What's new

"As a captain I cannot even imagine keeping Hassan Ali out of our team" : Babar Azam

MenInG

PakPassion Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Runs
218,133
Babar Azam speaking to the press:

"We will look to play consistent cricket in the Semi-Finals in the same way we have done so far in the tournament"

"Whilst we have won all five games that we have played, there are always areas where we can improve whether its in batting, bowling or fielding - so you cannot say we have achieved 100% in every aspect of the game; If we see areas that need improvement we sit down and discuss about them and apply fixes to those problem areas in practice so that we don't repeat these mistakes in the upcoming matches"

"This squad has around 9 players who played in CT17, WC19 and are playing in the current ICC T20 World Cup also, so we have a group of players who are very good and have continuously being playing alongside each other for a while; There is good communication and belief in each others abilities. On top of that, a big positive is the fact that in every game we have had a different player awarded the Man of the Match"

"Every player understands his role very well and we have been playing well as a group and we are looking to play in the same way in the Semi-Final as well"

"I have gained experience from my captaincy which I have been doing for the past 2 years; As a captain idea is to take the team forward with you; Also as a captain when you are going into a tournament, you like to have a combination of players based upon your mindset and the conditions and type of opposition that you will face - I am glad I got that set of players which gave me a lot of confidence and allowed me to take the best decisions on the field. You can never say that you have learnt all that you need to know so my learning process is still continuing and I hope I can keep on doing better"

"As a captain I cannot even imagine keeping Hassan Ali out of our team - he is our main bowler, a match-winner and someone who has helped us win tournaments in the past. There can be ups and downs, and this is the time when you back your player. And its not just me but the whole squad is backing him. He knows what is expected of him and as a captain I know he is a big-match player and I have high hopes that he will perform well in the Semi-Final and if we get there, in final as well"

"It all depends on the conditions but we plan not to lose wickets in powerplays and we do cover this [the slow starts] later. We always plan to have 40-45 or 50 runs in powerplays but it depends on conditions. In Dubai/Abu Dhabi the average powerplay score is between 30-45 runs but the core of our middle order takes over and the idea is to take the game deep, then our power-hitters can finish things off"

"Its wrong to expect all 11 players to perform really well in a match - this does not happen in cricket and its a team effort and any player can have a bad day. Fakhar Zaman is being the confidence he needs and he is batting in way which suits his game but we know, when its his day, he can change the complexion of the game"
 
All good and well just dont bowl him for 4 overs. Make use of Malik and Hafeez as well for bowling 1 or 2 overs.
 
I sympathize with Babar here, any captain would rather not bring in a completely inexperienced bowler in a high stakes tournament especially at this stage. Good to see him publicly back his players in this manner, for better or worse he has to have their back and give them confidence.
 
I sympathize with Babar here, any captain would rather not bring in a completely inexperienced bowler in a high stakes tournament especially at this stage. Good to see him publicly back his players in this manner, for better or worse he has to have their back and give them confidence.

Yeah, that’s what the Scotland match was for
 
Big performance needed by Hassan against Australia.

Who knows, maybe with bat and ball.
 
too late to change things up now anyway, go with same xi, same order and hope for the best.
 
You just cant throw a new kid in semifinal and that too against Aussies. Good for him that he is backing both hassan and fakhar I just can optimistically hope they will repay for all the trust team management is having in them.
 
Brilliant! Now go and do your thing Hasan.
 
Fair enough. I believe he should bowl 2nd over and not Imad. Hasan can move the ball and get some bounce.
 
Hassan has a stellar T20I record in UAE and in 2021 before this WC. He has been a gamechanger and he can be again, good from Babar to try to pump his confidence up as much as possible. Back your players.
 
Yeah, that’s what the Scotland match was for

4 overs in a near dead-rubber against Scotland will not prepare Mohammad Wasim Jr (who has just bowled 6.2 overs in his T20I career anyway) for a World Cup semi-final against Australia. The time for giving experience is before the World Cup, not in it.

Hassan is one of our mainline bowler for a reason, his numbers in these conditions especially prove it. Back your player and try to get his confidence back, hope he comes good again.
 
Inshallah Hassan will get some big Aussie scalps. He'll come through I have faith
 
Fair enough. I believe he should bowl 2nd over and not Imad. Hasan can move the ball and get some bounce.

The new ball moves for about first 2/3 deliveries. Imad's contribution with the ball in powerplay have been under-rated. Hassan and Haris are both highly likely to leak 15-20 runs in an over in the first power play. If anything Hafeez should bowl along with Imad if Shaheen doesn't get much swing or success up front.
 
