Babar Azam, Saim Ayub dropped as Pakistan announce 15-member squad for 3-match ODI series against Bangladesh

[Aami]

Looks like this knowing Hesson ...

Farhan
Shamyl (Saim)
Maaz (Babar)
Riz
Salman
Abdul Samad
Tallat
Afridi
Wasim
Haris
Abrar

Others:
Faheem
Akram
Saad
Ghouri (keeper)

 

[stani_pak]

Fakhar zaman dealing with hamstring injury

was not aware of that damn, he does tend to get injured, still should be captain, in that case can have Sameer Minhas in his place to try out.

 

[ads101]

Endless experimentation doesn’t work. We have been suffering ever since we started to do it. If you have excellent batsmen in form, than yes it is fine. Otherwise it creates no forward momentum. We need to discover our first choice settled xi first. Every tournament we go in we never know our best xi at start of tournament, constant tinkering around.

Fakhar and Saim should be opening. This is saim’s best format he needs that confidence boost. Fakhar needs the practice, he didn’t play most t20s too. Bangladesh is a perfect side for that. This isn’t a minnow side you rest players against.

I love that Farhan is given a chance in Odis. But what’s going to happen if he performs? Will he open instead of Saim or fakhar? I personally would have tried if we can fit all 3 in the team. I think the Babar drop was a good one, and we can see either Farhan can bat 3. Or fakhar can bat lower down. If those aren’t a possibility, no harm we tried, and Farhan can come in when fakhar retires. Personally I’d probably try Farhan at 3 first so to not mess with Fakhar’s form and only entertain moving fakhar down if he fails in Odis.

We are also yet again trying to force kids into the squad before they have even built a record in domestic. Leave them be in domestic for now.

There will be a bunch of experimentation over opening spots when we already have our settled openers. We even have a reserve now if any get injured in Farhan. What we need are middle order batsman. That is the issue to fix and yet all focus will be testing openers.

The bowling attack is also strange. I would have included both abrar and Usman tariq here. As for pacers, I’m surprised by Naseem shah’s omission as we know he’s going to be brought back into this side and some point given how we were even playing him in t20s, we should test whether he’s truly back from injury. Abbas Afridi should have been given a chance in Odis by now, and should have been playing t20s. I don’t understand why your best bowler performance wise is dropped and just 24 years old. We need to focus on fewer fast bowlers and give them proper chances. Instead we seem to have a revolving door when it comes to pacers, where guys who have performed worse are brought back.

 

[Vikram1989]

TBH, Haris rauf??? seriuosly??

Where is your pace attack, upcoming ones???

Imagine Harris rauf with out any brain , bowling 140 on slow low mirpur tracks to get slaughtered. He should be the first pacer pak needs to avoid on those pitches.

 

[khyberlion]

I hope saim has been rested rather then being dropped. Otherwise this is an idiotic decision as he is our best odi player.

 

[SportsWarrior]

PCB are confusing formats again. Both Babar and Saim are solid in ODIs.

 

[Cric1234]

PCB are confusing formats again. Both Babar and Saim are solid in ODIs.

they will come back unlikely they've been dropped for good that would be a big suprise.

 

[Rana]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2029171415665262844

He was dropped to make up for the b.s selection in T20s

 

[shah9425]

I will go over what I like and dislike about this 15 member squad

Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hussain Talat, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha and Shamyl Hussain

What I like
Good to see new faces being inducted into the squad
Good to see Wasim Jnr being selected
Very happy that Faisal Akram is there and should be persisted with and also needs to play t20 and test imo
I think dropping or resting Babar is not bad for this series, he will not be dropped permanently and should not be for ODI cricket.

What I do not like
- Despite seeing new faces, there is 2 which puzzle me, Ghazi Ghori, and Saad Masood (think he needs to work a lot on his bowling) but can be a really good player, should be tested in t20 not ODI.
-Haris Rauf is a bit weird pick for me, I do not rate him as ODI player, I know in T20 he can go for runs and what rightfully dropped but I believe t20 is his best format
- Saim Ayub should not be dropped from ODI squad, and even t20 needs to be persisted with, just need to find the right batting slot for him in T20. In ODI as an opener he is fine.
- The biggest issue I have, and I forgive the things mentioned above, is SHAHEEN AFRIDI....this man should not be in the squad of 15, he is done and dusted, let alone he is the captain. If PCB wanted to punish these players, one thing should have been done is remove Shaheen from Captain. He does not merit a place in the team anymore, and does not have the brains to be a successful captain.

