"Babar Azam has been exposed" : Mohammad Yousuf

[Abdullah719]

Mohammad Yousuf speaking after the ODIs vs New Zealand:

"The wicket in the 5th ODI suited Pakistan cricket; this was a flat wicket, had not much bounce, ball wasn't seaming nor was their any swing"

"Our bowlers put in an excellent effort to bowl out NZ for 270 runs"

"In today's world, to get a good team out for just 270 is a real credit to the bowlers"

"Batsmen once again disappointed us as we were reduced to 55/5"

"I feel that Shadab Khan playing like an all-rounder played an excellent innings"

"No praise is enough for someone so young to be playing such a confident innings"

"All other all-rounders we played like Nawaz, Yamin and Ashraf all played well and this is the reason we lost the game with such a tight margin"

"Unfortunately we always push juniors in front; the guy had comeback into the team after a long time and he was out early"

"There are some technical issues with our batsmen; especially Babar Azam has been exposed in terms of technique"

"Babar has been out most of the time playing away from his body and been caught in slips or by the wicketkeeper"

"Babar Azam is a little vulnerable to bouncers being bowled to him"

"To get him out, they first bowled a bouncer and then next ball was bowled a little in front and he was caught in the slip"

"Babar will be caught out wherever there is bounce or where there is a little swing"

"Babar's issue isn't about lack of form, as you will see that whenever the ball is bowled in his favourite area, he has played it well and he hit 2 nice shots during the game"

"He can play balls on the off-stump on slow wickets such as those in the UAE, West Indies or Pakistan but he will struggle when he goes out of these regions"

"So our captain and coach need to take a brave decision and send Hafeez up the order; Asking Hafeez to bat on Number 5 is very unfair on juniors"

"Hafeez should lead as a senior player"

"This is a part of the game; we have been 'cleanswept' before as well"

"Our youngsters did well and we lost the game by a tight margin and if you play like this and lose the game then the supporters wont be so angry"

"The way we lost the first 4 ODIs was very saddening for supporters and people like myself"

"Anyways, lets forget the ODI Series now and lets prepare for the upcoming T20I series and lets pray for the team"

"Our team is very good in T20Is as there less overs and all that is needed is shots to be played; our players don't need to think too much"

"If you look at Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers etc, they all play Tests but their game is different as per each format"

"Similarly, our players also need to adapt but for that you need to have good technique and be compact"

"Our players need to be able to read the wicket which is something they are not able to do"

"If the PCB and Pakistan ask me, I am always there to help them"

"Like I said before, we need to fix [the techniques of] U15, U17, U19 players so that our future is in good hands"

"When I was new, even I had flaws but I had great teachers such as Saeed Anwar, Javed Miandad and Inzi who taught me well"

"I also learnt a lot from Bob Woolmer"

"I feel that Hafeez should come at number 3 position as he has also opened the innings before"

"Haris Sohail played very well in both games but he needs to work a little on his fitness as I feel he is a little on 'heavy' side"

"When Pakistan won Champions Trophy, then the most praise went to Sarfaraz even though others also performed well"

"But then when team loses, lots of fingers of blame are pointed at the captain too"

"All planning is being done by Sarfaraz along with the coach - there can be no third person in this"

"Imran Khan is still mentioned when we talk about World Cup 1992 because he was captain although the main work was done by Wasim Akram and Inzamam-ul-Haq"

"So Sarfaraz should not take criticism badly and instead learn from it"

"Sarfaraz needs to take brave decisions and also to place responsibility on the shoulders of the senior players"

"This is a big mistake from Sarfaraz that he is sending 'bachay' up the order and seniors later in the batting order"

"Also, he himself came in late at 6/7 position"

"Just like in World Cup 1992, Imran Khan came in one-down or MS Dhoni came in at 1 down in another World Cup; such players move up rather than go back in the batting order"

"Mohammad Amir is a good bowler and wickets are easy to play on, despite this he is not giving away so many runs but he is not being able to take too many wickets"

"We need to back him as he is a match-winning bowler; not him but also Hasan Ali is the same"

"All our bowlers are excellent and Pakistan has the best bowling attack in the world"

"Problem is that on easy wickets when faced with good players, it appears that our bowlers aren't bowling that well"

"Amir is falling over to his side when bowling and also not bowling close to the stumps which is why he is not getting inswing"

"He is not able to bowl in the way he bowled to Rohit Sharma in the Champions Trophy and got his wicket"

"He appears a little tired as he has played county cricket, league cricket"

"As I said before, the PCB and the players need to decide whatever leagues to play and when"

"Playing for Pakistan should be a matter of pride as whatever fame and money one is getting is because of Pakistan"

"When it comes to Pakistan series, our players are tired because they have been playing in leagues and county"

"They should play PSL and at the max, one more league"

"Cricket is being played 12 months a year so giving rest to the body is important"

"If we just walk into the field without planning, fitness, courage or technique then we will face problems"

 

[Markhor]

Wow, 2018 really is a different year when Mohammad Yousuf makes a lot of sense here.

