Did benching Imad Wasim really help Pakistan taste victory again?

[Hawkeye]

Imad, like always, slipped under the radar this time too. One of the key reasons we won now is: Imad Wasim was dropped!

For quite a while now, we've become content with his bits and pieces mediocrity.

We've needed a ball turner/spinner to partner Shadab for quite a while, and kept on picking the wrong guy Imad.

As a spinner, he doesn't spin the ball at all. Today, Malik got to bowl some off-spinners, got the ball to spin and strangled Eng batters taking a wicket. Key point - taking wickets.

Imad hasn't made impactful runs with the bat either, and in the last 12 matches one of the reasons we could never go over the line was his impactless batting as a FINISHER. He doesn't have the shots for a finisher role, can't take on the pacers either in the final overs.


To keep winning, it's important we pick spinners to partner Shadab. Malik isn't a good batsman, but I don't see Imad as an upgrade over Malik anyway. On his day, Malik can smack the spinners at least.

We need to strengthen our bowling, and we can then be confident of defending even 300.

This does bring up the issue of how we fit in Haris Sohail. We can experiment replacing Malik with Haris I believe, as he too can spin the ball.

 

[Slim]

One can always trust brother Hawkeye to turn anything to suit his motive and agenda. Imad getting dropped had no significant bearing on the result of the match but Hawkeye gonna be hawkeye.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Imad would have bowled well v England in the second innings . He will be crucial as the summer gets hotter .

Malik took a wicket but Imad will probably take his place unless Asif Ali is dropped .

 

[umerz]

Imad would have bowled well v England in the second innings . He will be crucial as the summer gets hotter .

Malik took a wicket but Imad will probably take his place unless Asif Ali is dropped .

I agree here

 

[cririri]

Imad had few good series with bat and few very bad one recently(as finisher),if he is not striking well haris/malik pver him is the better choice.

 

[Kianig89]

Not really but I doubt he could have bowled 3 overs for 10runs and a wikt

 

[PakLFC]

Imad does not contribute anything. He would never be in my side, never.

 

[Hawkeye]

Not really but I doubt he could have bowled 3 overs for 10runs and a wikt

Yep. The pitch was also gripping and you need a spinner of the ball on these kind of pitches!

They'll wear out even more with time. Good chance for us.

Imad does not contribute anything. He would never be in my side, never.

We really need to find a proper allrounder. Or stick with specialist bats/spinners.

 

[shariqnoor]

I don't think it was good strategy. We managed to escape the brunt of it but we need to go in with 5 genuine bowlers. There will be days when Hafeez and Malik will be tonked and then you'll be giving away 80-85 runs for the 5th bowler.

 

[Rana]

The only real change I would have liked to have seen in this side was Umar Akmal in there instead of Shoaib Malik. Malik has no real late innings power hitting ability

But Malik’s 3-4 overs were very good. He isn’t an easy bowler to go after. Perfect kind of bowler who can provide overs and contain runs. Pick up the odd wicket, yesterday he got the prized wicket of Ben Stokes who was the in form batsman.

Imad desperately needs to improve his batting otherwise he will be discarded very soon.

 

[MRSN]

Imad is key if Pak is to qualify for semis. He has to win us Aus, SA games.

 

[Haroon786]

I don't think it was good strategy. We managed to escape the brunt of it but we need to go in with 5 genuine bowlers. There will be days when Hafeez and Malik will be tonked and then you'll be giving away 80-85 runs for the 5th bowler.

Wahab Riaz ended up conceding 82 runs from his 10 overs....

 

[hussain.r97]

Imad brings nothing to the team, his bowling won't trouble sides in ODI cricket. To top it off, as soon as you give him a short ball he gives his wicket away, he's unfit, and a terrible terrible fielder.

Would rather stick with Malik, he actually turns the ball, is a very decent fielder, and on his day is capable of hitting a few, especially against the spinners. We could even expirement with Haris if we wanted, he also turns the ball.

 

[topspin]

One can always trust brother Hawkeye to turn anything to suit his motive and agenda. Imad getting dropped had no significant bearing on the result of the match but Hawkeye gonna be hawkeye.

Agreed, a poor thread manufactured by an agenda driven poster who has created a multiple set of these, merely to bash Imad.

Imad's batting average in England is 35 at a SR off 111, with 2 x 50s in 12 innings.
Shoaib Malik's batting average in England is 14 at a SR of 68, with 1 x 50 in 26 innings.

