Does Pakistan T20I cricket enter a new era with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan left out?

[ExpressPacer]

Babar needs to be dropped from the ODI side too. Not only is his style of play too outdated even for ODIs as we saw in the CT but he is also in poor form.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Babar atleast might be making a comeback in the next series.

 

[Mamoon]

The whole nation owes them an apology. Imagine being dropped for Haris, Hasan and Usman.

 

[Rana]

The whole nation owes them an apology. Imagine being dropped for Haris, Hasan and Usman.

Where’s the apology for 16 off 26 in the powerplay?!!

Where’s the apology for USA???

Where’s the apology for the 22-2 in 10 overs at home in the CT???

 

[IMMY69]

You know you're banging your head against the wall when people double down on their mistakes and refuse to accept when they're clearly wrong

 

[Rana]

You know you're banging your head against the wall when people double down on their mistakes and refuse to accept when they're clearly wrong

Keep banging your head

It’s not like it will erase the sins of Yooooo essssss aaaaaay

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Rome wasn't built in a day, and if Pakistan want to move forward in T20I cricket it has to be with players who can play a modern brand of T20 cricket, rather than the outdated version we have been playing for years. I was all for giving the Babar-Rizwan combo a fair shot in T20 cricket but their failure in 3 consecutive T20 World Cups has shown that they don't have what it takes to make it count in the shortest format. Rizwan in particular should never play another T20I again. Since 2022, he has struck at 119 which is simply unacceptable in this format, in this day and age. And Babar should only be considered again if he showcases that he has made a marked improvement in his T20 game and evolved as a T20 batter, which is not really the case right now.

There may have been a time three to four years ago, when you could still justify their place, but the T20 format has changed rapidly since then and Pakistan right now feels like a team that has been left behind. Current group of players need more exposure and they can only get that by playing more matches. One series in New Zealand, in seaming and bouncy conditions against a fairly good NZ side doesn't prove anything. You need to persist with these players and give me consistent opportunities in varying conditions. Many of them have the makings of great T20 players but one series won't tell you anything.

If you are really interested in changing things, there will be alot of bitter defeats to swallow, but that comes with the territory when you are trying to unearth new players. It is only Pakistani fans that care about the results of these bilateral T20I series. I also don't see how the end result is any different from the last time Pakistan toured New Zealand with Babar and Rizwan and also lost 4-1. Atleast this time around, there were flashes of brilliance that can be built on for the future.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

Rome wasn't built in a day, and if Pakistan want to move forward in T20I cricket it has to be with players who can play a modern brand of T20 cricket, rather than the outdated version we have been playing for years. I was all for giving the Babar-Rizwan combo a fair shot in T20 cricket but their failure in 3 consecutive T20 World Cups has shown that they don't have what it takes to make it count in the shortest format. Rizwan in particular should never play another T20I again. Since 2022, he has struck at 119 which is simply unacceptable in this format, in this day and age. And Babar should only be considered again if he showcases that he has made a marked improvement in his T20 game and evolved as a T20 batter, which is not really the case right now.

There may have been a time three to four years ago, when you could still justify their place, but the T20 format has changed rapidly since then and Pakistan right now feels like a team that has been left behind. Current group of players need more exposure and they can only get that by playing more matches. One series in New Zealand, in seaming and bouncy conditions against a fairly good NZ side doesn't prove anything. You need to persist with these players and give me consistent opportunities in varying conditions. Many of them have the makings of great T20 players but one series won't tell you anything.

If you are really interested in changing things, there will be alot of bitter defeats to swallow, but that comes with the territory when you are trying to unearth new players. It is only Pakistani fans that care about the results of these bilateral T20I series. I also don't see how the end result is any different from the last time Pakistan toured New Zealand with Babar and Rizwan and also lost 4-1. Atleast this time around, there were flashes of brilliance that can be built on for the future.

bhai sahab, plan to bataao. Delinked from past ok. But jaa kahaan rahe ho aankho par patti baand ke.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

bhai sahab, plan to bataao. Delinked from past ok. But jaa kahaan rahe ho aankho par patti baand ke.

I wouldn't call this flying blind. I think there were a number of notable performances by players in this series that showed they are capable of hanging at the T20I level. Salman Ali Agha, Hassan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Sufiyan Muqeem, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Irfan Khan all showed something. The next thing you do is try to add players like Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali and other guys who perform in the PSL into the mix, identify what roles they will play, and try and see what you best combination looks like. Not all 16-17 players are going to be match-winners, so obviously some will have to be discarded. But this should be a long-term trial-and-error strategy spread out over multiple bilateral series.

That should be the plan, I don't see what's so hard to follow or understand?

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

I wouldn't call this flying blind. I think there were a number of notable performances by players in this series that showed they are capable of hanging at the T20I level. Salman Ali Agha, Hassan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Sufiyan Muqeem, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Abdul Samad, Irfan Khan all showed something. The next thing you do is try to add players like Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali and other guys who perform in the PSL into the mix, identify what roles they will play, and try and see what you best combination looks like. Not all 16-17 players are going to be match-winners, so obviously some will have to be discarded. But this should be a long-term trial-and-error strategy spread out over multiple bilateral series.

That should be the plan, I don't see what's so hard to follow or understand?

If there is a plan, ok. But I am not seeing one. All I see is blind slogging in the name of intent and getting bundled out for less than 140 4 times out of 5 in short short grounds of NZ of all places against a second string NZ.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

If there is a plan, ok. But I am not seeing one. All I see is blind slogging in the name of intent and getting bundled out for less than 140 4 times out of 5 in short short grounds of NZ of all places against a second string NZ.

There is no doubt that the players need to improve their decision-making. However, failure is part of the learning curve. Playing on these bouncy New Zealand pitches against some pretty good bowlers (not Ish Sodhi) has already been an important lesson for them. The focus now should be on helping them understand the importance of strike-rotation and adapting to the conditions. That said, they shouldn’t be discouraged from playing with intent, nor should players who showed flashes of brilliance in this series be dropped.

This Pakistan team felt alot like a patchwork of names they thought could succeed in T20. It is anything but a well-settled team with clear definition of roles. However, if Pakistan stick with this strategy (big if) then over time you will see a new core group of players coming to the fore, developing cohesion, and gaining the experience needed to compete at the highest level. The key will be patience, consistency in selection, and allowing these players the freedom to grow into their roles.