So what is the greatest Pakistan playing 11 ever?

Now, I work for an organization that is very much influenced by Americans with majority of staff being American expats settled and working here in the UAE. As a result, sports related discussions are limited to Baseball, Ice Hockey & Basketball. During conversations with my boss over the next few days, it was evidently clear that I was very upset about missing the game. I explained to him that it is not simply a game but more of a passion! Hell, I even showed him wellfielded.com! Being an American and completely clueless about Cricket, he began to ask me about the beautiful game and I began to spread the ‘love’. I explained the T20I and ODI formats which he understood to a decent extent till I lost him whilst trying to explain the Test Cricket. It was at this moment an American Texan asked me the question … “Amer, what would your all time favourite Pakistan cricket team be if you could select over time and history?” … and this got me thinking!

My team is obviously influenced by the 1980’s onwards given my birth year is 1976. Obviously I expect our other members from earlier eras or later to have a different view but I will try and explain my rationale behind the selections.

So here’s my all time Pakistan playing 11:

1. Mohsin Khan
Mohsin made his debut in the late 1970’s and played till mid 80’s. My memories of Mohsin are very clear.. I remember the summer of 1982 when our family was living in the UK and Pakistan were touring England. The hero of that summer was clearly Imran Khan but Mohsin was not far behind either. I still remember as a 6 year old watching highlights of Mohsin’s double century at Lords. What an innings. Such elegance, such charisma. Probably in my books one of the finest timer of the ball specifically of the pads on the leg side. His career was unfortunately restricted due to 2 factors. (A) His desire to make a name for himself in Bollywood following his unfortunate union with the actress Rina Roy and (B). Hanif Mohammad being chief selector and clearly pulling all his weight and muscle to get his son Shoaib Mohammad into the Pakistan set up. Had the 2 above not occurred, I would have expected Mohsin to have played many more years with Pakistan. I still remember his interview with Richie Benaud at the end of the Lords test in 1982 where he says “I’ve forgotten about my 200, I’ve forgotten about my being man of the match, the only thing I remember and will remember is Pakistan winning here today at Lords”. Priceless!

2. Saeed Anwar
Personally I have always struggled to name elegant left hand batsmen. There are very few in history with Alan Border, Lara and David Gower being some. However Saeed Anwar’s name comes very high in this list. Elegant, majestic timing and placement was his trademark. He could single handedly take the game away from the opposition with his stroke play. Anything outside the off stump was guaranteed to go to the boundary and likewise anything short on his legs would be dismissed into the crowd. With a test average of 45 and ODI record of 40, I wish T20 was invented during his time!

3. Mohammad Yousuf
With a test average of 55 and ODI average of 43, he had to be my number 3 choice beating competition by Zaheer Abbas, Majid Khan and Haneef Mohammad. His orthodox, technically correct style and flawless timing saw him break records in 2006 with the most number of runs scored by a batsmen in a given season. I was shocked to not see him win the player of the year award that season….. but then he isn’t Indian is he! The anchor of middle order, this was an easy one.

4. Javed Miandad
Still arguably the greatest batsmen Pakistan has ever produced. With 124 tests under his belt with an average of 53 in tests and 42 in ODI, a Pakistani batting line will not be complete without, in my opinion, the ‘guru’ of Pakistani cricket in the batting department. Miandad wasn’t a beautiful player to watch but boy was he effective! A master on the pitch in terms of improvisation, technical ability and mind games. He was the master of rotating the strike and scoring those singles and doubles along with boundaries and who would forget that last ball 6 of the last ball against the Indians! Alot of people give credit to Imran for gloriously taking Pakistan cricket to the level it became in the 80’s and early 90’s. However, he was blessed to have a warrior in the form of Miandad with his never give up attitude. A true tiger!

5. Inzamam ul Haq
The gentle giant. When he first arrived on the scene, he came across as a slow and frankly slightly dumb looking player. However he could certainly do the talking with his bat. 120 tests with an average of 50 and 40 in ODI, Inzi was truly a legend from day 1! A powerful physique blessed with impeccable timing made Inzi one of the truly great batsmen of the modern game. The 2nd highest scoring batsmen of Pakistan, Inzi career was marred by poor running between the wickets which even lead to Geoff Boycott to say that had he been a better runner, he would have added atleast 2000 runs to his current test run scoring tally. I salute you the Sultan of Multan.

