Are you satisfied with Pakistan's squad for the Independence Cup?

[Abdullah719]

Squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Umar Amin, Shoaib Malik, Aamer Yamin, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Sohail Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Usman Khan Shinwari.

I think it's a pretty good squad, hopefully we're done with the likes of Hafeez and Wahab for good in T20Is. Not sure what Shehzad has done to deserve a spot while Babar has also recently struggled so the top order is a bit iffy. Too many pace bowling options but that's a minor complaint.

 

[RehanG]

Very good Squad and good to see Wahab and Hafeez being kicked out

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

would have liked talat, but otherwise good squad

 

[Shafi]

3 selections are horrible: unfit Sohail, selfie Shehzad and useless Nawaz.

 

[Watsupdoc]

Would have preferred someone else over Shehzad, but otherwise it's not bad.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Perfect squad if Shehzad is replaced with Sahibzada and Sohail with Asghar.

 

[hadi123]

Ahmed Shehzad shouldn't be there but am satisfied with the rest.

 

[Usman]

Where is Junaid Khan? That is a truly shocking omission given his fantastic performance at the CT.

 

[TeymurBlake]

I think its pretty impressive and I am a fan of this squad bar Ahmed Shehzad, this team is exactly the team we want going forward.

 

[backfootpunch]

on merit Afridi deserved a chance with a proper farewell in front of his own fans

 

[PakSarZameen]

Hafeez, Talat and Asghar instead of Shahzad, Babar and Nawaz.

Rest is ok.

 

[Sarfarazian92]

3 selections are horrible: unfit Sohail, selfie Shehzad and useless Nawaz.

Sohail did better than Sarfraz, Imad, and Hafeez on the fitness test. Why would Mickey allow an unfit Sohail to return when he kicked him out for poor fitness in the first place?

 

[kingusama92]

Yes.

It's a solid squad and could have been even better if Sharjeel/Latif were available. But Inzi had to work with what he had in front of him.

I mentioned it in the other thread, every squad has 1-2 blemishes. This is a good T20 squad and they should be able to build a formidable XI.

 

[msb314]

Squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Umar Amin, Shoaib Malik, Aamer Yamin, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Sohail Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Usman Khan Shinwari.

I think it's a pretty good squad, hopefully we're done with the likes of Hafeez and Wahab for good in T20Is. Not sure what Shehzad has done to deserve a spot while Babar has also recently struggled so the top order is a bit iffy. Too many pace bowling options but that's a minor complaint.

The better question is what is Umar Amin doing in an international team?

 

[Justcrazy]

I would say pretty decent squad.

 

[Abdullah719]

The better question is what is Umar Amin doing in an international team?

Good question... I suppose the selectors would say that he was one of the top performers in the National T20 Cup last year...

 

[msb314]

Good question... I suppose the selectors would say that he was one of the top performers in the National T20 Cup last year...

Always had good domestic stats - yet to see that translate into international success.

 

[Hedz]

Great squad with the comebacks of Aamer Yamin, Sohail Khan and Usman Shinwari
No idea why Umar Amin is back? Shehzad should never be selected again as he always fails and too early to bring Nawaz back especially as he's just come off a fixing ban
A few too many pacers, opportunity for Asghar or Usama Mir potentially

But generally a good squad

 

[Chief Destroyer]

No, not impressed at all.

More interested in seeing the A squad. I wanna see pacers like Irfan, Ehtisham, Bashir, Ghulam, Shaheen in Pakistan colours not mediocre trundlers like Rumman and Sohail.

 

[moghul]

Hafeez and Sohail Tanveer out and I'm happy even more to see Umar Amin coming back. Has been an admirer not a "fan" of Ahmed Shehzad in the past but agree, he doesn;t deserve to be there and would have been great had Sahibzada was in the squad instead.

 

[mak36]

Good question... I suppose the selectors would say that he was one of the top performers in the National T20 Cup last year...