Batting wise there is no contest.

As for bowling concerned, one is a part-timer and the other is a handy defensive spin option.

No player in the side should be dropped for Shoaib Malik because he's the worst member of the squad.

 

[Omer2002]

Been saying all along Imad is just a 20 20 player..his fitness is awfull as well. never going to win you games..i would play Haris instead of Asif Ali but i suppose to they are trying to get a hitter in so with imad out we can accomodate him although not sure three pacer strategy is good against sub continental teams

 

[hasanali]

Maddy gets in my team ahead of Malik.

 

[Hasan123]

He will be needed in the later games . Not paying him yesterday was a good tactical move.

 

[shariqnoor]

Wahab Riaz ended up conceding 82 runs from his 10 overs....

Exactly. So you can't afford another bowler going for 85.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

I’d play Malik over imad for the batting depth. It allows everyone to play aggressively. Hafeez and Malik can bowl 10

 

[adil79]

Exactly. So you can't afford another bowler going for 85.

Especially if that bowler can't give you wickets and straight up darter with no wicket taking ability.

I would even drop Asif Ali for Haris Sohail, as that would deepen our batting depth.

 

[Captain caveman]

Imad is a LAZY guy. Im not just talking about his weight and fitness but also his laziness in improving his skill set!
Imad darts the ball in with a scrambled seam, this is his stock ball, if he just pracices with a proper seam position and tries to spin a few deliveries, he will be a valuable bowler in the team.
Concerning his batting, hes a good lower order bat, who can hit a few boundaries, but has been found out by bouncers. If he practices in the nets against bouncers, he will be a valuable all rounder. He needs to do thses 3 things and he will be a fixture in the odi team and possible future captain, if he doesnt, hes history. Its up to him!

 

[adil79]

Imad is the worst fielder after Asif Ali. How many teams have you seen him stopped a single when batsman hit down the ground? How many times have you seen thrown himself after the ball? He is unfit. He get away with injury excuse every time there is a fitness test. As a batsman, i don't recall when was the last time he proved better. If you bowl him short, he will eventually give you a catch, or worse play dots and miss it.

It was a good decision by management to drop him. We need players who can add value to the team. Not free riders/passengers.

 

[Haroon786]

Exactly. So you can't afford another bowler going for 85.

I think there's a problem with the currently selected genuine bowlers if one is going for over 8 an over.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I've been a critic of Imad for a long time now, but I was surprised when he was dropped against England. In the last couple of matches I have seen he has finally started tossing in some genuine off spinners which makes him a far more dangerous prospect.

It turned out to be a good move to play Malik as he took a crucial wicket, but I would be a lot more happy about Imad playing than I was previously if he has finally got the message that you can't escape punishment by relying on arm balls.

 

[IMMY69]

Imad does seem to have a weakness against the short ball and bowlers will know this .
With respect to his bowling, he’s ok when opening the innings but I suspect batters now just play him as inswing bowler and he tends to bowl faster the more he gets hit.

His ground fielding is not great either.

I’m not writing him off completely and I think he is a candidate to replace Asif if when the wickets become drier. Mind you the weather looks like it’s getting worse now so really we should all just be praying for a full game rather then debating whether Imad is good enough or not..

 

[silentkiller187]

Imad offers just as much as shoaib Malik, the latter has 20+ years experience so fair decision in my opinion, Imad has contributed nothing of note in his career so far, don't even think he has taken us home in any games.

 

[saeedhk]

No. Imad should play every game. He is a very economical bowler and a brave and capable batsman. A true match winner!

 

[Haroon786]

No. Imad should play every game. He is a very economical bowler and a brave and capable batsman. A true match winner!

That may be the case in T20Is but of late, in ODIs, Imad has been really poor - barely taking a wicket and getting smashed to all corners of the ground in the recent Australia and Engkabd series.

 

[silentkiller187]

No. Imad should play every game. He is a very economical bowler and a brave and capable batsman. A true match winner!

Which matches has he won for Pakistan? If anything he has lost us matches with his sub-par batting at the end of innings.

 

[Saurav]

Imad is certainly better than current S Malik

 

[akmalfamilyfan]

Imad, like always, slipped under the radar this time too. One of the key reasons we won now is: Imad Wasim was dropped!

For quite a while now, we've become content with his bits and pieces mediocrity.

