Does Pakistan stand a chance in the Champions Trophy?

[sadida97]

Squad selected wasn't too good. But there is no point in crying now, let's look forward !

The starting eleven for me is pretty obvious:

1-Azhar Ali
2-Ahmed Shehzad
3-Babar Azam
4-Muhammad Hafeez
5-Shoaib Malik
6-Sarfaraz Ahmed
7-Imad Wasim
8-Shadab Khan
9-Mohammad Amir
10-Junaid Khan
11-Hassan Ali

The bowling lineup is very good Mashallah, I think it is one of the better ones in this tournament.

The batting however is a concern, with no one actually being able to strike at a 115+ strike rate.


So can this team do well ? Can our bowling help us win some big and important matches ?

 

[Major]

If you look at the way this team has been scoring 250+ recently, i wouldn't be concerned with the batting.

Only concern is the captaincy, nothing else.

But lets what sarfraz has to offer.

 

[Syed1]

If you look at the way this team has been scoring 250+ recently, i wouldn't be concerned with the batting.

Only concern is the captaincy, nothing else.

But lets what sarfraz has to offer.

Sarfaraz could be the worst captain in the tournament but he will still be better than King Misbah.

 

[Rayyman]

If you look at the way this team has been scoring 250+ recently, i wouldn't be concerned with the batting.

Only concern is the captaincy, nothing else.

But lets what sarfraz has to offer.

Captaincy is the least of concern. He is the best ODI captain for Pakistan in at least the last 5 years. Much better than whoever destroyed the team between that time.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

If you look at the way this team has been scoring 250+ recently, i wouldn't be concerned with the batting.

Only concern is the captaincy, nothing else.

But lets what sarfraz has to offer.

Don't need to be concerned as he is a proven captain and led weak teams like Quetta to reasonable success.
He is infact the only hope along with youngsters to carry this bakwas side filled with tuk tuks.

 

[Rayyman]

Don't need to be concerned as he is a proven captain and led weak teams like Quetta to reasonable success.
He is infact the only hope along with youngsters to carry this bakwas side filled with tuk tuks.

Actually these tuk tuks were actually pretty free flowing players until a certain captain decided to establish his philosophy over them.

 

[Hamad_H]

I believe Pakistan can beat Sri Lanka so it's whether they can beat India in their opener as I don't think we have a chance against South Africa but you never know with Pakistan.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Good chance of beating Sri Lanka.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Not with that batting unit.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

Yeah... It's champion's trophy..champions play here. So everyone have a chance here.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

If Fahkar can some how slog a bit at the start, and if Umar bats like Umar of 2012 than maybe.


Our biggest issue will be the start of the innings, we are still in 90s mode, and i fully expect Azhar and shezhad to open.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

If you look at the way this team has been scoring 250+ recently, i wouldn't be concerned with the batting.

Only concern is the captaincy, nothing else.

But lets what sarfraz has to offer.

because MISBAH's choice of AA was sacked... The fans, their love , the bias is extraordinary..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Good chance of beating Sri Lanka.

Srilanka has brought back mathews, kusal perera and malinga..... they have picked a strong and experienced team.... newbies are only dickwella, asela and sandakan...

 

[Major]

because MISBAH's choice of AA was sacked... The fans, their love , the bias is extraordinary..

again i haven't written him off.

He still has to prove himself at the international arena.

 

[MMHS]

This is a moot question - hypothetically, PAK should beat SRL. Then it's about one good day against IND/SAF & PAK can be in SF. 2015, PAK squad was arguably worst in WC history - they beat SAF in an eliminator.

There are few players, who can win a game on their day; but overall, it's poor squad. Won't make top 4, for a SF place in 2019 WC format with 10 teams (might beat AUS one day & then'll lose to ZIMboks next day) & 9 matches, but 3 match groups are much closer.

