No Saeed Anwar Or Shoaib Akhtar In Ian Bishop's All-Time Pakistan ODI XI

Updated - 08 Jun 2022, 04:17 PM

Ian Bishop, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah
Ian Bishop (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop managed to produce his all-time ODI XI for Pakistan. Babar Azam joins the eleven-man squad in his all-time ODI XI, with Shoaib Akhtar among the notable absentees.
Picking an all-time XI for Pakistan in any format is a difficult task due to the country’s rich history of producing wonderful players over the years.

Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop recognized this struggle when attempting to compile his all-time ODI XI for Pakistan. “Choosing the best team for any country in any format is challenging,” Bishop said.

Bishop chose Imran Khan as his captain and Zaheer Abbas as his opener. There was no mention of Saeed Anwar, who scored 8824 runs in 277 One-Day Internationals.

Saeed Anwar.
Saeed Anwar. (Credits: Twitter)

“They won the World Cup with Imran Khan as skipper, who I have.” Zaheer Abbas will bat first. He is far too talented to be left out. Although he batted third for the majority of his career, the transition to having to open the batting order isn’t too difficult. “He has had a very fantastic career which he had to fit in there,” Bishop said in a video posted on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s YouTube page.

‘Babar Azam’s legacy in a young career is top class’: Ian Bishop

Babar Azam, Pakistan’s captain and widely considered one of the best batsmen in the world across formats was also named to the team by Bishop. Fast bowling legend Shoaib Akhtar, on the other hand, was notably missing.

Babar Azam
Babar Azam (Image Credits: Twitter)

“Babar Azam’s legacy is top-notch for such a young career, and he had to get in there.” Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq played an important role in Imran Khan’s World Cup-winning side. After that, there’s Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. Two veterans have served Pakistan admirably in a variety of capacities.”

“I’m hoping there’s still some discussion.” By no means am I claiming that everything is correct? But it is something that can reflect at least a portion of Pakistan cricket’s illustrious heritage” Ian Bishop Added.

Ian Bishop represented the West Indies cricket team between 1988 and 1998 in Tests and One Day Internationals.

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Ian Bishop Pakistan national cricket team Saeed Anwar Shoaib Akhtar