How are even Afghan cricketers outperforming our superstars too?

[Gullycricket]

I will start with this stat posted by Saj:
Hazratullah Zazai - 77 off 38 balls
Rest of Zalmi batsmen - 89 off 81 balls

When generally a discussion is on the quality of cricketers coming out of Pakistan vs India/SENA, a common argument crops regarding the facilities and investment in cricket by these countries to explain us lagging behind in skills. But I am absolutely amazed by the quality of Afghan cricketers in PSL. It is embrassing to see players like Talat, Khushdil, Danish Aziz, Imam, Azam, Shadab and others being outperformed by these young players of Afghanistan such as Zazai and Noor.

What I am unable to understand is how are we unable to even produce such talent. Its not like Afgan cricketers have top notch facilities. Yes Rashid plays IPL but thats an anomaly. The difference in talent is baffling. I feel Afghans are the new Pakistan in terms of talent.
What are they doing right which we aren't?​

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Pakistan has lot of talent. Grass roots nurturing of that talent is missing.
Zazai is a hack of a batsman and will play such innings once in blue moon.
Not a fair comparison

 

[Savak]

Lol, teams will work out Zazai in due course. A lot of Pakistani players started their career's with bangs only to slip and never recover.

 

[Stewie]

All credit to the Afghans, they do have a lot of talent and they will lay fearlessly and it’s showing. Our players are good but too consumed with cementing their places or worrying about their positions and they fear shows in their performances.

 

[pakistani pride]

LOL so a guy plays a good innings in a T20 leauge and suddenly they are better?

Get real dude.

 

[Snowflake]

It's a domestic T20 league - why read that much into it?

It is not reflective of international cricket in the slightest bit

 

[Varun]

Afghanistan in international cricket play with a 'nothing to lose' mentality.

Pakistan can't afford to do that.

 

[PakPremi]

Looking at Afghan players only Rashid Khan had a commendable tournament and even he went missing toward the end.

 

[mastimasti]

I will start with this stat posted by Saj:
Hazratullah Zazai - 77 off 38 balls
Rest of Zalmi batsmen - 89 off 81 balls

When generally a discussion is on the quality of cricketers coming out of Pakistan vs India/SENA, a common argument crops regarding the facilities and investment in cricket by these countries to explain us lagging behind in skills. But I am absolutely amazed by the quality of Afghan cricketers in PSL. It is embrassing to see players like Talat, Khushdil, Danish Aziz, Imam, Azam, Shadab and others being outperformed by these young players of Afghanistan such as Zazai and Noor.

What I am unable to understand is how are we unable to even produce such talent. Its not like Afgan cricketers have top notch facilities. Yes Rashid plays IPL but thats an anomaly. The difference in talent is baffling. I feel Afghans are the new Pakistan in terms of talent.
What are they doing right which we aren't?​

This has already been disproved. Look at the list of the most successful batsmen in the PSL, they are mostly Pakistani. Do you watch cricket?

 

[Muhammad Kaleem]

What are they doing right which we aren't?[/LEFT]

Afghan players are strictly speaking products of Pakistan. They learnt their cricket here and were living in KPK until they were forced by their government to shift to Afghanistan.

 

[silentkiller187]

Afghani players look promising, but lets be real, zarzai 2 innings of note have been straight up hackers delight, a bit of better planning or luck here and there things would be very different, Noor went missing yesterday pressure got to him, rashid khan premier bowler had a decent tournament went missing at the end, im struggling to work out which superstars are outperforming us?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Would be a better comparison without cherry picking the best Afghan players and pretending that they are representative of their whole team. At the end of the day it's about 11 against 11, and in that scenario you would pick Pakistan in a head to head most days of the week.

Afghanistan have improved though, but don't think they have enough depth to threaten any top sides, whereas Pakistan obviously do.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Lol, teams will work out Zazai in due course.

A lot of Pakistani players started their career's with bangs only to slip and never recover.

Isnt it the same pattern happening under the local coaches for a long long time.. And isnt that what PCB doing it again and again.. Wasnt Mickey able to fix that for Babar, Imam and Fakhar, who were able to recover on their own and gear up to make comebacks.. Well u might say not for Babar but he was terrible when he started in tests but was able to pick the game slowly when he is backed..

Need proper qualified coaches to nurture , nourish the talent and also to back them when failing... You can see how Misbah and Waqar has so many youngsters to fail with, yet they get the coaching position. These two were part of the team as coach or captain for more than 6 years in the last decade or so but couldnt produce 1 proper batsman, bowler or an allrounder..

