3 changes to the Pakistan T20 World Cup squad

[Titan24]

This is a better squad. Asif Ali should have been sent on his way for someone like Iftikhar Ahmed.

With Fakhar Zaman back in the mix, you've essentially got a floater who can come in when he is needed. He is terrible against finger-spinners but good against leg-spinners.

I'd fix Haider Ali at #3, he should be allowed to come out and play freely as he has done in the National T20 Cup. That doesn't, however, mean that he gets to play braindead shots.

My squad, which I'd play for all encounters, is:

Babar Azam (c)
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Haider Ali
Sohaib Maqsood
Mohammad Hafeez
Fakhar Zaman
Imad Wasim/Mohammad Nawaz
Shadab Khan
Usman Qadir
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi

If Hafeez is somehow convinced to bat at no 5 then this is a pretty decent lineup. However, Qadir is in reserves and I dont think Pak will go without 3 pacers in any match.

 

[PakHammer]

My team for India is there are no more changes to the squad:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Mohammed Rizwan (wk)
3. Babar Azam (c)
4. Mohammed Hafeez
5. Haider Ali
6. Asif Ali
7. Shadab Khan
8. Mohammead Nawaz
9. Hasan Ali
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Haris Rauf

The weak links in that 11 are Haris & Shadab. Shadab will play as vice captain but Imad will have a case. Nawaz is the number 1 spinner in the squad now. I hope Babar does best for the team and lets Fakhar open as that's his natural position. Babar can easily go to number 3 as he has done in the past.

I am not a fan of Haris but Mohammad Wasim is too raw for a high pressure game against India. It's a shame Wahab did not make the squad as I think he has become a mature 20/20 bowler in the last few years.

Asif Ali will have licence to slog at number 6 and that should be his role.

 

[TeymurBlake]

The initial squad was terrible imo however this squad is... not that much better.

Haider Ali is a man on form, so bringing him in was inevitable despite my reservations about calling him up too soon. But man in form, calling him up instead of Khushdil Shah made somewhat sense I guess.

Fakhar Zaman is getting called into the main squad from the reserves was also expected considering the innings he can play and the role of hack he can also play. Mohammad Hasnain just shouldn't have been there.

Sarfaraz Ahmed is there somehow, despite being poor with the bat and even worse with the gloves now. I'm more surprised at this inclusion mainly due to the form of Muhammad Akhlaq, now he might not have played much or at all in the tournament due to Rizwan and Akhlaq playing domestic cricket ahead of sitting in the bench is better, but one injury to Riz and Pakistan are relying on Sarfi.

But there are still more changes that could have happened for me. Shadab Khan out for Usman Qadir or Zahid Mehmood, Asif Ali out for Iftikhar Ahmed or Muhammad Akhlaq, Imad Wasim for Aamir Yamin or Amad Butt and Haris Rauf for Shahnawaz Dhani are the other changes I would have looked to made.

But a decision has been made and there is nothing to say now, all in all the players dropped, needed to be dropped.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Good squad but too many spinners. M Wasim should play instead of Usman Qadir as he is also a good hitter. Nawaz i think should play ahead of Imad.

True. Nawaz is an actual spinner.

 

[Ami]

Riz
Babar
Fakhar
Hafeez
Maqsood
Imad
Nawaz
Shadab
Hasan
Rauf
Afridi

Wasim
Haider
Sarfaraz
Asif

I cant understand why Asif and Sarfaraz are there?...may be Iftikhar and Dahani were better bets.

 

[gazza619]

Why the heck do we only have 3 pacers?

 

[mazkhan]

Sarfraz shouldn't be in the squad, I'd rather faheem ashraf was there ,
Or dahani promoted to the main squad in sarfraz place.

Asif ali needs kicking out

 

[Savak]

Sarfraz shouldn't be in the squad, I'd rather faheem ashraf was there ,
Or dahani promoted to the main squad in sarfraz place.

Asif ali needs kicking out

UAE will offer spinning conditions, Sarfaraz is one of our good players of spin.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Why the heck do we only have 3 pacers?

Mohammad Wasim
Haris Rauf
Shaheen Afridi
Hassan Ali

How many more do we need on UAE pitches?

 

[mazkhan]

UAE will offer spinning conditions, Sarfaraz is one of our good players of spin.

But will sarfraz be in the plating xi if rizwan is in the playing xi ?

