Changes needed after losing the 2022 Asia Cup Final

[topspin]

1. Sack Saqlain and opt for a foreign coach who understands the modern game. All the Pakistani candidates are still in 90s mode.

2. Babar needs to be axed from captaincy. He was never captain material in the first place and has always been a flop as skipper. To let Sri Lanka go from 58/5 to 170 is the straw that has broken the camel's back.

3. Rizwan cannot be opening the batting. His technique is not suited for batting in the powerplay because his technique outside the off stump isn't exactly great. This means he doesn't have enough shots to pierce the in field. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if he was a power hitter but he isn't.

 

[Major]

agree with the first 2. But Rizwan needs to pace his innings better not be dropped

 

[Shafi]

Need to drop Fakhar, Ifti, Khusdil, Asif, Hasan and Usman. M Wasim needs to be sacked as well. Need a proper fielding coach.
But nothing will happen. PCB is happy to play in final.

 

[IAJ]

1. Sack Saqlain and opt for a foreign coach who understands the modern game. All the Pakistani candidates are still in 90s mode.

2. Babar needs to be axed from captaincy. He was never captain material in the first place and has always been a flop as skipper. To let Sri Lanka go from 58/5 to 170 is the straw that has broken the camel's back.

3. Rizwan cannot be opening the batting. His technique is not suited for batting in the powerplay because his technique outside the off stump isn't exactly great. This means he doesn't have enough shots to pierce the in field. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if he was a power hitter but he isn't.

Lol only 3 changes.

If you make alle those 3 changes and then still play Fakhar, Khushdil and Asif Ali, then nothing will change in the end.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Agree with the first 2. I rather have Shadab as captain.

For # 3 the problem is not Rizwan. Its playing both Rizwan and Babar as openers. You cant have 2 accumulators in the power play overs. I would keep Rizwan as an opener as he is not a power hitter and I dont see what other position he can bat in.

 

[IAJ]

agree with the first 2. But Rizwan needs to pace his innings better not be dropped

Well, you were making fun of SL. Talk nah. They just destroyed Pakistan today. Shattered us completely after being 50 odd for 5 runs.

 

[Marooned]

Babar's continued failure really killed us.

We need a completely revamped middle order.

 

[ali_ed2006]

Biggest problem is we only have two proper batsmen, Babar and Rizwan, and both play at one day strike rate, and both open. You lose either one of them early, the other slows down even further because they have the mindset of staying till the end. There is no other proper batsman that you can depend on. Everyone else is hit and miss. You cannot hope that one of them will get going and win you games.

 

[Sherlock]

A side led by clowns and played by clowns.

First you have to start with the 90's/00's mentality of the coaching staff. They think pinch-hitters are palatable when the PP is over.

Opening pair - They also think having an out-of-form captain opening with another batsmen that needs a good 40-off deliveries to get a 50 is also the way to go.

Fakhar - Then you have the pathetic form of Fakhar and the continuing nature of playing him one down when he's been so bad in that position.

Ifthikar/Asif/Kushdil - are nigh-on some of the worst players to play for Pakistan and yet continue to do so even when they've failed 9 times outta 10.

But also don't forget the tactics of the coaching staff and the captain throughout this tournament.

They've been too slow to complete their overs so much so they've been punished for it.

They bowling changes of Babar have to be scrutinised more because they've been baffling at times.

But the worst of all has been the fielding. These guys have gone back to the days of schoolboy cricket. Absolutely laughable.

SL coaching and captaincy is what Pakistan fans hoped we'd be. But instead we installed an ex-cricketer that had no previous international experience of leading a team, and has a mindset that we thought the Pakistan team and Ramiz Raja wanted to get rid of.

There's too many holes in this team to fix immediately, but the tactics alone should be heavily analysed and rectified, but I do think the WC is too soon to do that now. It should've been done here at the Asia Cup.

 

[Sherlock]

It's not just dropping certain players, and I'll exclude Rizwan from that because he's still the most consistent player for us, but he needs to pace his innings better and learn to rotate the strike from the onset.

The tactics have to change. I mean when Ramiz took over his role his talked about the mentality needing to change and become more modern day cricket. Instead these mentality-cats have gone back in their shells.

I'd definitely change the coach because Saqlain and co have been anything but good. But I just feel Ramiz won't do it because just as spineless as the coaching and playing staff.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Need to drop Fakhar, Ifti, Khusdil, Asif, Hasan and Usman. M Wasim needs to be sacked as well. Need a proper fielding coach.
But nothing will happen. PCB is happy to play in final.

Exactly.. Asif Ali somehow manages to stay there ever since Mickey Arthur left...

Nothing changes... Srilanka who is backrupt can hire a proper coach like Chris Silverwood..

Pakistan finds Sucklain and

 

[mudassir84]

Whole batting is crap, along with captain babar, coach and selector. All should be sacked.

 

[Rana]

You’ve put all your eggs in one basket

And the wrong basket that is

Rizwan needs to go.

 

[Major]

Well, you were making fun of SL. Talk nah. They just destroyed Pakistan today. Shattered us completely after being 50 odd for 5 runs.

This your third post on this, where did i make funof lanka cricket?

