AliMurtaza
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- Aug 5, 2014
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From Jan 2021 to Dec 2022, Pak test side will have a relatively easier period. With only overseas tours to West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, you will be playing at home against sides like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and England. I hope the selectors have the foresight to use this period to inject young talent in the side that can help help Pak become a top 4 test side in the next 3-4 years. No need to set any lofty goals considering your current ranking and the limited talent pool available.
Two areas that stand out are an ageing batting lineup and a fast bowling quartet that can help you compete against top sides.
Batting: Barring Babar, you don't have any other player below age of 26. However, it also doesn't make sense to drop players just because they are old. You don't want to end up in a situation you are getting out for scores of 53 and 59 (remember the 2002 series against Aus in UAE). At this point, everyone is out with daggers against Abid, Shan, Azhar, Haris, and Fawad either because of their age (Azhar, Abid, and Fawad), fitness (Haris), or their average career progress (Shan). I, for one, am not in favor of making wholesale changes. Plus, you simply do not have the players to replace five batters at the same time. So what Pakistan should do?
Unless both Abid and Shan fail spectacularly, I would leave the opening pair intact. Both have done reasonably well without setting the world on fire. Also, with Sami Aslam gone and Imam's poor test technique, you don't have many options. Imran Butt had only one good season in 2019 which followed years of mediocrity. Likes of Omair Yousuf and Ali Zaryab are far from a finished product. So your only options are in the middle order. I would infact make Azhar open in case you want to drop one of Abid or Shan or either one of them is unfit.
In the middle order, my bet is on Saud Shakeel and Haider Ali. Saud has consistency issues and Haider has played only one full first class season. But they stand out from the rest of the options. Abdullah needs at least one more first class season and I am not sure how good is Kamran Ghulam with 2020 being his first breakout season. Usman Salahuddin has scored only one century this season and had a medicore last season. Saud has few solid seaons behind him and Haider Ali is good enough for me to play for tests in Pakistan.
So keep both Saud and Haider with the test side starting with the South Africa series and introduce them in place of Abid, Shan, Azhar, Fawad, or Haris, depending on whoever fails in NZ or has continued fitness issues (Haris), at appropriate time. I am assuming Azhar can open if one of Abid or Shan is dropped. Assuming you have both Saud and Haider playing for Pak test side along with Babar within the next few months, you will have 3 batsmen age 26 or below who can have potentially long careers for Pakistan. And then you go from there to make additional changes in the next 2 years as the opportunity arises.
Fast bowlers: Despite Abbas' clear drop in pace and his lack of wicket taking ability, I would still keep him with the test side. He keeps the run scoring in check and will always be effective when there is something in the pitch or there is low bounce. Shaheen should be the second name followed by Hassan Ali as he is fully fit now. Hassan can reverse the old ball and brings pace and energy when the ball is old. After Abbas, Shaheen, and Hassan, no one stands out. Likes of Sohail Khan and Imran Khan are old and tried and tested. Likes of Husnain, Musa, and Rauf haven't played any first class cricket. So for the fourth pacer, either pick someone like Sohail or Tabish who can do the job for next 1-2 years or continue playing the likes of Musa and Naseem till the improve. Sorry but that's the best I can see based on our resources.
Thank you for reading a long post and I look forward to constructive discussion based on data.
Two areas that stand out are an ageing batting lineup and a fast bowling quartet that can help you compete against top sides.
Batting: Barring Babar, you don't have any other player below age of 26. However, it also doesn't make sense to drop players just because they are old. You don't want to end up in a situation you are getting out for scores of 53 and 59 (remember the 2002 series against Aus in UAE). At this point, everyone is out with daggers against Abid, Shan, Azhar, Haris, and Fawad either because of their age (Azhar, Abid, and Fawad), fitness (Haris), or their average career progress (Shan). I, for one, am not in favor of making wholesale changes. Plus, you simply do not have the players to replace five batters at the same time. So what Pakistan should do?
Unless both Abid and Shan fail spectacularly, I would leave the opening pair intact. Both have done reasonably well without setting the world on fire. Also, with Sami Aslam gone and Imam's poor test technique, you don't have many options. Imran Butt had only one good season in 2019 which followed years of mediocrity. Likes of Omair Yousuf and Ali Zaryab are far from a finished product. So your only options are in the middle order. I would infact make Azhar open in case you want to drop one of Abid or Shan or either one of them is unfit.
In the middle order, my bet is on Saud Shakeel and Haider Ali. Saud has consistency issues and Haider has played only one full first class season. But they stand out from the rest of the options. Abdullah needs at least one more first class season and I am not sure how good is Kamran Ghulam with 2020 being his first breakout season. Usman Salahuddin has scored only one century this season and had a medicore last season. Saud has few solid seaons behind him and Haider Ali is good enough for me to play for tests in Pakistan.
So keep both Saud and Haider with the test side starting with the South Africa series and introduce them in place of Abid, Shan, Azhar, Fawad, or Haris, depending on whoever fails in NZ or has continued fitness issues (Haris), at appropriate time. I am assuming Azhar can open if one of Abid or Shan is dropped. Assuming you have both Saud and Haider playing for Pak test side along with Babar within the next few months, you will have 3 batsmen age 26 or below who can have potentially long careers for Pakistan. And then you go from there to make additional changes in the next 2 years as the opportunity arises.
Fast bowlers: Despite Abbas' clear drop in pace and his lack of wicket taking ability, I would still keep him with the test side. He keeps the run scoring in check and will always be effective when there is something in the pitch or there is low bounce. Shaheen should be the second name followed by Hassan Ali as he is fully fit now. Hassan can reverse the old ball and brings pace and energy when the ball is old. After Abbas, Shaheen, and Hassan, no one stands out. Likes of Sohail Khan and Imran Khan are old and tried and tested. Likes of Husnain, Musa, and Rauf haven't played any first class cricket. So for the fourth pacer, either pick someone like Sohail or Tabish who can do the job for next 1-2 years or continue playing the likes of Musa and Naseem till the improve. Sorry but that's the best I can see based on our resources.
Thank you for reading a long post and I look forward to constructive discussion based on data.