Though I'd say Hafeez, if he is to play, should bat at 6 so he consumes less dots and is forced to play his shots.

 

[shokz1408]

Right about babar azam, wrong about hafeez coming in at 3, he should come in just before shadab.

 

[Syed1]

Hafeez should come in when the other players need a drink

 

[Rayyman]

Yes, yes, bring "Technique" instead of Babar.

 

[babajee]

Good points except about Hafeez.

Our former players need to work with our batsmen and be good mentors. Clearly Inzi hasn’t been able to teach Babar a thing.

 

[pakistani pride]

Sure, cause hafeez has such a great record as an opener or 1 down.

Such poor comments from most ex players!

 

[KingKhanWC]

I remember MoYo having a few bad series himself. Babar played a few poor shots but also was out to some very good balls. He is only 23 but people expect him to the main batsmen in every series.

 

[waleed88]

When the big man says something about batting, I'm all ears.

Excellent insight on Babar

 

[Abdul]

Good stuff.

 

[Lefthanded]

This reminds me of an episode of The Twilight Zone, the old anthology series, that was made in the 60s. In the episode, the main character is a guy in his late 30s who decides to re-visit the town he grew up in. As he walks in, it seems that nothing has changed. He walks around and realises he's traveled back to the past. He sees his parents who are around his current age who have since died. He sees himself as a kid and tries really hard to stay in 'the good old days.'

At the end of the episode, he manages to convince his father that he's his grown up son from the future. He wants to say but his father lectures him about how his time has passed. He goes on about how everyone's time passes, and there's no room for people to forcibly hold on because the next generation deserves its own time. After all, the older generation had theirs.

And that's something many Pakistani ex-players, who moan in the media, should try to understand. This generation needs time. They should remember that the generation before theirs was constantly trying to undermine their generation.

If you're no longer playing, and if you want to be a pundit, be a professional about it. Listening to MoYo is like listening to a perenially frustrated and embittered housewife.

 

[Itachi]

Looks like babar is going Umar akmals way.

The same excuses resurfacing again.

 

[hadi123]

More quotes have been added in the OP.


I think Yousuf would be able to help with Azam as he was a great player himself, but unfortunately due to his attitude etc him being made coach would probably not end well.

 

[MenInG]

Also Azam needs to confront his own demons.

 

[Abid Z]

Firstly moyo is wrong about hafeez. Hafeez needs to come as low as possible and this is not taking the cowards way. He will just be more effective.

Babar will come good. He is still very new in the team.

Moyo is also wrong about playing in leagues. The younger generation need to go round the world playing as much as possible so the can move away from dead pitches of UAE AND improve their stroke play.

I honestly think grant flower is a waste of space. Moyo has a good relationship with inzi and will be an excellent batting coach. But unfortunately he was a better player than a student of the game.

 

[Suleiman]

He has the skills he's just weak hearted. International cricket takes a lot of guts to play in, players before him had come and faded away even though they had immense talent and skill but not the mental fortitude to compete at this level. There have been a handful from all the top 7 or 8 cricket playing countries.

Fortunately it is something that can be worked on. Some people think mental strength is something you have or you don't, I disagree. I think it's a skill. He's 23 and has time to do it. Then again there have been many players we've had in the past around this same age and 23 became 33 and nothing changed. So let's see.

 

[Raja Sab]

I noticed Babar not moving his feet much in this series, don't know why he was letting the ball come to him. In NZ its a crime

 

[Bewal Express]

Young players go through these phases but hopefully Babar will come good. Whats unfathomable is that the likes Malik and Hafeez are still part of the team.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

MoYo definitely knows a lot more about batting technicalities than any of us on this forum.
But frankly, I see Babar seem very confused and down on confidence while batting. Exposed or not, every batsman in the history has suffered a slump including Yousaf himself. Hopefully he will overcome it soon and come back a stronger character.
Although I do feel Babar has started batting selfishly than how he was batting back in 2016. He even scored 2 brilliant fifties back in 2016 in NZ.

