A Test squad of 18 players - Unheard of?

[MenInG]

Am afraid, the Pakistan Test squad has now become a 'oh lets give everyone a chance' list.

18 players? Why not add another 4 and make 2 squads!

Get it right the first time and stop making a mockery of the whole selection process.

 

[BD-fan]

May be the coach wanted to see more people.

May be the selectors giving the coaches more choices.

May be there was clash between the selectors and the coach on whom they prefer. Is there any warmup games or a specific trim down process?

 

[MenInG]

May be the coach wanted to see more people.

May be the selectors giving the coaches more choices.

May be there was clash between the selectors and the coach on whom they prefer. Is there any warmup games or a specific trim down process?

The ONLY warm up game in progress has names which are NOT part of the squad.

 

[BD-fan]

The ONLY warm up game in progress has names which are NOT part of the squad.

lol, I give up.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Can't seem to understand why you need a 18 player squad for a two match Test series. Given the fact that Dubai is a maximum 2-3 hours flight from Pakistan, it's even more mind-boggling.

 

[AliMurtaza]

Agree. You can easily drop Faheem, Hassan, and Shadab from this squad and replace them with either M Irfan/Kashif Bhatti. This will bring the number to 16 and more understandable. I feel Mickey asked for these fast bowlers and Shadab and perhaps now realizes that spinners are the way to go in UAE.

 

[silent ischemia]

Bhatti would have been a better choice than Bilal Asif, I agree.

 

[Savak]

I think its good to have 18-20 players in a squad. Gives more options to the captain and coach.

 

[Usman Chadda]

I think its good to have 18-20 players in a squad. Gives more options to the captain and coach.

Players on the bench are being denied an opportunity to play domestic cricket.

 

[RickyG]

Not too bothered by the squad size. More disappointed by the lack of front line spinners. With all due respect, I highly doubt Shadab Khan or Bilal Asif are the best spinners Pakistan have.

And unfortunately, Hafeez is probably still the best batting all-rounder in Pakistan. I think Mickey wants 3 fast bowlers and Yasir with another spinning option. Hafeez makes more sense than Shadab because of his superior batting and the fact he offers something different from Yasir.

Bilal Asif makes absolutely no sense. He can't play as a batting all-rounder and you don't usually play bowling all-rounders unless they're good enough to be a front line bowler. Not sure what Zafar Gohar needs to do to get a chance.

 

[Saj]

Still could be a couple of additions as there are a few days to go yet until the 1st Test starts

 

[Hasan123]

18 players for a 2 test series is riddicoulous. 5 pacers in the UAE is another joke. Inzi has made some decent selections but for the most part he has been a disappointment. Don't think he is suited to a CS role.

 

[alized]

The coaches are gutless and prepared to loose. My stomach can’t handle disgraceful Test cricket. No way I’m going to watch Australia 400/1 on day one.

Yasir Shah is out of form isn’t he? Azhar hasn’t played cricket for months. Babar is on a rough patch. Sarfraz was never a batsmen. Faheem can’t hold a bat or ball. Shadab darts and concedes 7 an over. Mohammad Abbas will be smashed and found out by Aussie pace lickers. Mir Hamza is an debutant. Junaid Khan is he there or not, doesn’t matter. Harris Sohail is mr 30 off 150 balls and out. Usman poor guy hasn’t had enough time on the international pitches. Fakhar zaman is a hit or miss and never played test before. Bilal Asif is newbie. Mohammed Hafeez has a new action again which he needs to hide. All pressure is on Imam ul Haq. A guy who has barely played a couple of Test matches. Saved Pakistan batting half a dozen times in International cricket. Hopefully he isn’t the scape for our imminent 0-2 whitewash.

 

[Bilal7]

Mickey has probably asked for Hafeez. A 16-man squad is usually just right.