Does Fakhar Zaman merit a place in the lineup anymore?

[slice]

I say he is going down the Nasir Jamshed route.Very impressive early on ,great strike rate,big hitting,temperament to play long innings...then sharp dip in performance and just fading out.
It seems to me he is batting with a bit of afridi mentality...no patience to stick around in the crease,most of the dismissals being down to needless shots.
I know,the idea is to have a power hitter sort of opener partnering Imam but more often then not,Fakahar gets out in single digits with a below 100 SR.

 

[Chokli]

Better off opening with Babar & Imam.

Fakhar is too hit or miss, we're missing Sharjeel 2.0

 

[slice]

Well,we wouldnt want to waste our best batsmen as opener.If anything ,Sarfraz should open.He cant do worse than what he usually does these days in the middle order.

 

[PakLFC]

He is just another slogger like Afridi without any real technique. Great when it comes off but awful when more often then not it doesn't. We need him coz our middle order lacks power hitters and stroke players. After the first ten overs we are always behind the scoring rate.

 

[slice]

The point here is that of late his big hitting days are few and far between.So whats the use of carrying a single digit,below 100 SR player in the lineup ?

 

[Ronaldo7]

He averages less than 50 now lol.
Imam
Babar
Haris

Best top 3 we can possibly have.
Fakhar is way too inconsistent

 

[Plumb]

Fakhar is no different than any of our batsmen, he is hit or miss... these days more miss than hit..

 

[Abdullah]

Oh my. He scored 150 odd 6 7 games ago.
He will be hit or miss.
Pak fans are honestly clueless.
You guys deserve mukhtar ahmeds and khuram manzoors,
You will be changing players every 1 n a half series

 

[IAJ]

He averages less than 50 now lol.
Imam
Babar
Haris

Best top 3 we can possibly have.
Fakhar is way too inconsistent

Well, he is not playing against Zimbabwe now, of course his average will decline

 

[Abdullah]

The ones that are consistent will be slower batters than the ones that are less consistent. It's a team game and we need different types

 

[Energy]

Yes he does. Dropping him from this team make no sense. He will still end up as Pakistan's second or third highest run-getter in this tournament.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

We'll have our answer by the end of this world cup. Seems like the top teams have worked him out, but he could still prove the doubters wrong in the remaining games. India, NZ and even SA have the type of attacks which should be able to stop him scoring significant runs if he is relying on pre-meditated slogging.

 

[MMHS]

He is an asset in this PAK team. Guy is an honest trier and never plays for personal milestone. He has his flaws, but he is effective as well on his day (a hack, but an effective hack - [MENTION=143344]babajee[/MENTION] ). He goes after the bowling and one thing for sure, if he fails, it'll be quick death - he won't cost valuable balls in PP. But, the day he delivers, almost anything is possible - PAK's middle order wasted his wonderful effort, otherwise most other teams would have chased even 373 from the start that he gave. If Fakhar delivers one out of 5 innings (if we take 50 as a minimum bench mark, 1 out of 3.5~4.5 is outstanding return), he is doing his job perfectly.

Having said that, with his technique, once his eye sight & reflex declines, he'll be a liability for batting line-up, therefore PAK should get the best out of his remaining max. 2-3 years of career at peak (open in T20I, bat at 3 in ODI and bat at 6 in Test), and shouldn't burden him with Captaincy.

 

[Muddaser]

Dont know whether to laugh or cry at this post.

Our top 3 is fine.

Asif Ali has no place is this batting lineup. Hafeez and Malik to leave after the world cup.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Since the start of Asia cup, Fakhar <b>averages 31 in 21 games.</b>

He has scored <b>less than 30 runs in 13 of these 21 games.</b>

Does he really warrant a place in the team based on such poor performance?

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

Too early to call. We have won many matches in which fakhar performs. He need to work on his shots though.

 

[UsmanhailsAfridi]

You guys are clueless...please stop watching cricket lol

Fakhar is a hack...are you guys joking?

