“Misbah-ul-Haq told me that I could do best at fourth or fifth batting position in T20Is”: Fakhar Zaman

[BouncerGuy]

Fakhar Zaman speaking during the Pakistan vs New Zealand 4th T20I post-match presser:

When asked regarding changes in the 4th T20I:

“It matters when our main players do not play, but everyone knows that our goal is the World Cup. For that, we are making a lot of changes in every match. Even after winning the first match, we made many changes, and in this match too, we made five changes. So, our main goal is the World Cup. Losing a match at the international level does not feel good to anyone, but our goal is the World Cup, and for that, our team combination should be good.”


When asked about the World Cup and individual performance:

“The World Cup is a significant event and comes after a long time, If we say that it’s okay if we lose the match, but it is very important to win individual matches at the international level. As I said before, our goal is the World Cup, so we are preparing for it. And if I talk about myself, before the series, the management told me that I would not play the first three matches. In the same way, every person was told how many matches they would play and how many they would not.”


When asked about the batting position in the team:

“It does make a difference because if I am an opener and the management sends me to bat at the fifth or sixth position without telling me, it will make a difference to me. But they also shaped my mindset. When Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening. It does make a difference, but if you accept your mindset, like I had accepted I could play for the Pakistan team at the fifth, sixth, or seventh position because I can do this. At the international level, we have played so much cricket that no one should feel like this, and in my opinion, whoever feels is then wrong.”


About his number 4 batting position in T20Is:

“This is my position in T20Is. They only told me that I would not play the first three matches. But my position can change situation-wise. For example, if more wickets do not fall in the beginning, then I might go up. But my fixed position is number four.”
​

 

[mominsaigol]

Fakhar Zaman speaking during the Pakistan vs New Zealand 4th T20I post-match presser:

When asked regarding changes in the 4th T20:

“It matters when our main players do not play, but everyone knows that our goal is the World Cup. For that, we are making a lot of changes in the match. Even after winning the first match, we made many changes, and in this match too, we made five changes. So, our main goal is the World Cup. Losing a match at the international level does not feel good to anyone, but our goal is the World Cup, and for that, our team combination should be good. So, we will try to win the next match.”

When asked about the World Cup and individual performance:

“The World Cup is a significant event and comes after a long time, but it is also very important to win individual matches at the international level. If we say that it’s okay if we lose the match, but as I said before, our goal is the World Cup, so we are preparing for it. And if I talk about myself, before the series, the management told me that I would not play the first three matches. In the same way, every person was told how many matches they would play and how many they would not.”

When asked about the batting position in the team:

“It does make a difference because if I am an opener and the management sends me to bat at the fifth or sixth position without telling me, it will make a difference to me. But they also set my mindset when Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening. It does make a difference, but if you accept your mindset, like I had accepted I could play for the Pakistan team at the fifth, sixth, or seventh position because I can do this. At the international level, we have played so much cricket that no one should feel like this, and in my opinion, whoever feels is then wrong.”

About his number 4 spot in T20s:

“This is my position in T20. They only told me that I would not play the first three matches. But my position can change situation-wise. For example, if more wickets do not fall in the beginning, then I might go up. But my fixed position is number four.”
​

What main players? If hes referring to shaheen, naseem and rizwan, these 3 have been terrible this tour?

Abrar is ironically the newbie, your main player is usama mir bro . He was a regular feature last WC.

As for Misbah, Can misbah touch anything that won't be destroyed for once? Fakhar clearly said in this interview he's an opener and likes that area? Based of what did a dude who averaged 16 replace him at opening in 2020? Ehat his reason for that selection when he had zero insight or hindsight as to how the future would play out?

This man needs to be thrown in jail honestly, don't know how ruining your team is considered legal, and his cell mates can be babar and rizwan.

 

[MenInG]

Fakhar may be fine to play at any position that is needed and to be honest, he was fine last night - just didn't get the support he needed,

 

[Asif321]

Misbah the career destroyer

 

[MenInG]

Misbah the career destroyer

Do you not think Fakhar did well last night?

 

[mominsaigol]

Fakhar is an opener who likes opening. He wouldn't be opening in psl if he didn't.

You need X factors irrespective of form.

Babar and rizwan would be best positioned to play at 3 and 4 because that's where you can anchor and carry on if the openers fail and fall early.

Australia has the best pattern, they open with Warner and head and if Warner and head get off to a flyer then maxwell and stones come in.

But if they fail and fall early them Marsh comes in to anchor and carry on and recover.

Pakistan needs to learn how to shift order. One key thing that people forget about teams is that they shift orders depending in the situation, Pakistan never does that beyond maybe shuffling chacha and shadab across.

This going by the formula pattern needs to end.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I think Fakhar knows that his place in the team is only possible if he manages to do good at number 4 and TBH, he is doing well at that number. We have seen this in the last NZ series and now yesterday as well. I am happy with him at this number.

 

[RidiculousMan]

My captain Misbah. One of the smartest guys in Pakistan Cricket.

