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How badly are Pakistan missing Haris Sohail?

Sher Khan

Local Club Captain
Joined
Jan 17, 2018
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2,409
Their is no doubt that these Pakistani batsmen here have no answer to the English swing bowlers. But Haris Sohail sure does, one of the best players of pace bowling in the world he sure would have come in handy on these tracks. He would surely not have given his wicket away that easily and would have played his shots.
 
"Haris Sohail sure does".

Pakistan fans will never learn and the answer to our problems always lie in someone else. The fact is apart from Babar there are no other Pakistani batsmen that can play world class bowling in SENA conditions.

We should learn from our mistakes and take baby steps rather than dreaming of conquering England in England.

Short answer is that Haris Sohail or not the result would have been the same, have a look at Haris' numbers in recent away matches.
 
He is our second best batsman after Babar. There is no doubt about that
 
Haris is more effective in ODIs. He likes to feel bat on ball and is a stroke player. I would play both Babar and Haris in T20Is also for stability. Rest can be dashers around them.

We need to find good FC batsmen for test cricket, and develop them. I don't understand what is the point of QeA trophies when it makes no difference to national team selection.
 
Their is no doubt that these Pakistani batsmen here have no answer to the English swing bowlers. But Haris Sohail sure does, one of the best players of pace bowling in the world he sure would have come in handy on these tracks. He would surely not have given his wicket away that easily and would have played his shots.
He played 8 innings in Australia, scored less than ten in 7 of them, and averaged 6.37.
 
Are we really serious? The guy has hardly got any footwoork, complete liability against pace or bounce, zero work ethic/liability in the field and most of all *does not even care*. Does not want to improve, according to our current players he’s of the school of thought that I don’t want to do anything but just have his turn batting.
 
Pak are not missing Haris, they are suffering from making the wrong investments!

Never should have shafiq played for so long, Azhar should have been opening and Fawad should have been in the team from 4 or 5 years ago.
 
can imagine haris poking outside off every time he would come to bat, odis is a diff game, hardly ever any slips when he comes to bat, tests he looks great till he pokes to slip. would have pbly done better than asad and azhar, but thats not really saying anything.
 
I think he would have done decently. Not great, but decent. He is all right vs lateral movement, it’s the bounce that he struggled with which consequently messed up his footwork in Australia.
 
Isn't Nasser Hussain's favourite quote applicable once again?

"You're always a better player when you're not in the playing XI".
 
Isn't Nasser Hussain's favourite quote applicable once again?

"You're always a better player when you're not in the playing XI".
 
I think he would have done decently. Not great, but decent. He is all right vs lateral movement, it’s the bounce that he struggled with which consequently messed up his footwork in Australia.

Exactly.

His hunger to succeed isnt as much as Babar but, if he was in the mood we might have seen some impressive knocks. I believe after Babar he has the most ability with the bat in our current lot considering the players that have represented Pakistan.
 
Should have played in place of Azhar in the first two games and in place of Shafiq in the third one (in case Shafiq fails again in the second innings). Wouldnt have done any worse than them.
 
Not much at all I would think. I honestly dont think he wouldve fared much better than players placing in his place. Except for Shafiq ofcourse, anyone would do better than him right now.

Performances outside of Pakistan/UAE
9 runs in 2 innings vs Australia
114 runs in 4 innings vs England
38 runs in 2 innings vs Ireland

Short sample size, I know but nothing really to suggest he has promise in the longer version of the game.
 
Play Haris anywhere except Australia and South Africa as he'll struggle with the bounce there. He's excelled in swing and seamer friendly domestic conditions during the 2010s.

The batting line-up I'd like to see going forward is:

Shan Masood
Abid Ali/Azhar Ali
Haris Sohail
Babar Azam
Haider Ali/Saud Shakeel
Muhammad Rizwan
Shadab Khan

If Shadab fails with the bat its worth giving both Haider Ali and Saud Shakeel an extended run in the side.

I'd only keep Azhar Ali if we're going to drop Abid Ali. He could be used as a stop gap until we find a half decent opener to accompany Shan. Sami Aslam and Imam are not good enough. Azhar Ali needs to be stripped of his captaincy if he doesn't resign but I don't mind him opening with Shan Masood until we find another opener.
 