All in All I am alright with the squad, and really hope the youngsters can put up some good results.

Ideally Fakhar Zaman should be ODI and T20 captain (with a youngster being Vice captain) to be groomed to eventually be captain. Fakhar Zaman has 2 maybe even 3 years of cricket left in him. He is an impact players, plays for the team, and does not have agendas. He should always be selected having him as Captain would guaranteed that, even if he is out of form or not performing, you best believe he will come good in 1 or 2 important matches for Pakistan.

For this series I would have like to see the following squad, we can lose 3-0 I do not care, but want to try some new players and see what they can do.

Sahibzada Farhan
Fakhar Zaman (Captain)
Saim Ayub
Maaz Sadaqat
Saud Shakeel (should have never been dropped in the 1st place)
Haseebullah Khan (wk) needs to be given a proper chance.
Shamly Hussain
Hassan Nawaz
Abrar Ahmed
Faisal Akram
Asif Afridi (I think he can be a good white ball option) despite his age, I think he can play 2 to 3 years for Pak.
Naseem Shah
Mohammad Wasim Jnr
Ali Raza
Khurrum Shehzad (can be a great ODI player imo)

Fakhar is too injury prone and old for captaincy

 

[shah9425]

Highly doubt this series will go ahead. Pakistan Shaheens are still stuck in the UAE.

It will go ahead

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

Faheem Ashraf ODI debut 2017

Total Matches 42

Total Runs Scored 350

Total Wickets 32

what an amazing All rounder

 

[Snowflake]

Captain Shaheen

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Should have had Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shaqeel and Tayyab Tahir for middle order

Rizwan should be kept away from this too. Let a new 3-5 middle order develop. These guys are more likely to try and match modern standards unlike Rizwan who insists on a strike rate of below 50 for his first 30-40 balls and sucking out momentum so that he can get himself in at the crease.

I'm not sure what Kamran Ghulam did to get dropped. Last I remember he played a match-winning knock in the ODI series in South Africa and then he was out of the team next series

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

Endless experimentation doesn’t work. We have been suffering ever since we started to do it. If you have excellent batsmen in form, than yes it is fine. Otherwise it creates no forward momentum. We need to discover our first choice settled xi first. Every tournament we go in we never know our best xi at start of tournament, constant tinkering around.

Fakhar and Saim should be opening. This is saim’s best format he needs that confidence boost. Fakhar needs the practice, he didn’t play most t20s too. Bangladesh is a perfect side for that. This isn’t a minnow side you rest players against.

I love that Farhan is given a chance in Odis. But what’s going to happen if he performs? Will he open instead of Saim or fakhar? I personally would have tried if we can fit all 3 in the team. I think the Babar drop was a good one, and we can see either Farhan can bat 3. Or fakhar can bat lower down. If those aren’t a possibility, no harm we tried, and Farhan can come in when fakhar retires. Personally I’d probably try Farhan at 3 first so to not mess with Fakhar’s form and only entertain moving fakhar down if he fails in Odis.

We are also yet again trying to force kids into the squad before they have even built a record in domestic. Leave them be in domestic for now.

There will be a bunch of experimentation over opening spots when we already have our settled openers. We even have a reserve now if any get injured in Farhan. What we need are middle order batsman. That is the issue to fix and yet all focus will be testing openers.

The bowling attack is also strange. I would have included both abrar and Usman tariq here. As for pacers, I’m surprised by Naseem shah’s omission as we know he’s going to be brought back into this side and some point given how we were even playing him in t20s, we should test whether he’s truly back from injury. Abbas Afridi should have been given a chance in Odis by now, and should have been playing t20s. I don’t understand why your best bowler performance wise is dropped and just 24 years old. We need to focus on fewer fast bowlers and give them proper chances. Instead we seem to have a revolving door when it comes to pacers, where guys who have performed worse are brought back.