Hopefully one day he'll become a coach or a mentor for national side again

 

[mominsaigol]

I think Fakhar knows that his place in the team is only possible if he manages to do good at number 4 and TBH, he is doing well at that number. We have seen this in the last NZ series and now yesterday as well. I am happy with him at this number.

Fakhar loves NZ, he's historically good at bullying this team. He should he opening against unit.

The problem with Pakistan is their inability to go outside the formula.

Australia, Sa, England shuffle their order 24/7 depending on teams and situation.

 

[shaz619]

I have been saying this for the past few days now and you lot took it for a joke, but you can’t begin to comprehend the level of influence which Misbah has with the PCB. He whispers in the ears of each man with ill temptations, he has his own ulterior motives and continues to conspire against Pakistan, at his heart he desires drama and vengeance, he should be putting his feet up now but this is his hobby, to ruin people’s lives and unfortunately, Pakistani cricketers are his victims.

 

[Asif321]

Do you not think Fakhar did well last night?

That is not his position . It was done just to accommodate Rizwan cause Rizwan can’t bat below 3 . Fakhar had to sacrifice . He takes challenges on face unlike Golden boys who cry in media when demoted

 

[Rana]

Fakhar doesn’t want to say it openly like Rizwan would


But he wants to play as an opener

He isn’t a middle order batsman

 

[Rana]

When Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening.

This makes me feel sick

 

[Abdullah]

Pakistan has a major problem- we do not have anybody in middle and lower order that can start hitting long from the get go.
Ifti, Imad and even Fakhar need balls under their belt to get going.

This is where Asif Ali has utility. We dont need him to score 30s and 40s, 21(8) or 17(6) type scores are absolutely fine.

We should be able to accomodate him into the eleven- otherwise we have nobody who can come in and start boundary hitting from ball two outside the powerplay.

Right now this is how I see the best eleven

Saim
Babar
Rizwan
Fakhar
Iftikhar
Shadab
Asif
Shaheen
Naseem
Amir/Rauf if he comes back as 2021-22 rauf
Abrar

We may need to mix it up to make the order look longer by promoting Shaheen/Shadab whose job should purely be a targeted strike on the 5th bowler/short boundary/ ball spinning into them- and not take any time at all to start playing high risk strokes.

Asif should be flexible used in overs 14-17 before the best bowlers come back and just launch an all out assault. He doesnt need to bat until the end- he just needs to try and strike at 200+ for a couple of overs.

That gives Fakhar/Ifti the time to play themselves in and launch at the end.

The issue is the above requires a leader who can think on his feet and sell the plan to his team mates!

 

[aukhan]

Misbah destroyed the No.1 ranked T20 team after the 2019 world cup. He has always been a manipulative, cunning person. Fakhar career will be over if he fails at this position. This world cup is most likely his last.

 

[Rana]

Misbah told Fakhar he could perform well for Pakistan at 4 or 5

And at the same time he told Imam he could perform well for Pakistan as a T20 opener in Australia

He also told a 37 year old Irfan that he can extract bounce on Australian wickets

 

[BouncerGuy]

Fakhar is doing good at 4. He will stay there and he will do good there as well. He will find spinners operating there so it is good for him because his game against pace is mediocre as we have seen many times and in PSL as well where he played as opener.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Fakhar is doing good at 4. He will stay there and he will do good there as well. He will find spinners operating there so it is good for him because his game against pace is mediocre as we have seen many times and in PSL as well where he played as opener.

Fakhar at 4 and Shadab at 5 will solve a lot of issues for Pakistan in the middle overs.

We saw in the 3rd game Shadab ticked up the run rate and now in the last game Fakhar ticked up the run rate. These two play spinners well than other players.

 

[Rana]

Fakhar at 4 and Shadab at 5 will solve a lot of issues for Pakistan in the middle overs

Bhai Jaan.

The opposition will not have spinners like Sodhi and Bracewell in the World Cup. Your issues are not going to be magically solved

Always look at the wider context of cricket before suggesting Shadab Khan will solve middle order issues for you

 

[Local.Dada]

Don’t agree with this even though Misbah does come across as a sensible guy when it comes to cricketing decisions.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

When Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening.

What kind of motivation is this?

 

[emranabbas]

When Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening.

What kind of motivation is this?

There's no motivation

Misbah is basically saying rizwan and babar are going to open if you want to stay in the team you will have to come 4 down

 

[BouncerGuy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1783784534468882636

 

[Major]

Fakhar failed as an opener in t20, and he got his chances as opener and as 1 down.

He was lucky he wasnt dropped and was still being adjusted. I think him at no.5 is still better option than alot of the other guys we have tried

 

[aukhan]

There's no motivation

Misbah is basically saying rizwan and babar are going to open if you want to stay in the team you will have to come 4 down

I am sure fakhar understood that there and then. That's why over the years he has tried justifying his demotion. Keeping RizBar happy has helped him remain part of the setup.