Not really, another OK player who will never uproot any trees. Missed the boat through injury and a lack of desire to improve.
 
We haven't missed him but when he is available he is good enough to be in the team.
 
If Pakistan can save this test, this is a successful series for Pak in England. A loss of 0-1 is a very fruitful result for overseas team, particularly given that Pakistan is in transition right now and they were missing their second best batsmen, Haris Sohail.

We might see our England brother, [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] coming up and talking about his age but I think he is certainly better than some of the current Pak players in the squad.
 
Lmao he is bang average right now

Averaged 9 in home series against Sri Lanka and hogged the chance Fawad should’ve gotten back then
 
Play Haris anywhere except Australia and South Africa as he'll struggle with the bounce there. He's excelled in swing and seamer friendly domestic conditions during the 2010s.

The batting line-up I'd like to see going forward is:

Shan Masood
Abid Ali/Azhar Ali
Haris Sohail
Babar Azam
Haider Ali/Saud Shakeel
Muhammad Rizwan
Shadab Khan

If Shadab fails with the bat its worth giving both Haider Ali and Saud Shakeel an extended run in the side.

I'd only keep Azhar Ali if we're going to drop Abid Ali. He could be used as a stop gap until we find a half decent opener to accompany Shan. Sami Aslam and Imam are not good enough. Azhar Ali needs to be stripped of his captaincy if he doesn't resign but I don't mind him opening with Shan Masood until we find another opener.
Pretty good line up, but I wouldn't want to play Haider, but yes Saud should play.

Also not so sure about Shadab, I don't think he is good enough to be no 7. I think Aamer Yamin should play there as he's the only all rounder who I think can hold a bat.

Don't really rate Haris much but he can be a decent option for no.3 for the time being.
 
On recent form, I reckon Pak are missing Haris as much as England would miss Anderson for his batting alone. So, in other words, A LOT.
 
Pretty good line up, but I wouldn't want to play Haider, but yes Saud should play.

Also not so sure about Shadab, I don't think he is good enough to be no 7. I think Aamer Yamin should play there as he's the only all rounder who I think can hold a bat.

Don't really rate Haris much but he can be a decent option for no.3 for the time being.

How come you don't rate Haider?

The issue with playing Aamer Yamin as a bowling all-rounder is simply because he is the contrary to this proposed role. He is a batting all-rounder, so if we want to give him a spot in the team he has to make it as a batsman first. I'm not sure he's good enough to make the cut purely as a batsman. I'd keep him for Pakistan A.

Haris' lazy attitude is a big problem but I cannot see who else can bat at 3. I would rather keep Babar at 4 because nowadays you want your best batsman to cash in after the new ball, as they have the best chance to score the most runs for the side.

We need a new replacement for Shafiq right away. Fawad Alam is well past it.

The biggest problem we have is the lower order because we don't have a genuine bowling all-rounder who is half decent with the bat.
 
How come you don't rate Haider?

The issue with playing Aamer Yamin as a bowling all-rounder is simply because he is the contrary to this proposed role. He is a batting all-rounder, so if we want to give him a spot in the team he has to make it as a batsman first. I'm not sure he's good enough to make the cut purely as a batsman. I'd keep him for Pakistan A.

Haris' lazy attitude is a big problem but I cannot see who else can bat at 3. I would rather keep Babar at 4 because nowadays you want your best batsman to cash in after the new ball, as they have the best chance to score the most runs for the side.

We need a new replacement for Shafiq right away. Fawad Alam is well past it.

The biggest problem we have is the lower order because we don't have a genuine bowling all-rounder who is half decent with the bat.

I do think Haider is a good talent, but I'd like him to play 2 more years of first class, get some more experience before he is brought in. Don't want the same thing to happen to him like what is with Naseem. I'm fine if he plays white ball cricket for now to get a taste of international pressure though

Fair point on Yamin, a bowling all rounder is definitely needed. He does bowl decently, but yeah not much options here. If Faheem improved his batting that would be great, but I have doubts about that. Another option instead of Shadab is Zafar Gohar, but I feel like he's more of a no.8 and much more of a bowler.

