How can Pakistan improve their batting?

[ahmedwaqas92]

I guess the title is quite self explanatory but what I would really like to discuss is how can we sort out our batting within the span of lets say 10-12 months.

What I am looking for are short term solutions (specifically) and things that could at least make us a competitive batting unit for the next global event i.e. Champions Trophy and WC 2019.

We all know that improving the batting takes quite a few bunch of years where the domestics provide the base for future batsmen and then those batsmen move up the ranks until they reach the senior team. From there onward we get a good batting culture.

The problem here lies that if we start today then probably the next batch of competitive and mentally capable batsmen might come somewhere around 2023. We seriously can't wait for that long and up until we fix our long term issues Pakistan needs quick short term solutions that helps them keep competitive at least in the LOI scene.

Shoot in your suggestions, whether it be short training camps with Indian Coaches, County contracts, Shield Cricket etc etc - WE SERIOUSLY NEED TO GET THIS FIXED ASAP

P.S. If you want to troll then please refrain from posting on this thread. I am looking for mature, sensible answers that provide a constructive environment for discussion on this matter. The debacle against India last night is just unacceptable, for me at least and we need to seriously figure out a way in which we start posting; not match winning, but at least a competitive score for our bowlers to defend. 83 in a T20 match is just plain unacceptable

 

[AlizeeFan]

Singles. Players who are more willing to take singles more often than players who want to either defend or slog all the time.

Fitness 25-30 years old should not be unfit. Fitness should be like entry criteria to compete with other players.

 

[hussain.r97]

In ODIs, pick technically correct and dynamic players like Haris, Babar, and maybe Shafiq in the same lineup, and give them a long rope to form a solid batting core for the team. These types of players form the core of any batting lineup in the world, and we currently lack them in number.

Any amount of training camps will do no good, technique is developed at the grassroots level, not after you've debuted for your country.

 

[hussain.r97]

Singles. Players who are more willing to take singles more often than players who want to either defend or slog all the time.

Fitness 25-30 years old should not be unfit. Fitness should be like entry criteria to compete with other players.

Agreed here too.

Another thing I'd like to add is that we seem to be lacking lower order firepower these days. For some reason, we're lacking down the order hard hitting all rounders. In fact, our players seem to lack hitting ability in general. They need to learn to play the big shot when required, but focus should be on rotation.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

I'd go left field and say invest in players who have the stomach for a fight.

It's not technique that matters as we have seen that players have done well without having brilliant technique. We had a team that was built around people who knew how to fight. Now, there is hardly anyone who is up for it.

If the pitch turns, swings, or has bounce, they all lose their bearings and give up even before the fight has begun.

The scrappers, people who'd get body blows yet still not give in, people who'd bleed yet stand tall, people who'd be hurt yet won't show even a single frown on their face, intimidating characters, the in your face attitude without resorting to abuse and hand gestures are what we need.

These batsmen and the ones in the wing as well aren't there mentally. Too fragile, too circumspect too meek to actually fight for their lives. How can you go out and expect to win when even before crossing the boundary rope you have all but conceded that you have lost?

Invest in people who wish to fight against the people better than them rather than bullies who run amok and cause havoc against those who they are superior to.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

In ODIs, pick technically correct and dynamic players like Haris, Babar, and maybe Shafiq in the same lineup, and give them a long rope to form a solid batting core for the team . These types of players form the core of any batting lineup in the world, and we currently lack them in number.

To be honest Shafiq and Dynamism doesn't really go hand in hand but I see what you might be implying for his inclusion in the LOI side. I believe that for all the flak that Misbah got in his playing days, this is the sort of performance; 83 all out i.e. he prevented 9 times out of 10. Someone needs to be in Misbah's mold for the LOI side and Shafiq could be the go to guy at least for the short term.

Any amount of training camps will do no good, technique is developed at the grassroots level, not after you've debuted for your country.

I slightly disagree here. We all thought that Umar Akmal turned a corner in the recent PSL when he was showing some brains about how to bat in a run chase and when setting targets. The talk of the town was that he got some very valuable tips from Viv and that's how he managed to get going. Now I am not attributing Viv's pep talk to Umar as the sole reason why he performed but what I am implying is that if our players; decent ones i.e. are thrown in short exercises of highly competitive batting environment then most probably they would themselves become a tad better than being walking tailenders.

Batting Camps with Indian greats such as Dravid and Laxman (I heard him for the first time in that game during commentary and I seriously thought his insight was very top notch) could do these blokes a world of good. A batting camp for these upcoming lads would enable them to rub shoulders with people who are modern greats of the game and practically PCB can afford a name like Dravid or Laxman for 20-25 days stint with the team as well.

What do you think ??

 

[hur rizvi]

Need to pick or best available lot and back them without chop and change for a some time

For ODIs this should be our XI and order. Malik like batsmen shouldnt bat in top order at all. HE is technically most incompetent

Hafeez
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Harris (When he gets fit)
Umar Akmal
Rizwan/Malik (Malik can play until Hafeez clears his action)
Sarfraz
Nawaz/Yamin (Depending upon pitch)
Wahab
Amir
Sami/Irfan

For T20s
Sharjeel
Hafeez
Umar (at 3)
Sarfraz (Best Strike rotator at 4)
Malik
Yamin (He has most potential as batsman among our AR options)
Nawaz
Imad
Wahab
Amir
Irfan/Sami

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

I'd go left field and say invest in players who have the stomach for a fight.

