Et tu Waqar? Waqar Younis does not think Pakistan will make it to the final of ICC World Cup 2023!

[MenInG]

Waqar when asked who will be the finalists.

Whilst he may be realistic in his assessment, him being close to Pakistan and players saying he doesn't believe in Pakistan going to the final seems a little odd.

Maybe he put on a neutrals hat for this but lets see what you guys think.

 

[SalimBhai]

Fair assessment

 

[deltexas]

If you think your country can't make it then so be it. Gavaskar rates England as the best chance to win this. Just an assessment of what one thinks.

 

[MenInG]

If you think your country can't make it then so be it. Gavaskar rates England as the best chance to win this. Just an assessment of what one thinks.

I agree

Thing with Waqar is he is former Pakistan Head Coach, close ties with the boys and is seen talking to them all the time, encouraging etc.

If he doesn't believe in them, then what message can he give them when he sees them next?

 

[kron]

I agree

Thing with Waqar is he is former Pakistan Head Coach, close ties with the boys and is seen talking to them all the time, encouraging etc.

If he doesn't believe in them, then what message can he give them when he sees them next?

I think he said this cause of naseem's injury. We are lacking the potency now given his injury. Replacement hasn't quite performed to expectations.

 

[TheSultan]

Waqar was a terrible coach and he has real inconsistency in his mentality when he’s coach and when he’s in the studio.

However, one thing I’ve always seen from him is a lot of unwavering support for the team. In this instance he was asked of his assessment (not support) and he has to be honest - and I don’t think anyone needs to be a cricketing scholar to figure out that we have very little chance in this World Cup.

In the coming weeks I’m sure you’ll see a lot of support from Waqar, but have to give him a pass for his honest feedback here.

 

[AAli98]

Cant blame him look at the bowling in the last 2 games the bowlers barley bowled 12 consecutive balls on a decent length.

Going to be a blood bath next 2 months .

 

[BouncerGuy]

I think it is too early to write off Pakistan’s chances of reaching the final of the World Cup 2023. They have some talented and passionate players who can rise to the occasion and surprise everyone with their unpredictable performances.

 

[indianpanacea]

He is right.Among the pace attack only Nasim Shah is the class.Shaheen is only effective if there is swing,jus play his early couple of overs carefully and then he looks pedestrian.Haris is ok,but he won't get purchase from Indian wickets,the faster he balls the faster he will be dispatched to boundary.Hassan can't ball new ball and can get purchase if he bends his back with old ball,but he doesn't seem to be bending of late.Shahdab is just T20 bowler and can't bal 10 overs.osama is ok and seems the only potent bowler.Rest including Nawaz are part timers..This worldcup will be won by the team having potent spin attack and right now it seems only India and England have potent spinners and may be New Zealand to some extent.

 

[Omer2002]

Pakistan will finish 8th never mind qualify for semis..

 

[MenInG]

Poll added also.

 

[sam_ahm]

Ah! Waqar is right , at the moment it looks very unlikely that Pakistan will reach the semis, let alone finals... They might end up something like 6th, is what it looks like.

In my opinion, neither Pakistan nor India will reach the finals... Two of the SENA nations will.

 

[Bewal Express]

With Naseem our bowling was decent, without him it's average, our batting is average and nothing can change that. If Babar fails in the early games we will get smashed as his captaincy will fall to pieces because his batting confidence will be shot.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Ah! Waqar is right , at the moment it looks very unlikely that Pakistan will reach the semis, let alone finals... They might end up something like 6th, is what it looks like.

In my opinion, neither Pakistan nor India will reach the finals... Two of the SENA nations will.

India's only issue is the combination. Can't afford to play with 5 batters
. Need to be brave and play SKY at 6, drop Jadeja and get 3-4 overs of part time spin no matter how average from somewhere .

If that doesn't happen, there's gonna be a massive reality check at some point .

Would be clear favourites to win the whole thing if that happens.

Pakistan's issues are a little too many to win the tournament , no matter how deep they go.

No proven bowling strength nor batting to make up for it.

 

[mominsaigol]

Waqar is a terrible coach but I don't think he's wrong about us not making it.

Things aren't the same as 2017. We aren't playing as a collective unit this time around.

We are literally fighting against each other for a spot in the side by licking the boots of the 4 golden boys.

Their isn't the same unity as it was in 2017

 

[CerebralPatriot]

A broken clock is right twice a day

 

[deltexas]

Waqar was horrible as a coach for Pak
Always complained during commentary on the issues but never ever fixed any as Pak coach. He's all talk and no action. To hire ex greats as coaches is not a recipe for success. Lara is a terrible coach.

 

[deltexas]

I agree

Thing with Waqar is he is former Pakistan Head Coach, close ties with the boys and is seen talking to them all the time, encouraging etc.

If he doesn't believe in them, then what message can he give them when he sees them next?

Should not matter. Ravi shastri just said that seniors need to be phased out in India's t20 and odi squads which caused an uproar from yuvraj Singh. Sorry but it's a privilege to play for your country and not a right no matter how many games you have played.

