Coming into any tournament, Pakistan bring a unique form of excitement. Known for being unpredictable, but with the ability to rise to the occasion, Pakistan see themselves placed in a very competitive group comprising of India, South Africa, and West Indies. There will be very little margin for error from the get-go as only two teams from each group will be progressing to the next round. Going by track record, Pakistan will be looking to one-better their previous Champions Trophy outing in 2009 where they progressed to the semi-final, but lost to New Zealand. In this team preview; PakPassion.Net will examine Pakistan's strengths, weaknesses and players to watch out for.

Strengths

Pakistan's bowling has always been an area of the game that has been their strength. Despite going into this tournament with a comparatively inexperienced fast bowling attack with the absence of Umar Gul, not many teams have faced Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan. Both of them will certainly be out there to prove out as they did very well in the ODI series against India earlier this year.

Known for getting through their overs quickly, Pakistan's spin attack will once again play a crucial role in the middle overs as they look to cut the run flow and pick up wickets. Saeed Ajmal will be key once again to Pakistan's success with good support from Mohammad Hafeez/Abdur Rehman.

Weaknesses

Despite having the privilege of a fielding coach, Pakistan's fielding is still a weak point that has cost them matches in the past. When compared with the teams in their group, namely India and South Africa, Pakistan have a lot to prove in this department.

Pakistan's batting will once again be an area of concern, in particular the middle order. With Asad Shafiq and captain Misbah ul Haq key players in middle order, stability is not the main concern. More over, the ability to continue the momentum and run flow through the middle overs.

Players to Watch Out For

Mohammad Irfan
His last tour of England was nothing to write home about. However, ever since his comeback he has proven his worth and certainly the Indians and South Africans would account for this.

Saeed Ajmal
Confident of his team's chances in the Champions Trophy, Saeed Ajmal has prepared well for this tournament and appears to have worked out his strategies including one to target West Indies batsmen Chris Gayle.

Mohammad Hafeez
He's one player who can create an impact on a match in all three departments - batting, bowling, and fielding. After a fairly disappointing ODI series against South Africa, averaging just 23.6 with a highest score of 57, Mohammad Hafeez will be focused on turning things around quite quickly going into this tournament.

How far can they go?
A Pakistani team doing the basics right and with the talent in hand can easily lift the cup this summer!

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