Drawing positives from Pakistan's World Cup exit

[JellyBro]

1. Imam is a solid batsman. He can play in any condition and provides stability to the top order
2. Babar is showing maturity in his gameplay. A run making machine.
3. Haris sohail could become a good finisher for us.
4. Imad is a decent all rounder and brings energy to the side
5. Amir is getting his form back
6. Shaheen is turning out to be a great find. He will only get better from this point.


Forced changes:
1. Hafeez out
2. Malik out
3. Sarfaraz out
4. Shadab out
5. Fakhar out

Replacing half the team will be a massive undertaking but it needs to be done. The biggest challenge will be to find a replacement captain. Quite frankly, no one in the current team is either ready or truly deserving of the captaincy. We were in the same predicament when Sarfaraz was made captain and that did not turn out so well.
We need a captain who can lead from the front. Someone who is a specialist.
Looking at all the options, i think Imam will be the number one choice. I think he's the type of player who takes responsibility for his performance and will make the other teammates follow in his footsteps. He also has a good understanding of the game and being related to Inzi he will also be aware of the dresser room politics and how to handle the rogue players.
He is also young so it makes sense to invest time and resources into grooming him into a decent captain. He has shades of Salman Butt in him but none of the shadiness

Babar is good batsman but he is like Sachin. The perception i get from him is that he likes to mind his own business and is happy with predefined roles. For those reasons he may not be a suitable candidate for the role. His personality is also not something to be inspired by. He looks weak and small compared to the rest of the team. At the end of the day, your physical presence makes a difference when leading a bunch of men high on testosterone.

 

[Slog]

Being competitive or better team in 5 out of 7 matches

 

[szundercover]

I actually see us becoming a top 4 odi side after this world cup,there are more positives than negatives .

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

They've done better than expected but it does little to dull the pain of getting knocked out of the World Cup after coming so close to qualifying for the next phase.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Babars class & Pak fans creating the best atmosphere.

 

[Varun]

It's the end of Malik and Hafeez.

 

[zee-za-man]

Hahaha the people who helped Inzamam pluck out all World Cup probables from Faheem Ashraf to Shinwari are back.

Calling Imam solid is a joke but then when you went onto lobby for Imam to be made captain hahhahaha.

You'll find out what happens in the coming days.

The mafia that used these 'quick fixes'to push out players for certain favorites will be scrutinised.

Issko out kardo usko out kardo and bring in Akmals, Hafeez, Malik and Wahab, calling these tested jokes as 'experienced' and 'seniors', who are actually from a 'certain camp' which i call mafia.

Hafeez was not even in the squad for Arthur.

Then Sethi gets replaced by Ehsan Mani and inzamam is given authority, the first thing he does is bring Hafeez back, then consolidate Imam and Malik.

imam's fielding cost us the Asia Cup when he dropped a sitter off Rohit Sharma, but it was all part of the plan to get Pakistan weakened so that Inzamam can assert authority which he did.

Makes Malik captain, gives ample chance to Babar and Imam to solidify their places by playing all matches and all formats [incl. T20]. Throw out almost all probables including the captain Sarfaraz to make Arthur and Sarfaraz insecure of their positions. By the time India's match happened inzamam was in the dressing room interfering in batting, coaching and picking the playing XI. Once he left the team Pakistan started winning again.

 

[PaceOverEverything]

imam's fielding cost us the Asia Cup when he dropped a sitter

Puzzled as to what the many staff hired by the PCB work on. I count 10 sitters dropped in total this world cup including Haris Sohail dropping Soumya in the first over today off M. Amir's bowling.

 

[Markhor]

There is a core of young talent that should be persisted with.

But on our shopping list we need:

- A gun spinner.
- Improved fielding.
- A reliable middle order batsman.
- A better keeper-batsman.

And of course the small matter of a new captain.

 

[Markhor]

^^ Add to the list a right arm fast bowler who can swing the new ball.

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan did fairly well in the second half. They didn't lose after the India game. Amazing!

 

[GLORY OF '92]

No positives. We choked v Australia and India. We won't win a title for a decade now.

 

[Pete Rose]

It’s a pretty decent performance for a team that played every game with 9 (when both Malik and Hafeez played) players or ten (when hafeez played) players

 

[Jeetlodil]

The team think tank has realised NRR and maths is important. Before this WC, this was unknown.

 

[Syed1]

Ever since I started following cricket this is the first time Pak has played THIS good in a tournament and still not advanced.... often we play miserably and crash out (2003, 2007), other times we are neither here or there and punch above our weight (2011) but more often than not when we gather this kind of momentum we reach the final at the bare minimum (92, 99, 2009 T20, CT17)..... This the first time that atleast I've seen where we have momentum but still going home. Very heart breaking.

 

[Plumb]

The only positive I can see is may be we endup on a positive NRR,

 

[gazza619]

The only positive will be if players and team management who need to be booted are booted.

 

[hadi123]

Amir back in form (although expectations post this tournament are low), Shaheen looks good, Babar Azam been extremely consistent, Imad improved with bat, Haris Sohail looks great too.

 

[RameezRambo_Fan]

1. Imam is a solid batsman. He can play in any condition and provides stability to the top order
2. Babar is showing maturity in his gameplay. A run making machine.
3. Haris sohail could become a good finisher for us.
4. Imad is a decent all rounder and brings energy to the side
5. Amir is getting his form back
6. Shaheen is turning out to be a great find. He will only get better from this point.


Forced changes:
1. Hafeez out
2. Malik out
3. Sarfaraz out
4. Shadab out
5. Fakhar out

Other than Imam being a "solid batsman" the rest I agree with. Imam ul Haq is Ahmed Shehzad 2.0. An arrogant overrated guy who only shows up when the matches don't matter. When the pressure is on, this guy folds like a cheap suit and gives his wicket away cheaply.