 

[Shafi]

I think it is too early to write off Pakistan’s chances of reaching the final of the World Cup 2023. They have some talented and passionate players who can rise to the occasion and surprise everyone with their unpredictable performances.

I will be surprised if we even take no 6 spot. Forget about semi. Babar is a terrible captain and he can never able to win any tournament.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Ask any hardcore Bangladesh fan nobody is going to say BD will be favorite. Having said world cup is not just about how well you play it is also about how others badly play. Some teams going in as favorite completely drop the ball and produce subpar performance which may aid not so favorite sides. For instance in 2007 world cup India's performance in the preliminary rounds made the life of top sides a lot easier in the main rounds. Two easy wins for most sides with India and Pakistan being out. SA bungled even that.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Pretty much realistic there nothing else in that.

 

[VForVendetta]

Ask any hardcore Bangladesh fan nobody is going to say BD will be favorite. Having said world cup is not just about how well you play it is also about how others badly play. Some teams going in as favorite completely drop the ball and produce subpar performance which may aid not so favorite sides. For instance in 2007 world cup India's performance in the preliminary rounds made the life of top sides a lot easier in the main rounds. Two easy wins for most sides with India and Pakistan being out. SA bungled even that.

Was India really going as one of the favorites in 07? As far as I can remember it was Aus, SA & Nz most of the experts were talking about. Ind had two back to back home series victories against Sri & Wi, but only after 6 months of continuous disasters everywhere. Yes nobody in their right mind could even suspect them getting knocked out from first round, but at the very best a semifinal spot was the most realistic & highest gain they could have expected on that campaign. They were suffering somewhat similar issues that the Pak team had 4 years prior. Lots of legends, but most of them either on last legs or simply exhausted. The younger superstars who were at their prime (Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbhajan,Dhoni) failed at crunch moments.

 

[sam_ahm]

India's only issue is the combination. Can't afford to play with 5 batters
. Need to be brave and play SKY at 6, drop Jadeja and get 3-4 overs of part time spin no matter how average from somewhere .

If that doesn't happen, there's gonna be a massive reality check at some point .

Would be clear favourites to win the whole thing if that happens.

Pakistan's issues are a little too many to win the tournament , no matter how deep they go.

No proven bowling strength nor batting to make up for it.

My issue is overconfidence, I have a feeling that the team is getting ahead of themselves here. In a 10 team World Cup, where almost every team on a given day, is capable of beating the other, nothing can be taken for granted, but I see that most experts, media are talking as if we are already in the semis.

Wheather the team thinks the same way or not, I don't know, but I hope they don't

Combination wise I would definitely pick Bumrah, Suraj, Shami and Kuldeep in the side, drop Shardul... Have SKY at 6, I agree. He can play a role similar to what Andrew Symonds did for Australia in 2003 and 2007.

So the team would be

Rohit
Gill
Virat
Rahul
Iyer/Ishant
SKY
Pandya
Kuldeep
Shami
Siraj
Bumrah

 

[deltexas]

My issue is overconfidence, I have a feeling that the team is getting ahead of themselves here. In a 10 team World Cup, where almost every team on a given day, is capable of beating the other, nothing can be taken for granted, but I see that most experts, media are talking as if we are already in the semis.

Wheather the team thinks the same way or not, I don't know, but I hope they don't

Combination wise I would definitely pick Bumrah, Suraj, Shami and Kuldeep in the side, drop Shardul... Have SKY at 6, I agree. He can play a role similar to what Andrew Symonds did for Australia in 2003 and 2007.

So the team would be

Rohit
Gill
Virat
Rahul
Iyer/Ishant
SKY
Pandya
Kuldeep
Shami
Siraj
Bumrah

The risk here is if pandya can't bowl 10 or if one of the main bowlers get injured. None of the other batsmen can bowl. As tough as it is- no choice but to play jadeja or ashwin instead of sky or iyer. And for sure a tournament this long will lead to injury replacements down the line

 

[Nikhil_cric]

My issue is overconfidence, I have a feeling that the team is getting ahead of themselves here. In a 10 team World Cup, where almost every team on a given day, is capable of beating the other, nothing can be taken for granted, but I see that most experts, media are talking as if we are already in the semis.

Wheather the team thinks the same way or not, I don't know, but I hope they don't

Combination wise I would definitely pick Bumrah, Suraj, Shami and Kuldeep in the side, drop Shardul... Have SKY at 6, I agree. He can play a role similar to what Andrew Symonds did for Australia in 2003 and 2007.

So the team would be

Rohit
Gill
Virat
Rahul
Iyer/Ishant
SKY
Pandya
Kuldeep
Shami
Siraj
Bumrah

Absolutely spot on, man . Symonds is actually who I was thinking of. That counter-attacking 143 * against Pakistan ,after Wasim sliced through the OZ top order, at No.6 set the tone for the World Cup in 2003.

It also allows top 5 to play slightly more aggressively as we saw in the 2nd ODI.

Instead of Jadeja, Prasidh as extra seamer would have been so useful to rotate the Pacers.





I don't think team is overconfident about their chances but they believe in this foolish 6 bowler combination and that will cost us.