 

[cricketAXEpert]

I say he is going down the Nasir Jamshed route.Very impressive early on ,great strike rate,big hitting,temperament to play long innings...then sharp dip in performance and just fading out.
It seems to me he is batting with a bit of afridi mentality...no patience to stick around in the crease,most of the dismissals being down to needless shots.
I know,the idea is to have a power hitter sort of opener partnering Imam but more often then not,Fakahar gets out in single digits with a below 100 SR.

Fakhar Average is 48.57 after 39 Matches. Which is close to his list A average 51.29. Anyone can get out for a duck. or a string of bad scores as long as they perform also, they are worth persisting with

It is Asif Ali that should never been here, He averages under 30. He hit 2 50s in matches that we lost and he was drafted into World CUp. He just cost us a crucial match.

 

[Ronaldo7]

You guys are clueless...please stop watching cricket lol

Fakhar is a hack...are you guys joking?

Well he is a hack. A useful hack.

 

[hitthestump]

I think it's quite clear he's been found out.

Teams know if they bowl slightly back of a length and cramp him for room then he will not be able to help himself.

Remember in CT final he was a goner if not for the overstep.

 

[Zaz]

Lol who would u replace him with Is saeed anwar waiting in the wings??

Its fine saying kick him out kick him out but which better options are out there for the top order? Is there another top order batter who can bat at a 100 strike rate and avge 40?

 

[UP]

He is the only one with an X factor. A genuine match winner. We don’t have anyone to challenge the opposition except him. The only impact player - yes, he clicks 2 out of 10 times and I will take that above Shahzads and Akmals. He is not a selfish player.

 

[Misia]

To much of a hit and miss, Best to give Abid Ali a good run

 

[BDfanforever]

He averages less than 50 now lol.
Imam
Babar
Haris

Best top 3 we can possibly have.
Fakhar is way too inconsistent

His real average is 36.

 

[zulfiqar]

Fakhar, Imam and Babar should retain their positions for this whole WC regardless of whether they fail. We have to count on them. Same as Hafeez for #4 and Sarfaraz as #5. No changes to these spots. Only spots 6 & 7 can be played with.. we honestly have no good options for those spots so I don't care too much who they try there. Imad Wasim deserves a chance again at some point because at least he can give useful overs & fields well. In batting they're all the same (Malik/Imad/Asif.. with Harris being slightly better)

 

[zulfiqar]

His real average is 36.

And is 36 a bad average for a Pakistani opener - considering his big match temperament from just 2 years ago?

 

[Ronaldo7]

His real average is 36.

Strike rate?

 

[Muddaser]

His real average is 36.

Tamim averages 36. Whats his real average?

 

[Titan24]

His real average is 36.

So other players in the world have never played against weak teams?

 

[Captain caveman]

I have been under the impression over the last 2 years, that when pakistan win, fakhar has scored 40 runs or more.
When pak lose, fakhar had scored under 20.
If someone coukd check pakistan wins in the last 2 years and fakhars scores.
And pakistan loses in the last 2 years and fakhars score.

 

[Titan24]

He is the only match winner we have in batting department. If you can find 11 players who can win you matches on their day your team will be the one to beat.

 

[Titan24]

Oh my. He scored 150 odd 6 7 games ago.
He will be hit or miss.
Pak fans are honestly clueless.
You guys deserve mukhtar ahmeds and khuram manzoors,
You will be changing players every 1 n a half series

Exactly the struggles we had in last decade are due to the same reason that we were not able to built a team by replacing players every six months.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pak fans are the most impatient subcontinent fans? This guy just got a 100 right?

 

[The Viper]

He is a match winner when he fires. Hopefully he just stays a bit patient for a few overs at least instead of slashing straight away.

 

[Junaids]

He has scored less than 3 in 9 of his last 20 innings.

No team can afford to carry that.

You’d be better opening with Haris Sohail.

 

[iPakistani]

Conversations like these need to arise after the World Cup is over, currently there's no backup opener except Babar who has never opened in his ODI career.

After the WC I would like to see Babar convert into an opener in ODI's, he is terrific at finding the gaps in the powerplay and can dominate any opening bowlers.