 

[zaidihusain]

When asked about the batting position in the team:

“It does make a difference because if I am an opener and the management sends me to bat at the fifth or sixth position without telling me, it will make a difference to me. But they also shaped my mindset. When Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening. It does make a difference, but if you accept your mindset, like I had accepted I could play for the Pakistan team at the fifth, sixth, or seventh position because I can do this. At the international level, we have played so much cricket that no one should feel like this, and in my opinion, whoever feels is then wrong.”
​

Why this logic is not applicable on Babar & Rizwan? They are the most experienced players in T20Is, they should happily bat at any position wherever the team needs them and try to reinvent their game. Unfortunately both of them has expressed displeasure when their position was changed

 

[FearlessRoar]

Misbah told him this, but we all know Fakhar is a natural opening batter.

 

[emranabbas]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1783784534468882636

You don't need to constantly change the lineup in the name of experimentation; rather, choose the best players and exclude the underperformers for the World Cup. However, it's clear you might not want to exclude your friends. Constantly switching the team combination every game won't help; judging players based on just one game is an insufficient sample size to gauge their abilities.

Despite yesterday's loss, it was a positive day as everyone played with the right spirit. It's better to lose while trying than to lose stat padding.

This lineup should have been your choice from the beginning of the first T20. If a player doesn't perform after having participated in four games, then consider replacing them in the next series instead of continually rotating players and playing musical chairs.

1. Saim
2. Fakhar
3. Usman
4. Babar
5. Irfan Khan
6. Imad
7. Iftikhar
8. Shadab
9. Shaheen
10. Amir
11. Naseem
12. Abrar

Rizwan doesn't seem suited for T20s but could be more valuable in ODIs and Test matches.

 

[emranabbas]

Fakhar failed as an opener in t20, and he got his chances as opener and as 1 down.

He was lucky he wasn't dropped and was still being adjusted. I think him at no.5 is still better option than alot of the other guys we have tried

Explain how this makes a difference:

Batting as an opener:

• Average: 22.55
• Strike Rate: 136.24

Batting at one down:

• Average: 22.69
• Strike Rate: 117.30

The sole reason he was moved to bat one down was to accommodate Rizwan in the opening slot.
Your comments are highly biased; you seem to be one of the most prejudiced people I've encountered on this forum.

 

[Kroll]

We're too rigid in our approach, this is tullay baazi pyjama cricket for crying out loud.

Just get 6 or 7 batters who can blast the ball from the off, tell them to play without fear and we're all good.

 

[mominsaigol]

When Misbah-ul-haq was the coach, he told me that I could perform well for the team in the fourth or fifth position and Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan could do better than me in the opening.

What kind of motivation is this?

Babar and rizwan are better then you, You suck, Back to no 4 for you, Don't worry beta I am motivating you by telling you thay those 2 are better.

 

[Statpadder Inc]

Explain how this makes a difference:

Batting as an opener:

• Average: 22.55
• Strike Rate: 136.24

Batting at one down:

• Average: 22.69
• Strike Rate: 117.30

The sole reason he was moved to bat one down was to accommodate Rizwan in the opening slot.
Your comments are highly biased; you seem to be one of the most prejudiced people I've encountered on this forum.

Fakhar in an icc final vs misbah in an icc final

 

[ads101]

Explain how this makes a difference:

Batting as an opener:

• Average: 22.55
• Strike Rate: 136.24

Batting at one down:

• Average: 22.69
• Strike Rate: 117.30

The sole reason he was moved to bat one down was to accommodate Rizwan in the opening slot.
Your comments are highly biased; you seem to be one of the most prejudiced people I've encountered on this forum.

Batting at 4:
Average:25.33 SR:161.70

If fakhar was performing like this, he never would have lost his opening slot.

That opening average is also top heavy. He performed early on as opener. By the time he was dropped from opener, he was doing much worse than those stats. Average 16 and 6 in his last two years as opener at a poor SR.

Rizwan won player of the year in t20 with superior opening stats across the board than fakhar in the first year he opened.

Fakhar was demoted due to bad form/performance as an opener. He played at 3 in t20s for a long time despite failing because of his ODI exploits and lack of options.

There is an argument Fakhar should have got another shot at opening due to PSL form. Or maybe even we should have persisted with him despite failures. Or that Rizwan is a poor opener.

But as I said it was pretty obvious why Fakhar was dropped. If he was performing as opener he would never have been moved. He lost his opener place due to poor performance.

 

[mominsaigol]

Explain how this makes a difference:

Batting as an opener:

• Average: 22.55
• Strike Rate: 136.24

Batting at one down:

• Average: 22.69
• Strike Rate: 117.30

The sole reason he was moved to bat one down was to accommodate Rizwan in the opening slot.
Your comments are highly biased; you seem to be one of the most prejudiced people I've encountered on this forum.

His comments have included

- Banning India in totality from cricket due to terrible pitches (lol look at our pitches)

- Chacha being a hero because he managed to take him team to a respectable total but he lost that match because the team let him down but inad was the reason for not finishing the game despite having the highest SR. Clearly in imad's case the team DID NOT let us down especially chacha. IN FACT he defended chacha saying chacha is just naturally poor at slow paced wickets.

