Shoaib Akhtar names the most talented player in Pakistan's World Cup squad

Pakistan is currently touring England for a five-match ODI series ahead of the World Cup, which starts on May 30. The preparations, the excitement and the anticipation are aplenty as the showpiece event is just a couple of weeks away and there’s someone or the other almost always coming up choosing their favourite teams, players, etc. Amidst all this, veteran pacer and former Pakistani cricketer, Shoaib Akhtar has named the one cricketer who he thinks has the smartest brain in the Pakistan team. 

While most experts have termed England, India and Australia as their ‘favourites’ and also kept New Zealand in the run, Pakistan’s ‘Hail Mary’ team has been deemed as a part of that league. However, after facing a 5-0 defeat against Australia in UAE last month, Pakistan were expected to up their game and they did it only with the bat. Their bowling has been shambolic so far in the series conceding scores of over 350 rather easily. 

They’re being considered as the dark horses for the 2019 World Cup contest. The Men in Green surely have some impressive talent with a distinguished mixture of experienced players and youngsters. In this light, former Pakistan quick Shoaib Akhtar has picked Haris Sohail as the ‘smartest cricketer’ in Pakistan’s 15-man squad.

Akhtar praises Sohail but also points out a concern

Shoaib Akhtar has backed his opinion of Sohail, a stylish left-handed middle-order batsman, with reasons such as the 30-year-old’s fine ability to consolidate the innings with singles and doubles and also his talent to hit those big tons. All of this combined makes him the smartest brain in the team.

“Sohail is the pick of the selection from this [current] lot of Pakistani cricketers because he can construct an inning, take single-doubles, hit big hundreds and has the brain as well to adjust to the conditions,” Akhtar said according to Times Now. Having heaped praise on Sohail,  the 43-year-old also admitted the fact that Sohail has had a lot of concerns due to his knee injuries in the past and that can be a hindrance in his career. 

“The only drawback of Sohail is his knees, I once asked him regarding this problem and he told me that he has a genuine problem with his knees like I [Akhtar] used to have. But he is the smartest and most talented cricketer that fits in the middle order, but he is not able to get fit in as other players need to be adjusted,” Akhtar concluded.

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