It's good to see domestic performances being rewarded but those performances also need to be put in context. He scored those runs at a s/r of only 115, and Pakistan already have plenty of batsmen in t20 who can play that sort of innings.

Personally I would have preferred it if they had selected someone who could play the role of aggressor. For whatever reason, there is a tendency to be bold with bowling selections, but more conservative with the batting selections. I would be interested to know why.

 

[Abdullah719]

It's good to see domestic performances being rewarded but those performances also need to be put in context. He scored those runs at a s/r of only 115, and Pakistan already have plenty of batsmen in t20 who can play that sort of innings.

Personally I would have preferred it if they had selected someone who could play the role of aggressor. For whatever reason, there is a tendency to be bold with bowling selections, but more conservative with the batting selections. I would be interested to know why.

It is rather irritating that most of our T20I batsmen have strike-rates in the 110-120 range, specially the openers while other teams usually put batsmen with high SRs right up the order.

The only Pakistani T20I batsmen who I think have a 120+ SR are Sharjeel, Afridi and U Akmal.

 

[mak36]

On the whole it's a decent squad, and it's a good chance to test bench strength. I'm happy to see the likes of Ashraf and Yamin included given the need for a hard hitting seam bowling AR.

Some of the omissions made me happier than the actual selections! The lack of Hafeez and Wahab hopefully shows the selectors are thinking towards the future.

Another good thing is the consistency in selection. Shinwari was selected for the t20s against Windies but he didn't play. In the past selectors would inexplicably drop a player from the squad despite them not having played a game, never to be seen again. Good to see Inzi and co not falling into that trap and actually being consistent in their selections.

However, there are four questionable selections:

1. Ahmed Shahzad.

What does he have to do in order to be dropped (at least from the shorter format)? He is more interested in selfies than he is in cricket. The sooner we accept this the better.

2. Umer Amin

Strange selection given the format. PCT has enough batsmen who can play an anchoring role at a SR of around 115. Particularly given the lack of batting depth in this squad, I would have much preferred batsmen capable of more aggressive innings were given a go.

3. Muhammad Nawaz

I have never really been convinced by Nawaz, and I haven't seen anything in his international career to suggest otherwise. They clearly see something in him though. Plus, with Imad in the team I can't imagine he will be given too many opportunities.

4. Sohail Khan

In the short term this might look like a good selection. He did well in the PSL and he is being rewarded for his domestic performances. He is also handy with the bat so that's a bonus. However, he is nearly 34 and there are questions over his fitness. Given the next IT20 WC is in three years this isn't the wisest of selections in terms of developing bench strength for the future.

 

[mak36]

It is rather irritating that most of our T20I batsmen have strike-rates in the 110-120 range, specially the openers while other teams usually put batsmen with high SRs right up the order.

The only Pakistani T20I batsmen who I think have a 120+ SR are Sharjeel, Afridi and U Akmal.

Exactly. Even looking at this squad it looks as if we will be relying on the ARs down the order to score quickly rather than looking to score from ball one (with the exception of Zaman). I hope they are willing to experiment with the batting line up and send in Ashraf/Yamin/Shadab/Khan/Ali for quick runs.

The lack of batsmen in the squad is rather worrying to be honest- really need to develop the depth in the squad.

 

[mak36]

No, not impressed at all.

More interested in seeing the A squad. I wanna see pacers like Irfan, Ehtisham, Bashir, Ghulam, Shaheen in Pakistan colours not mediocre trundlers like Rumman and Sohail.

That's a little below the belt. Raees has upped his pace and more importantly he actually has a cricketing brain. Raw pace is all well and good but it means nothing if the bowler lacks a brain.

The list of names you have written have shown promise (with the possible exception of Irfan) but it's still early days and they have lots of work to do.

 

[Rayyman]

It is rather irritating that most of our T20I batsmen have strike-rates in the 110-120 range, specially the openers while other teams usually put batsmen with high SRs right up the order.