- Being the only poster who thinks babar's changes in technique on potw is a silly argument despite babar failing ever since said argument was made.

- Wanting Imad to warm the benches and calling imad a drama bazi for taking back retirement but at the same time asking imad to take back retirement a week prior and wanting him to play telling he only critises players when playing bad. Yet hasn't once critised chacha yesterday.

- Thinking the batting has been great for Pakistan in the 3rd t20 despite everyone on the planet as well as azhar mehmood himself disagreeing talking about how 7-15 was a disaster phase thanks to babar and rizwan.

- Wants the babar and rizwan opening to be restored because of a misbah propaganda even though stats show that babar and rizwan ironically play slow in the first PP and slow down even further from overs 7-15. They start striking at 200+ once they reach 16-20 but they rarely ever reach overs 16-20 as theor openers and usually are dismissed way before they manage to get their.

So 120 sR from overs 1-6 and 110 SR from 7-15 primarily because of babar's spin play.

^^ I have more and more, but post will get to long so for now it's enough, but basically I think I'm actually talking to Misbah himself at this point .

 

[emranabbas]

Batting at 4:
Average:25.33 SR:161.70

If fakhar was performing like this, he never would have lost his opening slot.

That opening average is also top heavy. He performed early on as opener. By the time he was dropped from opener, he was doing much worse than those stats. Average 16 and 6 in his last two years as opener at a poor SR.

Rizwan won player of the year in t20 with superior opening stats across the board than fakhar in the first year he opened.

Fakhar was demoted due to bad form/performance as an opener. He played at 3 in t20s for a long time despite failing because of his ODI exploits and lack of options.

There is an argument Fakhar should have got another shot at opening due to PSL form. Or maybe even we should have persisted with him despite failures. Or that Rizwan is a poor opener.

But as I said it was pretty obvious why Fakhar was dropped. If he was performing as opener he would never have been moved. He lost his opener place due to poor performance.

I was responding to another poster who was comparing his performance as an opener versus batting one down. I'm already familiar with his average and strike rate up to batting position 5.

Over the last two years, Fakhar has averaged 18.00 with a strike rate of 108.48 at position 3, and he hasn't opened in the last two years. The last time he played as an opener was around November 2020, so you might want to double-check your statistics.

Before this period, he was also struggling in form at the same position, but as we know, form is temporary.

 

[emranabbas]

We're too rigid in our approach, this is tullay baazi pyjama cricket for crying out loud.

Just get 6 or 7 batters who can blast the ball from the off, tell them to play without fear and we're all good.

Some people here seem to treat T20s as if they were Test matches. They get upset about Babar and Rizwan's batting positions, but Babar and Rizwan have plenty of opportunities to play in ODIs and Tests. Meanwhile, these T20 specialists only get a chance during this pyjama league, and yet fans of Babar and Rizwan still want to deprive them of even that opportunity.

 

[mominsaigol]

Some people here seem to treat T20s as if they were Test matches. They get upset about Babar and Rizwan's batting positions, but Babar and Rizwan have plenty of opportunities to play in ODIs and Tests. Meanwhile, these T20 specialists only get a chance during this pyjama league, and yet fans of Babar and Rizwan still want to deprive them of even that opportunity.

People also think Babar is an amla like player, which is a massive disrespect to amla. People habe no clue how good amla was in his golden years. And I'm still waiting for babar's golden years to come. Been waiting since 2016 lol

 

[emranabbas]

People also think Babar is an amla like player, which is a massive disrespect to amla. People habe no clue how good amla was in his golden years. And I'm still waiting for babar's golden years to come. Been waiting since 2016 lol

Babar might only have another five years left in him, at his current level of performance perhaps even less. What legacy will he leave once he retires? He hasn't groomed any players or developed a successor as captain. His leadership style has often seemed self-centered and always ME ME ME. Additionally, Misbah's conservative 'tuk tuk' approach has already set back Pakistani cricket for over a decade.

 

[mominsaigol]

Babar might only have another five years left in him, at his current level of performance perhaps even less. What legacy will he leave once he retires? He hasn't groomed any players or developed a successor as captain. His leadership style has often seemed self-centered and always ME ME ME. Additionally, Misbah's conservative 'tuk tuk' approach has already set back Pakistani cricket for over a decade.

Mate he got bowled out by current saqlain Mushtaq in the nets. I repeat a current Saqlain, that's his legacy lol.

It's his fault for taking captaincy, had he never taken it, his reputation would not dip, infact kohli rep was taking a hit during captaincy and he dropped it.

Had Babar not taken it, he could be seem as a good batsmen for Pakistan as his numbers would out him > Saeed Anwar so he could at the very least con the next gen.

But now he can't even con.

 

[Master Blaster]

Nice brainwashing done to an innocent and talented opening bat so that couple of stats padders get to play max number of balls to make useless records.

 

[emranabbas]

Mate he got bowled out by current saqlain Mushtaq in the nets. I repeat a current Saqlain, that's his legacy lol.

