Babar Azam picked, Shahid Afridi snubbed as Imam-ul-Haq picks all-time Pakistan ODI XI

Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq has picked the all-time ODI XI of the Pakistan National Cricket Team. The opening batter went on to pick just one player from the current team and it was none other than skipper Babar Azam, who is rated as one of the best ODI batters going around.

For the opening pair in his all-time ODI XI, Imam-ul-Haq picked Saeed Anwar as the No.1 batter. Anwar arguably is rated as the best batter to play for the team. Along with him, Babar Azam was backed as the opening batter by Imam-Ul-Haq in his team.

Citing the reason for the inclusion of Babar Azam in the team, Imam-ul-Haq stated that it was difficult for him to pick in the middle order and hence he picked him as an opener. He stated that the batter has been consistent in the ODIs for the last 7 years. Speaking on a TV show, he explained:

“Since it was very difficult for me to set [him] in the middle order. So, I went for Babar Azam as the opener. The way he has performed in ODI cricket for the last seven years his performances for Pakistan are very good."

Javaid Miandad along with Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf are the three batters picked by Imam-ul-Haq in his all-time ODI XI. The trio was one of the main reasons behind the success of the team in the ODIs and was the backbone of the team in the 50-over format. 

Imran Khan who guided Pakistan to the World Cup win was picked as leader by Imam-ul-Haq. The all-rounder was one of the finest to have played for the team in the three formats, in particular the ODIs. He was one of the main reasons why Pakistan was dominant in the 90s and won the World Cup.

He backed Kamran Akmal as the keeper-batter in the team. The batter stated that he had a lot of options to choose from but he picked Kamran because he had played a lot of match-winning innings for the team in the ODIs. He explained: 

“I’ll go with Kamran Akmal as the wicketkeeper-batsman. It was a bit tricky for me. There were a lot of options like Moin bhai and Saifi bhai but I’ll go with Kamran Akmal because he has a lot of match-winning performances in ODIs."

In the bowling department, Imam-Ul-Haq picked spin maestro Saqlain Mushtaq while Mohammad Asif was selected with the legendary duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The opening batter didn't include Shahid Afridi in the XI but backed him as the 12th man in the team. Pakistan has always been a factory for producing fast bowlers. The likes of Akram, and Younis were the most threatening bowlers in the world of cricket. 

Imam-ul-Haq picks all-time Pakistan ODI XI

Here's Imam-ul-Haq's all-time Pakistan ODI XI: 

Saeed Anwar, Babar Azam, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Khan (c), Kamran Akmal (wk), Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammad Asif, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.