We've needed a ball turner/spinner to partner Shadab for quite a while, and kept on picking the wrong guy Imad.

As a spinner, he doesn't spin the ball at all. Today, Malik got to bowl some off-spinners, got the ball to spin and strangled Eng batters taking a wicket. Key point - taking wickets.

Imad hasn't made impactful runs with the bat either, and in the last 12 matches one of the reasons we could never go over the line was his impactless batting as a FINISHER. He doesn't have the shots for a finisher role, can't take on the pacers either in the final overs.


To keep winning, it's important we pick spinners to partner Shadab. Malik isn't a good batsman, but I don't see Imad as an upgrade over Malik anyway. On his day, Malik can smack the spinners at least.

We need to strengthen our bowling, and we can then be confident of defending even 300.

This does bring up the issue of how we fit in Haris Sohail. We can experiment replacing Malik with Haris I believe, as he too can spin the ball.

I would agree with this. But Imad's average is 38, with a SR of 107. Plus his bowling is serviceable. If you can make an argument as to why his batting is overstated and exaggerated then I would agree. (Although I haven't really seen him score big either)

 

[Sir-fraz]

Imad is psuedo allrounder. He cant play the short ball nor is that explosive down the order.

On top of all that he doesnt even look fit, he has a beer belly which is obvious.

How many times has he failed the fitness test?

 

[hitthestump]

Imad is a great t20 bowler but his inability to take wickets exposes him in ODI's.

His batting has also been found out.

 

[mak36]

Glad someone has said it. Meaningless runs and a bowling average touching 60 (vs sides in this WC over the past two years).

 

[jonny darko]

Drop useless passenger asif ali who contributes nothing & get Imad Wasim in asap.

bar bar nahi bachoge.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Imad averages like 60+ with ball against SENAI. His high batting average should be taken with a grain of salt. The only useful inning that won Pakistan anything was his T20 inning like 2-3 years ago.

Malik is a better batsman, bowler, and fielder.

 

[Hawkeye]

[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION], this seem to have hit a nerve again.

And says the guy whose sole purpose of existence is to trash talk Pakistan's most successful captain.

You may be the cheerleader of Imad fan club, but as you can see here, people have seen the light how mediocre he is and his bits and pieces aren't really of use to us.

Stop throwing a tantrum whenever someone you cheerlead gets criticized. Learn to stay open the criticism, maybe you'll eventually see the light too (you will in an year or two, I don't expect you to see that now).

Which matches has he won for Pakistan? If anything he has lost us matches with his sub-par batting at the end of innings.

I would agree with this. But Imad's average is 38, with a SR of 107. Plus his bowling is serviceable. If you can make an argument as to why his batting is overstated and exaggerated then I would agree. (Although I haven't really seen him score big either)

That strike rate is pretty useless for someone coming towards the end of the innings, his role is to smash the pacers and he fails spectacularly at that.

He hasn't won us a single game, the only thing he has done is lose us games when he couldn't get us over the line with the bat. Just because he can't hit the pacers in the final overs.

Bowling is already bad, fielding is probably the worst in the team.

 

[Stewie]

I think we are highly over rating Imad. Both Malik and Hafeez bowled well and although they don’t spin the ball much, they still spin it a lot more than Imad. We would be foolish to fall in the trap of playing him and bowling him over Hafeez, Malik, etc.

Imad is a wonderful T20 bowler but he will be very easy to score off in a 50 over game.

 

[Kianig89]

Imad woud have been.more effective as a no 7 batsman than Malik

 

[Darkrai]

In terms of bowling, i have more faith in Malik than Imad-who doesn't spin the bowl, and is always in danger of getting spanked.

 

[Justcrazy]

Malik action is like classic off spinner. With Asif Ali at 7 , it adds good depth to batting.

Fakhar , Hafeez , Malik can take care of 10 - 15 overs .

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Malik can easily get hammered on any given day. Imad should play over Asif. He plays well enough at 7 and offers alot of control with the ball. Need a player in the side who can build up pressure by drying up the run-rate and bowling dot balls and Imad can play that role very well.

 

[jonny darko]

Imad woud have been more effective as a no 7 batsman than Malik.

hush, don't spoil the circle-jerk with your logical opinions. Even England were surprised at the omission of imad wasim, a handy no.8 who can wield the willow & a reliable go-to bowler.

 

[coy0607]

No. Imad should play every game. He is a very economical bowler and a brave and capable batsman. A true match winner!