If not Babar then we should look at the following:

Zeeshan Malik
Sahibzada Farhan (List A record is terrific)
Abid Ali

It's pretty obvious now that Fakhar has been found out and his technique has alot of weak points, time to move on from him.

 

[Jeetlodil]

No. Azhar Ali should have been there. For some reason experience has no value for most here

 

[Kianig89]

Korean version of Awais Zia slightly reliable and having somewhat offside range

 

[Muhammad Sahal]

I say he is going down the Nasir Jamshed route.Very impressive early on ,great strike rate,big hitting,temperament to play long innings...then sharp dip in performance and just fading out.
It seems to me he is batting with a bit of afridi mentality...no patience to stick around in the crease,most of the dismissals being down to needless shots.
I know,the idea is to have a power hitter sort of opener partnering Imam but more often then not,Fakahar gets out in single digits with a below 100 SR.

90% pakistani fans here are like DR NAUMAN game on ha ese hata do us hata sab ko hata do

and when he comes to ground the 1 match which was telecast live super shameful he was

fakhar is doing good infact very very good only few player we have which other teams talk about and fear about we have to much soft players

 

[adil79]

Korean version of Awais Zia slightly reliable and having somewhat offside range

Lol. Kamaal.

Fakhar used to say that he has totally changed his technique. It's clear that he doesn't have the maturity which ball to hit and which to not. Also, he doesn't still have an A-game against short pitch stuff.

 

[Pete Rose]

Yes

 

[Justcrazy]

He needs to fire twice in 5 innings to be asset for the time.

 

[Muhammad Sahal]

He needs to fire twice in 5 innings to be asset for the time.

twice when he fires pak fans will be shouting make fakhar captain after world cup thrice when he fails pak fans will be shouting he dont have A game X game Y game drop him we dont need him make him opener make them opener shuffle all batting order

 

[Captain caveman]

Is there a direct corelation between pakistan winning and fakhar scoring?
i.e. do pak only win if fakhar performs?

 

[MenInG]

Is there a direct corelation between pakistan winning and fakhar scoring?
i.e. do pak only win if fakhar performs?

Given Pakistan's meager resources in cricket at the moment, the only way to win against a strong team such as India is for someone to play a blinder of an innings or for someone to take heaps of wickets in quick succession.

Fakhar is that batsman and that is why he is needed.

 

[Mirpur express]

Yes bring back Farhat & Butt *

 

[Mainul]

He is a match winner. When he gets going he can win matches. So Pakistanis have to a accept this that he won't be consistent enough but he will win you matches in between. Shehwag was such type of player. I think Fakhar will improve with time and he will become more consistent.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

These threads make me feel like our country is filled with Don Bradmans.

Truth is, we only have a handful of match winners/top performers in Pakistan and we should never drop these. People wanted Mohammad Amir out and now he has shown his quality at a big event, Fakhar will fire too and it could be against India. Also, we have only played 3 matches as of yet and Fakhar batted well in one of them. Why do we drop him so early when other specialist batsmen are failing more than him but are still getting a free ride?

 

[pratiktc]

He has to figure out mental part of his game and shot selection. He has potential to be as good as Guptill.

It is laughable that people are awaiting the return of a corrupt unfit hack like Sharjeel expecting him to save Pak cricket.

Fakhar has a good solid record and on current form and lack of alternatives he walks into the XI

 

[Captain caveman]

Given Pakistan's meager resources in cricket at the moment, the only way to win against a strong team such as India is for someone to play a blinder of an innings or for someone to take heaps of wickets in quick succession.

Fakhar is that batsman and that is why he is needed.

I agree!
Fakhar is the one who wins us games, in my opinion. He is our no. 1 batsman.
Babar, hafeez and imam are supporting batsman, but fakhar is the match winner!

By the way, india vs pak game will probably be abandoned, as rain forcast from 2pm til midnight!

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Also, it might be better to form a list for order of merit among the 15 players selected for World Cup according to their performance uptill now.