Regarding Amir, he has been extremely disappointing. He seems to be afraid to pitching the ball up something he has been doing for since his return. Even Junaid has been more successful and fearless than Amir in pitching the ball up in the first 10 overs and trying to seam or swing the ball and work for getting the batters edged, bowled or leg before.
Hopefully the coaching department deals harshly with Amir and tell him he either needs to start bowling like a man and stop living off his heroics of CT final and 2010.

Even half fit Shinwari and Irfan are better than a short-of-back-length-Amir in the first 10 overs. Atleast they look towards getting wickets rather than just saving off some boundaries and letting the partnerships flourish. Junaid is, I still believe, a big upgrade over Amir as a team man when it comes to bowling, atleast he bowls to get wickets, it comes off at times and sometimes it doesn't. Amir looks towards only protecting his stats. Bowls economically upfront, lets Hasan and others to get rid of the top order, while he can come in later and get 1 or 2 wickets at death of lower order or slogging middle order.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Not swing. He can deal with swing. Just struggling to get on top of the bounce early in his innings.

 

[hur rizvi]

He's not that special anyway, his test stats indicate his stature. A person having bad test skills has many weaknesses in his game and it was a matter of time before he went downhill. Moreover his akmal genes are also at work

 

[hur rizvi]

MoYo definitely knows a lot more about batting technicalities than any of us on this forum.
But frankly, I see Babar seem very confused and down on confidence while batting. Exposed or not, every batsman in the history has suffered a slump including Yousaf himself. Hopefully he will overcome it soon and come back a stronger character.
Although I do feel Babar has started batting selfishly than how he was batting back in 2016. He even scored 2 brilliant fifties back in 2016 in NZ.

Regarding Amir, he has been extremely disappointing. He seems to be afraid to pitching the ball up something he has been doing for since his return. Even Junaid has been more successful and fearless than Amir in pitching the ball up in the first 10 overs and trying to seam or swing the ball and work for getting the batters edged, bowled or leg before.
Hopefully the coaching department deals harshly with Amir and tell him he either needs to start bowling like a man and stop living off his heroics of CT final and 2010.

Even half fit Shinwari and Irfan are better than a short-of-back-length-Amir in the first 10 overs. Atleast they look towards getting wickets rather than just saving off some boundaries and letting the partnerships flourish. Junaid is, I still believe, a big upgrade over Amir as a team man when it comes to bowling, atleast he bowls to get wickets, it comes off at times and sometimes it doesn't. Amir looks towards only protecting his stats. Bowls economically upfront, lets Hasan and others to get rid of the top order, while he can come in later and get 1 or 2 wickets at death of lower order or slogging middle order.

Amir simply needs to be dropped for few series

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Amir simply needs to be dropped for few series

What will dropping him do? Unless he is told how he needs to bowl, he will keep bowling like this and turn up occasionally.

 

[srh]

Moyo is good analyst. But I feel Pakistan is better when Hafeez is not in playing 11.

 

[yasir]

Not swing. He can deal with swing. Just struggling to get on top of the bounce early in his innings.

He cannot deal with swing or bounce, what else is left??

 

[kingusama92]

MoYo wasn't even playing international cricket at age 23.

Of all people, he should recognize the importance of development as a batsman.

 

[Snatch]

How delusional is Mohammad Yousuf to state Pakistan have the best bowling attack in the world?

The only one who'd be close to making this NZ side would be Hasan Ali, and he got smashed in this series...went for about 6.5 an over.

Meanwhile Boult is miles better than Amir, I mean it's not even close.

Why are Pakistanis so delusional about their own? I don't understand how they see things so differently to the rest of the cricketing world.

Is this some sort of unconscious bias or something?

 

[babajee]

How delusional is Mohammad Yousuf to state Pakistan have the best bowling attack in the world?

The only one who'd be close to making this NZ side would be Hasan Ali, and he got smashed in this series...went for about 6.5 an over.

Meanwhile Boult is miles better than Amir, I mean it's not even close.

Why are Pakistanis so delusional about their own? I don't understand how they see things so differently to the rest of the cricketing world.

Is this some sort of unconscious bias or something?

I mean when you’re bowling at the likes of Azhar, Hafeez, Malik then you’d look on another world.