In 4 years he has yet to win a match for Pakistan.

True match winner indeed

 

[topspin]

[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION], this seem to have hit a nerve again.

And says the guy whose sole purpose of existence is to trash talk Pakistan's most successful captain.

You may be the cheerleader of Imad fan club, but as you can see here, people have seen the light how mediocre he is and his bits and pieces aren't really of use to us.

Stop throwing a tantrum whenever someone you cheerlead gets criticized. Learn to stay open the criticism, maybe you'll eventually see the light too (you will in an year or two, I don't expect you to see that now).

I can bet my house you're burning after yesterday's win because even the incompetent Sarfraz accomplished what Misbah couldn't do, so I won't add any more salt to your wounds. My advice just don't be ashamed to admit it.

 

[Titan24]

hush, don't spoil the circle-jerk with your logical opinions. Even England were surprised at the omission of imad wasim, a handy no.8 who can wield the willow & a reliable go-to bowler.

Why not shock some other teams as well with Imad's exclusion as they might also give Hafeez and Malik a wicket each and that too of their top batsmen and we can win the match.

On a serious not, Srl have a lot of left handers where Malik would be much more handy and no point to change a winning combination for the sake of it.

 

[Chokli]

In 4 years he has yet to win a match for Pakistan.

True match winner indeed

Not a match winner but a good contributor.

 

[cricketInsight]

Malik action is like classic off spinner. With Asif Ali at 7 , it adds good depth to batting.

Fakhar , Hafeez , Malik can take care of 10 - 15 overs .

I am surprised why Malik is continuosly underbowled. Even in the England match he should have been given at least another over based on the match situation.

Sarfraz didnt give him one because Hafeez got hit for 6 but i am pretty sure it would have been hard to attack Malik as long as he didnt bowl the big flighted delivery.

We are lucky that Hassan bowled an ecconomical spell which wasnt expected of him based on recent form otherwise the match would be over. The pressure that Hassan created made it difficult to get runs of Amir & Wahab.

 

[Nasty Naz]

What a ridiculous thing to say. Was Imad not one our best bowler in the entire England series? And fairly economical too considering the runs both sides were putting up. They were pretty lucky to be honest to win with just 4 bowlers against such a deep batting sides and a lot of that was Root and Butler getting out cheaply after scoring 100's. More often than not, those set batsmen would have finished us off like previous matches.

Somehow Malik was lucky enough to pick up a wicket, his first since 2007 in WC but not something that should be applauded considering how poor he was with the bat. Asif Ali didn't do much either.

Removing both of those players for Haris and either Imad/pacer is our best combination.

 

[Suleiman]

Depending on pitch and if we need more batting I'd play Imad vs South Africa and India, and defo play Shobby vs Australia.

These are the 3 games which matter the most.

For Bangla it's either or.

 

[gazza619]

What a ridiculous thing to say. Was Imad not one our best bowler in the entire England series? And fairly economical too considering the runs both sides were putting up. They were pretty lucky to be honest to win with just 4 bowlers against such a deep batting sides and a lot of that was Root and Butler getting out cheaply after scoring 100's. More often than not, those set batsmen would have finished us off like previous matches.

Somehow Malik was lucky enough to pick up a wicket, his first since 2007 in WC but not something that should be applauded considering how poor he was with the bat. Asif Ali didn't do much either.

Removing both of those players for Haris and either Imad/pacer is our best combination.

Fair point. If we do play Haris then he has to bat at 3/4.

Haris’s hitting abilities are non existent and thats the major concern i have about him. No to mention he is a poor fielder. I dont see a future for him post WC in the ODI team.

 

[PakSarZameen]

Imad's bowling is on par with Hafeez and Maliks

 

[hasanali]

Iftikhar could have been a good choice for this WC.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Fair point. If we do play Haris then he has to bat at 3/4.

Haris’s hitting abilities are non existent and thats the major concern i have about him. No to mention he is a poor fielder. I dont see a future for him post WC in the ODI team.

Personally, the best combination and I have said this for a while now, it is:

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Sarfraz
Hafeez
Imad/pacer
Shadab
Hasan
Wahab/Afridi
Amir

A few pacers being rotated here and there is fine but I think that's the top 6 you go with.

 

[gazza619]

Personally, the best combination and I have said this for a while now, it is:

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Sarfraz
Hafeez
Imad/pacer
Shadab
Hasan
Wahab/Afridi
Amir

A few pacers being rotated here and there is fine but I think that's the top 6 you go with.

