What should be Pakistan's Playing XI against South Africa?

As Pakistan gear up to face South Africa in a do-or-die match for both the sides, the fan circles are buzzing with thoughts on what should be the Green Shirts' final XI for this crucial game. 

Pakistan have managed to win just one game so far – an upset victory over hosts and tournament favourites England. They have lost three matches – against West Indies, Australia, and India – while their fixture against Sri Lanka was washed out.

To have any chance of making it to the top four, Pakistan would need to win all four of their remaining matches, and then rely on the outcomes of other matches in the tournament.

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Sarfaraz and Co have already experimented enough with the playing combination in this World Cup, and as hindsight has shown us all - most of those experiments were not only unnecessary but also hard to justify. 

To put it all into perspective: Pakistan have made six changes over three matches in the aftermath of the defeat to West Indies in the opening game!

So what should be the final XI against South Africa? Here are the thoughts from these cricket analysts and correspondents:

Faizan Lakhani - Sports Correspondent, Geo 

"Bring in Asif Ali and leave Shoaib Malik out. Mohammad Hasnain should play in place of Hasan Ali."

Danish Anis Shaikh - Sports Anchor, Geo 

"Haris Sohail should replace Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali should be in for Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hasnain should get a chance in place of Hasan Ali.

Haris Sohail and Mohammad Hafeez should be used as part-time spinners. Haris Sohail should be sent in to bat at No. 4 and Asif Ali at No. 6."

Fatima Saleem - Sports Anchor, Geo

"My Playing XI would be:

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali , Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi."

Fazil Jamili - Editor, The News/Jang

"This is my Playing XI:

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir."

Sohail Imran - Sports Correspondent, Geo

"Haris Sohail should be brought in for Shoaib Malik. Either Shaheen Shah Afridi or Mohammad Hasnain should play instead of Hasan Ali."

Whatever the final eleven may be, one thing is absolutely clear: Pakistan must go into the match with a clear head and an insatiable desire to win. Because anything less than a victory will not be enough.

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