You seem to have some deep routed issues. Mat h har gaye tou posters sey larnay chala

 

[Rana]

We have had more dynamic batting line ups when Misbah was captain

 

[ads101]

I’d still keep Babar and Rizwan as openers, they failed today but the rest fail all the time including today as well. They are the only batsmen who are even above average in the t20 line up.

Get Masood in at 3. Drop Kushdil Shah and Fakhar. Iftikhar plays at 4, Haider Ali at 5 and Asif Ali at 6. I’d like to drop the whole middle order honestly but don’t know who to replace them. Not that thrilled even bringing in Haider Ali as I think he will fail but there’s little other options.

Masood could open instead of Babar dropping to 3 if Babar feels it’s would rediscover his form.

You could make Rizwan captain. Hopefully Shadab or Shaheen will eventually take over but it’s too soon for them now.

 

[hitthestump]

Pakistan are a 3 man team and 2 players were missing - Shaheen through injury and Babar through form.

You can select any eight other players in the world cup but it'll make negligible difference.

Pakistan's success depends on their big 3 and if you select Shoaib Malik, Shan Masood or A.N Other from domestics it still doesn't change much.

 

[Asif321]

Babar needs to open with a power hitting opener and at 3 need a batter who can hit and play according to situation. Rizwan can drop at 4 and handle the weak middle order then you have the hitters .

 

[Rana]

This your third post on this, where did i make funof lanka cricket?

You seem to have some deep routed issues. Mat h har gaye tou posters sey larnay chala

Major you have been talking a lot from your tashreef recently

Take a break from this forum. Go to Mari or some holiday resort in Pakistan. Get some fresh air

Cricket aur Khaas taur per white ball cricket tere bas or samajh se bahir hai

 

[ElRaja]

no chance babar is getting dropped or losing captaincy. its understandable pak fans will knee jerk with their burn everything to the ground commentary, but pak have a rubbish strategy because the openers have no confidence in the middle order. need 2 proper batsman in there, drop fakhar, ifti and khushdil, put in haider, shan and someone else.

 

[Rana]

I’d still keep Babar and Rizwan as openers, they failed today but the rest fail all the time including today as well. They are the only batsmen who are even above average in the t20 line up.

Get Masood in at 3. Drop Kushdil Shah and Fakhar. Iftikhar plays at 4, Haider Ali at 5 and Asif Ali at 6. I’d like to drop the whole middle order honestly but don’t know who to replace them. Not that thrilled even bringing in Haider Ali as I think he will fail but there’s little other options.

Masood could open instead of Babar dropping to 3 if Babar feels it’s would rediscover his form.

You could make Rizwan captain. Hopefully Shadab or Shaheen will eventually take over but it’s too soon for them now.

^^
How to write 4 paragraphs of absolutely nothing

 

[Major]

Major you have been talking a lot from your tashreef recently

Take a break from this forum. Go to Mari or some holiday resort in Pakistan. Get some fresh air

Cricket aur Khaas taur per white ball cricket tere bas or samajh se bahir hai

Rizwan is still going to be no.1 t20 batsmen whether you like it or not. This loss means nothing to his ranking

 

[shariqnoor]

I will be the first one to put my hand up and say that Rizwan's inning was poor today and he didn't pace it at all. Overs 9 and 10 were good from him but then that should've been the catalyst to up his SR which he didn't.

However talks of demoting him to number 3 or 4 is ridiculous. If Rizwan doesn't open, then he doesn't justify his place in the team at all.

 

[Rana]

no chance babar is getting dropped or losing captaincy. its understandable pak fans will knee jerk with their burn everything to the ground commentary, but pak have a rubbish strategy because the openers have no confidence in the middle order. need 2 proper batsman in there, drop fakhar, ifti and khushdil, put in haider, shan and someone else.

Are you telling me Babar and Rizwan are capable of batting like Roy and Bairstow if we had a proper middle order?

 

[Rana]

Rizwan is still going to be no.1 t20 batsmen whether you like it or not. This loss means nothing to his ranking

Typical coming from a Misbah worshipper.

Tashreefi alfaaz

 

[Markhor]

Sorry to be blunt but I'm sick of this B.S. excuse that we don't have enough quality batsmen to be more positive - so Babar and Rizwan shouldn't be criticised for their cautiousness.

Sri Lanka have several promising young batters but are ranked #8 in T20I rankings whereas Pakistan are #2. What superstar batsmen do they have ? Yet they play in a far more freeflowing attacking manner.

They don't go into a shell after losing a wicket, much less 58-5, or let the RRR hit 12 before getting off their behinds.

Babar talked a good game about wanting to "be an attacking captain like Imran Khan" like our Chairman, yet his ultra-conservative mindset with selections, tactics and innings pacing repeatedly costs us crucial matches.

 

[sam_ahm]

Pakistan's middle order is weak, this is a known fact, which is why the first player they should have tried out in the dead rubber was Haider Ali, it was no point trying Hadan Ali or Qadir because even if one of them had got a 5 for, they still wouldn't have made the playing XI, but Haider Ali had a realistic chance of replacing Kushdil Or Fakhar, had he done well.