.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Afghani players look promising, but lets be real, zarzai 2 innings of note have been straight up hackers delight, a bit of better planning or luck here and there things would be very different, Noor went missing yesterday pressure got to him, rashid khan premier bowler had a decent tournament went missing at the end, im struggling to work out which superstars are outperforming us?

Well he played only 3 matches i guess.. Yes he is a hack so is Sharjeel..

Noor he is only 17 and was able to play in PSL..

Mujeeb another player wasnt part of the Abudhabi leg of Psl

Rashid plays for IPL but before that he is from Afghanistan who has had limited opportunities came up to show that he can be world's best leg spinner.. Why cant Shadab, Usman Qadir, Yasir shah do that in LOIs.

Najibullah zadran another good young batsman..

In pakistan, there are too many big egoistic small talk bullies as coaches in the grass roots level who will never let any good prospect to prosper , is some what a reality.. So many players have complained in the past and till now. PCB shove them as player power.. Bowlers have said their actions are trying to be corrected after they play international cricket which is too late same goes to the batsman with their stance , grip and shot selections..

In the last 25 years no pakistani bowler has taken 200 test wickets, the last to do so was Waqar younis.. And these people as a nation are crazy about fast bowling and have a fascination for pace

Same no pakistani batsman have ever crossed 10,000 runs except Younis khan in tests and Inzi in ODIs.

 

[Gullycricket]

Well he played only 3 matches i guess.. Yes he is a hack so is Sharjeel..

Noor he is only 17 and was able to play in PSL..

Mujeeb another player wasnt part of the Abudhabi leg of Psl

Rashid plays for IPL but before that he is from Afghanistan who has had limited opportunities came up to show that he can be world's best leg spinner.. Why cant Shadab, Usman Qadir, Yasir shah do that in LOIs.

Najibullah zadran another good young batsman..

In pakistan, there are too many big egoistic small talk bullies as coaches in the grass roots level who will never let any good prospect to prosper , is some what a reality.. So many players have complained in the past and till now. PCB shove them as player power.. Bowlers have said their actions are trying to be corrected after they play international cricket which is too late same goes to the batsman with their stance , grip and shot selections..

In the last 25 years no pakistani bowler has taken 200 test wickets, the last to do so was Waqar younis.. And these people as a nation are crazy about fast bowling and have a fascination for pace

Same no pakistani batsman have ever crossed 10,000 runs except Younis khan in tests and Inzi in ODIs.

Exactly. Last two games we have played with Afg have been down to the wire. They have amazing upcoming talent while as we can't find replacements for our 40 year olds. Barring Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen we have nothing.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Afghanistan is the Pakistan of world cricket today.

 

[Cozy]

YH because Afghanistan can beat South Africa back to back home and away.

 

[Cozy]

Exactly. Last two games we have played with Afg have been down to the wire. They have amazing upcoming talent while as we can't find replacements for our 40 year olds. Barring Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen we have nothing.

Afghanistan also took India to the wire does that make them a better team? By your logic if Afghanistan are better then Pakistan then their also better then South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka etc. Also expect for Rashid whose the best in the world atm every Afghan player has been outperformed by at least half a dozen Pakistanis in their specific role.

 

[silentkiller187]

Well he played only 3 matches i guess.. Yes he is a hack so is Sharjeel..

Noor he is only 17 and was able to play in PSL..

Mujeeb another player wasnt part of the Abudhabi leg of Psl

Rashid plays for IPL but before that he is from Afghanistan who has had limited opportunities came up to show that he can be world's best leg spinner.. Why cant Shadab, Usman Qadir, Yasir shah do that in LOIs.

Najibullah zadran another good young batsman..

In pakistan, there are too many big egoistic small talk bullies as coaches in the grass roots level who will never let any good prospect to prosper , is some what a reality.. So many players have complained in the past and till now. PCB shove them as player power.. Bowlers have said their actions are trying to be corrected after they play international cricket which is too late same goes to the batsman with their stance , grip and shot selections..

In the last 25 years no pakistani bowler has taken 200 test wickets, the last to do so was Waqar younis.. And these people as a nation are crazy about fast bowling and have a fascination for pace

Same no pakistani batsman have ever crossed 10,000 runs except Younis khan in tests and Inzi in ODIs.

Thats all well and good but going back to the point of the opnwhich afghan players have outperformed pakistanis, at most the best of what afghanistan has to offer have been on par with uncapped local players maybe slightly better thats all barring 1 or 2 it will be like that for the foreseeable future.