 

[Minnowbasher]

Feel like we should back fakhar and shadab despite their poor performances. Fakhar was always going to be inconsistent but atleast he normally gets good starts for Pakistan. Imagine imam and shehad opening the batting we would be 13-0 10 overs.
Shadab is a gun fielder and is still only 20 so will Insha Allah only improve from here

But I agree hafeez, malik, sarfraz, wahab and maybe asif need to go. Asif should learn to field before he comes back into the team (and become more consistent with the bat)

 

[gibsyhesperis]

The core of the team is solid.
Imam and Babar are the two stand out batsmen with strong techniques .
Fakhar will thrill and disappoint equally — he’s that sort of player.
Hafeez, Malik and Sarfaraz need to be replaced.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Only positives will be if sarfraz is dropped and removed as captain and inzi and mickey are sacked.

 

[Mamoon]

No collective positives at all. We saw nothing over the last 8 games that gives hope that the next two years will be better.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

No positives, i m gutted.
We should have qualified for semis :/

 

[hur rizvi]

1. Imam is a solid batsman. He can play in any condition and provides stability to the top order
2. Babar is showing maturity in his gameplay. A run making machine.
3. Haris sohail could become a good finisher for us.
4. Imad is a decent all rounder and brings energy to the side
5. Amir is getting his form back
6. Shaheen is turning out to be a great find. He will only get better from this point.


Forced changes:
1. Hafeez out
2. Malik out
3. Sarfaraz out
4. Shadab out
5. Fakhar out

Replacing half the team will be a massive undertaking but it needs to be done. The biggest challenge will be to find a replacement captain. Quite frankly, no one in the current team is either ready or truly deserving of the captaincy. We were in the same predicament when Sarfaraz was made captain and that did not turn out so well.
We need a captain who can lead from the front. Someone who is a specialist.
Looking at all the options, i think Imam will be the number one choice. I think he's the type of player who takes responsibility for his performance and will make the other teammates follow in his footsteps. He also has a good understanding of the game and being related to Inzi he will also be aware of the dresser room politics and how to handle the rogue players.
He is also young so it makes sense to invest time and resources into grooming him into a decent captain. He has shades of Salman Butt in him but none of the shadiness

Babar is good batsman but he is like Sachin. The perception i get from him is that he likes to mind his own business and is happy with predefined roles. For those reasons he may not be a suitable candidate for the role. His personality is also not something to be inspired by. He looks weak and small compared to the rest of the team. At the end of the day, your physical presence makes a difference when leading a bunch of men high on testosterone.

Haris is a no 4 bat not a finisher

 

[bujhee kom]

Lots of positives for Pk. Young side - found a gem in SSA. Few good young bats. Few ok ARs. Young pacers in the wings as well. Pk are 2 MO bats and group experience (for youths) away from being tier 1.

 

[bujhee kom]

In Imam, Baber, Imad, Shahdab, SSA, Husnain (for pace), Pk have a good core. Haris is 30 but him to. Need to find 1 opener and 2 MO batsmen.

 

[hur rizvi]

Shahen coming back to form after that session with Wasim before NZ game is biggest positive

Babar, imam and Haris should be the 3 out of top 4 going forward

Imad for no 7 is a good option for time being

 

[Manager101]

Lots of positives for Pk. Young side - found a gem in SSA. Few good young bats. Few ok ARs. Young pacers in the wings as well. Pk are 2 MO bats and group experience (for youths) away from being tier 1.

In addition to that, we need two specialist spinners who can spin the ball literally because the next WC is in India.

 

[On_the_up]

As WC campaigns go, this wasn't too bad, beat 2 of the semi finalists inc the pre tournament favourites.

We were struggling to take early wkts in the early part of the tournament which had a bearing on the matches vs Aus and India. One shocking performance vs WI and a rained out match ultimately proved our downfall but enough positives to build on. Imam has the temperament and the skill and will get better. How many times was Babar criticised for slow play earlier on in his career. After the endless line of mediocre openers, I'll take Imam any day.

Sarfaraz appears to be in terminal decline and is just wasting a spot in the team. New wkt keeper, captain, 2nd opener and middle order allrounder/hitter required.

 

[bujhee kom]

In addition to that, we need two specialist spinners who can spin the ball literally because the next WC is in India.

Shadab is young and so gifted. Also bats. Pk need 1 quality frontline spinner.

 

[shockbound]

Too early to point out good players. We all know their dips.

The only positive worth mentioning here is no more walking wickets of Malik, Hafeez, Sarfraz, Fakhar.

 

[Junaid_ahmed]

Pak was unlucky team & should have been in SF while NZ is lucky team which dont deserved to play SF

Well Done my team, very good come back

 

[bujhee kom]

Pk future looks better than ours. Our youngsters are duds.

 

[Zaz]

The nucleus of the team look good with a few top performing youngsters Its the seniord that have been disappointing and never showed up in this world cup

If we can mould 2-3 players in the same vein as babar shaheen etc the team will do pretty well in the next world cup

Failures

Fakhar
Imam
Hafeez
Malik
Sarfraz
Hasan
Asif

 

[azimiqbal]

I think we need to find third pacer who is a consistent wicket taking option, we also need to a gun spinner as I think shadab is a good second option as a spinner but not a trump go to guy when you need to take a wicket

Also imam, Harris, Babar can stay , we need an explosive opener and imam needs to bat consistently with strike rate of 80+ , we also need to find a wicket keeper batsman that has power hitting abilities as if we play the top 4 mentioned above out 5,6,7 need to be explosive batsman