Yeah, don't see any options for no 3. The lkeks of Usman Saluhuddin, Saad Ali are all middle order batsmen. Maybe In a few years one of Haider or Zeeshan Malik can take that role.
 
No we didn’t. He is a lazy, unfit player with zero desire and commitment who can play pace but struggles to handle bounce and movement.

This is typical of Pakistan fans - the players sitting outside the team are always the solution to our woes.

Had Haris played instead of Fawad, we would now be missing Fawad and people would write stories on how he would have turned things around for us.
 
I do think Haider is a good talent, but I'd like him to play 2 more years of first class, get some more experience before he is brought in. Don't want the same thing to happen to him like what is with Naseem. I'm fine if he plays white ball cricket for now to get a taste of international pressure though

Fair point on Yamin, a bowling all rounder is definitely needed. He does bowl decently, but yeah not much options here. If Faheem improved his batting that would be great, but I have doubts about that. Another option instead of Shadab is Zafar Gohar, but I feel like he's more of a no.8 and much more of a bowler.

Yeah, don't see any options for no 3. The lkeks of Usman Saluhuddin, Saad Ali are all middle order batsmen. Maybe In a few years one of Haider or Zeeshan Malik can take that role.

Zafar Gohar is a good suggestion. I think his batting is improving as well. Lowish average still (20-22) but he's managed to scored 1 x 100 and 5 x 50s in 39 matches. I just hope he isn't another Bilal Asif because that guy was certainly not a no.8!

He would be my replacement for Yasir Shah. I think Shadab Khan has more talent with the bat and is more likely to become a batting all-rounder in red ball cricket
 
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Pretty good line up, but I wouldn't want to play Haider, but yes Saud should play.

Also not so sure about Shadab, I don't think he is good enough to be no 7. I think Aamer Yamin should play there as he's the only all rounder who I think can hold a bat.

Don't really rate Haris much but he can be a decent option for no.3 for the time being.

Aamer Yamin should've been utilised as a batting AR at #7 since 2016 outside Asia to be honest. As much as I defended Mickey, I cannot fathom why he gave Fahim Ashraf the golden boy treatment when Yamin is twice the batsman Fahim is.

His bowling is military medium at 75mph. But your 5th bowler doesn't need to pull up any trees - all you need is 8-10 tidy overs a day so you can rest and rotate your three frontline seamers in shorter, sharp spells. Plus we wouldn't need to overbowl Yasir who we all know struggles to keep it tight.
 
Aamer Yamin should've been utilised as a batting AR at #7 since 2016 outside Asia to be honest. As much as I defended Mickey, I cannot fathom why he gave Fahim Ashraf the golden boy treatment when Yamin is twice the batsman Fahim is.

His bowling is military medium at 75mph. But your 5th bowler doesn't need to pull up any trees - all you need is 8-10 tidy overs a day so you can rest and rotate your three frontline seamers in shorter, sharp spells. Plus we wouldn't need to overbowl Yasir who we all know struggles to keep it tight.

Remember he performed well against Zimbabwe and than Waqar Guardiola discarded him.
 
So a 37-averaging test bat becomes a hero because he missed a tour where he'd have been shown up like the rest of them.

Haris dodged a bullet here.
 
I wish we invested in him 10 years ago rather than Shafiq. Things would've been different.
 
Haris is very good against swing and seam movement.He is even better than Babar in this aspect.He is surely being missed here.
 
Haris was unlucky that he started getting selected a few years too late. But sadly things haven't gone his way since then with injuries and other off field issues.

Don't think he was a big miss as per recent performances, seems on borrowed time now.
 
In Pakistan cricket, the best way to increase your own stock is actually to be injured and not play a Test Series in SENA. Lay on your couch and watch the batsmen getting bulldozed. Your stock as a batsman goes through the roof without having touched the bat.
 
Haris was unlucky that he started getting selected a few years too late. But sadly things haven't gone his way since then with injuries and other off field issues.

Don't think he was a big miss as per recent performances, seems on borrowed time now.

Agreed
 
I think he would have done decently. Not great, but decent. He is all right vs lateral movement, it’s the bounce that he struggled with which consequently messed up his footwork in Australia.