 

[WengerOut]

My issue is overconfidence, I have a feeling that the team is getting ahead of themselves here. In a 10 team World Cup, where almost every team on a given day, is capable of beating the other, nothing can be taken for granted, but I see that most experts, media are talking as if we are already in the semis.

Wheather the team thinks the same way or not, I don't know, but I hope they don't

Combination wise I would definitely pick Bumrah, Suraj, Shami and Kuldeep in the side, drop Shardul... Have SKY at 6, I agree. He can play a role similar to what Andrew Symonds did for Australia in 2003 and 2007.

So the team would be

Rohit
Gill
Virat
Rahul
Iyer/Ishant
SKY
Pandya
Kuldeep
Shami
Siraj
Bumrah

Going with 5 bowlers of which one is an AR and other 4 cannot bat is a disaster waiting to happen

 

[sam_ahm]

Going with 5 bowlers of which one is an AR and other 4 cannot bat is a disaster waiting to happen

Very rarely will you find Thakur winning a game with the bat. Got to trust the top 6 or 7

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Going with 5 bowlers of which one is an AR and other 4 cannot bat is a disaster waiting to happen

The current lineup offers nothing specific either way. Pandya can't bowl full 10 for fitness, Jadeja wont pick wickets in the middle or hit at the death, Shardul can't bowl anywhere apart from middle overs and he's one of the worst death overs bowlers in the world.

On any pitch, if an Indian attack of

Shami
Siraj
Bumrah
Kuldeep
Pandya (7overs)

then nobody in our squad can. (Prasidh is out)

The useless trade off we are making is having Thakur bowl 2-3 overs at the death where he bleeds runs and Jadeja for 7 overs in the middle where wicket taking doesn't exist on a flat track.

3 overs of average part time is better 10 overs of nonsense .

 

[jnaveen1980]

Was India really going as one of the favorites in 07? As far as I can remember it was Aus, SA & Nz most of the experts were talking about. Ind had two back to back home series victories against Sri & Wi, but only after 6 months of continuous disasters everywhere. Yes nobody in their right mind could even suspect them getting knocked out from first round, but at the very best a semifinal spot was the most realistic & highest gain they could have expected on that campaign. They were suffering somewhat similar issues that the Pak team had 4 years prior. Lots of legends, but most of them either on last legs or simply exhausted. The younger superstars who were at their prime (Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbhajan,Dhoni) failed at crunch moments.

India/Pakistan being in main rounds would have definitely made the life difficult for some teams. Srilanka had very little threat in the main round with SA being chokers two teams like Ireland/Bangladesh. England was not exactly a great team back then. India had beaten Srilanka 6-1 only 18 months back. Again they beat Srilanka 2-1 only a month before world cup. Srilanka was nowhere better than India on paper/on field. Indians tinkered batting order too much and they ended up sending Sachin at 4. It was a disaster.

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

I agree

Thing with Waqar is he is former Pakistan Head Coach, close ties with the boys and is seen talking to them all the time, encouraging etc.

If he doesn't believe in them, then what message can he give them when he sees them next?

To improve their performances and objectively change Waqar's assessment. He's not there to massage their egos.

 

[Suleiman]

Pakistan more often than not looks exactly as it does right now before a big tournament since about 2003.

has made semis, finals and QFs and won entire tournaments since.

They look horrendous atm, however it’s a team that can win big too.

We’ll see what happens.

 

[Shafi]

Anyone thinks we will reach is delusional. This team is full of parchis, friends, out of form players. Maximum achieve would be 6-7 but we can even be 8-9. All teams will play first choice players this time.

 

[WengerOut]

Very rarely will you find Thakur winning a game with the bat. Got to trust the top 6 or 7

It is not about Shardul winning the game. It is also about top order expressing themselves knowing that in case they fail, the situation can be mitigated by enough batting ability of the tail to reach a decent score. At the moment if India lose 4 wickets before 20th over, 9 times out of 10 they will be bundled out before 40.

 

[anand99]

I am sorry but it's impacting my hearing to the point that I have to ask this. What is up with waqars accent. Sometimes I feel like he trying to talk like Atherton and also has deliberately slowed down the pace at which he speaks. Did he get coached or something. It is really annoying how hard he is trying to sound different. Particularly difficult to listen to him in the Afghanistan game

 

[hassan918]

He's talking to Star, so no surprise there. BTW PCT performance also not good enough for anyone to consider them making to the final. He had a few chances to make Pakistan a better team as he has multiple coaching stints with the national team but unfortunately, he hardly make any improvements in any of our players.

 

[chinaman00]

I am sorry but it's impacting my hearing to the point that I have to ask this. What is up with waqars accent. Sometimes I feel like he trying to talk like Atherton and also has deliberately slowed down the pace at which he speaks. Did he get coached or something. It is really annoying how hard he is trying to sound different. Particularly difficult to listen to him in the Afghanistan game

I asked this exact question during Pakistan’s match with India. He seems to be trying too hard to sound Australian. He even had an incident where he insisted to be called Pakistani-Australian. Very cringy worthy really.