Same Exact Thing happened when Salman was made T20 Captain before tour of NZ. Youngsters were given chances but they were never meant to be our first choice going into t20 WC. Right before T20 WC we brought back same failures of 2024 WC.

ODI will be same story

 

[DRsohail]

Pakistan cricket is almost finished. Rana shana can celebrate here.

 

[Cric1234]

Pakistan cricket is almost finished. Rana shana can celebrate here Who's Shana?

 

[shamaan786]

For what position?

For any position batting or keeping.

 

[shamaan786]

Why is it abysmal? i haven't seen some of these players but at least they should be given a chance and the best ones can be kept on.... Playing every series with seniors only hasn't helped Pakistan in any way as we've seen.

You should have watched the pakistan Shaheens Saad Masood gave the batters atleast 2 hit me balls per over.Ghazi has average of 20 that's must say something?.who's going to bat at 3 ?

I think any layman could come up with a better squad than this.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Farhan was written off early... Look at the thread on him but now he's top scorer in a world cup.... How can you be sure which young player is better than another they develop in different ways some start well then fade away others come strong later by working hard on their game.

I watch emerging cricket.

No one can ever be sure about the future so it is another thing. As a selector, you have to follow a consistent policy & that is not being followed right now. That is my complaint & nothing else.

 

[GudduBadmash]

A career sr of 85 in ODI? What year is this? 2010?

Joe Root with an ODI average of almost 50 and a SR of 87 must be a garbage player in the format then if we go by this logic

Even ODI Great Virat Kohli is 93

I do not think it is possible even in the modern age to maintain an SR of 100+ in ODI over a long period of time

 

[shamaan786]

How is Kamran Ghullam not in the squad.

 

[Cric1234]

You should have watched the pakistan Shaheens Saad Masood gave the batters atleast 2 hit me balls per over.Ghazi has average of 20 that's must say something?.who's going to bat at 3 ?

I think any layman could come up with a better squad than this.

They should have selected all the seniors so fans can celebrate a win against Bangladesh.

 

[Rana]

Joe Root with an ODI average of almost 50 and a SR of 87 must be a garbage player in the format then if we go by this logic

Even ODI Great Virat Kohli is 93

I do not think it is possible even in the modern age to maintain an SR of 100+ in ODI over a long period of time

So Rizwan is now compareable to Root and Kohli?

Why can’t you people learn from the mistakes you repeatedly make?

 

[GudduBadmash]

So Rizwan is now compareable to Root and Kohli?

Why can’t you people learn from the mistakes you repeatedly make?

Nah you know very well that is not what I meant

You just criticised a SR of 85 but its all dandy when the SR is 87 just because the player is not Rizwan. That my friend is known as Hypocrisy

 

[shamaan786]

I really dislike the squad however From the squad picked.

Farhaan
Shamyl
Maaz
Agha
Rizwan
Abdul Sammad
Fahim Ashraf
Wasim Jnr
Shaheen
Abrar
Akram

 

[Rana]

Nah you know very well that is not what I meant

I don’t know what you meant. Why would you bring up Root and Kohli to justify Rizwan’s sr of 85?

What’s Rizwan’s ODI strike rate in 2025?

 

[GudduBadmash]

I don’t know what you meant. Why would you bring up Root and Kohli to justify Rizwan’s sr of 85?

What’s Rizwan’s ODI strike rate in 2025?

Proving a point, a SR of 85-95 is good in ODI cricket by modern standards and especially in Pakistan Cricket.

 

[Rana]

Proving a point, a SR of 85-95 is good in ODI cricket by modern standards and especially in Pakistan Cricket.

I think you are deflecting

A strike rate of 85 is below par either way you look at it in an era where 350 is the norm.

I ask again. What is Rizwan’s sr in 2025?

 

[shamaan786]

They should have selected all the seniors so fans can celebrate a win against Bangladesh.