Out of curiosity may I ask why posters on PP feel he is OK against lateral movement in the air or off the pitch? Is it just the 2018 tour that we are basing this on?
 
That was due to injury. This time was due to fear of Covid.

He always conveniently gets an injury or something on these tours. Didn’t play full Australia tour either
 
That was due to injury. This time was due to fear of Covid.

Got it. Just because the manner in which he’s been absent from some tours rumours have already been circulating about the timing of his injuries. The fact that his fellow players openly joke about his lack of fitness, work ethic and willingness to work hard is the icing.
 
He always conveniently gets an injury or something on these tours. Didn’t play full Australia tour either

Have heard this. Have to say what little I have seen and heard of him, does not help dissuade me from this notion.
 
Oh god. Haris shouldn’t be played! He’s not a long term prospect and has serious fitness issues without the dedication to work hard! His own teammates have jokingly labelled him as the laziest in the team in interviews. In 2 years he will have the same problems as Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq with fans lambasting his wasted potential.

Now is the time to induct a solid 20-24 year old into the middle order. Don’t go back to Sohail!
 
Have heard this. Have to say what little I have seen and heard of him, does not help dissuade me from this notion.

Also he’s 31 now. So clearly no longer a prospect.

He’s been talked about since 2012-13 when he ws 23-ish. He got a bit of a run in 2014-15 and unfortunately got an injury which robbed him of almost 2 years of cricket. However since he’s been back he just hasn’t shown hunger which you would expect from someone trying to make up for lost time. He has not progressed AT ALL in his batsmanship either.
 
He is Shikhar Dhawan level batsmen. Good at home and average overseas. Clearly Pakistan missed him.
 
Everything aside, he is kind of player who could have changed the complexion of the 3rd innings of Pak in the first test on his day. He is lethargic and not always 100% fit but when there is a chance and something to play for he can sometimes rise upto the occasion creating an impact as we saw in the WC 19.

If its between Shafiq, Fawad and Haris. I would go with Haris any day of the week as on his good day he can create an impact.
 
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Oh god. Haris shouldn’t be played! He’s not a long term prospect and has serious fitness issues without the dedication to work hard! His own teammates have jokingly labelled him as the laziest in the team in interviews. In 2 years he will have the same problems as Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq with fans lambasting his wasted potential.

Now is the time to induct a solid 20-24 year old into the middle order. Don’t go back to Sohail!

Who you think should be given a chance
 
Oh god. Haris shouldn’t be played! He’s not a long term prospect and has serious fitness issues without the dedication to work hard! His own teammates have jokingly labelled him as the laziest in the team in interviews. In 2 years he will have the same problems as Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq with fans lambasting his wasted potential.

Now is the time to induct a solid 20-24 year old into the middle order. Don’t go back to Sohail!

Thank you, thank you!! Time to move on from the mid-2010s bunch.
 
In Pakistan cricket, the best way to increase your own stock is actually to be injured and not play a Test Series in SENA. Lay on your couch and watch the batsmen getting bulldozed. Your stock as a batsman goes through the roof without having touched the bat.

Quoted for truth. 👍🏼
 
Also he’s 31 now. So clearly no longer a prospect.

He’s been talked about since 2012-13 when he ws 23-ish. He got a bit of a run in 2014-15 and unfortunately got an injury which robbed him of almost 2 years of cricket. However since he’s been back he just hasn’t shown hunger which you would expect from someone trying to make up for lost time. He has not progressed AT ALL in his batsmanship either.

He’s shown a lot of hunger all right. Shows with the concavity he’s nursing on his upper body. Parathaaaaay
 
In Pakistan cricket, the best way to increase your own stock is actually to be injured and not play a Test Series in SENA. Lay on your couch and watch the batsmen getting bulldozed. Your stock as a batsman goes through the roof without having touched the bat.

Cue Haris Sohail enters...
 
Who you think should be given a chance

Just watch this upcoming Quaid e Azam season and they will make their names known themselves. Haider Ali is already with the national squad, but here are a few more names to keep an eye on: Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Sami Aslam, Imran Butt, and Zeeshan Malik.

