This winter will see Pakistan play three Test series against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - and we should expect all three opponents to have good new ball bowlers. Therefore it is critical we have a settled opening combination.
It's likely Imam-ul-Haq will continue to partner Azhar Ali who are fine players individually but I've concerns about them batting together. Let's look at the opening stands so far:
1) Ireland Test - 13-1 after 8 overs (Imam went the next ball) in the 1st inns and 2-1 after the fourth ball.
2) Lord's - 12-1 after 5 overs and 12-1 after 2.3 overs.
3) Headingley - 0-1 after 2 overs (17-2 after 9 overs) and 20-1 after 4 overs.
In the three Tests they've opened together, they've consumed a lot of deliveries without moving the scoreboard along. Then one of them gets out putting an inexperienced middle order under early pressure. You can argue they've faced tough early season English/Irish conditions where the new ball has hooped around and they deserve to open together in the UAE. I'm all for giving this pair the Australia Tests.
However I feel long-term Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman would complement each other's batting better as we saw in the Champions Trophy. Fakhar has a higher FC average than Imam and has been working on his defensive technique with Grant Flower. I think he has a better defensive game than Sharjeel who was trialled in Tests back in Sydney last year.
People will say it'd affect his white ball form but a good player should be able to adapt between formats in the modern game. There's minimal lateral movement with the new ball in UAE and he can put pressure on the opposition bowlers early.
It's likely Imam-ul-Haq will continue to partner Azhar Ali who are fine players individually but I've concerns about them batting together. Let's look at the opening stands so far:
1) Ireland Test - 13-1 after 8 overs (Imam went the next ball) in the 1st inns and 2-1 after the fourth ball.
2) Lord's - 12-1 after 5 overs and 12-1 after 2.3 overs.
3) Headingley - 0-1 after 2 overs (17-2 after 9 overs) and 20-1 after 4 overs.
In the three Tests they've opened together, they've consumed a lot of deliveries without moving the scoreboard along. Then one of them gets out putting an inexperienced middle order under early pressure. You can argue they've faced tough early season English/Irish conditions where the new ball has hooped around and they deserve to open together in the UAE. I'm all for giving this pair the Australia Tests.
However I feel long-term Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman would complement each other's batting better as we saw in the Champions Trophy. Fakhar has a higher FC average than Imam and has been working on his defensive technique with Grant Flower. I think he has a better defensive game than Sharjeel who was trialled in Tests back in Sydney last year.
People will say it'd affect his white ball form but a good player should be able to adapt between formats in the modern game. There's minimal lateral movement with the new ball in UAE and he can put pressure on the opposition bowlers early.