1) Mohammad Amir
2) Mohammad Hafeez
3) Wahab Riaz
4) Babar Azam
5) Imam Ul Haq
6) Shadab Khan
7) Sarfraz Ahmed
8) Fakhar Zaman
9) Shaheen Afridi
10) Haris Sohail
11) Hasan Ali
12) Shoaib Malik
13) Asif Ali
14) Imad Wasim

Can't judge Mohammad Hasnain because he hasn't played a single game and it would be harsh on him.

As per my list Fakhar is in at 8 and thus deserves a place in the line-up when we actually look at who he is competing with and not assuming they are Bradman's.

 

[shahidrazzaq]

Fakhar, Imam and Babar should retain their positions for this whole WC regardless of whether they fail. We have to count on them. Same as Hafeez for #4 and Sarfaraz as #5. No changes to these spots. Only spots 6 & 7 can be played with.. we honestly have no good options for those spots so I don't care too much who they try there. Imad Wasim deserves a chance again at some point because at least he can give useful overs & fields well. In batting they're all the same (Malik/Imad/Asif.. with Harris being slightly better)

My thoughts align with this. This is the best top three we've had in years, and it is too early to make the mistake of breaking them apart.

More disappointing is our lower middle order, Malik and Asif, who have shown no credibility, whether their task is batting in the death or providing support. They also are taking spots away from Haris Sohail, and depending on the selection of both -- Imad and Shadab's inclusion are being affected as well.

I'd say bat Haris above Hafeez instead of Malik coming lower -- I do understand the issue of how this takes aggression out of our line-up, but Haris Sohail is one of the most solid bats in our locker room, and is often underused -- it is clear that the team trusts Malik's offbreak over Haris's capability with the ball. But since his international comeback in 2018, Haris has played 13 innings [averaging 50 at a SR of 83] which also includes 3 fifties against New Zealand and 2 centuries against Australia. How much longer can we afford to avoid consistent scoring?

I'd say our middle order has lost us more games than our openers have since 2017. Fakhar and Imam are both likely due for a game that will shut critique up for a while.

 

[Captain caveman]

Also, it might be better to form a list for order of merit among the 15 players selected for World Cup according to their performance uptill now.

1) Mohammad Amir
2) Mohammad Hafeez
3) Wahab Riaz
4) Babar Azam
5) Imam Ul Haq
6) Shadab Khan
7) Sarfraz Ahmed
8) Fakhar Zaman
9) Shaheen Afridi
10) Haris Sohail
11) Hasan Ali
12) Shoaib Malik
13) Asif Ali
14) Imad Wasim

Can't judge Mohammad Hasnain because he hasn't played a single game and it would be harsh on him.

As per my list Fakhar is in at 8 and thus deserves a place in the line-up when we actually look at who he is competing with and not assuming they are Bradman's.

Don't diagree too much with your list of merit except for imad and haris who both have not been given much of a chance in thus wc.
Shaheen should be lower in my opinion.

 

[giri26]

Fakhar Zaman is your only X-Factor in the batting line up. You drop him and you have a one dimensional batting line up with no gears. Only Hafeez can play fast and even he is inconsistent.

 

[Captain caveman]

Fakhar Zaman is your only X-Factor in the batting line up. You drop him and you have a one dimensional batting line up with no gears. Only Hafeez can play fast and even he is inconsistent.

Fakhar and hafeez are the only 2 batsman with a 5th gear in the pak team.
Hasan ali and wahab can use the long handle but only sometimes and for the odd boundary/6 only.
rest of the team are in the slow lane!

 

[Mercurial]

Lol, he is the only clutch batsman in this line up.

 

[Hawkeye]

Drop Fakhar.

Open with Umar Akmal.

Of course, not in the world cup - but afterwards.

 

[Captain caveman]

Drop Fakhar.

Open with Umar Akmal.

Of course, not in the world cup - but afterwards.

After wc , why not open with fakhar and umar?
Whats your thoughts on ahsan ali? I think hes has potential.

 

[Hawkeye]

After wc , why not open with fakhar and umar?
Whats your thoughts on ahsan ali? I think hes has potential.

Fakhar is the unreliable one and has some serious weaknesses.

