5 Pakistan players to watch out for in the 2015 World Cup

There isn’t any other team that can tantalize and agonize its fans in equal amounts, as much as Pakistan can. Right from their maiden appearance in the first World Cup held in 1975, Pakistan Cricket has experienced the highs and lows, with a touch of drama each time. No one gave them a chance in 1983, yet they reached the semi-finals. Everybody considered them to be title contenders in 1987, but they stuttered in the semis. In 1992, some freak performances supported by inspiring leadership brought them the top prize. Quarterfinalists in ‘96, runner-up in ‘99, no shows in ‘03 and ‘07 and semi-finalists in ‘11. Unpredictable is the underlined word, chaos is the guiding principle, but repeated flashes of promise is a consistent appearance for Pakistan.The World Cup somehow brings the best out of Pakistan cricket. No matter what the previous year might have been like. Pakistan always manage to turn up and compete, and very few have been able to compete in the World Cup like the way they have. Come February, they return to familiar territory. The last time a World Cup was played in Oceania, Imran’s Tigers had pounced when cornered. And all the right noises have been made this time. No dressing room tiffs, no showdown with the coach and administration, batting practice on marble slabs and games in New Zealand. The preparation seems to be just perfect, add to that the possible scope of individual brilliance, there’s success cooking in the pot. Here are five individuals from Pakistan who can take the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 by storm:

#5 Yasir Shah

Yasir Shah’s last and solitary ODI for Pakistan came in September 2011. Often overshadowed by the genius of Saeed Ajmal, Shah’s watershed moment was when he was handed the spin bowling responsibilities for Pakistan in Test cricket, against Australia in 2014. He picked up 12 wickets at an average of 17.25 and followed it up with 15 wickets against New Zealand.

While there’ll be a monumental difference in the nature of the pitches and the demands of the formats, Shah continues to be the X factor in the Pakistan squad. Very few teams would have seen much of him, and it is of vital importance that Pakistan exploits this advantage.

Pitches in Australia favour leg-break bowlers, can Yasir Shah extract the most out of them?