ICC Under19 Cricket World Cup Teams & Groups

Pakistan Team Profile

Pakistan defeated West Indies to capture the 2004 title and then defeated India in a thrilling final, despite only making 109 all out in their innings in 2006.

The side will be captained by current U/19 CWC winner Imad Wasim, a left arm spinner who is also a useful batsman, who captained Pakistan to a 5-0 win over Australia in October 2007 and a 3-1 win over England last August.

And Imad's faith in his teammates can be seen when asked to name who the key players in his squad will be.

He said: "Every player in our team is a key player because it depends on the situation of the game.

"We will play to win and only to win."

One of the players to watch will be Umar Akmal, who is the younger brother of Kamran, the Pakistan senior team wicket keeper. The younger Akmal enjoyed an outstanding season in first-class cricket scoring 851 runs during the season at an outstanding strike-rate. His season included an outstanding 248 against Karachi Blues, as SNGPL reached the final in their debut first-class season.

Ahmad Shazhad, an attacking opening batsman, will pose a threat to many opposition attacks. He showed his class when he scored 315 runs, at an average of 105.00, including a top score of 115, in the recent home series against Australia.

Ali Asad, a quality left-handed middle order batsman, who took part in the last U/19 Cricket World Cup, will also play an important role and topped the batting averages in Pakistan's December series against Bangladesh U/19s where they suffered a shock 3-2 defeat, despite having won the opening two matches.

The fact that only Ali Asad, Umair Mir and Ahmad Shazhad managed to pass fifty during the course of the five match series will provide cause for concern if the team are going to defend their title in Malaysia.

On the bowling front, Adil Raza, an excellent fast bowler, who took four wickets in the series against Australia and eight wickets in the Bangladesh series is likely to be one of the leading bowlers at the event, while Mohammad Rameez can swing the ball both ways with the new ball.

Pakistan finalized their preparations for the event with a two-week training camp at the National Cricket Academy before taking part in a triangular series against Sri Lanka and England in Colombo in January.