So, Umar and Imam can be good partners, assuming that Imam learns to play some strokes by that time and can play at 85 - 90+ strike rate.

I haven't seen Ahsan Ali play, so can't say.

 

[Hawkeye]

Ideally though, after the world cup we should draft in Sharjeel Khan ASAP.

Sharjeel, if he has the same form as before, is the best option we have.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

FZ should play #6,,,Sarfaraz opener...drop MALIK for Haris, drop Shaheen for Shadab,...done

 

[BalluBalleBaaz]

Its a known fact that this is how Fakhar plays! This guy has played pretty much like this all his career. People like him and much successful ones like Sehwag dont carry any regret. They play exactly how they have always have. You see the ball you smash it. Its called hand eye coordination. You will never see Fakhar with fancy footwork, infact its very agricultural but the important factor is keeping steady when hitting the ball. Sehwag, Gayle and Gilly are some big examples.

Pakistan's openers are 10 years behind in terms of tactics of building up an innings depending on different pitches. Babar Azam is class act, although he gets carried away during the match with playing shots he needs to learn more about finishing the innings now. Its about time really. Dont get stuck at the crease, if you do then trust you skills to finish the game.

 

[GreenKhan]

Fakhar has a role in the team and that is to give the team a dynamic start . Ok yes there is the possibility of him getting out early . He needs to pace his innings better and be more wise with his shot selection .
He performed well in the England series , and was unlucky in his dismissal against the Windies . Against England him and imam both played well to help the rest of the team settle down especially after what happened against the West Indies in the previous games .

Fakhar has an issue outside off stump when the ball angles across him and he left quite a few of them in the England game so he needs to do more of that .

His dismissal was poor against the Aussies . The shot was on but the execution was not .

We need to back him . He is one batsman which the opposition definetly fear.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Its a known fact that this is how Fakhar plays! This guy has played pretty much like this all his career. People like him and much successful ones like Sehwag dont carry any regret. They play exactly how they have always have. You see the ball you smash it. Its called hand eye coordination. You will never see Fakhar with fancy footwork, infact its very agricultural but the important factor is keeping steady when hitting the ball. Sehwag, Gayle and Gilly are some big examples.

Pakistan's openers are 10 years behind in terms of tactics of building up an innings depending on different pitches. Babar Azam is class act, although he gets carried away during the match with playing shots he needs to learn more about finishing the innings now. Its about time really. Dont get stuck at the crease, if you do then trust you skills to finish the game.

Sehwag, Gayle snd Gilly had a much bigger range of strokes and better footwork. Fakhar has a good eye so he can get away with whacking everything off the front foot sometimes, but there is always a high element of risk in slogging by numbers, and that is why he fails so often. Those other guys you mentioned were very aggressive, but they hit through the line more.

 

[Draeoftroy]

Drop Fakhar.

Open with Umar Akmal.

Of course, not in the world cup - but afterwards.

))

Umar Akmal again rofl and now lobbying for him to be tried as an opener.

He has never opened but whenever he was made to face the new bowl he was an absolute failure.

Even if the bowl is swinging slightly this guy gets out LBW plump infront even slightly coming in or spooning a catch to point. He has been shielded by Waqar Younis which he boasted about from the new bowl and still U. Akmal could'nt improve his stats. At fourth position, Umar Akmal average is 19.66 with a strike rate of 89, he has only come in 3rd for once during 2012 and made 28 never again was tried in the top order as he planted his bloody foot to get lbw on the first bowl.

This is actually an Akmal defect, all of these brothers and cousin Babar are technically inferior in countering hint of swing or seam.

 

[Kaka4pope]

Zaman goes very hard at the ball, sometimes wasting the PP gaps, think he’d be better off coming in lower, being cavalier at 5 when the ball is neither new or old. Openers would have to be more attacking though...