 

[silentkiller187]

Can someone please point out the afghans that are meant to be outperforming pakistanis?

 

[Titan24]

None of Afghan cricketers exactly outperformed in PSL, yes could have done in a match or two and thats part and parcel of the T20 leagues.

I guess just the way we the Pakistani fans are too fast to hype our players after one or two performance and put them to dust after few off performances, I think same is being done with a knock or two from Zazai.

Lets take out "Pak superstars aside", I dont think anyone can say Zazai > Guptill as a batsman but, when you see numbers in this year's PSL Guptill isnt even close.

Its T20 format where you need couple of hacks/bashers in teams who went click can do you favor and if they dont you carry on with the merry ways. I think in both the times against Zazai KK's think tank faltered but, nothing to take away from Zazai.

Batting talent is more than couple of bashing 50s. Can anyone confidently quote me and say that Zazai can produce a couple of 100s the way Fakhar did in SA in ODIs as an example? Fakhar himself isnt technically great but, he is overall a much more solid batsman with more dimensions. This is just one exam

No offense to anyone but, I guess we as fans of cricket need to be bit more mature about understanding of game as well. With the dynamics of current world, it does impact the national team too sometimes with hyping players on social media, journalists jumping in with agendas etc.

Zazai is a decent T20 player but, is a hack/ a ball basher and his couple of good knocks against KK doesnt make him a better or worse player than he already is. Everyone knows how he bats and what his skillset is, there is nothing extreme to conclude here. Otherwise why not hype Asif Ali or Iftkhar Ahmed, they have been pretty impressive as in PSL as well.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Afghanistan in international cricket play with a 'nothing to lose' mentality.

Pakistan can't afford to do that.

Perfectly sums up the Afghan cricket team.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

First off, its quite misguided to assume Afghan cricketers have no facilities at their disposal or grew up playing cricket in a war-torn country.

I'm fairly certain that all the players in their side grew up playing cricket in Pakistan, much like Pakistani cricketers. A number of their early players played domestic cricket in Pakistan. And during their formative years as a team they had access to the same facilities as Pakistan at the GSL. Now, they have access to arguably even better facilities in India.


As for Zazai, he seems like the kind of player who will play an absolutely destructive innings in one game, and go completely missing in the next three. Players like him fail far more often than they succeed. And his international stats are evident of this fact.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Exactly. Last two games we have played with Afg have been down to the wire. They have amazing upcoming talent while as we can't find replacements for our 40 year olds. Barring Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen we have nothing.

Indeed cant find replacements for Hafeez until they have coaches like Misbah and Waqar..

Haider can easily be the replacement for Hafeez but look what he did with him..
Misbah gave him the debut at the end of the tour in England where he scored a fifty , then played him in all positions when Babar was injured in Newzealand, now he is revealing that he was looking him to play a sloggin role when he is clearly a top order batsman who was scoring runs heavily in domestics...

Misbah is a like virus that slow kills any team that is looking to rise up and above.. Misbah and Waqar a deadly combo for any team to be in..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Thats all well and good but going back to the point of the opnwhich afghan players have outperformed pakistanis, at most the best of what afghanistan has to offer have been on par with uncapped local players maybe slightly better thats all barring 1 or 2 it will be like that for the foreseeable future.

I think u havent read the first line of my comment.. Look at how many matches these afghan players have played in PSL6 compared to the list toppers.

You should compare these players with players other than Babar and Rizwan, check the SR and avg..

Compare the wickets of Shadab, Usman Qadir, Yasir shah, Zahid mehmood with Rashid Khan and Mujeeb

Zazai played 3 games only..

 

[Saj]

It is of concern that quite a few of our players are indeed being outperformed by Afghan players, but they deserve credit for that. In fact at the moment Afghanistan is probably one of the most improved T20I teams out there?

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

When a tulla like Zazai is scoring runs, it raises a huge question mark over the quality of bowling. If anyone wants to see his real quality, watch WC games where he was dropped after a few games after getting out for ducks

 

[silentkiller187]

I think u havent read the first line of my comment.. Look at how many matches these afghan players have played in PSL6 compared to the list toppers.

You should compare these players with players other than Babar and Rizwan, check the SR and avg..

Compare the wickets of Shadab, Usman Qadir, Yasir shah, Zahid mehmood with Rashid Khan and Mujeeb

Zazai played 3 games only..

If they haven’t played enough games then how can we make a comparison, the names mentioned are afghan best players so it’s only right to compare them with our best players, or does that no fit the agenda?