I couldn't finish a debate with Junaids regarding comparison of 1988 & 2017 PAK team tour to WI. Personally, I think, in a combined squad, current team 'll have at least 5 players, if not 6 or even 7 (YK, Misbah, Azhar, Babar, Sarfu, Yasir, Amir) compared to 7 of that team (Mudassar, Rambo, Shoaib, Ijaz, Malik, Yousuf, Faqih). BUT, that team had 4 outstanding individuals - 2 'll always make my AT Best XI, be in Test or ODI; the premier batsman was the toughest cookie around, & their leggi was a true genius - on his day almost impossible to survive, even on belters. And, that side had a Captain.

This is where cricket is unique than any other team game - few individuals can make an average side world beaters, just like Sanath, Hari & Murali made that SRL team; or that PAK team of 1992 was basically a 4 player world champion. If all of Amir, Babar, MoHa, Malik, Umar, Shadab, Imad, Hasan & off course Sarfu (in 3 fold) has a good to great tournament, while 3 or 4 of them returns with stunning figures - PAK can even win the cup; but that's probably applicable for most other teams as well.

Overall, it's a poor team - should win a tight game against SRL, get spanked by SAF & lose a close battle to IND.

 

[Mamoon]

Well if Leicester can win the Premier League.....

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Well if Leicester can win the Premier League.....

or maybe a mimic of 2009, Azhar get's mysteriously injured like Arafat and Abdul Razzaq aka Sharjeel comes to save us


I can always dream

 

[Asif321]

hafeez should open with Shezzy or Azhar. Umar Akmal goes to Sarfraz number .......

 

[Major]

or maybe a mimic of 2009, Azhar get's mysteriously injured like Arafat and Abdul Razzaq aka Sharjeel comes to save us


I can always dream

disgusting post.

But then again what to expect from guys like you

 

[Mamoon]

disgusting post.

But then again what to expect from guys like you

Mysterious injury = sending a player home but using injury as a pretext.

 

[Farhansk]

I have a feeling that this team Pakistan will offer a surprise package to its fans at Champions trophy.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

disgusting post.

But then again what to expect from guys like you

you clearly don't remember what happened in 2009

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Squad selected wasn't too good. But there is no point in crying now, let's look forward !

The starting eleven for me is pretty obvious:

1-Azhar Ali
2-Ahmed Shehzad
3-Babar Azam
4-Muhammad Hafeez
5-Shoaib Malik
6-Sarfaraz Ahmed
7-Imad Wasim
8-Shadab Khan
9-Mohammad Amir
10-Junaid Khan
11-Hassan Ali

The bowling lineup is very good Mashallah, I think it is one of the better ones in this tournament.

The batting however is a concern, with no one actually being able to strike at a 115+ strike rate.


So can this team do well ? Can our bowling help us win some big and important matches ?

A very warm welcome to Pakpassion (Home of Pakistan Cricket)


No.


Pakistan can play Semifinal if 2 three players give their individual best performances. That is they play out of their skin. For instance Babar, Amir, Shadab giving gem match winning superstar esque performances.


Otherwise with such a n overall team we would play quite badly and will exit with a shameful performance.

 

[bleaf27]

I can see Pak making it to the semi's at best but not beyond it

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

If only we had Sharjeel, and Haris then I seriously think we would have a chance.

 

[Hamza78]

Pakistan will surprise everyone with there performance

 

[yasir]

Sarfaraz could be the worst captain in the tournament but he will still be better than King Misbah.

If Sarfi keeps introducing Shadab in 25th over than he can be better than nobody, not a guy from club cricket, who in the world introduces wicket taking leg spinner(specially a guy who bowls better with newish ball) in 25th over?? - He did that in pretty much all matches, that's criminal...

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

I first thought these selectors dont watch domestic matches but now i think they dont even watch international matches.

Just make someone selector who has a passion for watching matches. You will find thousands. Will do better then these retired cricketers.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

If Sarfi keeps introducing Shadab in 25th over than he can be better than nobody, not a guy from club cricket, who in the world introduces wicket taking leg spinner(specially a guy who bowls better with newish ball) in 25th over?? - He did that in pretty much all matches, that's criminal...