Hasan Ali would definitely make your side.

 

[Snatch]

Hasan Ali would definitely make your side.

I'm not sure about 'definitely'. Perhaps he would for overseas tours, but there's no way he's making the NZ side at home after that dreadful performance in NZ conditions.

He went for 6.5 an over

 

[barah_admi]

Yousuf basically represents the Pakistan fan base in a nutshell, jumping from one extreme to another. ONe bad series does not make the only Pakistan batsman (in ODIs) who could be a pick in other top ODI countries bad. He is talented, skilled and scores heavily. Just grow up a bit.

 

[babajee]

I'm not sure about 'definitely'. Perhaps he would for overseas tours, but there's no way he's making the NZ side at home after that dreadful performance in NZ conditions.

He went for 6.5 an over

Lol one below average series from the number #1 ODI bowler in the world who won his country an ICC tournament.

He would WALK into your team.

 

[Snatch]

Lol one below average series from the number #1 ODI bowler in the world who won his country an ICC tournament.

He would WALK into your team.

Not in NZ conditions he wouldn't even get close. Sorry but 4 ODIs is a decent enough sample set in one country and 6.5 an over is horrendous. The only chance he'd have is making the NZ side on overseas tours. NZ have far too many good bowlers in home conditions for someone who goes close to 7 an over to even get close.

 

[babajee]

Not in NZ conditions he wouldn't even get close. Sorry but 4 ODIs is a decent enough sample set in one country and 6.5 an over is horrendous. The only chance he'd have is making the NZ side on overseas tours. NZ have far too many good bowlers in home conditions for someone who goes close to 7 an over to even get close.

You beat Pakistan 5-0 and think you’re now Australia of the 2000s V2.

 

[Pete Rose]

Largely on the money and for a change very maturely articulated. Disagree with him about hafeez, but i know what's in his heart re: Hafeez. He wants him to come one-down, fail, and me chucked out.

 

[Snatch]

You beat Pakistan 5-0 and think you’re now Australia of the 2000s V2.

How so, I don't think NZ are any better than about the 3rd best side going around at the moment. It's more a case of Pakistan being a poor ODI side, miles off the pace from the top 5 teams.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

He cannot deal with swing or bounce, what else is left??

I said he can deal with swing.

 

[Syed1]

How so, I don't think NZ are any better than about the 3rd best side going around at the moment. It's more a case of Pakistan being a poor ODI side, miles off the pace from the top 5 teams.

Why didn't these top 5 teams win the Champion's Trophy

 

[Deewana Mastana]

None of them can deal with swing and bounce. Period.

 

[MeanAndGreen]

How delusional is Mohammad Yousuf to state Pakistan have the best bowling attack in the world?

The only one who'd be close to making this NZ side would be Hasan Ali, and he got smashed in this series...went for about 6.5 an over.

Meanwhile Boult is miles better than Amir, I mean it's not even close.

Why are Pakistanis so delusional about their own? I don't understand how they see things so differently to the rest of the cricketing world.

Is this some sort of unconscious bias or something?

Its normal for people to have bias towards their own - look no further than some of the NZL commentators this series. Besides, it was only before this series where the PAK attack was being touted as one of the best in the world. Heck, they single-handedly won them the CT which was being watched by everyone in Pakistan.

Obviously they aren't the undisputed best by any stretch but its not crazy to suggest the PAK attack is one of the best. Despite none of the bowlers being in rhythm in foreign conditions this series and 3 key bowlers being injured, we still managed to restrict NZL throughout the series. NZL bowled superbly, and are a fair shout for best attack in the world in NZL conditions but you have to factor in the mediocrity of the opposition batting order when considering their figures for this series and comparing it with the PAK bowlers.

 

[Syed1]

Keep in mind Pakistan was without the services of Junaid, Shinwari, Imad and Hafeez. Any other nation missing three/four of their front line bowlers will struggle to make a team of eleven men. Those mouthing off on the Pakistani bowling attack need to do a little introspection of their bowling attacks that go missing in world tournaments.



Last time Australia was without their main bowling attack they lost 5-0 to South Africa.

 

[Hiraeth]

Keep in mind Pakistan was without the services of Junaid, Shinwari, Imad and Hafeez. Any other nation missing three/four of their front line bowlers will struggle to make a team of eleven men. Those mouthing off on the Pakistani bowling attack need to do a little introspection of their bowling attacks that go missing in world tournaments.