Or will rizwan be used as the opener and sarfraz keep wickets?

But imo sarfraz brings a bad vibe into team alongside his connection with karachi media and the pundits who just rabbit on criticising rizwan .

 

[iniqbal223]

Still a bad squad.

Sarfraz would only play if Rizwan gets injured, thus, Sarfraz should had been a reserve. We are wasting a placed in the 15 squad

Would had prefered Zahid Mehmood in place of Usman Qadir in the reserve.

Not sure about Shahnawaz Dhani, want to see him play but he is in the reserve. I think he should get a warm up game

Iftikhar Ahmad could had been a great inclusion. We missed out on that.

But thank god no Khushdil and Azam in the main squad

may be you were expecting.. Misbah YES-Man ul-Haq also in the squad

 

[Nasty Naz]

My guess is, they'll go with:

1. Rizwan
2. Babar
3. Haider
4. Maqsood
5. Hafeez
6. Fakhar/Asif
7. Imad/Nawaz
8. Shadab
9. Hasan
10. Rauf
11. Shaheen

Not sure it makes sense to include both Nawaz & Imad since that lineup has 6 bowlers already. Based on the bowlers selected, it seems like the bowlers are pretty well set.

Most of the lineup (Babar/Rizwan/Hafeez & Fakhar as the lone lefty) seems to be pretty set as well. In the end, this will come down to how well they play spin and how well their own spin bowlers perform.

 

[moghul]

I'm OK with changes.

I'm not a big fan of Sarfraz but under current situation , he is a better choice than Azam, of course and Haris , Rohail and other hopefuls , particularly in UAE.

Asif also has no reason to be in the team, same can be said about Haris Rauf.

Hafeez has been off color for sometimes and with his very aging body and recent illness , he could also have been dropped .

Feel bad for Maqsood, hope he gets well soon but he should have not been in the team and I'm happy with his replacement.

 

[Saj]

Changes seem ok.

I guess one could argue that a young backup keeper might have been picked.

But overall the batting remains a concern.

 

[shamaan]

Sharjeel should be in - if Shoaib Maqsood is ruled out. This boy adds nothing apart from 8 or 10 runs. However, if Sharjeels gets in the groove then the game is over for the opposition.

Do you think Babar ans Rizwan will move down a position to fit sharjeel in the team.

 

[shamaan]

Changes seem ok.

I guess one could argue that a young backup keeper might have been picked.

But overall the batting remains a concern.

They should have selected a young keeper two series ago right decision to include Sarfraz

 

[Rana]

Do you think Babar ans Rizwan will move down a position to fit sharjeel in the team.

They should if they really care.

Babar and Sharjeel is a successful combination in PSL also. Rizwan can slot in at 3 or 5

 

[shamaan]

They should if they really care.

Babar and Sharjeel is a successful combination in PSL also. Rizwan can slot in at 3 or 5

Three is fine but not lower than 3.

 

[The_KING]

Good decision. Even though I am not a Sarfraz fan, he did well in both PSL and National T20 Cup, so his inclusion is justified. Haider is a talented batsman with potential, so I have no problem with him being in the team, especially if he is replacing that rubbish Azam Khan. Fakhar's selection is a no-brainer.

 

[moghul]

Finally they got it right, thanks Ramiz.

 

[Abdurmirr]

1. Rizwan
2. Babar
3. Fakhar
4. Haider
5. Hafeez
6. Asif
7. Nawaz
8. Shadab
9. Hasan
10. Shaheen
11. Rauf

Would play Imad over Shadab however considering he's vice captain I don't see that happening

 

[saeedhk]

What is Asif Ali doing in the squad?? How can this guy get so many chances despite being absolutely useless? If our middle order has Asif Ali and Maqsood then its a first round knock out.

 

[MenInG]

Permission granted to train for the Pakistan T20 World Cup squad after all members tested negative.

