Are we seeing a new breed of Pakistani cricketer?

[Saj]

Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees.

All three have shown an excellent temperament already in international cricket.

Whilst Hasan is a real livewire and pumped up, he has a very good mindset and good understanding of the game, as do Rumman and Shadab.

Is this the new era of Pakistani cricketers who have no fear and do not look out of place when they arrive in international cricket?

 

[hadi123]

Rumman Raees has been around for a very long time so I don't include him in that list.
But yes I really like Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali's attitudes. Not afraid to show passion on the cricket field. Amazing how this time one month ago Pakistan was at such a low point and a month later so much has changed

 

[ataullah]

Going straight into international cricket without fear and slotting in is effect of psl. Domestic to international was a massive gap but psl has narrowed that gap or finished that gap. A few more psl and we'll be back to pak of 90's inshAllah

 

[Cheetah99]

Rumman Raees has been around for a very long time so I don't include him in that list.
But yes I really like Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali's attitudes. Not afraid to show passion on the cricket field. Amazing how this time one month ago Pakistan was at such a low point and a month later so much has changed

Bhai Ruman Raees has only played one match so far

 

[omcswe]

there is way too much hype of shadab atm; the guy literally is being propelled to super stardom because we don't have any other really marketable product. as much as i liked him before his psl and genuinely thought he was a great prospect, i am very skeptical about him now. don't want to see him become a marketing campaign by his domestic psl franchise

hasan has a good cricketing brain but he needs to improve in many areas. he performed brilliantly in champions trophy but he isn't there yet and has a very long way to go.

rumman hasn't done anything of note.

i understand that the scarcity for good players that we've gone through will propel anyone to become a hero because our nation is starved for cricketing heroes. since 2003, when the last of our true bonafide greats resigned, we've pinned our hopes on anyone who came along.

yasir hameed was the first one - twin centuries against bangladesh in test debut and we thought we had saeed anwar reincarnated

salman butt carried the same hype as well

muhammad sami - oh man he took a great fiver on international debut, and he is 155+ so our pace legacy is secure

umer akmal, shehzad, sohaib maqsood, nasir jamshed, anwar ali (he who downed indian batting future in under 19 world cup final), amir (better even than mighty akram), and so many more.

yes hasan is a massive upgrade on rahat, imran khan juniors (both of them), sohail khan (can't bowl all day because it is very tiring to be in field for six hours) but the journey has only started.

labeling them 'a new breed' is too soon and riding the hype surf - if we aren't lucky, the wave may collapse and we'd again be saying that pakistani cricket is dead and rotten.

 

[ExpressPacer]

We most definitely are and there's a reason for that - change is always good. You can only polish old furniture for so long. There come's a time when you need to introduce young, fresh talent and give them a go. Shadab Khan, Rumman Raees, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, all of these players play with a passion and commitment. You can tell they give importance to their spot in the team (unlike Umar Akmal) but also play fearless cricket and more importantly for their country.

For the last half a decade or so, we've lacked cricketers who played for the country. We got players like Shehzad, Hafeez, Akmal(s) etc who were playing for their spot and their averages instead of the team. This new breed of cricketers, as you say, is not only fit, agile, athletic and massively talented but also selfless - and you get that with fresh, young faces.

This is why we absolutely need new cricketers for Pakistan cricket to flourish and more importantly, the selectors need to persist with them and keep on give them chances because they will reap the fruit. Take the example of Sharjeel Khan, he had an ordinary start but when persisted with, the world was under his feet. He played the world's best bowlers in their own backyard as if they were schoolboys.

Had Zaman not miraculously done well in his very first series, fans and selectors alike would have torn him apart and the world would have been deprived of such a talent. Therefore, with this new breed of cricketers that we are bringing into the team, it is also important that we persist with them and stop going back to our TTF's.