Yeah thats a solid line up. Though if I had a wish I would play the following combo:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Babar Azam
3. Haris Sohail
4. Muhammad Hafeez
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed
6. Asif Ali
7. Imad Wasim
8. Shadab Khan
9. Hasan Ali
10. Wahab Riaz
11. Muhammad Amir

 

[coy0607]

Not a match winner but a good contributor.

I guess depends on your definition of good

he averages less than a wicket a game, with an average of 42. Economy is great at under 5, but not a wicket taker at all

batting wise he has a good average due to not outs, but generally hasn't contributed more than 15-20 runs when the team really needed it

I would say okay contributor, but not sure if he brings value with Shadab and Hafeez already in team to give you 15-20 overs of spin

 

[Titan24]

Imad played all of the matches of the 11-12 match losing and Haris Played 9 of those matches.

These two players have played the most number of matches in that losing streak.

Not saying it tells much but just sharing a fact.

 

[Chokli]

Imad played all of the matches of the 11-12 match losing and Haris Played 9 of those matches.

These two players have played the most number of matches in that losing streak.

Not saying it tells much but just sharing a fact.

This is a good point.

But can we afford to go in with 4 bowlers + Hafeez & Malik in all of the remaining games?

It's a pity Asif Ali doesn't bowl.

 

[moghul]

Imad, like always, slipped under the radar this time too. One of the key reasons we won now is: Imad Wasim was dropped!

For quite a while now, we've become content with his bits and pieces mediocrity.

We've needed a ball turner/spinner to partner Shadab for quite a while, and kept on picking the wrong guy Imad.

As a spinner, he doesn't spin the ball at all. Today, Malik got to bowl some off-spinners, got the ball to spin and strangled Eng batters taking a wicket. Key point - taking wickets.

Imad hasn't made impactful runs with the bat either, and in the last 12 matches one of the reasons we could never go over the line was his impactless batting as a FINISHER. He doesn't have the shots for a finisher role, can't take on the pacers either in the final overs.


To keep winning, it's important we pick spinners to partner Shadab. Malik isn't a good batsman, but I don't see Imad as an upgrade over Malik anyway. On his day, Malik can smack the spinners at least.

We need to strengthen our bowling, and we can then be confident of defending even 300.

This does bring up the issue of how we fit in Haris Sohail. We can experiment replacing Malik with Haris I believe, as he too can spin the ball.

Looks like you have some personal issues with Imad. He has been performing well for couple of years as a bowler and late order batsman and you somehow came out with this idea against him. We cannot go without him and without five bowlers in coming games, particularly against stronger teams like India, Australia and NZL.

Imad I guess a strong contender for ODI captaincy after the world cup.

 

[Titan24]

This is a good point.

But can we afford to go in with 4 bowlers + Hafeez & Malik in all of the remaining games?

It's a pity Asif Ali doesn't bowl.

Against Srl we dont need to change anything as they have a lot of left handers and Malik, Hafeez with their off spin can be really useful. Even against Aus also with left handers Warner, Khawaja, Carey or maybe Shaun Marsh I would stick with Malik and Hafeez as 5th bowler unless Srl match doesnt go as planned. Also Aus totally milked Imad Wasim in UAE in literally every match.

Against India spin wont matter much irrespective of Hafeez, Malik or Imad. Shadab can be only one who might trouble a bit depending upon his form by then. Also by that match we will know how our team is doing and do we need another spin bowling option or not going forward.

Problem with Imad is that he isnt a much better hitter than Asif Ali and his bowling best is equivalent to Malik and Hafeez but maybe less effective in terms of wicket taking deliveries. He should have really worked hard on his batting to become a good batting all rounder at international level and at the moment he isnt close to Malik or Hafeez who are both around 38 and still better in batting and fielding than Imad. Even in domestics he used to play as a batting all rounder however, his technique has been pretty poor lately in internationals and disappointing thing is I havent seen much improvement in his technique, yes he has improved his hitting ability but not enough to cover what he is lacking in his technique (Got out to short ball number of times in last few matches).

 

[Titan24]

Looks like you have some personal issues with Imad. He has been performing well for couple of years as a bowler and late order batsman and you somehow came out with this idea against him. We cannot go without him and without five bowlers in coming games, particularly against stronger teams like India, Australia and NZL.