The national squad will train at the National High Performance Center on Sunday

The training sessions of the national squad will be held on Monday and Tuesday at LCC Ground, Lahore

The national squad will play a scenario match on October 14 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore

The squad will leave for the UAE on October 15 to participate in the mega event

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

What exactly did Fakhar do to get a place in the squad? Did not have a particulary good performance in the National Cup

 

[jeetu]

Pakistan's T20 stats since Jan2020

[table=class: grid, align: center]
[tr][td]Player [/td][td]Mat [/td][td]Runs [/td][td]Ave [/td][td]SR [/td][td]100 [/td][td]50 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohammad Rizwan [/td][td]27 [/td][td]885 [/td][td]80.45 [/td][td]138.06 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]8 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Shoaib Malik [/td][td]5 [/td][td]72 [/td][td]72 [/td][td]128.57 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]1 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Babar Azam [/td][td]25 [/td][td]799 [/td][td]42.05 [/td][td]136.58 [/td][td]1 [/td][td]8 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohammad Hafeez [/td][td]24 [/td][td]521 [/td][td]37.21 [/td][td]142.73 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]4 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Hasan Ali [/td][td]11 [/td][td]58 [/td][td]29 [/td][td]207.14 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Khushdil Shah [/td][td]8 [/td][td]122 [/td][td]24.4 [/td][td]112.96 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Iftikhar Ahmed [/td][td]7 [/td][td]62 [/td][td]20.66 [/td][td]106.89 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Haider Ali [/td][td]15 [/td][td]256 [/td][td]19.69 [/td][td]131.95 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]2 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Fakhar Zaman [/td][td]19 [/td][td]265 [/td][td]18.92 [/td][td]135.2 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]1 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Shadab Khan [/td][td]15 [/td][td]104 [/td][td]17.33 [/td][td]126.82 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohammad Nawaz (3) [/td][td]8 [/td][td]57 [/td][td]14.25 [/td][td]114 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Imad Wasim [/td][td]11 [/td][td]67 [/td][td]13.4 [/td][td]152.27 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Sohaib Maqsood [/td][td]6 [/td][td]52 [/td][td]13 [/td][td]157.57 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Faheem Ashraf [/td][td]15 [/td][td]126 [/td][td]12.6 [/td][td]136.95 [/td][td]0 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[/table]

[table=class: grid, align: center]
[tr][td]Player [/td][td]Mat [/td][td]Wkts [/td][td]Ave [/td][td]Econ [/td][td]SR [/td][td]4W [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Hasan Ali [/td][td]11 [/td][td]17 [/td][td]14.88 [/td][td]7.74 [/td][td]11.5 [/td][td]1 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Usman Qadir [/td][td]16 [/td][td]20 [/td][td]16.3 [/td][td]7.4 [/td][td]13.2 [/td][td]1 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohammad Hafeez [/td][td]24 [/td][td]6 [/td][td]18.33 [/td][td]6.11 [/td][td]18 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohammad Hasnain [/td][td]13 [/td][td]14 [/td][td]24 [/td][td]7.3 [/td][td]19.7 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Haris Rauf [/td][td]23 [/td][td]28 [/td][td]25.07 [/td][td]8.94 [/td][td]16.8 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mohammad Nawaz (3) [/td][td]8 [/td][td]8 [/td][td]25.5 [/td][td]7.55 [/td][td]20.2 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Faheem Ashraf [/td][td]15 [/td][td]11 [/td][td]31.45 [/td][td]7.63 [/td][td]24.7 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Shadab Khan [/td][td]15 [/td][td]12 [/td][td]32.33 [/td][td]8.62 [/td][td]22.5 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Shaheen Shah Afridi [/td][td]20 [/td][td]18 [/td][td]32.72 [/td][td]8.49 [/td][td]23.1 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Imad Wasim [/td][td]11 [/td][td]9 [/td][td]33.44 [/td][td]8.13 [/td][td]24.6 [/td][td]0 [/td][/tr]
[/table]

 

[MenInG]

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced three changes to the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 squad on Friday evening.

Giving his opinion on the changes made by the PCB, former speedster Shoaib Akhtar said that “this seems like a much more complete squad now”. Shoaib, however, expressed his disappointment over the non-selection of former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.

“In my opinion, Malik should have been included in the squad. But I’m still happy with the current changes,” he said.

He further said that PCB has made a good decision by strengthening the middle-order, which was previously lacking the experience.

“We have brought stability in the lower order with the inclusion of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Haider Ali.

https://pakobserver.net/shoaib-akhtar-happy-over-changes-in-t20-world-cup-squad/

 

[MenInG]

Sohaib Maqsood has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a back injury

Sohaib Maqsood suffered from back pain during the National Twenty20

PCB Chief Medical Officer Dr. Najeeb and Physio Cliff Deacon recently reviewed Sohaib Maqsood's injury.