I dont support managements pre-palnned tactics and think a spinner should come to bowl according to the situation of match.
But just and example, Afghanistan's Rashid Khan bowls his overs mostly in later part of the innings and has been very successful.

 

[yasir]

Pakistan can win from SL on paper as well... When it comes to SA, who knows, we get a good spinning track and they collapse under 200, mystery of Shadab does most of the damage, supported by Immad and Hafeez not to mention couple of early blows by Amir and Hasan. Its not impossible but difficult path, our best bet score atleast 280 and let them chase, they are not good at that either

Against India, since its not WC, external influences would be less and who knows miracles can happen...I would want Pakistan to bat first in all three matches, unless dew is a factor...If we win all three tosses, that can help a lot (we need all the help we can get)...

Despite all that we cannot ignore, our batting is way too poor, its not even club level compare to teams like AUS/ENG/IND/SA, they have power hitters, timer of the ball left and right, we have nothing like that...half the team is struggling (or questionable selection) to be in the team...When 3 out of top 4 batsmen are non-regular/questionable, you just cannot win period!! :

 

[Hasan123]

Sarfaraz could be the worst captain in the tournament but he will still be better than King Misbah.

As always every post is about Misbah and how someone is better than him LOL.

Glad [MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] didn't stoop to your level.

Sarfaraz is going to match Misbah in going out in the group stages of the champions trophy, 2013 was Misbah fault but 2017 won't be Sarfarazs fault at all I bet.

[MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION] then he says support the team over individuals LOL .

 

[PakLFC]

There is always a chance after all they are in it to win it. Most other sides have a better batting line up that will be our undoing. Other then Shoaib the middle order without Misbah looks very vulnerable. Again we will be over dependent on our bowling attack asking them to defend 220.

 

[goran]

Frankly speaking, we don't stand a chance to progress beyond the league stage. In-fact, winning a single game looks a distant possibility. Let's be real so we don't get disappointed later.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Why not?

We have pretty good players in Sarfraz, Babar, Malik, Imad, Shadab, Amir and Hasan and most of all, our captain is the best.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Why not?

We have pretty good players in Sarfraz, Babar, Malik, Imad, Shadab, Amir and Hasan and most of all, our captain is the best.

Hafeez, Shehzad, Azhar Ali will make 100 runs all together off 150 balls. Match lost. The End.

 

[Justcrazy]

Squad selected wasn't too good. But there is no point in crying now, let's look forward !

The starting eleven for me is pretty obvious:

1-Azhar Ali
2-Ahmed Shehzad
3-Babar Azam
4-Muhammad Hafeez
5-Shoaib Malik
6-Sarfaraz Ahmed
7-Imad Wasim
8-Shadab Khan
9-Mohammad Amir
10-Junaid Khan
11-Hassan Ali

The bowling lineup is very good Mashallah, I think it is one of the better ones in this tournament.

The batting however is a concern, with no one actually being able to strike at a 115+ strike rate.


So can this team do well ? Can our bowling help us win some big and important matches ?

The batting is one dimensional , Most in top six same kind of accumulators. These days 300 is par score , and this lineup is not a match for that. Even Bangladesh have more dynamic batters .

 

[Ph_11]

Yes!

 

[iHammad]

Yes, we absolutely do stand a chance of beating Sri Lanka.

 

[Sarfarazian92]

If Fahkar can some how slog a bit at the start, and if Umar bats like Umar of 2012 than maybe.


Our biggest issue will be the start of the innings, we are still in 90s mode, and i fully expect Azhar and shezhad to open.

Sir the thing is, Fakhar won't get a game.

Your top 6 has 4 confirmed starters
Sarfraz
Malik
Babar
Hafeez

The other two spots are for Azhar/Shehzad/Fakhar.
Azhar hasn't been brought back to warm the bench. Fakhar didn't get a game in WI so don't expect him to get one in CT either.

 

[Ab Fan]

Will be harder vs Aussies, Saffers(unless they chase), England and India. NZ not sure because you guys have a historical advantage against them particularly in semis.

 

[Titan of Technique]

Group stage exit for Pakistan.

