Bilal Asif - The Test match bowler

[MenInG]

A lot expected from him but not happened so far

 

[gazza619]

I am starting to think if Bilal Asif 6 wickets were a fluke. Looked pretty average in the 2nd innings. Or is it that the wicket is as flat as a road now.

 

[Fahdi]

Bilal Asif has potential but he benefited from the fact that he was an unknown quantity. Australia have been careful against him in this innings. Biggest issue with him is the lines he bowls. He pitches the ball too straight instead of attacking the off stump

 

[Bilal7]

There's no point in debating with you. If Inzi selected 3 spinners you would still defend that whilst here you are defending the selection of 2 spinners.

Inzi did select three spinners in the squad, the coach and captain selected two in the team.

There is a place for 'becoming' and it is called domestics . If you have bowler A who is taking 5-fers in domestics, and B who merely looks like he has the potential to in the future, it is perfectly reasonable to play A and let B work on himself for a while longer. It is not an an either/or situation. Shadab does have a bit more than mere promise in FC cricket, I will have to acknowledge, but if you compare the numbers, Kashif is quite ways ahead. And Shadab is only 20 (!!) He has all the time in the world to get better.

Kashif is 32, Shadab is ten years younger and like you said, is not a dud at the FC level. Why would you not the younger, more talented and promising player more opportunities to succeed given that he is likely to have a decade-long international career?

Kashif could have been selected over Bilal but as mentioned before, we needed an off-spinner to combat the Aussies and Bilal is the best offie in Pakistan, as of now.

 

[New Yorker]

Inzi did select three spinners in the squad, the coach and captain selected two in the team.



Kashif is 32, Shadab is ten years younger and like you said, is not a dud at the FC level. Why would you not the younger, more talented and promising player more opportunities to succeed given that he is likely to have a decade-long international career?

Kashif could have been selected over Bilal but as mentioned before, we needed an off-spinner to combat the Aussies and Bilal is the best offie in Pakistan, as of now.

No Shadab is not a dud at international level but neither has he been a rousing success. And Bhatti has been quite a bit better in domestics. In fact he has been the best spinner in the country as far as I can tell. With 32 otherwise being a very common kind of age to introduce a spinner, as we know from experience. I see no sense in selecting the worst out of two bowling options on the grounds that the not so good one can get better. That's a tautology. What is to guarantee that he actually gets better, how many Tests will you opt to loose to give him match practice? And why cannot he not do that practice in domestics? Test matches are not there for practice, and no selection panel with any sense plays anything but their best national XI in every Test. I don't know if an off-spinner is necessarily better than an SLA in the UAE. Abdur Rehman was pretty great here in his prime, outbowling even a chucking Ajmal, and his numbers are far better than Bilals. Im hoping for the best for the second Test, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Aussies play him with ease. The surprise factor is gone and all they have to do is to not take undue risks.

 

[Hasan123]

Inzi did select three spinners in the squad, the coach and captain selected two in the team.



Kashif is 32, Shadab is ten years younger and like you said, is not a dud at the FC level. Why would you not the younger, more talented and promising player more opportunities to succeed given that he is likely to have a decade-long international career?

Kashif could have been selected over Bilal but as mentioned before, we needed an off-spinner to combat the Aussies and Bilal is the best offie in Pakistan, as of now.

Selecting 2 leg spinners when Australia have struggled against finger spinners is poor. Shadab has a lot of work to do to make it as a test bowler.

 

[mak36]

Getting Finch is a massive wicket. Job well done.

 

[mak36]

And another. Getting that ball to talk.

 

[in_cutter]

I am starting to think if Bilal Asif 6 wickets were a fluke. Looked pretty average in the 2nd innings. Or is it that the wicket is as flat as a road now.

Why is every performance followed by a not so good performance labelled a ‘fluke’?

 

[Amjid Javed]

Think patients is the key to him bowling well, hes not going to rip through sides. Bowling his odd variations as a surprise ball after setting a batsmen is always way to go.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He should be among the wickets tomorrow. Plenty of runs to play with so an attacking field to give him every chance, and there's spin in the wicket if he can consistently hit the right areas. Hopefully he'll show that he can finish teams off after the first test, where a lot was expected of him after his first innings success.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Why is every performance followed by a not so good performance labelled a ‘fluke’?

Because this board is filled with reactionary people