Pakistan's fast bowling is incredibly good and it will only get better with Shaheen coming back, that is one area Pakistan must look at as their big strength at the WC.

Babar and Rizwan cannot open, because Pakistan rely very heavily on both of them and even if one of them gets out early, they get into serious trouble with that fragile middle order. Asif and Khushdil are good if you need 30 off 15, but not good when you need 60 off 30. They just cannot bat long.

Pakistan will need some kind of change for the WC, going in with the same middle order will be criminal.

 

[Major]

Sorry to be blunt but I'm sick of this B.S. excuse that we don't have enough quality batsmen to be more positive - so Babar and Rizwan shouldn't be criticised for their cautiousness.

Sri Lanka have several promising young batters but are ranked #8 in T20I rankings whereas Pakistan are #2. What superstar batsmen do they have ? Yet they play in a far more freeflowing attacking manner.

They don't go into a shell after losing a wicket, much less 58-5, or let the RRR hit 12 before getting off their behinds.

Babar talked a good game about wanting to "be an attacking captain like Imran Khan" like our Chairman, yet his ultra-conservative mindset with selections, tactics and innings pacing repeatedly costs us crucial matches.

I agree with your point. One thing that lanka kept doing was while they lost wickets they still kept on attacking. But you have to understand that sri lanka had the nothing to lose attitude, they can play this sort of cricket where you keep on attacking. They lost most of their wickets due to the uktra attacking they were tried to do.

The issue with babar rizwan criticism is that people dont talk about tweaking or fixing them, they want them to be dropped.

I believe, the solution is to make them bat faster.

Yes iftikhar, khushdil and asif need to go. Shadab had been utilized as a batter, maybe pakistan can do that

 

[ask_analyse_act]

The middle order is full of bits and pieces not just in T20s also in ODIs ever since Misbah took over from Mickey, Wasim continues with the same template

Only Babar and Haider ALi are the batsmen in this entire lineup that can play proper cricketing shots

Rizwan is the wicketkeeper batsman, rest are all either hacks or bits and pieces..

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Nothing will make a difference. WC is 0%. Our only hope is maybe in 5 or 10 years. Next 3 or 4 years are a write off as we just don't have the players apart from 2 or 3.

 

[ElRaja]

Are you telling me Babar and Rizwan are capable of batting like Roy and Bairstow if we had a proper middle order?

i reckon if they were given the freedom to bat knowing there were batters behind them, at least one player attacking they could match roy and bairstows career it20 s/r, altho both have a lower ceiling for top s/r than those two.

its a moot point tho, roy and bairstow are better hitters than any Pakistani openers.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

i reckon if they were given the freedom to bat knowing there were batters behind them, at least one player attacking they could match roy and bairstows career it20 s/r, altho both have a lower ceiling for top s/r than those two.

its a moot point tho, roy and bairstow are better hitters than any Pakistani openers.

If they are not confident with Iftikar , Khusdil, Asif in the lineup then why select them..

 

[ritzy_123]

I don't think too much changes will help us.. Haider Ali in place of Iftikhar and Shan Masood in place of Fakhar Zaman would be enough in my opinion.

Also look for Khushdil's replacement.. Asif Ali is fine as one trick pony just come in at the death and bang..

Overall ground fielding in the tournament wasn't that bad but stupid collisions must be stopped.

Shaheen Naseem Haris Dhani Hasnain and M Wasim are fine as pacers.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Sorry to be blunt but I'm sick of this B.S. excuse that we don't have enough quality batsmen to be more positive - so Babar and Rizwan shouldn't be criticised for their cautiousness.

Sri Lanka have several promising young batters but are ranked #8 in T20I rankings whereas Pakistan are #2. What superstar batsmen do they have ? Yet they play in a far more freeflowing attacking manner.

They don't go into a shell after losing a wicket, much less 58-5, or let the RRR hit 12 before getting off their behinds.

Babar talked a good game about wanting to "be an attacking captain like Imran Khan" like our Chairman, yet his ultra-conservative mindset with selections, tactics and innings pacing repeatedly costs us crucial matches.

Main thing to note SRL never went into shell even at 58-5 , Pakistan were stuck in shell even at 78-2

 

[ask_analyse_act]

I don't think too much changes will help us.. Haider Ali in place of Iftikhar and Shan Masood in place of Fakhar Zaman would be enough in my opinion.

Also look for Khushdil's replacement.. Asif Ali is fine as one trick pony just come in at the death and bang..

Overall ground fielding in the tournament wasn't that bad but stupid collisions must be stopped.

Shaheen Naseem Haris Dhani Hasnain and M Wasim are fine as pacers.

Asif Ali lol... He has done nothing to stay in the squad,gully mohalla cricketer...

Plays nothing shots, full of tape ball slogs tbh

 

[Lfc4life786]

Horrendous from all 3 of them. Also fakhar needs to go, he's a liability. Either open with him and bring babar one down or get rid altogether. I don't want to see ifthikar, Asif and Khushdil in the green of Pakistan ever again. All 3 are absolutely dire and combine to probably make up the worst middle order in international t20 cricket.