Imad I guess a strong contender for ODI captaincy after the world cup.

Making him captain would be as big a mistake as Azhar or to some extent Sarfaraz was in my opinion. As he is nowhere near an automatic choice in the playing XI and has never won a match for Pakistan except maybe in T20 or against WI with his bowling. Making him captain over regular performers like Babar or someone like Fakhar who have won atleast some matches for Pak and are automatic choice ODI team for a quite a future years would be a poor decision.

 

[Chokli]

Making him captain would be as big a mistake as Azhar or to some extent Sarfaraz was in my opinion. As he is nowhere near an automatic choice in the playing XI and has never won a match for Pakistan except maybe in T20 or against WI with his bowling. Making him captain over regular performers like Babar or someone like Fakhar who have won atleast some matches for Pak and are automatic choice ODI team for a quite a future years would be a poor decision.

Babar is not captaincy material though, plus you don't want to put more pressure on him.

 

[Titan24]

Babar is not captaincy material though, plus you don't want to put more pressure on him.

Virat and Steve Smith also never looked like captaincy material when they started their careers and maybe still Dhoni or Rohit might have better cricket acumen then Virat however, he is comparatively younger, is a performer and match winner in every format for India.

Captain is the representation of the whole team, if he is mediocre the team will turn out to be mediocre more often than not. Also the thing is irrespective of how smart or well spoken you are i.e Imad, if you are not a performer you can never inspire your team and players might not give you the respect that should be given to a captain.

If you look at captains of other teams they are all regular performers and are top or atleast one of the top players of their respective sides.

It doesnt necessarily have to be Babar but someone who is a performer. Non performers never become good captains and you have to remain selecting them because they are your captain. Also you never know maybe Babar becomes better with captaincy, there are many examples.

 

[Zaz]

Malik came in for him and contributd even less than imad usually does No runs and a handful of overs with a wicket

The problem is pakistan is looking for a 30/30 all rounder but as far as i can see there isnt one

Imad isnt a match winner but more of a utility player at 6-7, a 25/40 all rounder - he hasnt been in great form lately and has issues with the short ball which he needs to work on

The problem arises as sarfraz over bowls him and hence people have false expectations that he should be doing more and picking up more wickets He simply isnt good enough to do that

He isnt going to avge 35 or take 2 wkts a game Hes good for some late 25 runs and 5-6 economical overs and maybe a wicket

In the long term pakistan need a better all rounder If theres is someone better than that bring him in

 

[Titan24]

Malik came in for him and contributd even less than imad usually does No runs and a handful of overs with a wicket

The problem is pakistan is looking for a 30/30 all rounder but as far as i can see there isnt one

Imad isnt a match winner but more of a utility player at 6-7, a 25/40 all rounder - he hasnt been in great form lately and has issues with the short ball which he needs to work on

The problem arises as sarfraz over bowls him and hence people have false expectations that he should be doing more and picking up more wickets He simply isnt good enough to do that

He isnt going to avge 35 or take 2 wkts a game Hes good for some late 25 runs and 5-6 economical overs and maybe a wicket

In the long term pakistan need a better all rounder If theres is someone better than that bring him in

Completely agree, bowling Imad 10 overs every match was not on. His absence made even Sarfaraz think more and he rotated Malik and Hafeez much better. With Imad generally he gives him the ball and keeps him on until he gets dispatched. However, his batting hasnt performed much when required especially when Pak loses early wickets or when we are chasing, doesnt look like he handles the pressure well when batting and his technique gets exposed more often than not against short balls.

 

[The Yorker]

Imad is a utility player and not a long term option. Its better to look elsewhere for the future. For this tournament I would go with mailk who can hit a long ball and can offer 3 to 4 overs of proper off spin bowling

 

[Justcrazy]

Imad is like players like , Yardy , Ian Blackwell , Ian harvey , Dinesh Mongia , Andrew Hall etc.

You expect them to develop into all rounder , but they will not.

 

[UN talkz]

Imad in ODIs is waste of time and investment

 

[shehz]

It was a smart move to sit Imad and go with a totally brand new bowling attack against England as they have fully figured him out . I'm sure he will back against other teams. Malik has passed his peak which never came and he brings nothing to the table.

 

[topspin]

[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION], this seem to have hit a nerve again.

And says the guy whose sole purpose of existence is to trash talk Pakistan's most successful captain.