We seen how well our youngsters played again England Lions Saad Masood/Ghazi Ghori loool

 

[khyberlion]

Some shocking selections which people have mentioned already, Abdul Samad name hasn't been mentioned much he is as bad as they come. There is no way he should be making it ahead of Kamran ghulam or Saud Shakeel.

 

[GudduBadmash]

I think you are deflecting

A strike rate of 85 is below par either way you look at it in an era where 350 is the norm.

I ask again. What is Rizwan’s sr in 2025?

Deflecting from what exactly? you think 87 is fine but 85 is not, so that is just exposing your hypocrisy

73 to answer your question
80 the year before that
93 the year before that
81 the year before that
96 the year before that

He has been in and out of the team since 2015

During that period

SR Per Year
90+ - 5 Times
80+ - 3 Times

 

[Cric1234]

We seen how well our youngsters played again England Lions Saad Masood/Ghazi Ghori loool

Its true some won't make it in international cricket but that's up to the selectors young players can always improve we have seen players who didn't start well improve later on.

 

[DRsohail]

Pakistan cricket is as finished as Imran Khan’s political ambitions?

Iman khan has lived his life gracefully unlike some barking doggies here who has been fed haram by parents.

 

[DRsohail]

The sooner it sinks the better it is, people are making money out of cricket by doing nothing.

 

[Rana]

Deflecting from what exactly? you think 87 is fine but 85 is not, so that is just exposing your hypocrisy

73 to answer your question
80 the year before that

That’s all. Thanks.

 

[GudduBadmash]

That’s all. Thanks.

I see you conveniently ignored everything else, genuinely not sure why anyone tries to debate with you. You are set on your opinions and they are not even cricket related. You base them off whether you like the cricketer or not

Guaranteed you will be defending Fakhar for his 82 SR in ODI this year just because you like him

 

[Rana]

Guaranteed you will be defending Fakhar for his 82 SR in ODI this year just because you like him

Ok, wait for me to do it first. You are guilt of defending Rizwan at all costs.

 

[Human786]

ODI is Barbar's best format .

 

[Major]

How do u guys even have any passion left after the wolrd t20

 

[NeVerMind]

Hussain Talat...HUSSAIN TALAT?!! He is worse than Nawaz and Shadab!! I'm out!!!

 

[Rana]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2029196952773247455

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that this guy Babar is becoming a serious headache for the PCB

They drop him in a format= problems

They pick him in a format= problems

They rest him for a format= problems

They play him during mental+physical fatigue= problems



Quite honestly, he needs to be removed totally. The cricket team and fraternity is being held hostage by him and his supporters

 

[GudduBadmash]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2029196952773247455

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that this guy Babar is becoming a serious headache for the PCB

They drop him in a format= problems

They pick him in a format= problems

They rest him for a format= problems

They play him during mental+physical fatigue= problems



Quite honestly, he needs to be removed totally. The cricket team and fraternity is being held hostage by him and his supporters

Maybe I am blind but that says Tanveer Says not Babar Azam

if some guy did alot of dodgy kaam, then right after went on social media and typed up "Rana from PP is my best friend, I look up to him" would it be fair for people to say man, that Rana guy is a serious problem?

 

[Ahmed216]

Dream squad mashallah

 

[cricket.mad]

Ghazi gouri how did they select this guy.

He averages 20 in list a cricket with strike rate of 79.

Pakistan has zero talent. That saad masood is so ordinary and awful.

May be bcz of he being named after biggest jihadis

 

[dravidthewall]

Good decision. To drop babar..he should never play limited over tournament

 

[ask_analyse_act]

They drop Babar and Saim for the poor run of form in T20Is ... ODIs are their best bet to score runs and come back into form , they are definitely going to need them in SA CWC anyways to form solid middle order Babar is the key ... T20 was never his piece of cake , he recently came to the fore after a long time with a long wait of a century and then you drop him ...

Saim has performed well in ODIs... Suddenly from nowhere bring in some new players to appease the fans.. Clueless selectors..