Time to shift focus and attention to the youngsters who literally cannot do any worse then these 3 clowns. Also its time we broke up the babar and rizwan duo at the top. Both are incapable of striking big and nesrly every match we are Around the 60 run mark after 10 overs. Its absolutely desperate and something has to give. I don't know what the answer is? Maybe give shan masood a go opening and bring babar 1 down? Love rizwan but just like babar he's an anchor for 1 end. Modern day cricket from the top teams both your batsmen have to go. Tayyab tahir as a wildcard choice to open? Bring back Sharjeel dare I say? We need some power and aggression up top. I'm not sure who's instructing these guys to be so placid with no intent?

Time to get in a bold, attacking focused foreign coach so we can get with the times and start playing attacking, bold cricket. Babar and rizwan are too selfish for me, they need to asked to play for the team now over self preservation.

Maybe try something along these lines for future games starting with the england series. 7 games to give the kids a real opportunity.

Shan/tayyab/sharjeel
Rizzy
Babar
Haider
Haris
Agha salman
Nawaz
Shadab
Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf

Wasim Jr, fakhar, kamran ghulam, Dahani, Qasim akram on the bench.

 

[Madplayer]

Remove:
Khushdil
Asif
Fakhar
Hasan

Bring in:
Haider Ali
Kamran Ghulam
Haris Sohail (if available)
Shaheen (obviously)

 

[Savak]

This personnel sadly is the best we have. The team management needs to start sending their power hitters up the order early i.e. Nawaz, Shadab, Asif Ali, Khusdil. You cant expect these players too tee off from ball one with 10-12 runs an over needed against good bowling attacks on big grounds.

 

[Gayle_Force]

The key problem I feel is that we have two batsmen who are there just two hit out in the last three overs. When we lose 2-3 wickets in first five overs it puts us in no man’s land.

 

[ethan hunt]

You can never play knockout matches with a defensive mindset.
Look at srilanka, kept attacking after 55-5, even Australia did the same last t20 worldcup.

 

[Savak]

I agree with your point. One thing that lanka kept doing was while they lost wickets they still kept on attacking. But you have to understand that sri lanka had the nothing to lose attitude, they can play this sort of cricket where you keep on attacking. They lost most of their wickets due to the uktra attacking they were tried to do.

The issue with babar rizwan criticism is that people dont talk about tweaking or fixing them, they want them to be dropped.

I believe, the solution is to make them bat faster.

Yes iftikhar, khushdil and asif need to go. Shadab had been utilized as a batter, maybe pakistan can do that

Teams have figured Rizwan out by drying up his strike rate by making him play on the offside. Similarly teams know if they keep things tight against Babar he doesn't have too many power shots to bail himself out of trouble.

 

[IAJ]

Sorry to be blunt but I'm sick of this B.S. excuse that we don't have enough quality batsmen to be more positive - so Babar and Rizwan shouldn't be criticised for their cautiousness.

Sri Lanka have several promising young batters but are ranked #8 in T20I rankings whereas Pakistan are #2. What superstar batsmen do they have ? Yet they play in a far more freeflowing attacking manner.

They don't go into a shell after losing a wicket, much less 58-5, or let the RRR hit 12 before getting off their behinds.

Babar talked a good game about wanting to "be an attacking captain like Imran Khan" like our Chairman, yet his ultra-conservative mindset with selections, tactics and innings pacing repeatedly costs us crucial matches.

It was only a matter of time before SL got a very good side again. They have proper cricketing structure back home and they still have school cricket I believe.

The reason they don't go into a shell is that they have proper clean hitters with very good technique. Some of those shots would be a treat to watch in Tests also.

Pakistan have relied to much on Babar Azam and Rizwan's batting. Once they fail we only have hit or miss players coming in. It can work on a good day, but mostly it doesn't.

All our batsmen came and tried their shots today, but it was wild swing of the bat. The wickets of Fakhar, Khushdil and Asif summed up this beautifully.

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan has zero talent. I don’t think we have better players sitting outside but deluded fans always think so.

This is minnow level side that can fluke a big win every now and then. Nothing more.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan's middle order is weak, this is a known fact, which is why the first player they should have tried out in the dead rubber was Haider Ali, it was no point trying Hadan Ali or Qadir because even if one of them had got a 5 for, they still wouldn't have made the playing XI, but Haider Ali had a realistic chance of replacing Kushdil Or Fakhar, had he done well.

Pakistan's fast bowling is incredibly good and it will only get better with Shaheen coming back, that is one area Pakistan must look at as their big strength at the WC.

Babar and Rizwan cannot open, because Pakistan rely very heavily on both of them and even if one of them gets out early, they get into serious trouble with that fragile middle order. Asif and Khushdil are good if you need 30 off 15, but not good when you need 60 off 30. They just cannot bat long.

Pakistan will need some kind of change for the WC, going in with the same middle order will be criminal.

I disagree with Pakistan's pace bowling attack being good. It is too one dimensional. Good teams will eventually get used to 4-5 bowlers bowling at 140 km/hr plus, in T-20 cricket you need to bowl intelligently and with some variations. Quality batting line ups will love pace on the ball.