 

[Xoib]

there is way too much hype of shadab atm; the guy literally is being propelled to super stardom because we don't have any other really marketable product. as much as i liked him before his psl and genuinely thought he was a great prospect, i am very skeptical about him now. don't want to see him become a marketing campaign by his domestic psl franchise

hasan has a good cricketing brain but he needs to improve in many areas. he performed brilliantly in champions trophy but he isn't there yet and has a very long way to go.

rumman hasn't done anything of note.

i understand that the scarcity for good players that we've gone through will propel anyone to become a hero because our nation is starved for cricketing heroes. since 2003, when the last of our true bonafide greats resigned, we've pinned our hopes on anyone who came along.

yasir hameed was the first one - twin centuries against bangladesh in test debut and we thought we had saeed anwar reincarnated

salman butt carried the same hype as well

muhammad sami - oh man he took a great fiver on international debut, and he is 155+ so our pace legacy is secure

umer akmal, shehzad, sohaib maqsood, nasir jamshed, anwar ali (he who downed indian batting future in under 19 world cup final), amir (better even than mighty akram), and so many more.

yes hasan is a massive upgrade on rahat, imran khan juniors (both of them), sohail khan (can't bowl all day because it is very tiring to be in field for six hours) but the journey has only started.

labeling them 'a new breed' is too soon and riding the hype surf - if we aren't lucky, the wave may collapse and we'd again be saying that pakistani cricket is dead and rotten.

Agreed re Shadab his test debut showed how far he is away from being a finished product he is a very good talent but i am afraid if he loses focus right now which is quite possible given the sudden fame and adulation he will amount to literally to nothing, could easily go Mansoor Amjad way.

 

[Syed1]

I wont be wrong in saying that 95% of our recent success can be attributed to the PSL. From exposing Saifi to high pressure situations before captaining in international cricket, to bringing to the fore amazing youngsters like Fakhar, Shadab, Hasan and Raees. Keep in mind Sharjeel was also 'discovered' after the first PSL season.


And to think other nations had T20 leagues going on for a good 6-7 years while corrupt Sethi and geriatric Sherry uncle were busy filling their pockets.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

All three of them are like a breath of fresh air for Pak cricket team.

All three of them got unique style and bring in quality.

Insha'Allah, looking forward to a brilliant and successful future.

 

[WC-Passion]

I wont be wrong in saying that 95% of our recent success can be attributed to the PSL. From exposing Saifi to high pressure situations before captaining in international cricket, to bringing to the fore amazing youngsters like Fakhar, Shadab, Hasan and Raees. Keep in mind Sharjeel was also 'discovered' after the first PSL season.


And to think other nations had T20 leagues going on for a good 6-7 years while corrupt Sethi and geriatric Sherry uncle were busy filling their pockets.

Agreed. The pressure situations of the PSL and our youngsters getting the exposure of playing with and against big players has certainly helped. I think the young players would have also been given advice from the experienced foreign players which probably helped too.

I wonder if we had won the 2007 T20 WC, would we have been the first country to start a T20 league?

 

[Pete Rose]

Fakhar Zaman : he holds more value for me. As well these bowlers have done, our deeper issues were with batting. For a Pakistani batsman to come in and be in control of his nerves and score in every match on the trot. That's the kind of spine we need.

 

[Surf]

I wont be wrong in saying that 95% of our recent success can be attributed to the PSL. From exposing Saifi to high pressure situations before captaining in international cricket, to bringing to the fore amazing youngsters like Fakhar, Shadab, Hasan and Raees. Keep in mind Sharjeel was also 'discovered' after the first PSL season.



And to think other nations had T20 leagues going on for a good 6-7 years while corrupt Sethi and geriatric Sherry uncle were busy filling their pockets.

+1 Great post bro keep it up

 

[Abdullah719]

Exactly what we need, these guys are the catalysts for our CT win along with Sarf's captaincy.

 

[Square Drive]

Start of a golden era.

Not surprised at all. Been saying it all along, just took everyone else a while.

 

[Ami]

Too early...

 

[kaifmazhar]

Just a breath of fresh air and just one tournament victory. Incredible it may seem and soul satisfying it is but to judge the pedigree of any cricketer one needs to see if he can perform consistently for at least a couple of years against different oppositions, in different conditions, in different circumstances and against varying degree of pressure over and over,again and again. So these young and new cricketers who appear to have changed the fortunes of Pakistani cricket for now still have to go through a lot of grind before we can judge them, so please hold back your horses for now and don't go overboard just yet.

 

[Hasan123]

Yes these guys seem fearless. Need some more of the same kind.

 

[member250]

Because these new cricketers are not looking towards IPL contracts or to please Indians as much as possible for money.

 

[Saj]

And hopefully more to come other than these 3.

Hopefully the upcoming generation will have this winning mindset, strong character and mental toughness.

 

[PakLFC]

I hope we are seeing a new and more aggressive breed who won't be bullied by anyone.

 

[Junaids]

I think what has happened is this.

Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali have been excessively exposed to Misbah and are conservative and fearful cricketers. Probably Yasir Shah too.

Mickey Arthur has caught Babar Azam, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan early enough to teach them that you have to strive to win and then only resort to attritional cricket if you are in trouble.

 

[kaifmazhar]

And hopefully more to come other than these 3.

Hopefully the upcoming generation will have this winning mindset, strong character and mental toughness.

I am sure there are more. Pakistan always had a natural flair and attacking mindset until Misbah happened to Pakistan and killed it all with his coward safety first approach which earned Pakistan nothing but that guy never seemed to learn. He only entertained dead-bats in the team and batters who didn't align to his theory were shown the door. Now that he is gone completely from the team his influence is slowly going to get erased and fans will see again Pakistan of Imran.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

We are. These youngsters have grown up seeing Pakistan lose with grace and had enough of it.

 

[rizwanak]

Yes, this is the new breed and under fearless leadership of sarfraz, they can go far

 

[Pakistani_Legend]

Promising signs certainly. Would wait for a year or two before saying much, considering the starts and declines of the likes of Akmals, Jamsheds, Maqsoods, etc.

Wouldn't deny saying that they certainly seem better, both ability and temperament wise.

 

[hammd.ahmed]

Openers:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Sami Aslam
3. Azhar Ali (till world cup 2019 only)
4. Sharjeel Khan (if found innocent - ideally fakhar and sharjeel

would make a great combo)
5. Saahibzada Farhan
6. Khurram Manzoor (based on his performance of recently concluded

pakistan cup)

Middle Order:
6. Babar Azam
7. Mohammad Hafeez (till world cup 2019 only)
8. Haris Sohail
9. Shoaib Malik (till world cup 2019 only)
10. Umar Amin
11. Imam-ul-Haq (can be tried at 1 down or 2 down)
12. Umar Akmal

Wicket Keepers:
13. Sarfraz Ahmed
14. Mohammad Rizwan (excellent keeper but need to work on his batting)

skills)

All-rounders:
15. Imad Wasim
16. Shadab Khan (must be tried at 6 or 7)
17. Fahim Ashraf (must be tried at 6 or 7)
18. Hussain Talat
19. Mohammad Nawaz
20. Aamer Yamin

Spinners:
21. Zafar Gohar
22. Raza Hasan (If he returns back and is fit)
23. Usama Mir

Fast Bowlers:
24. Mohammad Amir (should be trained with the bat as well)
25. Junaid Khan
26. Mohammad Abbas
27. Rumman Raees
28. Hassan Ali (should be trained with the bat as well)
29. Wahab Riaz (till world-cup)
30. Usman Khan
31. Mir Hamza

 

[sshakir411]

Openers:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Sami Aslam
3. Azhar Ali (till world cup 2019 only)
4. Sharjeel Khan (if found innocent - ideally fakhar and sharjeel

would make a great combo)
5. Saahibzada Farhan
6. Khurram Manzoor (based on his performance of recently concluded

pakistan cup)

Middle Order:
6. Babar Azam
7. Mohammad Hafeez (till world cup 2019 only)
8. Haris Sohail
9. Shoaib Malik (till world cup 2019 only)
10. Umar Amin
11. Imam-ul-Haq (can be tried at 1 down or 2 down)
12. Umar Akmal

Wicket Keepers:
13. Sarfraz Ahmed
14. Mohammad Rizwan (excellent keeper but need to work on his batting)

skills)

All-rounders:
15. Imad Wasim
16. Shadab Khan (must be tried at 6 or 7)
17. Fahim Ashraf (must be tried at 6 or 7)
18. Hussain Talat
19. Mohammad Nawaz
20. Aamer Yamin

Spinners:
21. Zafar Gohar
22. Raza Hasan (If he returns back and is fit)
23. Usama Mir

Fast Bowlers:
24. Mohammad Amir (should be trained with the bat as well)
25. Junaid Khan
26. Mohammad Abbas
27. Rumman Raees
28. Hassan Ali (should be trained with the bat as well)
29. Wahab Riaz (till world-cup)
30. Usman Khan
31. Mir Hamza

Great list. That's pretty much everyone who can be considered for the national team. I think you're generous with Hafeez..he has to go now. Khalid Latif is also someone who can be useful if proven innocent.

 

[zyrus]

Apart from Hasan and perhaps Fakhar, I am not impressed by any of them. They got lucky that India was in self-destruct mode otherwise results would have been opposite.