You may be the cheerleader of Imad fan club, but as you can see here, people have seen the light how mediocre he is and his bits and pieces aren't really of use to us.

Stop throwing a tantrum whenever someone you cheerlead gets criticized. Learn to stay open the criticism, maybe you'll eventually see the light too (you will in an year or two, I don't expect you to see that now).

As expected no comeback from you, so perhaps the wounds are deeper than I thought. I have no issues with what you think of Imad, as long as you're not using PP as a platform for propagating a hate campaign against him, which you clearly are. Because of your nazar towards aim, perhaps I should pray for his well-being.

As for Misbah being Pakistan's "most successful captain", please don't embarrass yourself! Imran Khan was 10x the captain Misbah was, he essentially built the 90s team, as he nurtured, mentored and coached them. Not to forget only his side was able to compete against the Windies. Misbah on the other hand had a phobia for selecting younger players, so his emphasis on team development was clearly non-existent and when he hanged up his ODI boots, he irresponsibly recommended Azhar Ali to be his successor, even though this guy couldn't make the first team on merit.

To add the last nail in the coffin, he also won the WC, not lose 100% of matches in an ICC competition held in England!

It shows you are prepared to belittle even ATGs to bolster the status of substandard cricketers.

 

[nads_rocks]

Nope backfired because Imad brought some stability to the batting line up, his cameo's are much better than what Asif Ali and Malik can contribute.
Play him against India he will do something memorable.

 

[hadi123]

Hope he doesn't play against India, they are very strong against spin and Imad won't be a threat at all.

 

[Tintin_FTW]

Hope he doesn't play against India, they are very strong against spin and Imad won't be a threat at all.

Yeah, Shoaib and Hafeez totally won't get smashed around either

 

[Jeetlodil]

He and Shadab were laughing after the loss to Australia. You see the handshakes between teams after match. Like saying see you did not take us in playing 11 and lost.

 

[moghul]

Hope sanity will prevail and Imad and Harris will replace Malik and Asif. You need a proper bowler against strong Indian batting line up, not a very very part timer like Malik. On current form, you can expect more runs from Imad than from Malik.

 

[hadi123]

Yeah, Shoaib and Hafeez totally won't get smashed around either

Well I would drop Malik as well, but for Haris, not Imad. And Hafeez is mainly playing as a batsman these days.

 

[Abid Z]

Imad has now been figured out by all the opposition. He carries no threat. The best he can do is try to contain but he fails to even do that.

He can’t contribute with the bat either. He has no business being in this team. If you have a batting all rounder to choose alongside shadab to get 5/6 useful overs from then I think Harris instead of asif Ali fulfils that role alongside hafeez and shohaib. What we need is to bolster the batting as when it swings, and swing it will in early damp England you need decent bats that can stop a collapse.

Three Seamers in wahab, hasan, amir is our most sensible attactvthat can hopefully contain if not always take wickets. Spin with shadab, Malik hafeez and Harris adds enough variety. Some of these wickets give the illusion of pace but are very slow in the second innings because of drainage.

I really can’t see what shadab brings to the table.

 

[Captain caveman]

Imad has now been figured out by all the opposition. He carries no threat. The best he can do is try to contain but he fails to even do that.

He can’t contribute with the bat either. He has no business being in this team. If you have a batting all rounder to choose alongside shadab to get 5/6 useful overs from then I think Harris instead of asif Ali fulfils that role alongside hafeez and shohaib. What we need is to bolster the batting as when it swings, and swing it will in early damp England you need decent bats that can stop a collapse.

Three Seamers in wahab, hasan, amir is our most sensible attactvthat can hopefully contain if not always take wickets. Spin with shadab, Malik hafeez and Harris adds enough variety. Some of these wickets give the illusion of pace but are very slow in the second innings because of drainage.

I really can’t see what shadab brings to the table.

Someone who questions imad and shadab's usefulness, then has shoaib malik in his team, is someone i can't take seriously!

 

[Captain caveman]

Hope sanity will prevail and Imad and Harris will replace Malik and Asif. You need a proper bowler against strong Indian batting line up, not a very very part timer like Malik. On current form, you can expect more runs from Imad than from Malik.

I agree!

 

[Draeoftroy]

Imad will be hit black and blue all around the park.As a bowling option he is worthless on English pitches. He is a slow left arm yet he can't bowl off break. Almost darts in most of the deliveries swinging in to the right hander which suits a medium pacer who has bit of pace.