Wisden’s all-time Pakistan XI at the Men’s ODI Asia Cup

The first edition of the Asia Cup was held in 1984. The upcoming event in 2023 will be its 16th edition, and the 14th in ODI format. Pakistan have featured in all but 1989/90, and will be the hosts for this year’s Asia Cup. Here’s an all-time XI of Pakistan players who have shone at the ODI version of the men’s Asia Cup.

Also read: Wisden’s all-time India XI at the men’s ODI Asia Cup.

Nasir Jamshed

298 runs @ 74.50, SR: 99.33, 1 hundred, 3 fifties

Left-handed opener Nasir is the second-highest run-scorer among Pakistan openers at the Men’s ODI Asia Cup. His four fifty-plus scores, from six innings – the most among Pakistan openers – include a 104-ball 112 against India in 2012.

Mohammad Hafeez

403 runs @ 44.77, SR: 69.36, 1 hundred, 3 fifties
8 wickets @ 42.75, ER: 4.00

Hafeez as the second opener for his added value as all-rounder. Not of his runs came as an opener, and there were options in Mohammad Yousuf and Saeed Anwar, but Hafeez’s tight off-breaks help him make the cut.

Younis Khan

546 runs @ 49.63, SR: 100.55, 2 hundreds, 3 fifties

Pakistan’s third-highest run-getter at the ODI Asia Cup, Younis averaged nearly 50 while striking at better than a run a ball. His two hundreds include one against India in Karachi in 2008.

Inzamam-ul-Haq

591 runs @ 59.10, SR: 89.27, 0 hundreds, 6 fifties

Inzamam got more runs than Younis. He could not convert any of his six fifties into a hundred, but he reached fifty six times, and was consistent enough to average 59.

Shoaib Malik

786 runs @ 65.50, SR: 90.65, 3 hundreds, 3 fifties
12 wickets @ 32.16, ER: 4.25, 1 four-for

Malik is Pakistan’s highest scorer at the Asia Cup by some distance, and is their only batter to have scored more than three centuries. His runs came at all positions between opening and No.5, and he was more than handy with the ball, picking up 12 wickets while going for under 4.5.

Umar Akmal (wk)

510 runs @ 51, SR: 99.41, 1 hundred, 4 fifties

The only Pakistani wicketkeeper with more than five hundred runs in the tournament, Umar’s highest score of 112, in 89 balls, came against Afghanistan in Fatullah.

Shahid Afridi

532 runs @ 35.46, SR: 140.74, 2 hundreds, 1 fifty
14 wickets @ 63.07, ER: 4.96

Afridi liked to play in the Asia Cup, especially as a batter. He is the fourth-highest run-scorer for Pakistan – but more importantly, those runs came at an astonishing strike rate of 141. While he didn’t get many wickets, he went at under five runs per over and was always bankable.

Abdul Razzaq

175 runs @ 29.16, SR: 79.54, 0 hundreds, 0 fifties
16 wickets @ 20.18, ER: 4.28, 1 four-for

Pakistan’s third-highest wicket-taker and the joint-highest among fast bowlers, Razzaq is a vital part of this team at No.8 because of his big-hitting abilities down the order.

Wasim Akram

16 wickets @ 18.56, ER: 3.22, 1 four-for

There’s hardly any tournament that Wasim might not have aced. Like Razzaq, he has 16 wickets as well: if his average of 18.56 is brilliant, his economy of 3.22 shows just how unplayable he was, especially with his reverse swing in dry Asian conditions.

Shoaib Akhtar

10 wickets @ 26.30, ER: 4.04, 0 four-fors

Shoaib makes the cut above Saeed Ajmal, Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker at the Asia Cup, as the team already has two reliable off-spinners in Hafeez and Malik. Shoaib’s best figures of 3-30 came against Bangladesh in 2004.

Abdul Qadir

17 wickets @ 14.76, ER: 3.62, 0 four-fors

Qadir picked 17 wickets from just eight games in the Asia Cup. This included four three-wicket hauls – a testimony to his remarkable consistency. He is second in the list of highest wicket-takers for Pakistan in the tournament’s history.