It's his fault for taking captaincy, had he never taken it, his reputation would not dip, infact kohli rep was taking a hit during captaincy and he dropped it.

Had Babar not taken it, he could be seem as a good batsmen for Pakistan as his numbers would out him > Saeed Anwar so he could at the very least con the next gen.

But now he can't even con.

His average has become a concern; it has dropped from 48 to 40. If this trend continues, he could soon be averaging in the early 30s.

if he doesn't hit a 40 minimum next game he will be in 30's

 

[mominsaigol]

His average has become a concern; it has dropped from 48 to 40. If this trend continues, he could soon be averaging in the early 30s.

if he doesn't hit a 40 minimum next game he will be in 30's









View attachment 143429

It'll keep dropping, Theirs the England series which will be full strength England close to the cup.

Afterwards though, he might be able to stat pad against the minnows and bring it up, we'll see.

 

[Mohraheem]

My advice to players: please don’t listen to a failure like Misbah. Specially if you’re playing t20 and ODI. Test is a different story.

And why is Misbah even speaking to our players. Misbah should be banned from PCT! Who knows he might be doing spot fixing for our players to play dot balls. Maybe that’s why we scored so low in the last 2 t20.

 

[Major]

Explain how this makes a difference:

Batting as an opener:

• Average: 22.55
• Strike Rate: 136.24

Batting at one down:

• Average: 22.69
• Strike Rate: 117.30

The sole reason he was moved to bat one down was to accommodate Rizwan in the opening slot.
Your comments are highly biased; you seem to be one of the most prejudiced people I've encountered on this forum.

Look at the avg. That is pathetic.

By what you have shown, this means Fakhar should be dropped altogether

Rizwan was scoring more runs than him.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Fakhar and Saim must open and go bang bang in the first 5 overs.

Pakistan still stuck in 90's mentality. Accumulators have no place in T20's.

 

[mominsaigol]

Look at the avg. That is pathetic.

By what you have shown, this means Fakhar should be dropped altogether

Rizwan was scoring more runs than him.

He wasn't SCORING more runs then him, He was doing much worse in the middle.

He replaced him an an opener despite having a worse avg and worse sr.

Falhar cannot ever be logically dropped due to his insane white ball cricket scores which > what anyone in our entire circuit can achieve.

Him being unable to replicate it for t20 doesn't mean you don't try and back him I stead of a serial loser who can barely go over 110 sr against Amy decent team.

Any logical team would have dropped and axed these 2 after 2022 asia cup and world cup. Its only misbah clique who defends it.

Fakhar atleast has the whole maybe if he performs then he'll play an unbeatable innings. Same can and will never be said for Rizwan irrespective of what he does in t20.

In odi and test its a different story where rizwan's anchoring is useless though.

 

[emranabbas]

Look at the avg. That is pathetic.

By what you have shown, this means Fakhar should be dropped altogether

Rizwan was scoring more runs than him.

In this format, we're not looking for ODI or Test performances. We just need Fakhar to quickly score 30-40 runs at a good strike rate during the power play.

Rizwan can play ODIs and Tests, and score centuries there and can average 50+

 

[emranabbas]

@Major

Interestingly, Rizwan averages 50 in T20s, where strike rate is crucial, yet only 40 in Tests and ODIs, where one would expect his average to be higher.

 

[Markhor]

That comment only fuels the notion many, including myself, have that there's been too much placating of Babar and Rizwan at the expense of other players.

It seems everybody else must sacrifice for the sake of this duo.

The fact is there's no place in modern T20 for two anchors in the top three. In IPL we're seeing scores of over 250 forget 200 ! By advocating this, Misbah only gives the impression he's out of touch with white ball cricket.

 

[ads101]

I was responding to another poster who was comparing his performance as an opener versus batting one down. I'm already familiar with his average and strike rate up to batting position 5.

Over the last two years, Fakhar has averaged 18.00 with a strike rate of 108.48 at position 3, and he hasn't opened in the last two years. The last time he played as an opener was around November 2020, so you might want to double-check your statistics.

Before this period, he was also struggling in form at the same position, but as we know, form is temporary.

Last two years as opener. Not last two years in general. He opened in 2019 and 2020. And averaged 16 and 6 in them at poor SR.

Start of 2021 he no longer played at opener. He didn’t do well there either but actually had a better 2021 than 2020 and 2019. He averaged 24 SR 127 in 2021. Which is not good but an improvement on 2019 and 2020.

So technically he actually improved at 3 initially compared to his last two years at opening. He declined after that though.

However you look at it, fakhar has been really bad in t20s. The only position he has respectable stats is at 4 thanks to recent performances.

Fakhar should have performed as opener. 36 chances is a lot. I support Fakhar getting a 2nd chance which I feel he has earnt through multiple PSLs. But the guy should have done better in his first opening stint. It was his bad performance that lost him that place. Rizwan was tried opening because our current opener in fakhar was failing.