The medical panel has advised Sohaib Maqsood to rest

Sohaib Maqsood's replacement will be decided soon

 

[Arajit]

He should be in the reserves then, we are effectively going in with a 14 man squad

Its not Like that. Every Team should have two proper Wicket Keepers in the 15 Man Squad.
Think of a scenario if Rizwan has niggle and will miss out just one game, who will keep wicket. For that he has to be replaced with Sarfaraz who you are saying should be in Travelling Reserves. Once a Player in 15 man squad is replaced with Travelling Reserve he will not be able to take further part in the Tournament.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Its not Like that. Every Team should have two proper Wicket Keepers in the 15 Man Squad.
Think of a scenario if Rizwan has niggle and will miss out just one game, who will keep wicket. For that he has to be replaced with Sarfaraz who you are saying should be in Travelling Reserves. Once a Player in 15 man squad is replaced with Travelling Reserve he will not be able to take further part in the Tournament.

You can have injury replacements during a tournament, it’s easy to do.

Pakistan “injured” Yasir Araft in the 09 world cup to bring Abdul Razzaq in.


So there is no logic in keeping Sarfraz in. It’s purely to cater to lobbies. I think Haider Ali has done some part time keeping domestically as well

 

[shamaan]

What exactly did Fakhar do to get a place in the squad? Did not have a particulary good performance in the National Cup

He can bat up the order and has batted in the middle order.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan’s legendary batsman Inzamamul Haq has questioned the selection committee over Sarfaraz Ahmed's selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup squad.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Inzamam said that the selection committee needs to handle the media pressure better and not make selections based on that.

"If the selection committee wants to make selections based on performance then they need to forget age and other factors," said Inzamam.

Inzamam further added: "When you are not going to play Sarfaraz then why are we carrying him? How many T20Is has he played in the last two years? He is a reputable former captain - including him, and not playing him will make no sense."

The T20 squad selection should be based on the ability of players to turn the match on its head, and there is no one better than opener Sharjeel Khan, said the 51-year-old.

The former Chief Selector said that Pakistan has suffered in the middle-order and they should have reshuffled the batting line-up and selected Sharjeel Khan as an opener.

"Sharjeel Khan has performed brilliantly. If they didn't want to shuffle the batting order then why was Shoaib Malik not considered? He has the experience. Both players could have made a huge difference," added Inzamam.

Pakistan, who will leave for Dubai on October 15, will play their first game against India on October 24 during the T20 World Cup.

https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/n...up-inzamaul-haq-questions-sarfarazs-selection

 

[Arajit]

You can have injury replacements during a tournament, it’s easy to do.

Pakistan “injured” Yasir Araft in the 09 world cup to bring Abdul Razzaq in.


So there is no logic in keeping Sarfraz in. It’s purely to cater to lobbies. I think Haider Ali has done some part time keeping domestically as well

I Know we can have injury replacements during a tournament.

You are not getting It. I am saying if he (Rizwan) misses out only for one game (not ruled out of the tournament due to Injury) due to niggle and will be fit and available for future games. Once Replaced by Reserves he will not be able to get back in 15 man squad until another injury happens and he replaces him.

That is the Reason every team has two proper Wicket Keepers in the 15 Man Squad.

You may be right for any other replacements. But its different for Specialist Jobs like Wicket Keeper.

 

[Huzaifah]

"If the selection committee wants to make selections based on performance then they need to forget age and other factors," said Inzamam

Shame you didn't act upon your own advice and continously left Fawad Alam out of the team.

 

[Arajit]

I Know we can have injury replacements during a tournament.

You are not getting It. I am saying if he (Rizwan) misses out only for one game (not ruled out of the tournament due to Injury) due to niggle and will be fit and available for future games. Once Replaced by Reserves he will not be able to get back in 15 man squad until another injury happens and he replaces him.

That is the Reason every team has two proper Wicket Keepers in the 15 Man Squad.

You may be right for any other replacements. But its different for Specialist Jobs like Wicket Keeper.