Look at Sri Lanka, they have one pacer who bowls at 140-145 km/hr, then they have a medium pacer, then they have 3 different mystery spinners and all these bowlers know how to bowl to their fields and bowl the right slower deliveries at the right time depending on the match situation.

Hasnain and Naseem went for plenty today

 

[alishahid]

Bring in malik and haider ali. Open the batting with either fakhar haider or shan along with rizwan.

Rizwan
Fakhar
Babar
Haider
Malik
Sohaib Maqsood
Nawaz
Shadab
Naseem
Haris
Dahani

Once shaheen is fit, he can replace dahani. This is the best side going forward

 

[Major]

Teams have figured Rizwan out by drying up his strike rate by making him play on the offside. Similarly teams know if they keep things tight against Babar he doesn't have too many power shots to bail himself out of trouble.

Yar, rizwan messed up the run chase. But he isnt a bad player. Could had paced his innings abit better.

I dont mind this loss if we can learn from it and do well against england and than in the world t20.

Before this asia cup, no one cared about naseem.

Babar takes advantage with the field placement. Today he got out to a garbage delivery.

Issue is with the guys coming after babar and rizwan. Fakhar zaman is a joke, iftikhar who i have backed my whole life has failed. Asif ali and khusdil are as expected

 

[TeymurBlake]

Quite a few players have had a easy ride for some time.

1. Fakhar Zaman's form has dropped off a cliff and into the centre of this planet. He is in a prime position to be dropped out of this side

2. Khushdil experiment has come to an end. Watching him bat reminds what Imad Wasim has done to be discarded from the side. Seriously, Khushdil Shah needs to be discarded pronto. Same goes for Asif Ali who's basic batting ability & technique have gone out of the window. Seriously need to be dropped.

3. Iftikhar Ahmed talked about being the finisher Pakistan has been looking for. Well he couldn't exactly connect with the big shots. He often played like this was ODI cricket. A serious decision needs to be made on him.

4. Pakistan's death bowling is becoming a major issue for the team. The last five overs went for 53 runs which propel this score for Sri Lanka. These pace bowlers heavily rely on slow balls rather than yorkers or bouncers. It becomes easy to play against for the opposition.

5. If were being honest, Pakistan rarely played as a whole unit this tournament and heavily relied on the top two, in particular Rizwan and the middle order just got exposed over and over again. Its very brittle and weak.

6. Nawaz and Shadab have to show with the bat especially when there jobs will be to contain in the T20WC, they needs to be consistent.

7. Fielding has been a issue for Pakistan for decades and its time someone kicks these boys up the backside or hires a top field coach who is of the ilk of Steve Rixon, too much laziness, lack of intent and a ton of mistakes.

8. and most importantly, break up the opening combo of Babar-Rizwan. Keep Riz opening and bring Babar into the middle order. Open with a aggressive opener with Riz and have Babar strengthen the middle order at No.4. They need to have positive intent from the opening ball. The first 6 overs are going to be critical.

 

[Savak]

It was only a matter of time before SL got a very good side again. They have proper cricketing structure back home and they still have school cricket I believe.

The reason they don't go into a shell is that they have proper clean hitters with very good technique. Some of those shots would be a treat to watch in Tests also.

Pakistan have relied to much on Babar Azam and Rizwan's batting. Once they fail we only have hit or miss players coming in. It can work on a good day, but mostly it doesn't.

All our batsmen came and tried their shots today, but it was wild swing of the bat. The wickets of Fakhar, Khushdil and Asif summed up this beautifully.

Tbh Babar and Rizwan are too blame for Pakistan's batting fortunes. The template they have laid out for our T-20 team is to preserve wickets in hand without giving a damn about making the most of the first 6 overs, without giving a damn about the run rate and without giving a damn about leaving 10-12 runs per over for the likes of Nawaz, Shadab, Khusdil, Asif, Iftikhar at the end. This will not work against good bowling sides and on bigger grounds.

The team management needs to be more ruthless. Instructions should be given to Rizwan and Babar that they need to tee off from ball one and if someone gets out then the likes of Nawaz, Asif, Khusdil, Shadab should be trusted to bat from overs 4-5 onwards, these players need a few deliveries, it is unfair to expect them to get beserk from ball one at the end against good teams and on bigger grounds.

People calling for the likes of Iftikar, Asif, Khushdill to be dropped need to wake up and smell the coffee. These players are the best T-20 players we have in our domestic cricket and in the PSL. Even the likes of Haider Ali and Azam Khan will struggle to make an impact if they have to deal with the pressure of a low run rate start by Rizwan and Babar.

 

[Marooned]

Hopefully england series is used to test a new middle order rather than "giving confidence" as the TM like to say.

 

[Savak]

Yar, rizwan messed up the run chase. But he isnt a bad player. Could had paced his innings abit better.

I dont mind this loss if we can learn from it and do well against england and than in the world t20.

Before this asia cup, no one cared about naseem.

Babar takes advantage with the field placement. Today he got out to a garbage delivery.