 

[Olympian]

Its funny how every one write off Sri Lanka.. who knows maybe they give Pakistan biggest beating of the tournament. Remember they have talented youngsters like Kusal Mendis who is just like Pakistan's Babar Azam and aggressive unorthodox batsman like Dickwella.. and unlike Pakistan they got so many power hitters in KJP , Thisara , Mathews , Seeku ect.. so just don't write them off.. they might surprise everyone.

 

[Hawkeye]

As always every post is about Misbah and how someone is better than him LOL.

Glad [MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION] didn't stoop to your level.

Sarfaraz is going to match Misbah in going out in the group stages of the champions trophy, 2013 was Misbah fault but 2017 won't be Sarfarazs fault at all I bet.

[MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION] then he says support the team over individuals LOL .

[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] similarly was praising Sarf even during the horror shows in WI ODIs.

 

[khurram39]

Hoping bowling will do justice as expected but no serious intention to score over 300 on regular basis. A lot depends on the nature of the wicket for Pakistan.

 

[Couch Cricketer]

These teams are easily better odi sides than us where in 10 matches they would probably beat us 7-8 times out of 10.

England
Australia
India
South Africa
New Zealand

To me even a semifinal appearance will be an achievement. And a final appearance an over achievement. I cant even imagine us winning it.

 

[uberkoen]

Our team isn't as strong as the others and obviously our chances of winning the tournament are slim. However, Pakistan shouldn't be completely counted out. We need to play to our strengths.

The first game of the tournament is against India in Edgbaston. This is obviously going to be a big game for us with nerves coming into the picture as a lot of players will be facing India for the first time.Also, there will be a lot of local support for both the teams obviously considering that the game in being played in Birmingham. We played against India on this ground in 2013 as well and were beaten comprehensively. We need to remember that historically, our spinners have done well on this pitch and anyway Edgbaston isn't really known for it's swing anymore like it used to be. I think Malik, Imad, Shadab and Hafeez should be part of the team that plays at Edgbaston alongwith Amir, Hassan and Junaid. Wahab will get smacked all around the park if he is played. If we somehow end up winning the toss, we need to ensure that we do not let India chase.

If we do end up batting first we would need to think of setting a target of above 300 which would mean someone like Sarfraz would need to bat at 4 and Hafeez further down the order. I really think a partnership between Babar and Sarfraz can drive the team towards a good total fueled by some hitting by Imad and Malik lower down the order.

Historically, the only time we've managed good totals on this pitch is when we've had a good opening partnership. Unfortunately, for us going into this tournament opening is a huge problem. Whatever opening pair is chosen I can only see two scenarios:

1. Decent opening partnership at a very low run rate and;
2. Couple of early wickets and lots of wasted deliveries resulting in not only a low run rate but also pressure on the remaining team.

In order to counter this we have to provide our openers with specific instructions to go in all guns blazing. What's the worst that can happen? We lose early wickets but at least we aren't choked and the best outcome is we score at a good run rate and have a half decent opening stand. The opening pair of Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad really scares me and I don't expect much from either of them and so it should be ensured that when these two walk in they know what is expected of them.

If we can somehow manage to beat India then we are definitely through to the semi-finals because I expect us to easily beat Sri Lanka in Cardiff and also provide tough competition, if not beat, South Africa which will result in us qualifying based on NRR if nothing else.

 

[KyoOne]

Depends on what are the pitches like where we play and individuals.

Probability of doing well is low, given that bowling is our trump card which got carted by Windies tail in first the ODI ending up chasing an improbable score.

I really hope Wahab doesnt play any game, and somehow others do decent job. Batters will do ok imo

 

[Pete Rose]

Logically, no chance. But logic and reality can differ: so we can hope.

 

[hitthestump]

Collectively there's no batting, no bowling, no fielding. You have to hope guys like Babar, Shadab, Amir and Umar Akmal can win a few games for us singlehandedly. However i fear a reasonable performance in the CT will prolong the reign of "Inzi the revolutionary"