Yes u need new players , then bring in new bowlers... why Haris rauf ?? If he is not needed in SRL because of the conditions there , then what will he do in Bangladesh.. His ODI record is abysmal to say the least, he was clobbered to all parts of the ground in this part of the world, he is useful only in AUS... If friends with Captain, even a bucket and mug can be in the 11 lol.. This is why what they are

Fakhar Zaman , there is some serious issue with him and the board I believe , he played a knock that gave a slap to everyone who didnt send him to open all these years and he is not going to Bangladesh .. Hesson should resign himself to save some reputation for him otherwise these circus board will end his coaching career..

Where are the domestic performers like Kamran Ghulam and Saud Shakeel... What about Hasan Nawaz who is touted to play at the finisher role where he won a game as well for them ... where is haseebullah ? Irfan Khan Niazi , Sufyan Muqeem , Jahandad Khan , Akif Javed, Zaman Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat minhas etc.

For the sake putting new names in the squad , simply bring uncooked TDHs from the shaheens team.. Im sure the lot selected for this series will be gone just like the previous lot regardless of their performances..

 

[Kianig89]

Maybe I am blind but that says Tanveer Says not Babar Azam

if some guy did alot of dodgy kaam, then right after went on social media and typed up "Rana from PP is my best friend, I look up to him" would it be fair for people to say man, that Rana guy is a serious problem?

Don't waste your energies on this guy, he has a phobia of RizBar. The irony is all his theories get busted one by one , like Aaqib Javed the revolutionary, Mike Hesson the Guardiola for Pakistan cricket

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Should have had Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shaqeel and Tayyab Tahir for middle order

Rizwan should be kept away from this too. Let a new 3-5 middle order develop. These guys are more likely to try and match modern standards unlike Rizwan who insists on a strike rate of below 50 for his first 30-40 balls and sucking out momentum so that he can get himself in at the crease.

Best foil to unleash his slow game and score a 60 ball 30 because these newbies will not score any runs even against Bangladesh so that Rizwan can bring his AAA++ SLOW game to the table interms of getting outta collapse and making recovery and all that shxt...

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Pakistan team is so flawed.

In T20 they pack the team with accumulators.

Now in ODI when they might need a few, watch how every batsmen tries to slog and get out in ODI World Cup.

I blame poor emotional intelligence and this is something that can't be taught at all.

 

[shamaan786]

Its true some won't make it in international cricket but that's up to the selectors young players can always improve we have seen players who didn't start well improve later on.

You need to show improvements in domestic they played Haseebullah in one game and then they dropped him what kind of logic is this.

 

[shamaan786]

Saim and Babar shouldn't have been dropped in ODIS

 

[batandballbattle]

encouraging to see some new faces but at the same time they mix formats and drop saim and play rauf as well

 

[ask_analyse_act]

I’m all for trying out new guys but there is a problem when people like saad masood get selected with very little first class experience.

Our main weakness is fast bowling but we take SSA, haris rauf when both are lacking. Good to compete for Wasim Jnr though.

Faheem and Talat should battle it out.

Good that Faisal akram is there can’t wait to see him. Sad for KG he must have done something wrong.

Exactly , no records for Saad Masood to be selected ... no idea from where he popped up... Have seen his arrogance in the field with zero skill to back it up, another chest thumping character with zero talent to put his case forward in terms of performance..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

encouraging to see some new faces but at the same time they mix formats and drop saim and play rauf as well

Yes that is why they cant compete in the international stage... Cant have donkeys to compete in a horse race and expect the jockey to somehow win the race or even reach the last 4, such an unrealistic expectation...

 

[Josh]

Saim and Babar shouldn't have been dropped in ODIS

It's Bangladesh dude ..give new guys a chance

 

[chakdeindian]

Babar dropped..is it not a blasphemy according to Pakistan law??

 

[ads101]

Babar’s century in Odis doesn’t mean he’s back and he was still far from convincing. I would keep him out till he shows something in domestic, and especially PSL. It happens sometimes an out of form player gets a good score out of nowhere. Doesn’t mean things have changed.

Farhan is in incredible form in t20s, and arguably his game would be even better in Odis. So we have to look how we are potentially going to play Saim, fakhar and Farhan in the same team next World Cup in ODIs. I think that has to take priority. And if we are to do so, it will likely lead to one player, probably Farhan playing at 3.