 

[shaz619]

That comment only fuels the notion many, including myself, have that there's been too much placating of Babar and Rizwan at the expense of other players.

It seems everybody else must sacrifice for the sake of this duo.

The fact is there's no place in modern T20 for two anchors in the top three. In IPL we're seeing scores of over 250 forget 200 ! By advocating this, Misbah only gives the impression he's out of touch with white ball cricket.

Misbah is having a mid life crisis for about 20 years now. Think about every exaggerated opinion of this old fossil and he is that much worse, we can’t overlook his influence behind the scenes. He is treated like royalty by the PCB and he has spearheaded the current shift in direction, by setting up others to fail such as Shaheen and Fakhar to name a few, only to reinstall Babar as captain and secure Babar/Ris at the top.

If Pak lose this series, Babar has the protection of ‘Experimenting’ and Riswan can return to the top order because Saim ‘failed’, Shadab can continue because Imad couldn’t get Pakistan over the line and also because Ifti is still the best finisher and the cherry on top, Mr. Fakhar you are no longer an opener, your technique against spin is very much needed at no.4 or no.5 because Mohammad Riswan can only open, it’s his god given right and it would be un-islamic to try him anywhere outside the top order.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Guys like Misbah have rare insights. He doesn't talk cheap. But when he does talk, you listen.

Fact of the matter is. Fakhar's record in top 3 positions in T20Is is not great. Infact the Strike Rate is more or less on par with Babar and Rizwan. The sample size is not small either. See the stats for yourself.

 

[Rana]

Guys like Misbah have rare insights. He doesn't talk cheap. But when he does talk, you listen.

Fact of the matter is. Fakhar's record in top 3 positions in T20Is is not great. Infact the Strike Rate is more or less on par with Babar and Rizwan. The sample size is not small either. See the stats for yourself.

View attachment 143433

Are you being serious or sarcastic?

 

[mominsaigol]

Last two years as opener. Not last two years in general. He opened in 2019 and 2020. And averaged 16 and 6 in them at poor SR.

Start of 2021 he no longer played at opener. He didn’t do well there either but actually had a better 2021 than 2020 and 2019. He averaged 24 SR 127 in 2021. Which is not good but an improvement on 2019 and 2020.

So technically he actually improved at 3 initially compared to his last two years at opening. He declined after that though.

However you look at it, fakhar has been really bad in t20s. The only position he has respectable stats is at 4 thanks to recent performances.

Fakhar should have performed as opener. 36 chances is a lot. I support Fakhar getting a 2nd chance which I feel he has earnt through multiple PSLs. But the guy should have done better in his first opening stint. It was his bad performance that lost him that place. Rizwan was tried opening because our current opener in fakhar was failing.

This is what people like you don't understand.

Fakhar is an X factor player, a reputation he has been given by anyone in the dugout including babar himself who agrees during the wc ghat fakhar when onsong is superior to himself.

Rohit sharma is t20 averages 31 with a sr of 139, the reason it's low is because in 2022 he was a virtual tailender. He was so horrifically bad that fans wanted him gone but management told the fans no, and that not only will he be captain he is Undroppable by any means, however the same priveldge wasn't given to Dhawan who was told either he's performing or he's being replaced by a younger lad who hit strike better then him key word strike.

Now ask yourself why? It's because when ROHIT is onsong his hitman reputation makes him undroppable, with wc 2023 proving why he cannot be dropped or replaced as an OPENER by any means nessasry, because he'll either utilise the PP or will settle and get that massive 150 to 200.

Rizwan and babar are anchorer type players, who are impactless against bigger teams, infacg they have garnered an entire reputation for just being soft run scorers in the long haul against teams.

Yesterday while analysing Babar the commentators noted that

Babar from overs 1-6 goes at a sr of 129 from overs 7-15 he slows down even further going at a sr of 110, from overs 16-20 he strikes at 212 but he rarely if ever reached 16-20 because he's an opener and will likely be dismissed before that, in fact ainxe 2022 he's only reached the 16th over as an opener once last year against c string NZ.

People like bavuma, Babar and rizwan, if they go out of form or stop performing their droppable because their only purpose which is soft scoring and avoiding a collapse, that purpose is finished,

The way they can be kept and selected is if they are Consistently performing and that HAS NOT HAPPENED.

Babar's avg from 2022 till 2024 in t20 has dropped from 48 to 40, and by next game if he doesn't get a 40, it'll drop to 39, showing his decline, rizwan is in a similar boat where he had an awful 2022 season and in2024 avg 33 with a sr of 110 on psl, and even last series complained in the media that he's losing form ever since the opening partnership was broken.

These 2 are anchorers ans anchors can be dropped if they are losing form as their useless and redundant now.

Fakhar on the other hand can NEVER BE DROPPED, and shouldn't be removed from opening, because he's proven he can play innings that babar and rizwan won't ever play in odi, issue with fakhar is he can't replicate it in t20 but you haven't given him the chance as last time he opened was in 2020, 4 years ago.