The only Pakistani T20I batsmen who I think have a 120+ SR are Sharjeel, Afridi and U Akmal.

Imad has a strike rate of 148

 

[mak36]

It is rather irritating that most of our T20I batsmen have strike-rates in the 110-120 range, specially the openers while other teams usually put batsmen with high SRs right up the order.

The only Pakistani T20I batsmen who I think have a 120+ SR are Sharjeel, Afridi and U Akmal.

Imad has a strike rate of 148

Oh please- the key word is "batsmen." Imad has an average of 12.85.

 

[Abdullah719]

Imad has a strike rate of 148

Let him first score 100 runs (overall) in T20Is.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

on merit Afridi deserved a chance with a proper farewell in front of his own fans

i agree.. but its too late now... if he is included then what abt myk, misbah, hafeez and wahab.. what wrong did they do to not get in if afridi gets in..

 

[coy0607]

i agree.. but its too late now... if he is included then what abt myk, misbah, hafeez and wahab.. what wrong did they do to not get in if afridi gets in..

Younis and Misbah already got better farewells than most Pakistani greats, plus they weren't T20 players
Wahab and Hafeez haven't retired

 

[backfootpunch]

we're talking current form and t20s so those other players you mentioned have no relevance in re: recalls in this series

 

[Rayyman]

Oh please- the key word is "batsmen." Imad has an average of 12.85.

Nobody cares about averages in T20Is. Afridi averages 18. Sammy averages 15. Russell averages 14. DR Smith averages 18.

Yet they're all considered as good.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Younis and Misbah already got better farewells than most Pakistani greats, plus they weren't T20 players
Wahab and Hafeez haven't retired

in limited overs they didnt get. MISBAH retired the same way Afridi was supposed to retire. But afridi played a sympathy farewell play card for losing WT20 miserably with his chamchas around

 

[mak36]

Nobody cares about averages in T20Is. Afridi averages 18. Sammy averages 15. Russell averages 14. DR Smith averages 18.

Yet they're all considered as good.

Not true. In any case, we are having a discussion about the (top order) batsmen. Imad has scored 90 runs in 19 matches (11 innings) with a highest score of 24*. It's a bit early to be comparing him to the above players don't you think?

 

[New Yorker]

No, not impressed at all.

More interested in seeing the A squad. I wanna see pacers like Irfan, Ehtisham, Bashir, Ghulam, Shaheen in Pakistan colours not mediocre trundlers like Rumman and Sohail.

I think we should just stop considering bowlers who average less than 150 kph. Just not interested in seeing a pseudo trundler like Hasan Ali even if he takes wickets. In fact, if it's not a wicket off a 150 yorker I don't want to see it. Am usually not one to support censorship, but I think the TV broadcaster should just blank the screen rather than have us suffer this dreary humiliation. Moreover, we need to start nipping this problem of trundling in the bud, starting in domestics. If Rumman has the cheek to bowl a slower ball in the PSL he should be flogged in public. I don't care if he tops the wicket column. Cricket isn't played on spreadsheet, its played in the fevered minds of speed fetishists.

 

[New Yorker]

On the whole it's a decent squad, and it's a good chance to test bench strength. I'm happy to see the likes of Ashraf and Yamin included given the need for a hard hitting seam bowling AR.

Some of the omissions made me happier than the actual selections! The lack of Hafeez and Wahab hopefully shows the selectors are thinking towards the future.

Another good thing is the consistency in selection. Shinwari was selected for the t20s against Windies but he didn't play. In the past selectors would inexplicably drop a player from the squad despite them not having played a game, never to be seen again. Good to see Inzi and co not falling into that trap and actually being consistent in their selections.

However, there are four questionable selections:

1. Ahmed Shahzad.

What does he have to do in order to be dropped (at least from the shorter format)? He is more interested in selfies than he is in cricket. The sooner we accept this the better.