Last time Australia was without their main bowling attack they lost 5-0 to South Africa.

What bowling do Imad and Hafeez provide?

Amir, Hasan and Raees was our main designated trio; and all three were trash, especially Amir and Raees.

Junaid averages a mighty 31 against non-Asian aides excluding Ireland and Scotland. Averages 32 since his return. And please don’t give me the CT, majority of his wickets were a bigger fluke than Raees’ wickets in this series. To add on averaged nearly 50 at an economy of 6.5 in Aus, where the conditions aren’t too dissimilar to thr conditions in NZ.

 

[TheRock]

Why didn't these top 5 teams win the Champion's Trophy

Being one of the top 5 teams does not guarantee a CT title , but improves its chances. For eg,. West Indies won the Champions Trophy 2004 when they were among the buttom ranked teams. That lone CT title did not make Windies invincible.

 

[Syed1]

Being one of the top 5 teams does not guarantee a CT title , but improves its chances. For eg,. West Indies won the Champions Trophy 2004 when they were among the buttom ranked teams. That lone CT title did not make Windies invincible.

The person I quoted said Pakistan is miles off the top 5 teams, and my question was simple if we were miles off of them then why didn't they beat us and win the title?

 

[babajee]

The person I quoted said Pakistan is miles off the top 5 teams, and my question was simple if we were miles off of them then why didn't they beat us and win the title?

Because fluke and if we played them 10 times they would win 7 times.

 

[Syed1]

What bowling do Imad and Hafeez provide?

Amir, Hasan and Raees was our main designated trio; and all three were trash, especially Amir and Raees.

Junaid averages a mighty 31 against non-Asian aides excluding Ireland and Scotland. Averages 32 since his return. And please don’t give me the CT, majority of his wickets were a bigger fluke than Raees’ wickets in this series. To add on averaged nearly 50 at an economy of 6.5 in Aus, where the conditions aren’t too dissimilar to thr conditions in NZ.

Raees was not part of our main trio.... heck he played in this series for the first time after the CT semi final.


An average of 31 is better than Southee who averages a mighty 33 and we made him look like the second coming of Marshall. Bowlers hunt in packs and we have seen the troika of Amir, Hasan and Junaid do really well together.

 

[Hasan123]

No surprise that he doesn't say anything about his good friend Inzi. Squad selection didn't help us at all in NZ. No power hitters and only 3 seamers selected for a 5 match series inna squad of 16!

Disagree with Hafeez batting at 3. Made some other good comments though.

 

[Sean143]

Can't imagine how a guy who opened for Pakistan U-19 in two World cups in NZ/AUS and was the highest scorer for Pakistan in one them has been exposed. Babar azam has toured NZ/AUS 6 times in the last 7 years or so. He was known to be competent against pace and bounce. I think he can score with the same technique just needs to improve shot selection and intent.

 

[Imr4n_Khan]

He hasn't been exposed, he just has an weakness that need to be worked on. Once we fixes the weakness then he should be back to scoring runs. Also, he needs to toughen up mentally and take the game head on like Shadab.

 

[hadi123]

Raees was not part of our main trio.... heck he played in this series for the first time after the CT semi final.


An average of 31 is better than Southee who averages a mighty 33 and we made him look like the second coming of Marshall. Bowlers hunt in packs and we have seen the troika of Amir, Hasan and Junaid do really well together.

Nope, Raees played against Sri Lanka.

 

[ads101]

The person I quoted said Pakistan is miles off the top 5 teams, and my question was simple if we were miles off of them then why didn't they beat us and win the title?

True.

We aren't miles off. I do think New Zealand are better. I don't think the CT was a fluke. We outplayed the rest, consistently we played well. This wasn't even like the T20 WC win where we were a bit shaky. We played well and improved every match from the first defeat in India. And decimated in the final.

We haven't had this amount of talent in our ranks for years. If we played the same as we did in the CT in New Zealand, no way we would have lost 5-0. We didn't play anywhere near our full potential in New Zealand and that's disappointing and hurts but it doesn't mean all is lost, or our team is hopeless.