Issue is with the guys coming after babar and rizwan. Fakhar zaman is a joke, iftikhar who i have backed my whole life has failed. Asif ali and khusdil are as expected

I will not blame our power hitters today. They are being wasted by being habitually put in positions where 50-60 runs are needed in 5-6 overs. This will not work against quality teams and on big grounds. Our team needs to take a gamble and promote these hitters from overs 4 onwards with instructions to Rizwan and Babar to tee off from ball one but don't be scared off getting out.

 

[Markhor]

The middle order is full of bits and pieces not just in T20s also in ODIs ever since Misbah took over from Mickey, Wasim continues with the same template

Only Babar and Haider ALi are the batsmen in this entire lineup that can play proper cricketing shots

Rizwan is the wicketkeeper batsman, rest are all either hacks or bits and pieces..

The middle-order is weak and unreliable, but let's ask ourselves this.

Are we really giving them a chance to succeed consistently when the top order consume 70% of the deliveries, refuse to take any risks, and allow the RRR to climb to 14 like they did tonight ?

I'm sorry but even the world's best power-hitting batsmen cannot perform consistently from that position. We had 7 wickets in hand after 15 overs requiring 70 off 30. That's no way to pace a run chase.

 

[Savak]

Quite a few players have had a easy ride for some time.

1. Fakhar Zaman's form has dropped off a cliff and into the centre of this planet. He is in a prime position to be dropped out of this side

2. Khushdil experiment has come to an end. Watching him bat reminds what Imad Wasim has done to be discarded from the side. Seriously, Khushdil Shah needs to be discarded pronto. Same goes for Asif Ali who's basic batting ability & technique have gone out of the window. Seriously need to be dropped.

3. Iftikhar Ahmed talked about being the finisher Pakistan has been looking for. Well he couldn't exactly connect with the big shots. He often played like this was ODI cricket. A serious decision needs to be made on him.

4. Pakistan's death bowling is becoming a major issue for the team. The last five overs went for 53 runs which propel this score for Sri Lanka. These pace bowlers heavily rely on slow balls rather than yorkers or bouncers. It becomes easy to play against for the opposition.

5. If were being honest, Pakistan rarely played as a whole unit this tournament and heavily relied on the top two, in particular Rizwan and the middle order just got exposed over and over again. Its very brittle and weak.

6. Nawaz and Shadab have to show with the bat especially when there jobs will be to contain in the T20WC, they needs to be consistent.

7. Fielding has been a issue for Pakistan for decades and its time someone kicks these boys up the backside or hires a top field coach who is of the ilk of Steve Rixon, too much laziness, lack of intent and a ton of mistakes.

8. and most importantly, break up the opening combo of Babar-Rizwan. Keep Riz opening and bring Babar into the middle order. Open with a aggressive opener with Riz and have Babar strengthen the middle order at No.4. They need to have positive intent from the opening ball. The first 6 overs are going to be critical.

Khusdil, Iftikhar, Asif Ali have won matches for Pakistan. Sadly these are the best T-20 players we have. The team rather than overhauling its personnel baring 1-2 changes needs to change their strategy. Pakistan need to go aggressively at the targets from Ball one. If one of the openers is dismissed cheaply. Send your power hitters in early and give them maximum overs because saving them for the death has proven to be a flawed strategy.

 

[Sarwar89]

1. Sack Saqlain and opt for a foreign coach who understands the modern game. All the Pakistani candidates are still in 90s mode.

2. Babar needs to be axed from captaincy. He was never captain material in the first place and has always been a flop as skipper. To let Sri Lanka go from 58/5 to 170 is the straw that has broken the camel's back.

3. Rizwan cannot be opening the batting. His technique is not suited for batting in the powerplay because his technique outside the off stump isn't exactly great. This means he doesn't have enough shots to pierce the in field. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if he was a power hitter but he isn't.

Is this the 1st time ?

He led Afghanistan score 147 from 76/6 in last year t20 wc

And led Aussies chase 177 despite reducing them to 95/5

 

[Sarwar89]

I will not blame our power hitters today. They are being wasted by being habitually put in positions where 50-60 runs are needed in 5-6 overs. This will not work against quality teams and on big grounds. Our team needs to take a gamble and promote these hitters from overs 4 onwards with instructions to Rizwan and Babar to tee off from ball one but don't be scared off getting out.

People are not realizing that pakistan’s opening 3 players are slow. ( fakhar is slow as well)

In last year T20 world cup semi final
Babar & Rizwan batted so slowly from 5th-10th over it costed us 15 runs as 190 was on cards.

 

[Major]

I will not blame our power hitters today. They are being wasted by being habitually put in positions where 50-60 runs are needed in 5-6 overs. This will not work against quality teams and on big grounds. Our team needs to take a gamble and promote these hitters from overs 4 onwards with instructions to Rizwan and Babar to tee off from ball one but don't be scared off getting out.

Iftikhar is yet to give a performance ever since his australia heroics. And fakhar is mentally out. I believe they can try shadab in the upper order he bats like morgan

 

[TeymurBlake]

Iftikhar is yet to give a performance ever since his australia heroics. And fakhar is mentally out. I believe they can try shadab in the upper order he bats like morgan

I believe it was a point Gambhir was making a interesting point about the Pakistani pacers, when he said will Pakistan risk the idea of having 4 pacers at 8 to 11 which would be mean Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz come in at No.6-7.

