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PAKISTAN (WORLD RANKING 5)
The Asian giants take the cake when it comes to unpredictability. They won the mini-world cup in 2005, finished fifth at the Champions Trophy this year, lost to England in the World Cup qualifiers and lost coach Asif Bajwa soon after. On the other hand, they have got back Sohail Abbas and experienced midfielder and former captain Waseem Ahmed for the World Cup, and together the duo can turnaround any team's fortunes.
The Asian giants take the cake when it comes to unpredictability. They won the mini-world cup in 2005, finished fifth at the Champions Trophy this year, lost to England in the World Cup qualifiers and lost coach Asif Bajwa soon after. On the other hand, they have got back Sohail Abbas and experienced midfielder and former captain Waseem Ahmed for the World Cup, and together the duo can turnaround any team's fortunes.
Add to that the talismanic Rehan Butt and talented Shakeel Abbasi and the Pakistan line-up would be a dream for any coach, if only they could be channelised properly. Making their 11th successive appearance in the World Cup, they would be looking to get some of their well-known aggression on target to improve on their seemingly perennial fifth-place finish in major events in recent times.