We already have a large number of players who have the potential to be very good, or even greats in ODIs. Babar, Shadab, Hasan, Fakhar, Amir (he certainly has the ability, what he did in the CT final wasn't simply a fluke). Sarfraz (if he gets damn fitness together) and Haris also should end up very good players. That's a nucleus of 7 of so players in a team. That's a heck of a lot, I remember a few years ago there'd be one or maybe none. So there's definitely hope and potential, and a lot of these guys like Shadab, Hasan definitely seem hungrier and more disciplined for success than previous talents who were less disciplined. We've even got a few talents to try out in domestic we haven't had a chance yet like Saad Ali, Ashgar etc. or guys who have the talent but for some reason have fallen wayward and may find it again e.g. umar, maqsood.

All we have to focus is on getting the best from the players that we have, play the right team combinations and drop the dead wood. There's really a lot of positive signs. But if we're constantly letting our failures hold us back, overboard on criticism rather than working to change things, we're not giving us the best chance of succeeding.

 

[Saj]

It was clear early in his career that he would struggle against the short ball. Problem is he has made no adjustments to his technique and bowlers have worked him out.

Why isn't Grant Flower earning his salary here.

 

[Abid Z]

Why didn't these top 5 teams win the Champion's Trophy

In a sense it’s easier to win an icc event with multiple teams than it is to win a long bilateral against a top team. In an icc event beyond the first stages you don’t know who you’re coming up against so can’t do as much video analysis on the opposition especially if lots of young rookies are thrown in and conditions favour one team more.

In a long bilateral there’s only one opposition and way too much time to analyse a batsman’s weaknesses especially over 5 matches. It’s entirely expected that the younger less known players would swing happily to get the scoreboard ticking whilst the ones who’ve been playing for a while would have their techniques analysed and dissected.

Babar clearly has been worked out very effectively but have to say his confidence is shot. In the first ODI he was not out but didn’t have a review left. Maybe if he got some runs under his belt he would feel better

 

[Savak]

It was clear early in his career that he would struggle against the short ball. Problem is he has made no adjustments to his technique and bowlers have worked him out.

Why isn't Grant Flower earning his salary here.

Tbh Grant Flower has been there for almost 4 years now and i have not once seen him earn his salary on any occasion. He has already been given an extension for another 2 years following the CT win.

 

[MoJoJoJo]

he has problem with his off stump awareness and 4th/5th stump channel.. need to work on it..

 

[MenInG]

More comments from MoYo

"We sent youngsters up the order again, and the main players were held back"

"Like I said during the ODIs, we need to bring the main players up the order, as the main player is the one who has to play during difficult times"

"If the main player survives the initial overs then we can make a big score"

"If we lose too many top-order wickets then it becomes very difficult to make a big score"

"If we look at NZ team, their main players play up the order like Guptill, Munro and Taylor do"

Its the job of the main players to ensure that junior players have an easier environment to play in

Today the wicket was helpful to bowlers so our bowlers need to take some responsibility to take wickets and stop runs

I agree that defending 105 runs was difficult but the match should have been a lot closer

Yes, we lost ODIs and the T20I today but victory and defeat are part of the game; we must prepare very well for the coming 2 games

Try and play good quality cricket such that people dont day, what are you doing?!

 

[Abdullah719]

Today the wicket was helpful to bowlers so our bowlers need to take some responsibility to take wickets and stop runs

I agree that defending 105 runs was difficult but the match should have been a lot closer

When will people stop expecting miracles from the bowlers?

 

[Bilal7]

Well, Kohli got pretty far despite being a bunny against the moving ball and having all the weaknesses Yousuf spoke about. Babar will get there as well.

Also Azam needs to confront his own demons.

Addictions?

 

[Syed1]

When will people stop expecting miracles from the bowlers?

That is a classic Pakistani mentality. In the ODIs the bowlers restricted a gun batting line up like NZ twice for severely sub-par scores only for the batsmen to mess up the chase in epic fashion.


Here again no matter how bad the pitch was to bat on it wasn't a 105 pitch. Don't blame the bowlers when the opposition has to chase at 4-5 rpo. Don't think there are many bowling lineups around that would have defended 105.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Batsman have failed no need to just blame Babar. We got destroyed by NZ despite our bowling performing decently.

 

[hadi123]

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Mohammad Yousuf has advised current skipper and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed to consult MS Dhoni to get over his fitness and form issues.

“I think Sarfraz needs to work on his fitness and skills a lot more. Unless he is in top form he can’t expect the team to respond,” Yousuf said.

“Dhoni led India admirably in all three formats for a long time and performed not only as captain but also as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Sarfraz can learn a lot from him,” he added.