They are all aged 24 except Shafique who is 20. Shafique is younger and has played less first XI cricket but out of all of them he is the most pleasing to watch. He’s just fantastic. He has closely worked with Gio Collusi, one of the best batting coaches in the world, and is rated by folks like Rashid Latif.

This upcoming season will tell us a lot as he will be pushing to make a name for himself, as will the other names mentioned.

For now, replace Asad Shafiq with Babar at 4, Haider Ali at 5, and Rizwan at 6. The New Zealand playing XI should look like this:

1. Shan Masood
2. Abid Ali
3. Azhar Ali (c)
4. Babar Azam
5. Haider Ali
6. Mohammad Rizwan
7. —
8. —
9. —
10. —
11. —

Azhar should then retire after the series, yielding Shan the captaincy, and opening up another spot for the standout performer of QeA 2020.

However, it is likely they will end up playing Haris Sohail instead. This will block a spot in the team. We all know Haris doesn’t have the motivation to be a player who wants to improve his game, score hundreds consistently or be patient at the crease - so why keep him around at the age of 31, when he has knee issues, drops out of tours when he feels like it, and is so lazy that it becomes a joking point for his teammates in interviews?
 
Haris Sohail is the next big selection mistake for Pakistan! Alarm bells should be ringing right now!
 
Mehhh.. Haris would have been better than a few others, but he's not some world beater (yet) who would have saved the series.

The bigger problem is 5 of the top 6 either don't perform, or played only a single innings over 50. You'll never win Tests with that kind of inconsistency
 
Just watch this upcoming Quaid e Azam season and they will make their names known themselves. Haider Ali is already with the national squad, but here are a few more names to keep an eye on: Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Sami Aslam, Imran Butt, and Zeeshan Malik.

They are all aged 24 except Shafique who is 20. Shafique is younger and has played less first XI cricket but out of all of them he is the most pleasing to watch. He’s just fantastic. He has closely worked with Gio Collusi, one of the best batting coaches in the world, and is rated by folks like Rashid Latif.

This upcoming season will tell us a lot as he will be pushing to make a name for himself, as will the other names mentioned.

For now, replace Asad Shafiq with Babar at 4, Haider Ali at 5, and Rizwan at 6. The New Zealand playing XI should look like this:

1. Shan Masood
2. Abid Ali
3. Azhar Ali (c)
4. Babar Azam
5. Haider Ali
6. Mohammad Rizwan
7. —
8. —
9. —
10. —
11. —

Azhar should then retire after the series, yielding Shan the captaincy, and opening up another spot for the standout performer of QeA 2020.

However, it is likely they will end up playing Haris Sohail instead. This will block a spot in the team. We all know Haris doesn’t have the motivation to be a player who wants to improve his game, score hundreds consistently or be patient at the crease - so why keep him around at the age of 31, when he has knee issues, drops out of tours when he feels like it, and is so lazy that it becomes a joking point for his teammates in interviews?

Agreed that we need to keep an eye on the people you stated and also agree that shafique is very pleasing on the eye.hopefully the youngster play in the first xI in the qaid e azam that's were they will learn and get a name for themselves and I hope the coaches put them in the first xI.

Personally I'd play haider at 6 and rizwan ar 5 at the moment due to his attacking ability but then brought up at 5 when hes learned the art of staying at the wicket.

I also would drop abid hes been okay but imran butt might be a good option but if they continued abid I wouldnt be shocked or disappointed

Agreed harris sohail should only play odis not tests or t20s
 
Just about entering the age bracket where Misbah will sit up and notice the 'youngster'
 
I believe the Haris Sohail ship has sailed now in test cricket. We would be better off investing in someone younger who can serve us for longer. Haris didn't do much in the last tours of Australia and England. Others can do as well or better in Asia.
 
Yes they missed him.

Would the series outcome have been different? I doubt it.
 
Just watch this upcoming Quaid e Azam season and they will make their names known themselves. Haider Ali is already with the national squad, but here are a few more names to keep an eye on: Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Sami Aslam, Imran Butt, and Zeeshan Malik.