If Babar finds form and comes back great for us. If he doesn’t, we just focus on the guys in form. But there’s no point forcing it. You even have guys like Kamran ghulam and Saud Shakeel around who were a bit harshly dropped.

It is likely Saim, fakhar, Agha, Farhan, Rizwan (or some other keeper but think Rizwan will keep his spot) will all play. That leaves spot for one batsman who is probably batting 5 or 6. I don’t think Babar can be that. Right now I’d rather take a bet on trying to include Farhan into this team.

 

[Major]

Ghazi ghouri got selected? Wthh

 

[amvbfm]

Shamyl Hussain will end up being the captain for 2027 world cup.

Also, this selection just highlights how clueless people are who run Pak cricket. Babar's last ODI innings was a century. Saim has scored two 50s in his last 4 innings. I get it that you want to punish them and there are some players who they wish to promote but this is just bonkers.

Came here to post the same. he does have talent but if he isn’t able to translate it he will likely become another Shan Masood as it is very difficult to dislodge such players once they become part of the setup. at least he has been performing and has also impressed with his captaincy.

Babar, Saim, Fakhar all missing! Faheem who doesn’t bowl an over in T20s selected for ODIs! Samad is also a mind boggling pick. Hussain doesn’t belong but you can justify it as continuity. Ghazi has been decent recently but surprising that he has been preferred over Saad as the backup keeper esp in ODIs. Like always selecting players for the wrong format.

If the intent was to reward performing young players then it’s surprising not to see Saad Baig, Sufyan and Arshad Iqbal in the squad.

 

[amvbfm]

The bowling attack is also strange. I would have included both abrar and Usman tariq here. As for pacers, I’m surprised by Naseem shah’s omission as we know he’s going to be brought back into this side and some point given how we were even playing him in t20s, we should test whether he’s truly back from injury. Abbas Afridi should have been given a chance in Odis by now, and should have been playing t20s. I don’t understand why your best bowler performance wise is dropped and just 24 years old. We need to focus on fewer fast bowlers and give them proper chances. Instead we seem to have a revolving door when it comes to pacers, where guys who have performed worse are brought back.

Usman Tariq has played very little List A cricket and there are already a number of contenders for the spin bowling spots. Abrar has been our main ODI spinner but both sufyan and Faisal have great potential and have been in extremely good form and deserve to be selected. In fact I feel they should’ve rested Abrar for this series and picked Sufyan instead.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Apart from Babar , Saim , Nawaz , Shadab and Fakhar ( due to injury )

Following are the players who were part of the team either selected or played is not in the list now , where did they go

• Abdullah Shafique
• Imam-ul-Haq
• Saud Shakeel
• Hasan Nawaz
• Hasan Ali
• Usman Khan (understandable , he is not fit to play intl cricket but definitely better than Ghazi ghori
• Haseebullah Khan
• Irfan Khan (Niazi)
• Mohammad Hasnain
• Tayyab Tahir
• Sufiyan Muqeem
• Arafat Minhas
• Naseem Shah
• Akif Javed
• Jahandad Khan
  
  Altogether they bring another bunch to add to the above list in this series.. They cant develop a core of 20-25 players which they wished to do so but never really have the thought process on how to get there instead end up with 100 players and forget who played where and what...

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Usman Tariq has played very little List A cricket and there are already a number of contenders for the spin bowling spots. Abrar has been our main ODI spinner but both sufyan and Faisal have great potential and have been in extremely good form and deserve to be selected. In fact I feel they should’ve rested Abrar for this series and picked Sufyan instead.

agree that but Usman should be backed for his spin talent and given more time in these wickets to boost his career strength..
The more he play the better he become..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Babar scored a centruy ,
Saim scored 2 50s
Hasan Nawaz POTM with a match winning 63 off 63 seeing the team home
Sufyan had decent performance
Nawaz also had decent outing in ODIs

poor run of form in T20Is , then they are dropped for ODIs and will come back in next series when this current lot fails..

Players who were not selected for T20 WC for their poor shows like Rizwan , Haris rauf , Hussain Talat now look like million dollar and back in the team quietly through the front door even lol..

