim (#95; 770); Sarfraz Nawaz (#98; 767)
World Ranking. Batsmen (rank; points):
Mohd Yousuf (#18; 914); Javed Miandad (#30; 885); Inzamam-ul-Haq (#42; 870); Younis Khan (#46; 856); Saeed Anwar (#62; 824); Hanif Mohammed (#66; 819); Zaheer Abbas (#78; 803); Majid Khan (#86; 791); Saeed Ahmed (#92; 784)
If we drop the last from each list, we will have 8 specialist batsmen and 8 bowlers. By chance, this is also a well balanced group, though there is no wicketkeeper. To complete a squad of 17, we need only to add Wasim Bari, who was undoubtedly Pakistan’s finest specialist keeper and acknowledged in his time as among the world’s best.
Most of the above players have captained their country, so selecting one leader is not easy. However, I would opt for Imran Khan for his attacking approach. Selecting a final playing eleven from these players involves subjective judgement and no longer relies only on statistics. One logical selection (in batting order) is as follows:
Pakistan’s Dream Team (Tests)
Hanif Mohammed
Saeed Anwar
Mohammed Yousuf
Javed Miandad
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Imran Khan (captain)
Wasim Akram
Wasim Bari
Mushtaq Ahmed
Waqar Younis
Fazal Mahmood
Shoaib Akhtar would be the reserve fast bowler, while Saqlain Mushtaq and Iqbal Qasim would replace one or more of the fast bowlers depending on the type of wicket. Zaheer Abbas, Younis Khan and Majid Khan would be the reserve batsmen.
Except for benching Shoaib Akhtar in favour of Wasim Akram (more useful as a left armer and all rounder) and Mushtaq Ahmed (to have at least one specialist spinner), this team follows the ICC rankings. As openers, Saeed Anwar and Hanif Mohammed take precedence over Younis Khan (The squad should really have a reserve wicketkeeper rather than an extra m
iddle order batsman, but for that one would have to go outside the Rankings again, which I preferred not to do).
The only problem I have with this team is the one down position. Both Yousuf and Inzamam have been reluctant to bat at number 3, while Miandad was a regular at 4. In principle, the best batsman should come in at 3, which would be Yousuf according to the rankings. However, in view of his expressed reluctance, I would prefer to see Zaheer Abbas in this position, as he was definitely the best one down we have had. If he comes in, though, either Yousuf or Inzamam would have to join the reserves.
One Day Dream Team
Similar to the Test team, one can use the ICC Ratings to select a one day squad.
Players before the seventies obviously don’t feature here, and although there are 11 Pakistani batsmen and 15 bowlers in the top 100, only the top 7 or 8 in each category are listed below:
World Ranking. Bowlers (rank; points):
Wasim Akram (#15;850); Saqlain Mushtaq (#22; 804); Imran Khan (#31; 780); Abdul Qadir (#32; 778); Waqar Younis (#32; 778); Azhar Mahmood (#48; 748); Sarfraz Nawaz (#49; 744)World Ranking. Batsmen (rank; points):
Zaheer Abbas (#2; 930); Javed Miandad (#6; 910); Salim Malik (#26; 822); Saeed Anwar (#36; 808); Inzamam-ul-Haq (#41; 801); Mohammed Yousuf (#52; 777); Aamir Sohail (#59; 766); Ramiz Raja (#62; 762)
There are 7 bowlers and 8 batsmen, again well balanced but without a wicketkeeper. I would personally choose Wasim Bari as keeper here also, because I feel one should choose the best player for the position, even though the current trend is to prefer a batsman who can keep rather than the best keeper if he isn’t an outstanding bat. If one wanted to play safe, one could choose between Moin Khan, Rashid Latif or Salim Yousuf, all of whom could be relied on as batsmen.
My personal playing eleven for the dream one-day team would be as follows:
Pakistan’s Dream Team (ODIs)
Saeed Anwar
Aamir Sohail
Zaheer Abbas
Javed Miandad
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Imran Khan (captain)
Wasim Akram
Wasim Bari
Abdul Qadir
Waqar Younis
Saqlain MushtaqIf an extra medium pacer is needed, Azhar Mahmood can come in instead of one of the spinners, which would also strengthen the batting. Sarfraz Nawaz and Ramiz Raja make up the reserves in a 14 man squad.
Purely as a personal prejudice, and my only significant deviation from the ratings, I have not included Salim Malik, though he is rated the third highest Pakistani batsman in one day internationals. I would rather have Inzamam, as being more reliable when the chips are down.
Also, as a middle order bat, Mohammed Yousuf loses out to Aamir Sohail and Ramiz Raja (the latter being the reserve opener), even though Yousuf is ranked higher by the ICC.
What do you think aboutmy Dream Teams? Woudl you like to suggest your own? How closely do you feel the ICC Ratings reflect the real achievements of players?
Those who are interested in the full rankings can go to ICC website and navigate from there.
Khalid R Hasan lives in Karachi and has avidly followed cricket since the West Indies toured the country in 1958.
News are ban might be lifted and asif would appear for WC07 Inshallah, thats great!
You are absolutely right regarding asif s talent and control. I think he is the first pakistani bowler which i ve seen , since i ve been watching cricket, who relies on pitching the ball in the corridor of uncertainity. Yea he has played in australia , mere one test just at the beginning of his career in which he got i think 1 wicket. Infact he was dropped after that series for almost a year until making his bang current come back. But since then he has never played in australia or for that matter in south africa or carribean. And considering the current turmoil he is going through , one has to wait a bit longer to get all the answers.
great post and comments. agree wih comments that stats are not the be all of selection criteria. one interesting exercise might be to see what the lowest rating of these selected players was after they had been playing for afew years. this would give us an idea of their consistancy. also to throw other names in the mix what about asif iqbal and mushtaq mohd. both were ideal lower middle order batmen and could bowl more than a bit
[quote post=”430″]
Adnan no offence, but Shoaib Mohammad was too much[/quote]
hehe I agree, he was too much defensive but give him credit that he used to save a wicket while bastsman on other hand used to score run.
[quote post=”430″]Asif there too in your all time best .hmmm isnt that way too early call for a guy who has yet to[/quote]
Asif is talented and member of modern cricket. Experiene doesn’t mattr all the time. He maintains line and length and can swing the ball.
I think Asif has played in Australia?
Mamoon, a very apt press quote concerning Hanif Mohammed is “he bats according to the calendar not the clock”. Also, at the fag end of Hanif’s career, the late Omar Kureshi was asked on BBC whether Hanif should continue to be selected. His reply was “I would select Hanif so long as he can still stand up”. This should indicate the sort of respect Hanif commanded from the first couple of generations of Pakistan cricket fans.
For many years, Hanif was the difference between Pakistan losing or drawing Tests. My chief criticism of him would be that his defensive mindset, perhaps initially forced on him by circumstances, became ingrained. As captain, on more than one occasion, fear of defeat prevented him from chasing a challenging score in the fourth innings.