You can't drop falhar because theirs always the chance that maybe if he performs we'll get a rapid 60 ball 100 or a match winning monster score, something that babar and rizwan can't achieve on a world cup stage while fakhar has shown he can during a cup.

Only way you can make a case to drop fakhar is if he was so out of form that, now theirs a 0% chance he'll ever replicate his innings, however we know that's not the case as last year he has 3 impact 100's In odi, and just last game he was the best player and batter in general, infact his slow start at the beginning proves why he needs tonopen because he starts slow and easily makes up for it striking at over 150+ in the middle while babar and rizwan slow down in the middle going till 110.

It's not a difficult argument or head scratching process that people think it is.
Its like saying hey let's drop shahid afridi during his golden years a man whos inconsistent but can hit 45 ball 100's, for bavuma because bavuma soft scores more. It's a loony toon argument.

 

[Barragan]

For once, I agree with misbah!!

He gets confused when opening in T20's and plays blindly.

At no. 4 or 5 - he can take his time or come out all guns blazing from the word go.

He'll be perfect as a finisher in this format.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Misbah did WHATTTT

 

[Mohraheem]

Misbah is a

 

[Mohraheem]

For once, I agree with misbah!!

He gets confused when opening in T20's and plays blindly.

At no. 4 or 5 - he can take his time or come out all guns blazing from the word go.

He'll be perfect as a finisher in this format.

Don’t agree with him. We don’t want to show this that we need him as a coach

 

[Mohraheem]

Misbah now going behind coaches and speaking with players. Which shouldn’t be allowed! PCB should ask for misbah salary back that he wasted while being a player And as a dual management role

 

[emranabbas]

This is what people like you don't understand.

Fakhar is an X factor player, a reputation he has been given by anyone in the dugout including babar himself who agrees during the wc ghat fakhar when onsong is superior to himself.

Rohit sharma is t20 averages 31 with a sr of 139, the reason it's low is because in 2022 he was a virtual tailender. He was so horrifically bad that fans wanted him gone but management told the fans no, and that not only will he be captain he is Undroppable by any means, however the same priveldge wasn't given to Dhawan who was told either he's performing or he's being replaced by a younger lad who hit strike better then him key word strike.

Now ask yourself why? It's because when ROHIT is onsong his hitman reputation makes him undroppable, with wc 2023 proving why he cannot be dropped or replaced as an OPENER by any means nessasry, because he'll either utilise the PP or will settle and get that massive 150 to 200.

Rizwan and babar are anchorer type players, who are impactless against bigger teams, infacg they have garnered an entire reputation for just being soft run scorers in the long haul against teams.

Yesterday while analysing Babar the commentators noted that

Babar from overs 1-6 goes at a sr of 129 from overs 7-15 he slows down even further going at a sr of 110, from overs 16-20 he strikes at 212 but he rarely if ever reached 16-20 because he's an opener and will likely be dismissed before that, in fact ainxe 2022 he's only reached the 16th over as an opener once last year against c string NZ.

People like bavuma, Babar and rizwan, if they go out of form or stop performing their droppable because their only purpose which is soft scoring and avoiding a collapse, that purpose is finished,

The way they can be kept and selected is if they are Consistently performing and that HAS NOT HAPPENED.

Babar's avg from 2022 till 2024 in t20 has dropped from 48 to 40, and by next game if he doesn't get a 40, it'll drop to 39, showing his decline, rizwan is in a similar boat where he had an awful 2022 season and in2024 avg 33 with a sr of 110 on psl, and even last series complained in the media that he's losing form ever since the opening partnership was broken.

These 2 are anchorers ans anchors can be dropped if they are losing form as their useless and redundant now.

Fakhar on the other hand can NEVER BE DROPPED, and shouldn't be removed from opening, because he's proven he can play innings that babar and rizwan won't ever play in odi, issue with fakhar is he can't replicate it in t20 but you haven't given him the chance as last time he opened was in 2020, 4 years ago.

You can't drop falhar because theirs always the chance that maybe if he performs we'll get a rapid 60 ball 100 or a match winning monster score, something that babar and rizwan can't achieve on a world cup stage while fakhar has shown he can during a cup.

Only way you can make a case to drop fakhar is if he was so out of form that, now theirs a 0% chance he'll ever replicate his innings, however we know that's not the case as last year he has 3 impact 100's In odi, and just last game he was the best player and batter in general, infact his slow start at the beginning proves why he needs tonopen because he starts slow and easily makes up for it striking at over 150+ in the middle while babar and rizwan slow down in the middle going till 110.

It's not a difficult argument or head scratching process that people think it is.
Its like saying hey let's drop shahid afridi during his golden years a man whos inconsistent but can hit 45 ball 100's, for bavuma because bavuma soft scores more. It's a loony toon argument.

I think people on this forum or pakistanis in general havant adapted to t20 format yet and are still stuck in the odi format.

There's a huge difference between the both formats.

