Building a dynamic T20I squad for Pakistan to meet modern-day game requirements

[jamie smith]

Over years we have been made to beleive that pak has no talent and rizbar are the best t20 players in pakistan but they have now been exposed multiple times(t20 wc 2024 being biggest example).Also in recent times we have seen decent t20 players coming through who have outperformed rizbar.
With the pitches now being as flat as ever and the boundaries short,u need players who can play with a sr of 150+ and have the ability to hit sixes.Rizbar possess none of these abilities.
So with the t20 wc in 2026 u have enough time to create a new squad around youngsters who can actually play t20s like t20s.So players like rizwan,babar,agha,tayyab tahir should be shown the boot in t20s and never be selected again unless they have some mind blowing performance.

I have built a 15 man squad for pak in t20s.THe team I have selected has the ability to score 200+ on decent pitches and the players can hit sixes regularly unlike their peers and can also anchor if the pitch is a bit tricky.
I have selected the players based on recent international performance and performance in domestics.

playing XI

1 SAIM AYUB
2 MAAZ SADAQAT(good player of both spin and pace,can hit sixes from ball 1)
3 USMAN KHAN
4 HAIDER ALI
5IRFAN KHAN NIAZI
6 MOHAMMAD HARIS
7 ABDUL SAMMAD
8 SAAD MASOOD/MINHAS/MEHRAN
9 ABBAS AFRIDI
10 JAHANDAD KHAN
11 SHAHEEN AFRIDI

RESERVES

HARIS RAUF
ABRAR AHMED
HASSAN NAWAZ
OMAIR BIN YOUSUF

Select your own squad and post it.
All suggestions will be respected.

 

[Da_Future_Knick]

That bowling lineup would literally concede 250 runs against top teams lol

 

[Da_Future_Knick]

Here is my 11

Saim Ayub
Hassan Nawaz
Babar Azam
Mohammad Haris
Haider Ali
Abdul Samad
Arafat Minhas
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Haris Rauf
Abrar Ahmed

Maaz Sadaqat
Jahandad Khan
Sufiyaan
Abbas Afridi

A bit iffy on Haris's selection but he's interchangeable with Jahandad & Abbas.

 

[jamie smith]

That bowling lineup would literally concede 250 runs against top teams lol

shaheen and minhas are good bowlers,abbas is ur best t20 bowler.
jk and haris are interchangeable

 

[RidiculousMan]

Here is my 11

Saim Ayub
Hassan Nawaz
Babar Azam
Mohammad Haris
Haider Ali
Abdul Samad
Arafat Minhas
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Haris Rauf
Abrar Ahmed

Maaz Sadaqat
Jahandad Khan
Sufiyaan
Abbas Afridi

A bit iffy on Haris's selection but he's interchangeable with Jahandad & Abbas.

Who'll keep in place of Haris?

 

[shamaan]

Usman Khan isnt good enough. Maaz Sadaqat bat at 3 and Haris open.

 

[Rana]

No point dreaming

Gary Kirsten wanted to give you a bright T20 team to compete with the big dogs

The PCB is too corrupt to let this happen.

 

[khyberlion]

You can't have a tail ender batting at 3.

 

[mominsaigol]

No point dreaming

Gary Kirsten wanted to give you a bright T20 team to compete with the big dogs

The PCB is too corrupt to let this happen.

Can I take your perspective on Gillespie, aqib and Kristen?

Again I may be wrong or maybe I'm not reading the room correctly but imo both Kristen and Gillespie weren't very good.

I can't say for Kristen since I believe he was wrongly booted. They kicked him out before he had the chance to implement changes but I do believe sacking Gillespie was the right call.

Ik people have reservations about aqib and when it comes to t20 he's been utter rubbish.

However gotta give the guy credit for the following

A) Prepared uae tracks in pk
B) dropped babar from home tests + Zim
C) Allowed KG to finally have a career
D) made good selections that resulted in our first home win
E) Discarded rubbish like Imam, Shadab, Chacha etc.

However yes rubbish like Abdullah, Rizwan, Agha( In t20 only), are ever present courtesy of the man.

 

[Rana]

Can I take your perspective on Gillespie, aqib and Kristen?

IMO bro, it’s impossible to judge any coach for Pakistan at the moment as long as the current player structural hierarchy is being employed by the PCB.

A team or group of players consistently failing as white ball cricketers in comparison to world standards, but are continuously rewarded with selection and leadership roles.

I just cannot understand how Aqib was so blunt about his views on Babar and Rizwan before he coached Pakistan, only to then do the exact thing which people like Saqlain did before him? I really can’t be arsed to make assessments on these coaches until I can see some proper transparency and merit in the system. This means those players who have no business playing a format should be removed entirely.

 

[mominsaigol]

IMO bro, it’s impossible to judge any coach for Pakistan at the moment as long as the current player structural hierarchy is being employed by the PCB.

A team or group of players consistently failing as white ball cricketers in comparison to world standards, but are continuously rewarded with selection and leadership roles.

I just cannot understand how Aqib was so blunt about his views on Babar and Rizwan before he coached Pakistan, only to then do the exact thing which people like Saqlain did before him? I really can’t be arsed to make assessments on these coaches until I can see some proper transparency and merit in the system. This means those players who have no business playing a format should be removed entirely.

Yeah I agree. The corrupt system goes way beyond coaches

 

[Barragan]

Maaz Sadqat as opener, yeah definitely not worth reading the rest.

 

[khyberlion]

Maaz Sadqat as opener, yeah definitely not worth reading the rest.

He should be in the team at the moment, but what is wrong with him? Have you seen him bat?

 

[Barragan]

He should be in the team at the moment, but what is wrong with him? Have you seen him bat?