Afghan have some good players don’t get me wrong but let’s save this hyperbole and usual ott reactions, the grass always looks greener on the other side how many Afghans have you seen playing first class cricket, or are you making this assumption based on a few random performances in these mercenary leagues because rashid khan aside they haven’t exactly lit up the international stage.

 

[Mamoon]

Said it before and will say it again. Pakistan is the least talented/gifted cricket nation not just today but also throughout the course of history.

Afghanistan is brimming with talent. They are very gifted and have a lot more naturally ability than we do.

If they can produce a couple of fast bowlers like Shaheen etc. which they will soon, they will leapfrog Pakistan especially in white ball cricket.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Said it before and will say it again. Pakistan is the least talented/gifted cricket nation not just today but also throughout the course of history.

Afghanistan is brimming with talent. They are very gifted and have a lot more naturally ability than we do.

If they can produce a couple of fast bowlers like Shaheen etc. which they will soon, they will leapfrog Pakistan especially in white ball cricket.

If they are more talented than Pakistan - which according to you is the least talented/gifted nation throughout the course of history - why haven't they leapfrogged Pakistan already?

This doesn't even make sense.

 

[OMB]

It's time to ring alarm-bells for Pakistan, says Ramiz Raja

ISLAMABAD (APP) - Former Pakistani cricketer Ramiz Raja believes it was time to ring the alarm bells for Pakistan, as he feels it would not be a surprise if Afghanistan rolled-over Pakistan in a Twenty20 game in future.

The 58-year-old claimed that Afghanistan had talented players, such as explosive batsman Hazratullah Zazai, which makes them a dangerous opposition.

“The dangerous thing is that fans in Pakistan had not seen a lot of Hazratullah Zazai before. Afghanistan has more players like Zazai. Their bowling has also improved a lot.

“If you take the Islamabad United team as an example, it boasts three current players in the Pakistan T20 national side who bowled to Zazai, which includes Shadab Khan, who is the vice-captain of the national side. They could not do anything against Zazai. This is because Zazai has raw talent, ability and a very strong temperament. This is what makes Afghanistan so dangerous,” Raja said in a YouTube video.

“I would not be surprised to see Afghanistan bundle Pakistan over in a T20 game. They have wrist spin, experience, they have Najib and Rashid along with excellent talent. They were just weak in the batting department but if Zazai plays this way, then they also have Zadran who we have seen anchored an innings really well in the middle overs,” he said.

The former cricketer, who scored 2,833 and 5,841 runs in 57 Tests and 198 ODIs, respectively, believed that it was time for the alarm bells to go off in Pakistan. “There should be alarm bells ringing in Pakistan,” he said.

We should also start thinking why our youngsters cannot bravely hit the ball like a player like Zazai. Why do they come under pressure? There is a need for introspection and the alarm bells should go off,” he said.

https://dunyanews.tv/en/Cricket/607602-time-to-ring-alarm-bells-for-Pakistan-says-Ramiz-Raja

 

[Saj]

T20 cricket is the ideal format for the Afghan players.

Technically you don't have to be the best and it's attack all the way.

Their style of cricket is all about aggression and flair and 20-over cricket is perfect for that.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Most of the best performances today were from Pakistani players. Big Blaster Zazai was outblasted by Maqsood, Masood and Malik. Not a good day for cheerleaders.

 

[Pakhs]

I think the thread is premature but we should give credit to Afghan players in anycase.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Most of the best performances today were from Pakistani players. Big Blaster Zazai was outblasted by Maqsood, Masood and Malik. Not a good day for cheerleaders.

Blame Kamran Akmal for Zazai’s dismissal. He only faced about 3 balls after 4 overs. Akmal conceded too many dot balls, and that put pressure on Zazai.

 

[Farabi]

8 out of top ten highest wicket takers and run scorers are Pakistanis.
Zazai and Rashid are 2 of the best players in Afghanistan

 

[street cricketer]

The talent and natural ability in people increases proportionately as you move from the east to the western hemisphere.

Natural talent in Bangladesh < India < Pakistan < Afghanistan

So it's not really a surprise to see Afghan players having more natural talent and raw ability the most in south asia

 

[gani999]

In which parallel universe does Afghanistan possess more cricketing talent than Pakistan?

The likes of Rashid Khan and Zazai are mere flashes in the pan. As a proper cricketing side, Afghanistan has miles to go.

Of course, it is great to see the Afghan fighting, never-say-die spirit on the cricket field, and to be fair, they punch higher than their status may suggest, but in no way do they possess more cricketing talent than Pakistan.