They are all aged 24 except Shafique who is 20. Shafique is younger and has played less first XI cricket but out of all of them he is the most pleasing to watch. He’s just fantastic. He has closely worked with Gio Collusi, one of the best batting coaches in the world, and is rated by folks like Rashid Latif.

This upcoming season will tell us a lot as he will be pushing to make a name for himself, as will the other names mentioned.

For now, replace Asad Shafiq with Babar at 4, Haider Ali at 5, and Rizwan at 6. The New Zealand playing XI should look like this:

1. Shan Masood
2. Abid Ali
3. Azhar Ali (c)
4. Babar Azam
5. Haider Ali
6. Mohammad Rizwan
7. —
8. —
9. —
10. —
11. —

Azhar should then retire after the series, yielding Shan the captaincy, and opening up another spot for the standout performer of QeA 2020.

However, it is likely they will end up playing Haris Sohail instead. This will block a spot in the team. We all know Haris doesn’t have the motivation to be a player who wants to improve his game, score hundreds consistently or be patient at the crease - so why keep him around at the age of 31, when he has knee issues, drops out of tours when he feels like it, and is so lazy that it becomes a joking point for his teammates in interviews?

good suggestion, but I would disagree to debut Haider Ali at a tough tour with New Zealand. Instead I would advice why not try Imam at 5 for now, and see what happen. After the tour, Azhar Ali should be made to retire. At the same moment, if Imam do well then give him No. 3 and debut Haider Ali at 5 or 6 the next tour. Else move to another batsman from the QeA 2020. That's way Haider will get easier tour to debut and Pak team may replace their captain at 3.
 
Not missing Harris Sohail at all, he would have been a failure too. We need to move on from this now useless cricketer. Yes, at one time he was a very good cricketer but lost his best years due to fitness issues and injuries. Was not a very fit cricketer even in his much younger days.
 
Not missing Harris Sohail at all, he would have been a failure too. We need to move on from this now useless cricketer. Yes, at one time he was a very good cricketer but lost his best years due to fitness issues and injuries. Was not a very fit cricketer even in his much younger days.

He will be back in the squad even thou I dont agree with it
 
good suggestion, but I would disagree to debut Haider Ali at a tough tour with New Zealand. Instead I would advice why not try Imam at 5 for now, and see what happen. After the tour, Azhar Ali should be made to retire. At the same moment, if Imam do well then give him No. 3 and debut Haider Ali at 5 or 6 the next tour. Else move to another batsman from the QeA 2020. That's way Haider will get easier tour to debut and Pak team may replace their captain at 3.

Agreed haider shouldn't play in New Zealand we all no it's a solid tour proberly harder than austrlia.
 
I believe the Haris Sohail ship has sailed now in test cricket. We would be better off investing in someone younger who can serve us for longer. Haris didn't do much in the last tours of Australia and England. Others can do as well or better in Asia.

Agreed this qaid e azam trophy is crucial for the likes of omair bin yousuf imran butt abdullah shafique Usman salahuddin saadi ali hopefully 1 or 2 have a big tournament
 
No we didn’t. He is a lazy, unfit player with zero desire and commitment who can play pace but struggles to handle bounce and movement.

This is typical of Pakistan fans - the players sitting outside the team are always the solution to our woes.

Had Haris played instead of Fawad, we would now be missing Fawad and people would write stories on how he would have turned things around for us.

It is amazing how Haris's stocks have fallen in the last 6 months. He was supposed to be part of the "core" around which the team was to be built and now people want him to be replaced by Sarfaraz....without the gloves. Either his fans' expectations were too high or their patience is too low.
 
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Pakistan have missed haris like most people miss a gunshot to the head.

Needs to be dropped for SA series.
 
He was already useless in Australia 13 months ago and he has actually got worse.

This is not “form” - he averaged 8 in 2019-20.

He has the body of a 40 year old and his hand-eye coordination is gone.

Misbah and Younis were what happens when a super-fit hard-training man in his thirties keeps on playing.

Haris Sohail is what happens when a lazy, unfit man with a fake age keeps on playing.
 
Haris Sohail is trash. Is he being missed now?
 
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Pakistan is always missing whatever cricket is not selected or is injured
 
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