6. Imran Khan
Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce the first player on the list and leader of the pack – Imran Khan! Captain and player magnificent! Imran Khan is to me the greatest cricketer Pakistan has produced. He was responsible for transforming Pakistan from a group of average cricketers into world class performers and world champions. Equally good with the bat and ball, Imran had the knack of leading from the front as an example for his players. No one in Pakistan history has demanded the respect and position that Imran Khan has. His glorious run up, leap at the crease and thundering pace would rattle any batsmen. I still recall his bouncer to Alan Lamb in a Leeds test match which made Lamb truly look like a scared Lamb! With the bat his footwork, fierce hitting and composure was inspirational.

7. Moin Khan
I was in double minds as to whether I go with Bari or Moin Khan but went with Moin due to his superior ability with the bat which is a must in modern day cricket. Moin could single handedly tear any bowling line apart. Who would forget his timely 6 in the semi final against New Zealand in the 1992 world cup and how he treated Alan Donald and Glen McGrath with disrespect during the 1999 world cups. As a capable batsmen and equally good keeper, my option remains Moin Khan.

8. Wasim Akram
Personally my all time favourite player. I could sit hours and watch Wasim come in of his short run up and deliver Yorker after Yorker with a different variety each time. Pakistan’s highest wicket taker, the King of Swing, Wasim took fast bowling to a different level. To me a much better bowler than Imran, Wasim was consistently one of the best bowlers in the world during his glorious 20 year career. Initially picked up by Miandad and then groomed by Imran, Wasim went onto becoming one part of the most fierce fast bowling attacks during the 90’s with Waqar Younis. Although not as capable with the bat as his mentor Imran, Wasim’s nearly scored 7000 runs in both forms of cricket. Similar to Saeed Anwar, this is one cricketer I would have loved to see in the T20 format! Personally my favourite cricketer, the King of Swing – Wasim Akram.

9. Abdul Qadir
Frankly I don’t think Qadir gets the credit he deserves. Cricket owes keeping the art of wrist spin alive to Qadir. He was responsible for making leg spin a fashionable art again and a source of inspiration for aspiring leg spinners including Shane Warne. Before the mid eighties the thought of a spin bowler in ODI was unknown. However Qadir’s accuracy and ability convinced Imran to play him in ODI and his effectiveness was equal to his magic in Tests. With that magical action, never give up attitude and ability to bowl 6 different balls in an over, my number one choice of a spinner is Abdul Qadir.

10. Waqar Younis
The other King of Swing or Toe Crusher, Waqar Younis came and conquered. I once read that Waqar was really responsible for putting the ‘reverse’ into swing. The 80’s was full of fast and short pitched balls. Waqar changed this too fast and full in the form of toe crushing Yorkers. Pakistan cricket was blessed in the form of fall out between our 2 great bowlers which resulted in a partnership that is even talked about today. If Wasim got 2 wickets then Waqar wanted 3! This all worked in Pakistan’s favour and between them the 2 W’s are remembered till this day. With nearly 800 wickets in both forms of the game, I present the Burewala Express, Waqar Younis.

11. Saqlain Mushtaq
Responsible for inventing the ‘doosra’, it’s a mighty shame that Saqlain didn’t play for Pakistan longer than he should have. Saqlain’s international career got off to a splendid start – he was the fastest bowler to 100 one-day wickets, and his phenomenal control meant that he regularly bowled at the death. Injury and too many politics put and end to his career but if I was to choose 2 spinners, Saqi would go down as my 2nd choice. After all, who would forget ‘Good bowling Saqi!

The above team is my dream team. Clearly some legendary household names such as Majid, Zaheer, Hanif, Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Saleem Malik etc haven’t made my list and no disrespect to them. I have read a lot about players from an earlier generation and it is only natural that one can link to player seen better than those merely read about. However, I welcome comments and views on players from earlier generations from our more experienced members and look forward to seeing your views.