Hasan Ali is always pretty expensive but he gets you wickets and has managed to take a wicket in every match except NZ. He is never going to be a guy that keeps runs off the boards but he gets you wickets and can be a difference maker down the order.

My only concern is the no-balls. It simply cannot keep happening in LOI and it has been quite frequent with Hasan & Shaheen. This is something they cannot afford.
 
Fakhar Zaman needs to work on his game against spin, they aren't going to keep bowling in his arc so he needs to find new ways of scoring runs.

Apart from the slog-sweep, he has no boundary scoring shots against spin.
 
Yeah, that’s what the Scotland match was for

Do you really think a single performance against Scotland would give enough confidence to the captain to back a rookie in a semifinal against Australia?
 
The right decision.

If Dhani was on the bench, then you would question the continued selection of Hassan in the 11, but wasim jnr is nowhere ready or better than Hassan.

Best to bowl out Imad and get some overs in from Hafeez.

I fail to understand why Babar always bowls Hassan's full quota of overs and not Imad's 4 overs, when Hassan is clearly the weaker link and doesn't do better than Imad.
 
hope he will not get smashed for 45-1 in his full quota of overs.

Share his quota with hafeez. 3:1
 
The new ball moves for about first 2/3 deliveries. Imad's contribution with the ball in powerplay have been under-rated. Hassan and Haris are both highly likely to leak 15-20 runs in an over in the first power play. If anything Hafeez should bowl along with Imad if Shaheen doesn't get much swing or success up front.

No one can undermine Imad in PP. However Even Against India When ball was doing something I thought Hasan should have bowled 2nd over. He has taken wickets in PP if you look at the record in this world Cup. Imad can still ball over no.4 and 6.

I believe Hasan is an attacking option and hence must be used that way.
 
I personally think Hasan should be benched. But, good to see Babar backing up his player. It shows unity.
 
I can see where he's coming from to be honest. Hassan has been poor this tournament so far, but he is capable of taking out big players, and he's a fierce competitor.
 
I expect a big performance from Hassan Ali and Fakhar they have been well below average.
 
I don't think he looks so bad he needs to be dropped. Took a couple important wickets v India, bowled well v Namibia. Capable of delivering big wickets in big games. Pretty handy hitter down the order.

Yeah I think most posters are right, stick with him at this stage.
 
Hassan is not undroppable. If not in form or injured then he has to be dropped. There is always Junaid Khan and others who can replace him.
 
Go with what has served us well so for.

Liked him (Hassan) when he came on to the scene and then had a golden period around the time of the CT but seen too much of him to know that the potential for getting carted is a distinct possibility.

No reason to switch it up for a crunch game and he is more than capable of a cameo with that bat. Confidence boosting rather than a switch-up is a good approach here.
 
he's been poor throughout

attitude issue
should be dropped post wt20
 
I wonder if he's 100% fit?

Seems unwell out there.

Pulled up at the end of a recent over.
 
Regardless of how this goes Babar has messed up by not bowling out Imad

Everyone in the world can see Hasan can’t bowl 4 overs

It has likely cost us
 
Hassan's numbers not great in this tournament:

4 44 2 v India
3 26 0 v NZ
4 38 1 v Afg
4 22 1 v Namibia
4 33 1 v Scotland
4 44 0 v Australia
 
It makes you wonder, how poorly do you have to bowl to get dropped ? Hasan Ali has bowled consistently poor for some time now, but he can still walk into the team.. it’s not like he was once a Waqar Younis that he’s just going through a bad patch and we should wait for the good times again.
 
It makes you wonder, how poorly do you have to bowl to get dropped ? Hasan Ali has bowled consistently poor for some time now, but he can still walk into the team.. it’s not like he was once a Waqar Younis that he’s just going through a bad patch and we should wait for the good times again.
Of course I forgot, he’s in the team for his fielding and catching ability.
 
there you go captain. The guy was mentally shot and now he destroyed the game for you.
 
And this ladies and gentleman is why you try out different combinations when you have qualified.
 
The whole world kept saying Hasan Ali is the weak link...But Babar had prioritized his friendship ...What a joker man this Hasan Ali...sorry to say..Selfie khichwalo bas..
 
Awful player. A few good performances doesn't mean he is a good bowler. He is an awful bowler with the most pathetic celebration. And not only is a rubbish bowler, he dropped the catch that cost Pakistan the match. Had he caught Wade, Australia would have been needing 20 runs off 9 balls with a new batsman in, but instead this awful player dropped a sitter and Wade smashed 3 sixes to take Australia home. I never want to see Hasan Ali in the team ever again.
 