 

[Cricket Warrior]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2029202969573638290

 

[Nasty Naz]

PCB remains the dumbest board in the cricket and it is not even close. Babar & Saim getting the stick for their T20 performance which makes no sense. ODI is both of their best format. In fact, Saim ended up being included in T20's after his superb performances in ODI's. Saim is averaging 47 with a 100 SR and being a useful bowler + great fielder. Fine, drop him for T20's but it's nonsensical for ODI's.

Babar being dropped for ODI's is silly too but if they want to rest him and give a young kid like Maaz a chance at his spot, I don't mind that but it is incredibly stupid to have like 6 uncapped players picked for ODI's. That's not how you build a team and Bangladesh conditions aren't a piece of cake either. It's like what Pakistan did vs Afghanistan a few years ago where they sent a B team to tough conditions in Sharjah and they got incredibly exposed. It's just poor management, poor tactics and poor development. The best time to try a B team like this is when someone like Zimbabwe/Bang/SL/WI visit for a home tour and you can test these players in conditions familiar to them.

My remaining notes:

Farhan - selected because of T20 performance. His List A stats are pretty average with a 42 avg & 86 SR.

Shamyl & Maaz - No issues with the selection and you could have tried them while still having Saim in the squad

Abdul Samad - Why? There are zero performances of his to justify this. His List A record is quite mediocre and simply put, I don't think he is a good enough player. He has a 14 AVG in FC in 33 innings - that is truly pathetic tail ender level batting.

Saad Masood - A great talent with a whopping 3 list A games in his career. If you truly cared about this player or his development, he would have played FC and List A this season but he sat on the sidelines this entire season other than Shaheen games and now magically called up for ODI's. He will also fail in ODI's like Hasan Nawaz did who they tested after 3-5 List A games himself. He is also a batting allrounder in the same mould as Shadab... so I am not sure how that helps?


Talat - Terrible player. A bits & pieces player who is not good enough as a batter and a rubbish bowler.

Ghazi Ghori - on what basis is this selection made? He has a 20 List A average. Like come on.

Faheem - It should have been Abbas Afridi who is a better bowler and unlike Faheem, Abbas even has a list A century in his short career. They do need a pace allrounder for SA but it should have been Abbas Afridi being invested in.

Leg spinners & lack of traditional spinners - They have 3 leg spinners in the squad and the question is why. Fine you don't want to take Nawaz & Shadab but this would have been perfect opportunity for someone like Minhas who is a solid bat, bowler & fielder. He is a like for like replacement with Nawaz and gives you more upside with the bat. You are also not going to have all these leg spinners for a WC in SA. In fact, what you need is traditional spinners to provide accurate length & control in the middle overs, which makes the selection of Saad Masood so early in his career an even more baffling selection.

Awful squad, awful selection and if only PCB can fine itself for its stupidity. A board that is run by clowns & morons acting like petulant babies and punishing players like they're kids for the bad performances. There is literally a zero hint of logical planning whatsoever. We fans, deserve better.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

There is no talent left at all it seems

 

[Human786]

PCB remains the dumbest board in the cricket and it is not even close. Babar & Saim getting the stick for their T20 performance which makes no sense. ODI is both of their best format. In fact, Saim ended up being included in T20's after his superb performances in ODI's. Saim is averaging 47 with a 100 SR and being a useful bowler + great fielder. Fine, drop him for T20's but it's nonsensical for ODI's.

Babar being dropped for ODI's is silly too but if they want to rest him and give a young kid like Maaz a chance at his spot, I don't mind that but it is incredibly stupid to have like 6 uncapped players picked for ODI's. That's not how you build a team and Bangladesh conditions aren't a piece of cake either. It's like what Pakistan did vs Afghanistan a few years ago where they sent a B team to tough conditions in Sharjah and they got incredibly exposed. It's just poor management, poor tactics and poor development. The best time to try a B team like this is when someone like Zimbabwe/Bang/SL/WI visit for a home tour and you can test these players in conditions familiar to them.

My remaining notes:

Farhan - selected because of T20 performance. His List A stats are pretty average with a 42 avg & 86 SR.