Most people don't understand the power play rule and are not even aware how many fielders are outside the 30 yard circle and what sort of skill set is required from the batsmen during that phase.

you just can't rely on anyone who cant hit sixes to play the power play

most people are concerned about who scored the most rather than who has impacted the innings

 

[Misia]

1. Saim
2. Fakhar
3. Usman
4. Babar
5. Rizwan
6. Shadab
7. Ifti
8 Imad
9. Afridi
10. Amir
11. Naseem

 

[emranabbas]

For once, I agree with misbah!!

He gets confused when opening in T20's and plays blindly.

At no. 4 or 5 - he can take his time or come out all guns blazing from the word go.

He'll be perfect as a finisher in this format.

this is where most people get confused, it's not odi's or tests that you take time to settle and then go all guns blazing
it's a format where you come in and go all guns blazing. if you need time to settle in then t20 is the wrong format your playing.

 

[shariqnoor]

There is nothing greater in Pakistan cricket than Misbah-ul-Haq making some posters here seething with rage and making them cry. It's so beautiful to see.

 

[Rana]

There is nothing greater in Pakistan cricket than Misbah-ul-Haq making some posters here seething with rage and making them cry. It's so beautiful to see.

Because Misbah turned the T20 side into a Test team? You are happy?

 

[shariqnoor]

Fakhar career SR as opener: 136
Fakhar career SR in the middle order: 144

Fakhar SR in NZ T20's this year in the middle order: 166

But yes, he's better as an opener. This is why you never take PSL as a barometer for international performance. Bashing third-class bowlers in PSL as an opener doesn't translate into real cricket.

 

[shariqnoor]

 

[emranabbas]

Fakhar career SR as opener: 136
Fakhar career SR in the middle order: 144

Fakhar SR in NZ T20's this year in the middle order: 166

But yes, he's better as an opener. This is why you never take PSL as a barometer for international performance. Bashing third-class bowlers in PSL as an opener doesn't translate into real cricket.

you making up stats? this has already been discussed above

so what's the middle? 3 4 5 6 ?

 

[shariqnoor]

you making up stats? this has already been discussed above

so what's the middle? 3 4 5 6 ?

Upper order is (1-3)
Middle order is (4-7)
Tail is (8-11)

Even a complete novice cricket fan knows this.

by the way Fakhar's career SR at number 4 is 162.

 

[emranabbas]

Upper order is (1-3)
Middle order is (4-7)
Tail is (8-11)

Even a complete novice cricket fan knows this.

how about you put batting position with average and strike rate? rather than using upper middle and tail? let's dig deeper

 

[Rana]

Fakhar career SR as opener: 136
Fakhar career SR in the middle order: 144

Fakhar SR in NZ T20's this year in the middle order: 166

But yes, he's better as an opener. This is why you never take PSL as a barometer for international performance. Bashing third-class bowlers in PSL as an opener doesn't translate into real cricket.

Right

From now on, runs as openers in PSL means you are a middle order international batsman

 

[shariqnoor]

how about you put batting position with average and strike rate? rather than using upper middle and tail? let's dig deeper

 

[TheSultan]

These are some of Misbah’s genius calls over the years:

1. Himself being saviour extraordinaire
2. Babar and Rizwan opening
3. Azhar Ali as limited overs captain!

 

[emranabbas]

View attachment 143437

so you want him to play 5th position where averages 12 at the strike rate 102 or 6th position where averages 21 with 100 strike rate?

He should open if Rizwan and Babar are in the team, given their slower strike rates. Remember, cricket is a team sport.

If Babar and Rizwan are not playing, like yesterday when Rizwan was absent and Babar was dismissed early without facing many balls, he should bat at the 4th position.

 

[emranabbas]

ideally with out babar and rizwan

saim
harris
usman
fakhar

with rizwan and babar

saim
fakhar
usman
rizwan
babar

 

[RidiculousMan]

Are you being serious or sarcastic?

Dead serious.

Do you think I would joke about our greatest Test captain and one of the greatest Cricketing mind in Pakistan Cricket?

 

[Mohraheem]

There is nothing greater in Pakistan cricket than Misbah-ul-Haq making some posters here seething with rage and making them cry. It's so beautiful to see.

That’s exactly the reason why he failed as Coach, Player and Cheif Selector. His fans are delusional just like the example u provided above.

 

[Mohraheem]

Because Misbah turned the T20 side into a Test team? You are happy?

They didn’t watch any matches before.

 

[Ahmed216]

I am glad Pak has finally found a good number 4

 

[Major]

@Major

Interestingly, Rizwan averages 50 in T20s, where strike rate is crucial, yet only 40 in Tests and ODIs, where one would expect his average to be higher.

lol only.

an avg of 40 is a great thing in odi and test

 

[Major]

Fakhar career SR as opener: 136
Fakhar career SR in the middle order: 144

Fakhar SR in NZ T20's this year in the middle order: 166

But yes, he's better as an opener. This is why you never take PSL as a barometer for international performance. Bashing third-class bowlers in PSL as an opener doesn't translate into real cricket.

interesting.
I have noticed that alot of these posters here are posting false stats. Thanks for posting the reality bro