The risk with Hassan Ali was he was going to be exposed for his four overs and you couldn't have hidden him anywhere when picked in the side... Out of form batsman you could probably hide out by pushing him down the order... This is what Babar should've realized and have picked up Wasim Jnr. Instead...
 
That’s why Babar should not be captain. This guy cannot judge players’ abilities so as Saqlain as coach. Play useless fast bowler in spinning pitches.
 
The whole world kept saying Hasan Ali is the weak link...But Babar had prioritized his friendship ...What a joker man this Hasan Ali...sorry to say..Selfie khichwalo bas..

I am going to say its not just that he became an average bowler after injury. Something else is up with him. He looks mentally shot. He is just not there.
 
Having made such a bold statement, he kind of threw him under the bus after the game saying the catch cost Pakistan the game.
 
His international career should be done. Poor with the ball throughout. Dropped Wade at a crucial stage and that was a simple chance - that could well have been the difference between winning and losing.
 
I don't blame Hassan Ali one bit.


YOU SIMPLY CANNOT, CANNOT and CANNOT defend anything less than 195 in these conditions against a batting line like Australia.

During our batting, we NEVER wanted to shoot for 195. We were looking for 170. The entire vision was short sighted. And that's the problem.
 
Last edited:
The right decision.

If Dhani was on the bench, then you would question the continued selection of Hassan in the 11, but wasim jnr is nowhere ready or better than Hassan.

Best to bowl out Imad and get some overs in from Hafeez.

I fail to understand why Babar always bowls Hassan's full quota of overs and not Imad's 4 overs, when Hassan is clearly the weaker link and doesn't do better than Imad.

Everyone knew this before the game, probably even a 3 yr old!

Only Babar and the managemnt have continued with this baffling tactic of bowling hassan's full 4 overs.

Simply pathetic and unforgivable - cost the WC!!
 
Sure Babar.

Now it cost us the cup.

Hassan Ali is no different from Wahab when it comes to brainless bowling and "hit me please" deliveries.

How he continues to play in ODIs/T20s is BEYOND ME.
 
Can't imagine what Hassan would be going through right now after Babar (rightly!) threw his weight behind him to give him confidence . . .
Does Hassan have the mental fortitude of a Ben Stokes who came back after the Braithwaite sixes?!
Career defining few days for him I'd say . .
 
He is done. It took him 2 years to recover from the 2018 Asia Cup humiliation and I don’t see him recovering after this.

His goose is cooked.
 
Hasan bowled badly throughout the tournament. Normally gives away too many runs and don't even takes too many wickets. Why pakistan is persisting with him in limited overs cricket.
 
I don't blame Hassan Ali one bit.


YOU SIMPLY CANNOT, CANNOT and CANNOT defend anything less than 195 in these conditions against a batting line like Australia.

During our batting, we NEVER wanted to shoot for 195. We were looking for 170. The entire vision was short sighted. And that's the problem.
176 was a defendable score.
 
Hassan cannot handle the pressure and he makes it too obvious. Some players fight it, but he gives up before he even starts
 
This backfired spectacularly.

Poor with the ball and virtually dropped the match with that drop off Wade.

Shaheen suffering the Ben Stokes style mauling as a consequence.
 
Had a high economy rate in T20s throughout his career what did you expect a 1-25 spell against a decent batting line up in UAE another frontline spinner should’ve been selected.
 
Needs to be discarded for good he's past his prime imo and he tends to hide his injuries and play with niggles .
 
simply not a T20 bowler, he was awful in warm up games and in all the group game, why he kept being picked only babars poor captaincy knows. pretty much cost us the semi final.
 
176 was a defendable score.

lol yeah ,,, there were still 6 balls to go and Stoinis was on the wicket who is a bigger and better hitter than Wade can ever be. The dropped catch didn't mean anything.

Even 190 wasn't defendable. And that's where all the problem lies.
You lot thought 176 was defendable. WRONG and UNREALISTIC assumption. It NEVER was.
 
as a captain babar did a few blunders, and before made this statement, then threw his princess under the bus, babar needs to quickly learn that if he cant keep his cool as a skipper, he wont be able to make right decisions, and sooner or later might face a revolt too knowing our players mentality/history
 
I said they should have made changes in the last 2 games of the group stages.Hassan Ali has been shocking this tournament and looks unfit or injured.
 
even if Hasan is bad

What about Shaheen , getting smacked for 3 sixes?
Amir got Kohli twice after he was dropped by Azhar Ali, that shows class of better bowler
 
Back
Top