Thats the Reason we have Term Backup Wicket keeper.
No Team has any Wicket Keeper in Travelling Reserves. Thanks to Covid the Travelling Reserves are there. So that if anybody is to be replaced, the replacement is readily available and dont have to fo through quarantine Requirements. Before COVID Teams only had 15 Man Squad for tours and every team used to travel with a Backup Wicket Keeper.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I still believe <a href="https://twitter.com/realshoaibmalik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realshoaibmalik</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SharjeelLeo14?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SharjeelLeo14</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WahabViki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WahabViki</a> they should be in the squad but hwa wohi hai 2 tere or 2 mere&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;but it's time to support our team&#55357;&#56490;&#55357;&#56490;&#55357;&#56490;</p>— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamamirofficial/status/1446756355226972160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

The national squad announced for the T20 World Cup will start training from today

The squad will begin training at the National High Performance Center at 2 p.m.

All-rounder Shoaib Malik will also train with the squad after his Coronavirus test report was negative

 

[mastimasti]

Thier was no need for husnain in the squad he wasn't going to get a chance Pakistan will proberly go with 3 man pace attack at most

There are things such as injuries or tactical changes throughout a tournament. Pakistan are limited with ab owler down.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Still a bad squad.

Sarfraz would only play if Rizwan gets injured, thus, Sarfraz should had been a reserve. We are wasting a placed in the 15 squad

Would had prefered Zahid Mehmood in place of Usman Qadir in the reserve.

Not sure about Shahnawaz Dhani, want to see him play but he is in the reserve. I think he should get a warm up game

Iftikhar Ahmad could had been a great inclusion. We missed out on that.

But thank god no Khushdil and Azam in the main squad

That's true, Azam and Khushdil were bizzare choices. Sohaib and Asif Ali are poor choices as well. Unless Sohaib plays a big innings he too will be dropped. However Asif Ali seems to have survived the scrutiny.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

That's true, Azam and Khushdil were bizzare choices. Sohaib and Asif Ali are poor choices as well. Unless Sohaib plays a big innings he too will be dropped. However Asif Ali seems to have survived the scrutiny.

This has been the problem with some people.

SP had the weakest of the weakest XIs, people need to realise that someone like Azam and Khushdil come in as late order hitters and not at the 4-5 overs mark. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't.

Azam Khan's exclusion you can say was justified, but now with Khushdil in reserves you will now rely solely on Asif Ali being your late order hitter which everyone has their doubts on plus Khushdil was another leftie which you don't have enough of now in the squad, only 3 left handed batsmen in Fakhar, Nawaz and Imad (realistically only 2 of the 3 of these players will play).

Shoaib Malik though is the worst pick possible, what exactly will Shoaib bring with the top order we have??? If we have Rizwan-Babar bat till the 10-11th over, then have Haider come in will you really want Malik coming out next to up the ante?

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I still believe <a href="https://twitter.com/realshoaibmalik?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realshoaibmalik</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SharjeelLeo14?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SharjeelLeo14</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WahabViki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WahabViki</a> they should be in the squad but hwa wohi hai 2 tere or 2 mere&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;&#55357;&#56833;but it's time to support our team&#55357;&#56490;&#55357;&#56490;&#55357;&#56490;</p>— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamamirofficial/status/1446756355226972160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lol. 2 tere 2 mere

 

[Caved12]

Is there any way to kick out Asif Ali and have Ifti Chacha in his place?

I am happy to see Sarfaraz back in the squad. You can't treat your former captain the way Pakistan has treated him after removing him from Captaincy. Besides, all this time, we invested in him to take him to the world cup as a back up keeper and to make a last minute change in the fashion PCB did, is not how cricket should be played.

I would not pick Rauf even for my club team. It is unbelievable that he is still playing for Pakistan and somehow Babar is ok with this. Not sure what is going on here? Pick Dahani as he is thousand times better than Rauf.

Malik and Hafeez should have retired ages ago, but they are still playing and almost all posters seem to be okay with this. I don't like Khushdil and Asif, but give them a long rope as these two have got and after 20 years, I am sure they will be at the level where Malik and Hafeez are today.

Fakhar should have never been dropped to begin with. You can't drop Fakhar and then bring in a player like Asif Ali.

Everyone was like Ramiz is buddy buddy with Moin, but I always knew that Ramiz would never tolerate someone like Azam Yokozuna Khan. Good riddance. Azam and Sharjeel should take part in eating contests.

Good to see Haider Ali back. He totally earned it. Very happy for this kid.

Why is Shadab still playing for Pakistan? Wait a sec. Why is he still the VC? I think Ramiz is going to fix all these blunders after this world cup.

 

[shamaan]

There are things such as injuries or tactical changes throughout a tournament. Pakistan are limited with ab owler down.

They have dahani incase of injury.