Shamyl & Maaz - No issues with the selection and you could have tried them while still having Saim in the squad

Abdul Samad - Why? There are zero performances of his to justify this. His List A record is quite mediocre and simply put, I don't think he is a good enough player. He has a 14 AVG in FC in 33 innings - that is truly pathetic tail ender level batting.

Saad Masood - A great talent with a whopping 3 list A games in his career. If you truly cared about this player or his development, he would have played FC and List A this season but he sat on the sidelines this entire season other than Shaheen games and now magically called up for ODI's. He will also fail in ODI's like Hasan Nawaz did who they tested after 3-5 List A games himself. He is also a batting allrounder in the same mould as Shadab... so I am not sure how that helps?


Talat - Terrible player. A bits & pieces player who is not good enough as a batter and a rubbish bowler.

Ghazi Ghori - on what basis is this selection made? He has a 20 List A average. Like come on.

Faheem - It should have been Abbas Afridi who is a better bowler and unlike Faheem, Abbas even has a list A century in his short career. They do need a pace allrounder for SA but it should have been Abbas Afridi being invested in.

Leg spinners & lack of traditional spinners - They have 3 leg spinners in the squad and the question is why. Fine you don't want to take Nawaz & Shadab but this would have been perfect opportunity for someone like Minhas who is a solid bat, bowler & fielder. He is a like for like replacement with Nawaz and gives you more upside with the bat. You are also not going to have all these leg spinners for a WC in SA. In fact, what you need is traditional spinners to provide accurate length & control in the middle overs, which makes the selection of Saad Masood so early in his career an even more baffling selection.

Awful squad, awful selection and if only PCB can fine itself for its stupidity. A board that is run by clowns & morons acting like petulant babies and punishing players like they're kids for the bad performances. There is literally a zero hint of logical planning whatsoever. We fans, deserve better.

Agree with 1st sentence completely .
Did not read the long post , can you tell me if you are Nasty Nazreen or Nasty Nazir plaease ?

 

[Shaka81]

The selection roulette continues. It's always fun trying to predict which random player is getting selected based on nothing or performances in a completely different format and who's getting dropped for the same reasons.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Came here to post the same. he does have talent but if he isn’t able to translate it he will likely become another Shan Masood as it is very difficult to dislodge such players once they become part of the setup. at least he has been performing and has also impressed with his captaincy.

Babar, Saim, Fakhar all missing! Faheem who doesn’t bowl an over in T20s selected for ODIs! Samad is also a mind boggling pick. Hussain doesn’t belong but you can justify it as continuity. Ghazi has been decent recently but surprising that he has been preferred over Saad as the backup keeper esp in ODIs. Like always selecting players for the wrong format.

If the intent was to reward performing young players then it’s surprising not to see Saad Baig, Sufyan and Arshad Iqbal in the squad.

I have watched 4 matches of him being the captain and he is absolutely clueless on the field. Some examples

1. Maaz Sadaqat did not bowl in three of the matches.
2. His field placements & bowling changes were terrible when partnerships were getting established. Asa Tribe in one of the T20s was just focused on easy singles and at no point any attempt was made to change the tempo of the game.
3. Other then ability to speak English, there seemed nothing special or out of the ordinary that would merit being the captain.

They have not selected another experienced opener like Fakhar because they want to ensure that he's in the team. He's no Finn Allen so this absolute team fixing is irritating. If they really wanted to rebuild the ideal thing to do was to wait for PSL.

Also good to know that PCB is taking BD lightly, kind of fully expect this team to do terrible in terms of batting & then all those who are out will waltz back in.

 

[Cric1234]

Pakistan team is so flawed.

In T20 they pack the team with accumulators.

Now in ODI when they might need a few, watch how every batsmen tries to slog and get out in ODI World Cup.

I blame poor emotional intelligence and this is something that can't be taught at all.

Unlikely we will have Babar Rizwan and other accumulators in the team come the world cup...... Most of these young players will be discarded quickly a balanced team needs to be built.... We saw what happened in 23 with the team including Shafique Imam Babar Rizwan.