Sarfraz, who was made captain in all three formats last year after leading Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in England, has come under pressure and criticism following Pakistan’s debacle in the ODI series in New Zealand.

Pakistan were whitewashed by New Zealand in the five- match ODI series besides also losing the first of three T20 Internationals.

To matters worse for Sarfraz, he scored just one big score of fifty in the six matches while his keeping has also come under scrutiny.

“Nothing wrong in giving Dhoni a call and chatting to him. He can give a lot of helpful tips to Sarfraz on how to handle things because it is never easy when you are the keeper and also the captain ,” Yousuf said.

He further emphasised that Sarfraz had to realize that he needs to improve his fitness a lot more.

“I see him on the heavy side and he has to now focus on his batting and keeping a lot more. Dhoni can guide him on how he achieved so much success and how he had handled pressure of all responsibilities so well for so long,” he added.

Dhoni led India to the World Cup, Champions Trophy, World T20 and Asia Cup titles in his captaincy tenure and also saw India become the number one Test side.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ut-of-slump/story-QvuY0JgD4NClWi1UlJSFkM.html

 

[ayemgilani86]

haha, Babar exposed but Asad Shafiq can never be exposed

 

[Kroll]

I don't quite fathom this main player bit. Everyone needs to stand up and be counted. You can't just rely on one or two players and the rest just come along for the ride.

 

[UN talkz]

Mohammad Yousuf speaking in a TV show

"As we said before, we have to take some brave decisions and the senior players need to take responsibility"

"Experiments such as sending Mohammad Nawaz up the order will not work"

"Ahmed Shehzad and Fakhar Zaman should open, Babar Azam should go in at number 3, Hafeez at 4 and Sarfaraz at 5 - after that if you want to give an opportunity to a youngster then bring him at 6/7 position"

"This is not fair to Umar Amin to send him so early and then when he fails, throw him out of the team when he returns to Pak"

"This is not rocket science - we need to believe in ourselves"

"Cricket has become easy for batsmen, as we saw in the ODI games where wickets were easy for batsmen to play on"

"NZ have home advantage but we need to fight a bit more which we have not seen from Pakistan"

"We need to offer incentives to improve domestic cricket and youngsters need to be offered better salaries by the PCB"

"When a player gets financial help then he does not get distracted and focuses on cricket alone"

 

[ManFan]

Mohammad Yousuf speaking in a TV show

"As we said before, we have to take some brave decisions and the senior players need to take responsibility"

"Experiments such as sending Mohammad Nawaz up the order will not work"

"Ahmed Shehzad and Fakhar Zaman should open, Babar Azam should go in at number 3, Hafeez at 4 and Sarfaraz at 5 - after that if you want to give an opportunity to a youngster then bring him at 6/7 position"

"This is not fair to Umar Amin to send him so early and then when he fails, throw him out of the team when he returns to Pak"

"This is not rocket science - we need to believe in ourselves"

"Cricket has become easy for batsmen, as we saw in the ODI games where wickets were easy for batsmen to play on"

"NZ have home advantage but we need to fight a bit more which we have not seen from Pakistan"

"We need to offer incentives to improve domestic cricket and youngsters need to be offered better salaries by the PCB"

"When a player gets financial help then he does not get distracted and focuses on cricket alone"

His suggested top 5 shows why he was a complete failure as a captain.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Well, Kohli got pretty far despite being a bunny against the moving ball and having all the weaknesses Yousuf spoke about. Babar will get there as well.



Addictions?

Kohli is a certified ATG by now and the two blemish on his career his performance at WC elimination rounds and tests in England. In everything else Kohli has brilliant stats. Babar should not be compared to Kohli this early, it took Kohli 4 years for the world to take notice of him. Babar got hyped way too early

 

[Abdullah719]

Quotes from Yousuf after the 2nd T20I:

"Like I said before this game, unless the senior players dont come up the order and the captain not take brave decision, it will be difficult to win a match"

"In this game (2nd T20I) we gave Ahmed Shehzad a chance, Fakhar Zaman continues to play well, Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed came up the order and all made good scores"

"We managed to score above 200 due to this and this put pressure on the opposition batsmen"

"Our bowlers also bowled well and the fielding was excellent too"

"This is a team game; only when everyone gets together and performs well can we win the game and Inshallah can win the series too"

"We have to remember all the positive points from the 2nd T20I win and to play with courage and not be afraid of failure"

"When a person plays with fear, then he loses, he cannot score runs and cannot take wickets either"