Imam Babar Haris Sarfraz Zaman Asif Hafeez Shadab Wahab Hassan Amir

 

[mastersaan10]

Fakhar is the best ODI batsman from pakistan after Anwar period. His innings in champions trophy single handedly gave pakistan a trophy that Hassan Ali had been carrying them to the finals for. If you get a dasher and he gets out trying to hit, you complain. you have a stabilizer and he plays a sr of 70 and you complain. Maybe the problem isn't the player, it's the people. This is not what fans do. This is what sick people do. Our society needs a massive change in mentality. We need to support our players, especially when they are down.

 

[BalluBalleBaaz]

Sehwag, Gayle snd Gilly had a much bigger range of strokes and better footwork. Fakhar has a good eye so he can get away with whacking everything off the front foot sometimes, but there is always a high element of risk in slogging by numbers, and that is why he fails so often. Those other guys you mentioned were very aggressive, but they hit through the line more.

Thats my point really! They played through line and trusted their hand eye. All three of them were amazing off side of the wicket as well. Which means they were trying to hit the right areas. Fakhar needs to develop a free flowing offside game, mainly when the ball is pitched up. If you are opening the batting then expect the best bowlers to have plansfor you. There is literally no hiding when opening the batting. If you dont have footwork or range of shots then you will be caught by extra seam, swing or bounce. Its a tough gig as it is.

As an opening batsmen of a national team i expect Fakhar to score freely with precise somewhat footwork. In this day and age, role of a opener has changed from a pich hitter to an all out match winner batting long.

 

[slice]

He is a match winner when he fires. Hopefully he just stays a bit patient for a few overs at least instead of slashing straight away.

OH please,not Afridi all over again

 

[ads101]

It's silly the Imam-Fakhar partnership wasn't working out. Either you Play Babar to partner Fakhar up top instead, or you drop Fakhar down the order and play Imam-Babar. But we did nothing we just hoped Fakhar would some how come back to form. We had plenty of time to experiment before but we didn't.

 

[cricket_cfa]

Too inconsistent atm
Not on merit currently in odis
Hope he scores

 

[Mamoon]

Doesn't convince me at all. He scored a decent half-century yesterday but never looked in control, and was clearly struggling to put away decent deliveries.

 

[saeedhk]

An absolute hack. The most mentally-weak player in the team.

 

[Jeetlodil]

No. He lives easy by playing aggressive as if he has no responsibility. Babar is a hack at 3, so can open with him and find a test no 3 like YK

 

[ak619]

An absolute hack. The most mentally-weak player in the team.

Disagree. I don't think he has any mental blocks.

Simple fact is that he isn't as good as many people thought him to be.

It's okay, though. He may not be a 50+ avg batsman. But even if he is a 40+ avg batsman with a SR around 90, I think he makes it on merit in this Pakistani team.

 

[King-Misbah]

Disagree. I don't think he has any mental blocks.

Simple fact is that he isn't as good as many people thought him to be.

It's okay, though. He may not be a 50+ avg batsman. But even if he is a 40+ avg batsman with a SR around 90, I think he makes it on merit in this Pakistani team.

I think that Pakistan's weak middle order creates a lot of pressure on the likes of Fakhar and Babar.

 

[saeedhk]

Disagree. I don't think he has any mental blocks.

Simple fact is that he isn't as good as many people thought him to be.

It's okay, though. He may not be a 50+ avg batsman. But even if he is a 40+ avg batsman with a SR around 90, I think he makes it on merit in this Pakistani team.

He does have mental blocks. He looks totally clueless out there. Keeps getting out to off-stump outswingers.

 

[sshakir411]

He was always a poor man’s Sharjeel and was filling in for him after Sharjeel proved to be yet another typical airhead Pakistani player.

Fakhar has little skill but far more heart than Babar, Imam, and Haris combined.

 

[fasihulhaq94]

yes all 3 fakhar, imam, babar need to be dropped. Ridiculous top 3.

bring back kamran akmal, azhar ali and umar akmal.

 

[jnaveen1980]

He is technically not a good player. He relies on leg side slogging. To his credit he has shown some consistency. Modern day ODI rules allow a guy like Fakhar to make his mark. 2 new balls. 4 fielder outside the circle for 30 overs. He is not as effective as he used to be. But he is still okay enough to be part of the XI.