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5 openers in a Test squad of 16? Bizarre or is there an explanation?

TalentSpotterPk

Test Debutant
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Apr 22, 2015
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1. Azhar

2. Sami Aslam

3. Babar Azam

4. Fakhar Zaman

5. Imam ul Haq



Hey, I know Babar Azam has opened aswell as batted in middle order in FC Cricket but remember his First FC hundred was as an Opener (double ton) and it came after 2 years wait. I agree He should be in the squad as a middle order option and needs treatment like Williamson rather than be thrown away at this time.


But,


5 Openers ?


Bizarre



For Me Azhar & Sami Aslam should be main openers and Babar should have been middle order batsman and stand by opener in case of Injury to Azhar or Sami.


Fakhar is not compact enough at the moment and Imam has had only one good season so He needed another season of note. Too early Test call even if he does well initially.


Fawad Alam should have been picked as a backup middle order batsman and Wahab Riaz should have been picked aswell as a genuine pacer option.


Rest of the squad is Ok. Rahat has improved but you never know what to expect from him given hia demeanour :-)
 
Not surprised. Mickey will want to keep openers in the squad in case they want to try Azhar at 3 again.
 
Maybe they shuffle them around a bit or give someone untested a chance since their playing Ireland as well who knows lol
 
I'd prefer Azhar at 3 as if they open with him and he's out early that could be big problems for Pakistan.
 
Imam is a nepotism selection while Fakhar is mind boggling. He doesn't have the test technique, no temperament even to save him from the flawed technique in this format.

I still believe knowledgeable PP posters would make better selectors.
 
Imam is a nepotism selection while Fakhar is mind boggling. He doesn't have the test technique, no temperament even to save him from the flawed technique in this format.

I still believe knowledgeable PP posters would make better selectors.

Lol what are you on about. Fakhar probably has one of the best temperaments in the side.
 
Talat in place of Imam and the squad would have been fine.
Talat will play a key role in our WC compaign next year and the more he get accustomed to Eng conditions, the better for us. Pus in the Ire/Eng test series he would have come good as an allrounder at no 6.
 
Talat in place of Imam and the squad would have been fine.
Talat will play a key role in our WC compaign next year and the more he get accustomed to Eng conditions, the better for us. Pus in the Ire/Eng test series he would have come good as an allrounder at no 6.

It’s ok. Just before the World Cup we have 5 match series against England in England. That will be very important for our WC campaign.
 
It’s ok. Just before the World Cup we have 5 match series against England in England. That will be very important for our WC campaign.

Yar abhi sai develop karna chahaye players ko. Already Talat is introduced in the side an year late.

AIk pool banayen players ka aur unhain consistent chances dain. One reason for Talat's poor FC record is atrocious handling by SNGPL. Its not like Talat is a bad 4 day player. Atleast squad mai he rakh letay.
 
Lol what are you on about. Fakhar probably has one of the best temperaments in the side.

He doesn't have - try to analyze game by watching his batting.

If you look at Fakhar's batting, when he is uncomfortable, not getting things in his control; he basically swings around and looks ugly. That's not temperament at all, that's panic mood - batsmen with good temperament don't panic, rather buy out time. Scoring runs while chasing might look like good temperament (though I can't recall anything from him chasing apart from 80+* in NZ), but that's not what Test cricket is about. Here, batsmen have to bail out difficult situations, by avoiding fatal mistakes and selective shot selections (which includes leaving lot of balls).

I wish FZ is picked and played as opener.......
 
Azhar should bat at 3. Losing him early would effectively surrender the innings the opposition there and then.
 
I think Azhar will bat at 3.

Allah na karay. We saw what a disastrous decision that was in last series. Cost us the series. Azhar's game is suited for opening especially in places like England. Haris will be a much better bat at no.3. Trust me ;) Perfect game for no.3 and can keep the scoreboard ticking, can score daddyy hundreds too.
 
Imam is a nepotism selection while Fakhar is mind boggling. He doesn't have the test technique, no temperament even to save him from the flawed technique in this format.

I still believe knowledgeable PP posters would make better selectors.

I believe one justification for Fakhar being in the squad is to give him exposure in England conditions ahead of the world cup next year. I think this is a decent forward thinking for a change.
 
He doesn't have - try to analyze game by watching his batting.

If you look at Fakhar's batting, when he is uncomfortable, not getting things in his control; he basically swings around and looks ugly. That's not temperament at all, that's panic mood - batsmen with good temperament don't panic, rather buy out time. Scoring runs while chasing might look like good temperament (though I can't recall anything from him chasing apart from 80+* in NZ), but that's not what Test cricket is about. Here, batsmen have to bail out difficult situations, by avoiding fatal mistakes and selective shot selections (which includes leaving lot of balls).

I wish FZ is picked and played as opener.......

That’s in LOI. Can’t really extrapolate from it otherwise Babar would be our best test batsman by now going by the way he bats in LOI.

But anyway, I can’t prove you wrong so we shall just have to wait and see :)

The guy has done well in first class cricket and his technique has improved immensely since coming into the national setup. Backing him to succeed wherever he bats.
 
Yar abhi sai develop karna chahaye players ko. Already Talat is introduced in the side an year late.