I personally wouldn't mind, expect Nawaz will need to do some convincing specially with pacers not being entirely competent batters.

 

[Sarwar89]

Gavaskar once said quoted

Napoleon

I need lucky Generals, I do not need very well read Generals only lucky Generals.

Apologies but Ramiz Raja as captain was disaster he lost us home test series v Sri lanka in 1995 ( 1st home soil test series defeat in 15 years) & also lost multi 4 national tournament in 1997 against sri lanka ( in which Anwar scored 194)

Babar has won nothing.
1) flop in this year psl won 1/10 games
2) lost home test series v Aus
3) lost home T20 series v Aus
4) Drew test series in Sri lanka & as a result is out of ICC test championship
5) lost Asia cup final ( choked)
6) lost t20 world cup sf ( choked)

 

[TeymurBlake]

Khusdil, Iftikhar, Asif Ali have won matches for Pakistan. Sadly these are the best T-20 players we have. The team rather than overhauling its personnel baring 1-2 changes needs to change their strategy. Pakistan need to go aggressively at the targets from Ball one. If one of the openers is dismissed cheaply. Send your power hitters in early and give them maximum overs because saving them for the death has proven to be a flawed strategy.

But can you realistically play all of them together?

Cause the middle orders isn't stable right now.

 

[Sarwar89]

But can you realistically play all of them together?

Cause the middle orders isn't stable right now.

Is opening order even stable ?

How many runs babar & fakhar scored in this Asia cup ?

 

[Grunge101]

The biggest change needed is a change of captaincy but one that now is too late with the WC right along the corner.

Today was just a comedy of errors. Someone has to be accountable for what happened and that someone is Babar Azam

 

[zamana]

Need more aggression from Pakistan. Potential options include Sharjeel Khan, Shan Masood, Ghulam (KPK) middle order batsman, Haider Ali, Azam Khan. There is some good talent in the local T20 tournament being conducted, including a couple of young top order batsmen from Baluchistan. Add them in the mix and expose them to International cricket. The template has to change for the WC. The out dated formula of consolidation and conservation at the top with a late charge is unlikely to work at the top level. The formula by SL is perfect as they maintain a tempo and everyone contributes. The level of fielding has to improve. Pakistan has to invest in acquiring the best possible coaches in all departments. The results will be worth the investment. Finally, I don't think that Babar Azam is the best choice for being the Captain. The responsibility is impacting on his batting. My preference would be either Rizwan or Shadab Khan who have had an impact as Captains in PSL. Let BA focus on his batting. To utilize the PP, you need a batsman like Sharjeel or Fakhar Zaman to have a free license at the top. Rizwan at 2, Babar at 3, Haider Ali , Shan Masood or Ghulam (KPK) at 4 and 5. Nawaz at 6, Shadab at 7, Asif Ali or Waseem Khan at 8 followed by the 3 pacers.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think these two changes should happen:

- Drop Khushdil and Ifti.

- Babar should open with Fakhar. Rizwan should bat in lower middle order.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Is opening order even stable ? ��

How many runs babar & fakhar scored in this Asia cup ?

That's my point. Relying on the likes of Asif, Ifti and Khush just exposes the pressure each batter is in.

 

[Marooned]

Perhaps we need more proper batters instead of all these hacks and then everyone is told to bat quickly because you know there is batting to come.

Say Haider Ali, Shan, Kamran Ghulam

With a middle order like this everyone has then to play quickly because there is nobody to "protect".

 

[srh]

1. Sack Saqlain and opt for a foreign coach who understands the modern game. All the Pakistani candidates are still in 90s mode.

2. Babar needs to be axed from captaincy. He was never captain material in the first place and has always been a flop as skipper. To let Sri Lanka go from 58/5 to 170 is the straw that has broken the camel's back.

3. Rizwan cannot be opening the batting. His technique is not suited for batting in the powerplay because his technique outside the off stump isn't exactly great. This means he doesn't have enough shots to pierce the in field. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if he was a power hitter but he isn't.

You missed better middle order. Rizwan moving to #3 will make top 3 better but 4,5,6 positions still do not have good explosive batsmen.

 

[Rajdeep]

Pakistan has zero talent. I don’t think we have better players sitting outside but deluded fans always think so.

This is minnow level side that can fluke a big win every now and then. Nothing more.

What changes you would like to see in your team to have a realistic chance in the upcoming T20 world cup? Mind you, Pakistan has never crossed 150+ in any T20 games in Australia...so surely batting is a worry?

 

[ads101]

Iftikhar is yet to give a performance ever since his australia heroics. And fakhar is mentally out. I believe they can try shadab in the upper order he bats like morgan

I wouldn't mind Shadab up the order either.

The issue is the rebuild came too late. Babar got out, and fakhar got out immediately. This left only two proper batsmen in the crease who could not afford to get out early. There is no faith in these hitter type batsmen like Asif and Khushdil forging a partnership, rotating strike especially on a difficult track. They need a platform to exploit.

Shadab and Nawaz are even seen by management to some extent as more complete batsmen than Khushdil and Asif, which is why they are coming up early so much. It is a issue if there is that lack of faith in two specialist batsmen, but most of us don't have much faith both lasting more than a few balls.