Not a T20 batsman

Yes, I did see him in the champions cup

He should stick to the longer format for now

 

[khyberlion]

Not a T20 batsman

Yes, I did see him in the champions cup

He should stick to the longer format for now

He clearly has the ingredients to be a solid t20 opener in future.

 

[Barragan]

He clearly has the ingredients to be a solid t20 opener in future.

I don't know about the future because it's up to him

But currently, definitely not a T20 batsman

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

No clue who is good in the middle order & also I won't make it all hypothetical, will just add a few players to the team that played the last T20. I also hope Saim is bowled regularly so we have an extra option. I'm not sure about the batting skills of Jahandad & Abbas so the batting does look light. A spin bowling all-rounder is necessary but not sure who will add that option.

There are obvious weaknesses in the team but I don't know of any players who can fill them up for now.

1. Saim (auto selects himself)
2. Haris (keeper + impact player)
3. Fakhar
4. Babar (these two are dynamic positions, if the right hander is out first Babar bats at 3, is Saim then Fakhar)
5. Ghulam (did do just barely enough to keep his place)
6. Niazi (don't think he's int'l level but he deserves a run as he's the incumbent)
7. Jahandad (needs to be given a proper run to see if he is able to do this job or not)
8. Abbas (a decent if not spectacular T20 player)
9. Shaheen (still the spearhead)
10. Rauf / Hasnain / Naseem (anyone else or a spinner if it's a turning pitch)
11. Abrar / Mehran / Arafat

Reserves include

1. Haider
2. Sufyan / Tariq / Rameez
3. Rizwan
4. Akif / Ihsanullah / Ali Raza

I hope there are a few breakout stars who do well. I did see a few that were impressive in patches but hard to say if they are good enough to play regularly.

 

[khyberlion]

I don't know about the future because it's up to him

But currently, definitely not a T20 batsman

Then I guess you haven't seen him. His offside play is better than most of our international players along with his timing and power. If players like Tayyab tahir, Salman etc are considered t20 players then he's definitely one.

 

[Barragan]

Then I guess you haven't seen him. His offside play is better than most of our international players along with his timing and power. If players like Tayyab tahir, Salman etc are considered t20 players then he's definitely one.

No, he isn't a T20 player

 

[khyberlion]

No, he isn't a T20 player

And neither is Tayyab tahir and Salman agha who are our t20 players.

 

[jamie smith]

No, he isn't a T20 player

No, he isn't a T20 player

he has a sr of 140 and an average of 30 in t20s so how is he not a t20 player

 

[jamie smith]

And neither is Tayyab tahir and Salman agha who are our t20 players.

according to rizbar fans u should average 40 and have a sr of120 to be a t20 player

 

[jamie smith]

agee with ur squad but kg should be replaced by haider and jahandad at 7 will make the tail long

No clue who is good in the middle order & also I won't make it all hypothetical, will just add a few players to the team that played the last T20. I also hope Saim is bowled regularly so we have an extra option. I'm not sure about the batting skills of Jahandad & Abbas so the batting does look light. A spin bowling all-rounder is necessary but not sure who will add that option.

There are obvious weaknesses in the team but I don't know of any players who can fill them up for now.

1. Saim (auto selects himself)
2. Haris (keeper + impact player)
3. Fakhar
4. Babar (these two are dynamic positions, if the right hander is out first Babar bats at 3, is Saim then Fakhar)
5. Ghulam (did do just barely enough to keep his place)
6. Niazi (don't think he's int'l level but he deserves a run as he's the incumbent)
7. Jahandad (needs to be given a proper run to see if he is able to do this job or not)
8. Abbas (a decent if not spectacular T20 player)
9. Shaheen (still the spearhead)
10. Rauf / Hasnain / Naseem (anyone else or a spinner if it's a turning pitch)
11. Abrar / Mehran / Arafat

Reserves include

1. Haider
2. Sufyan / Tariq / Rameez
3. Rizwan
4. Akif / Ihsanullah / Ali Raza

I hope there are a few breakout stars who do well. I did see a few that were impressive in patches but hard to say if they are good enough to play regularly.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

agee with ur squad but kg should be replaced by haider and jahandad at 7 will make the tail long

Haider is my reserve but he needs to prove himself. He made his name via classy cover drives & a lot of power but then started playing like a tailender & also gained a lot of weight. I still think he has potential but it's up to him to become a proper player.

 

[Barragan]

And neither is Tayyab tahir and Salman agha who are our t20 players.

Adding Sadqat would make it even worse then

 

[Barragan]

he has a sr of 140 and an average of 30 in t20s so how is he not a t20 player

Pretty misleading stat if ever there was one

Btw, it's actually below 140

 

[Cricket Warrior]

i think better to go back to Asif, Haris, khushdil etc because this current lot is totally useless for T20 cricket in which we have gems like Usman Khan

 

[Rana]

i think better to go back to Asif, Haris, khushdil etc because this current lot is totally useless for T20 cricket in which we have gems like Usman Khan

Strike Force is coming!

 

[Farabi]

Strike Force is coming!

Players selected for strike-force camp:

Abdul Samad, Haider Ali, Yasir Khan, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Akhlaq, Imran Randhawa, Saad Masood, Mubasir Khan, Hassan Nawaz, * Nafay, Muhammad Amir Barki, Mohammad Faizan, Afaq Ahmed, Jahandad Khan, Amad Butt, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Usman Khan, Khayam Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Shawaiz Irfan, Basit Ali, Mohammad Faiq, Ali Imran, Sarwar Afridi and Nasir Nawaz.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Problem is these so-called modern day batters cannot even bat more than 5-6 balls. Do we need that???

Bu the current lot with players like Usman, riz, salman is even worse atm... Asif Ali is the only guy I want to see make a comeback but he should be deserving for that