2. Umer Amin

Strange selection given the format. PCT has enough batsmen who can play an anchoring role at a SR of around 115. Particularly given the lack of batting depth in this squad, I would have much preferred batsmen capable of more aggressive innings were given a go.

3. Muhammad Nawaz

I have never really been convinced by Nawaz, and I haven't seen anything in his international career to suggest otherwise. They clearly see something in him though. Plus, with Imad in the team I can't imagine he will be given too many opportunities.

4. Sohail Khan

In the short term this might look like a good selection. He did well in the PSL and he is being rewarded for his domestic performances. He is also handy with the bat so that's a bonus. However, he is nearly 34 and there are questions over his fitness. Given the next IT20 WC is in three years this isn't the wisest of selections in terms of developing bench strength for the future.

I agree re Shinwari; consistency is good, regardless of who is the player. But remind me again, what has he done to merit selection? Recent form looks mediocre.

 

[mak36]

I think we should just stop considering bowlers who average less than 150 kph. Just not interested in seeing a pseudo trundler like Hasan Ali even if he takes wickets. In fact, if it's not a wicket off a 150 yorker I don't want to see it. Am usually not one to support censorship, but I think the TV broadcaster should just blank the screen rather than have us suffer this dreary humiliation. Moreover, we need to start nipping this problem of trundling in the bud, starting in domestics. If Rumman has the cheek to bowl a slower ball in the PSL he should be flogged in public. I don't care if he tops the wicket column. Cricket isn't played on spreadsheet, its played in the fevered minds of speed fetishists.

Post of the week!

I will admit to having a good chuckle at your post. As I wrote earlier, pace is a valuable commodity but only in the right hands. If the bowler lacks a brain, raw pace will just mean the ball races to the boundary even quicker.

Raees is a very intelligent bowler- if he was the trundler Chief says he was I would like to know how Raees has had so much success against some of the world's best batsmen. Raees has work to do, but from what I can see he has the right attitude and has developed well under Azhar's watchful eye.

Honestly speaking, I would take 100 of Raees (who actually has a cricketing brain) over an express spray gun like Riaz (especially in the shorter format).

 

[idrizzy]

I think we should just stop considering bowlers who average less than 150 kph. Just not interested in seeing a pseudo trundler like Hasan Ali even if he takes wickets. In fact, if it's not a wicket off a 150 yorker I don't want to see it. Am usually not one to support censorship, but I think the TV broadcaster should just blank the screen rather than have us suffer this dreary humiliation. Moreover, we need to start nipping this problem of trundling in the bud, starting in domestics. If Rumman has the cheek to bowl a slower ball in the PSL he should be flogged in public. I don't care if he tops the wicket column. Cricket isn't played on spreadsheet, its played in the fevered minds of speed fetishists.

nice one. Pace is overrated.

 

[mak36]

I agree re Shinwari; consistency is good, regardless of who is the player. But remind me again, what has he done to merit selection? Recent form looks mediocre.

As you have noted, my point was more about the consistency in selection than UKS per se.

To answer your question, I guess Mickey liked what he saw during the PSL- he was his coach at KK after all. In other words, I think he has been picked on potential rather than performances - Mickey probably likes the fact that UKS is young and has decent pace. I do think he could be a good prospect in the shorter formats (even if it is only as a back up).

 

[UN talkz]

I think we should just stop considering bowlers who average less than 150 kph. Just not interested in seeing a pseudo trundler like Hasan Ali even if he takes wickets. In fact, if it's not a wicket off a 150 yorker I don't want to see it. Am usually not one to support censorship, but I think the TV broadcaster should just blank the screen rather than have us suffer this dreary humiliation. Moreover, we need to start nipping this problem of trundling in the bud, starting in domestics. If Rumman has the cheek to bowl a slower ball in the PSL he should be flogged in public. I don't care if he tops the wicket column. Cricket isn't played on spreadsheet, its played in the fevered minds of speed fetishists.

U are a Legend my bro....