That's why we badly need a reliable no.3. The rebuild could have come earlier with less pressure. Maybe promoting the likes of Shadab results in hitter type batsmen like Asif Ali only coming in for situations he needs to hit a few boundaries/accelerate at the end.

 

[sweep_shot]

Perhaps we need more proper batters instead of all these hacks and then everyone is told to bat quickly because you know there is batting to come.

Say Haider Ali, Shan, Kamran Ghulam

With a middle order like this everyone has then to play quickly because there is nobody to "protect".

Why is Haider Ali not in the team? He is much better than Ifti, Asif, and Khushdil.

I remember he had a great debut in England.

 

[Savak]

But can you realistically play all of them together?

Cause the middle orders isn't stable right now.

You have to use them wisely. Promote them up the order from overs 4 onwards. Give them maximum overs. T-20 cricket is all about attack and momentum. These guys cannot do the job in 12-14 runs per over situations against good bowling attacks against long boundaries and on pitches where it is not easy to tee off from ball one.

 

[Savak]

I wouldn't mind Shadab up the order either.

The issue is the rebuild came too late. Babar got out, and fakhar got out immediately. This left only two proper batsmen in the crease who could not afford to get out early. There is no faith in these hitter type batsmen like Asif and Khushdil forging a partnership, rotating strike especially on a difficult track. They need a platform to exploit.

Shadab and Nawaz are even seen by management to some extent as more complete batsmen than Khushdil and Asif, which is why they are coming up early so much. It is a issue if there is that lack of faith in two specialist batsmen, but most of us don't have much faith both lasting more than a few balls.

That's why we badly need a reliable no.3. The rebuild could have come earlier with less pressure. Maybe promoting the likes of Shadab results in hitter type batsmen like Asif Ali only coming in for situations he needs to hit a few boundaries/accelerate at the end.

Rebuilding is over rated to be honest. Nawaz when he was sent up the order against India launched a counter assault against them which switched the match in Pakistan's favour and allowed Rizwan to play freely as well. In T-20 Cricket your best strikers must play the maximum number of overs.

 

[Mirpur express]

There will be one scapegoat probably Khusdil or Chachu Ifti & the rest will be retained for the WC unless someone fails miserably against England, would like to see the above 2 replaced with Shan & Haider/Agha

 

[indianpanacea]

Haider Ali
Fakhar
Nawaz
Babar
Azam Khan(wk)
M.Haris
Shahdab

 

[Marooned]

Haider Ali
Fakhar
Nawaz
Babar
Azam Khan(wk)
M.Haris
Shahdab

Azam isn't even talented

Fitness isn't his only issue.

 

[asfandyar]

Rizwan can still be played since he doubles as a keeper. Babar should be stripped of captaincy, but kept in the squad.

Fakhar => ???Shan Masood???Saim Ayub???Tayyab Tahir???
Iftikhar => Imad Wasim
Asif => ?
Khushdil => ?
Usman => Kamran Ghulam
Hasan => Shaheen
Hasnain => M Wasim

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Don’t need many changes in this 11. Just improve the intent. Try and score 80 to 90 in the first ten overs so you can be in the position to score 200 in at least 5 out of 10 games. Rizwan needs to make sure that he is not frustrating Babar on the other end and same goes to Babar. Just give everyone a bit of freedom to score as quickly as they believe they can. The game is simple. If top 5 contributes 30 runs each then that leaves the next five to score the rest if given 30 balls in total. And that should be their goal going forward. It’s not that difficult to score 30 runs in 16-20 balls. I think this World Cup is a lost cause for us because our team’s top order has stunted the middle order’s growth. And I don’t see any way for us to recover this quickly.

 

[OmaIR1]

When Rameez Raja took over I thought he would introduce the modern way of playing T20. He's seen countless Pakistan losses as a commentator where Pakistan did not keep up with the RR and left too much to do in the end. But after watching Pakistan cricket for 20 years I don't think anything will change. They use the same approach.

Indian cricket has evolved so much, they understand the art of attacking and staying ahead with the RRR. At a maximum they will allow the runs to balls difference fall to 10 or max 15 but nothing more.

Disappointed with Rameez Raja and him defending this performance at the end of the game. Bakwaas!

 

[Kroll]

Riz/Babar was a good opening pair while it lasted but has expired, so swap Babar with Fakhar or another opener. Kick out Iftikhar, Asif and Khushdil and at least bring in Haider.

Do more catching practice and where to position oneself when ball is coming down from height! Joke to see many catches going down because of this.

 

[ritzy_123]

Asif Ali lol... He has done nothing to stay in the squad,gully mohalla cricketer...

Plays nothing shots, full of tape ball slogs tbh

Ek aisa bardasht hay bhai end main kafi dafa iski waja say jeetay bhi ho..

 

[arif_2021]

This your third post on this, where did i make funof lanka cricket?

You seem to have some deep routed issues. Mat h har gaye tou posters sey larnay chala

you mean rooted, not routed. Completely different words.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Was nawaz injured? Why he bowled only one over?