AIk pool banayen players ka aur unhain consistent chances dain. One reason for Talat's poor FC record is atrocious handling by SNGPL. Its not like Talat is a bad 4 day player. Atleast squad mai he rakh letay.

You are right :(
 
1. Azhar

2. Sami Aslam

3. Babar Azam

4. Fakhar Zaman

5. Imam ul Haq



Hey, I know Babar Azam has opened aswell as batted in middle order in FC Cricket but remember his First FC hundred was as an Opener (double ton) and it came after 2 years wait. I agree He should be in the squad as a middle order option and needs treatment like Williamson rather than be thrown away at this time.


But,


5 Openers ?


Bizarre



For Me Azhar & Sami Aslam should be main openers and Babar should have been middle order batsman and stand by opener in case of Injury to Azhar or Sami.


Fakhar is not compact enough at the moment and Imam has had only one good season so He needed another season of note. Too early Test call even if he does well initially.


Fawad Alam should have been picked as a backup middle order batsman and Wahab Riaz should have been picked aswell as a genuine pacer option.


Rest of the squad is Ok. Rahat has improved but you never know what to expect from him given hia demeanour :-)

Babar isn't an international test opener and will not be played as such, so no reason to include him in your list. Wouldn't Saad Ali be more appropriate?
 
He doesn't have - try to analyze game by watching his batting.

If you look at Fakhar's batting, when he is uncomfortable, not getting things in his control; he basically swings around and looks ugly. That's not temperament at all, that's panic mood - batsmen with good temperament don't panic, rather buy out time. Scoring runs while chasing might look like good temperament (though I can't recall anything from him chasing apart from 80+* in NZ), but that's not what Test cricket is about. Here, batsmen have to bail out difficult situations, by avoiding fatal mistakes and selective shot selections (which includes leaving lot of balls).

I wish FZ is picked and played as opener.......

TBH we don't know how he will fare in tests but we do need a player with a more aggressive mindset in our lineup. All the others except Babar are not able to up the ante when required. We have batsmen who know only to block.
 
The team management only see 3 of the 5 the OP mentioned as Test openers. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are considered as middle order batsmen.
 
Babar isn't an international test opener and will not be played as such, so no reason to include him in your list. Wouldn't Saad Ali be more appropriate?

Saad is more of a middle order batsman.
 
I'd prefer Azhar at 3 as if they open with him and he's out early that could be big problems for Pakistan.

You have to back Azhar Ali to do the job. He is our best opener and is the most qualified for the position in May.
 
TBH we don't know how he will fare in tests but we do need a player with a more aggressive mindset in our lineup. All the others except Babar are not able to up the ante when required. We have batsmen who know only to block.

Not as opener - I myself advocated for FZ to be at 6 (5 actually, Asad doesn't want to move out of 6)
 
So you want him to play as opener, wishing for him to fail so that you are correct :srt



FZ doesn't fit into the role of a Test opener - it's not about succeeding or failure. He can score runs, but regular crispy 30s & 40s can justify him statistically, but not as opener. To me, ultimate success of a Test opener is to see off 2nd ball - that's 1 hour into Day 2, if batting first.

Read my comment other way - I want to see if the hypothesis was wrong or right. On contrary, even if he scores a big one, still it doesn't prove that FZ is the best solution for Test opener.
 
FZ doesn't fit into the role of a Test opener - it's not about succeeding or failure. He can score runs, but regular crispy 30s & 40s can justify him statistically, but not as opener. To me, ultimate success of a Test opener is to see off 2nd ball - that's 1 hour into Day 2, if batting first.

Read my comment other way - I want to see if the hypothesis was wrong or right. On contrary, even if he scores a big one, still it doesn't prove that FZ is the best solution for Test opener.

Fair enough. But I think he’s a guy who can score daddy hundreds though in Asia.
 
FZ doesn't fit into the role of a Test opener - it's not about succeeding or failure. He can score runs, but regular crispy 30s & 40s can justify him statistically, but not as opener. To me, ultimate success of a Test opener is to see off 2nd ball - that's 1 hour into Day 2, if batting first.

Read my comment other way - I want to see if the hypothesis was wrong or right. On contrary, even if he scores a big one, still it doesn't prove that FZ is the best solution for Test opener.

See off the second new ball??? Which opener has ever in the history of the game consistently batted for 80+ overs in an innings?
 
I very much doubt that fakhar will open in tests, he will play at 4 or 5, and Babar will not open he will play 3 so that only leaves 3 openers

I think it will be

Sami aslam
Azhar ali
Babar zaman
Harris Sohail
Fakhar Azam
Asad shafiq
 
Fakhar will only get in if he does well in the practise games.

People have doubts about Fakhar, but his domestic record is pretty decent. He is not a slogger and has batted long in FC scoring double tons.

ONLY issue he has is the short ball. So Wood and Broad will be problematic for him. They will target his weakness and then it will be on Fakhar to survive that period. Hopefully Micky discusses a proper game plan with him.
 
4 openers is a joke. We didn't select a back up keeper again. What if Sarfraz gets injured who will keep ? Could have gone for another fast bowler instead of having 4 openers.
 
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