World Cup 2019: One change Pakistan must make against England
Pakistan suffered a humiliating seven-wicket defeat in their first match of the World Cup 2019 campaign against West Indies. This heavy defeat has hurt both their net run rate and confidence. To put their campaign back on track, the Men in Green need a win in their next match.
Their next match is against England, the pre-tournament favorites, who have started their campaign brilliantly with a win against South Africa. England recently won the ODI series vs Pakistan by a margin of 5-0 which will give the hosts a massive advantage ahead of the game.
To beat a team like England, Pakistan will have to make sure that they get their team selection spot on. They might have to take some brave decisions to have a chance of registering their first win of the tournament.
Shoaib Malik in place of Haris Sohail
One of those brave moves can be to bring experienced Shoaib Malik into the team ahead of Haris Sohail. The left-handed Sohail simple looked out of his depth in the match against West Indies. He was bombarded with short balls and he simply lacked the technique to tackle that threat.
An experienced batsman like Shoaib Malik will find a way to spend some time on the crease. His influence can be massive on other youngsters too as he can give his inputs to them. The inability to stay at the crease and stitch partnerships cost Pakistan in the first match and with the addition of Malik into the eleven, the 37-year old can act as the glue that keeps the batting unit together.
The right-hander is a great player of spin which can help him score big in the middle overs and his recent exploits in the death overs also make him a finisher of high calibre as well. In addition to this, Malik's crafty off-spin could also be of use in situations when the primary bowlers have an off-day.
Presence of an experienced head like Shoaib Malik on the field can be a huge help for any captain. Malik, who has captained Pakistan in the past can help Sarfaraz with his inputs on the field. It seems logical for Pakistan team-management to include Shoaib Malik in the playing eleven against England which can add might to the batting unit and also bring in so much-needed experience to the fore.
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