It's not technique that matters as we have seen that players have done well without having brilliant technique. We had a team that was built around people who knew how to fight. Now, there is hardly anyone who is up for it.

If the pitch turns, swings, or has bounce, they all lose their bearings and give up even before the fight has begun.

The scrappers, people who'd get body blows yet still not give in, people who'd bleed yet stand tall, people who'd be hurt yet won't show even a single frown on their face, intimidating characters, the in your face attitude without resorting to abuse and hand gestures are what we need.

These batsmen and the ones in the wing as well aren't there mentally. Too fragile, too circumspect too meek to actually fight for their lives. How can you go out and expect to win when even before crossing the boundary rope you have all but conceded that you have lost?

Invest in people who wish to fight against the people better than them rather than bullies who run amok and cause havoc against those who they are superior to.

You could be correct in a way but at the same time it could just all blow up in our faces if we go with a Rocky XI. The most fighting cricketers today that represent us are Wahab, Amir, Sarfaraz, and Anwar Ali. One doesn't make the squad on merit, we all saw what Wahab dished out int he field while Sarafaraz was decent enough considering the situation.

The only guy who actually stood up given the pressure was Amir and one guy in the four that could stand up says a lot for the mental toughness for our team.

Hafeez, Sharjeel, Khurram Umar, Afridi, Irfan, Sami et al are mental migits when it comes to pressure cooker situation

 

[The Last Of The Stars]

First of all kick out the pseudo batsmen. Replace them with batsmen. We shouldn't bask in past glories. Bold steps are needed to kick out those who have always choked when the team needed them the most. Till the time the likes of Malik, Hafeez and Umar Akmal are in the team, our batting will never improve. These players have occupied vital batting positions and score some runs against weak oppositions which washout their past failures and hence are retained, and it has been happening repeatedly. The biggest mistake was when PCB recalled Malik after the WC, selected Hafeez as a batsman after his bowling ban and recalled Umar Akmal after media pressure or may be sifarish (who knows).

So these three should be kicked out after the WC especially Malik and Hafeez, and should be replaced with young batsmen and stick with them even if they are not the second comings of Joe Root and Steve Smith. Our top 6 should have 5 batsmen and 1 WK. No pseudo batsmen like Malik and Hafeez, as both are/were all rounders originally. You don't succeed/improve by relying on all rounders in your top 6 instead of batsmen.

 

[JibranAnsari]

As long as we keep playing our PSL and bilateral LOI series in UAE we are not going to find a right combination. Playing in UAE is a curse we have to get rid of.

 

[Majid Khan]

I personally don't think one batting coach is the solution - the problems with batting are so desperate, I propose that all other assistant coaches are sacked and for the next 12 months at least we have a three-man panel of batting coaches: an opener (Saeed Anwar / Mudassar Nazar ), a middle order batsman (Inzamam / Miandad), an Australian batsman to get another perspective (Steve Waugh / Justin Langer).

Each of these coaches gets two batsmen ONLY to focus on, work on their techniques and mentoring them - and most importantly assessing their performances and reporting back on their commitment, overall performance and progress/improvement. IF players are NOT performing & NOT improving , NO PROGRESS , these players should get kicked out.

 

[Pete Rose]

i dont know honestly. these same batsmen will prosper against UAE etc....as they will heave across the line and play incredible shots, which are impossible against decent level attacks.
There is no senior batsman to rally around.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

You could be correct in a way but at the same time it could just all blow up in our faces if we go with a Rocky XI. The most fighting cricketers today that represent us are Wahab, Amir, Sarfaraz, and Anwar Ali. One doesn't make the squad on merit, we all saw what Wahab dished out int he field while Sarafaraz was decent enough considering the situation.

The only guy who actually stood up given the pressure was Amir and one guy in the four that could stand up says a lot for the mental toughness for our team.

Hafeez, Sharjeel, Khurram Umar, Afridi, Irfan, Sami et al are mental migits when it comes to pressure cooker situation

Wahab, Amir and Anwar Ali aren't batsman. Sarfaraz does not have the mongrel in him.

Players with grit are AB (Allan Border), S. Waugh, J. Miandad and the likes. I'd add Dhoni in there as well - a street fighter who doesn't have one type of game.

This kind of player lives for the battle not just for glory. You have to identify such people and invest in them. Teach them batting. When you have players who haven't got mental processes which are aligned with ground realities you get Akmals and Shahzads who think that they are super stars and talented.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Wahab, Amir and Anwar Ali aren't batsman. Sarfaraz does not have the mongrel in him.

Players with grit are AB (Allan Border), S. Waugh, J. Miandad and the likes. I'd add Dhoni in there as well - a street fighter who doesn't have one type of game.

This kind of player lives for the battle not just for glory. You have to identify such people and invest in them. Teach them batting. When you have players who haven't got mental processes which are aligned with ground realities you get Akmals and Shahzads who think that they are super stars and talented.

I don't see any Batsmen currently in the Pakistan Squad who has mental toughness and a knack of handling pressure situations i.e. when the going gets tough. PSL also fundamentally reinforced the latter that up coming Pakistani batsmen just don't have it in them to succeed when all chips are down and you are faced with an up hill task.
[MENTION=107807]Pete Rose[/MENTION] I think is correct when he says that there is no single batsmen in our lineup to rally around for others. You need someone in the mold of Kohil, Root, Williamson who can stop the battling landslide and at the same time soak up pressure and protect the other end as well. It is a huge ask for someone coming from the domestics to fill this role but we need to find someone who can at least do 40-50% of what Kohli did yesterday.

Somehow or another we need a quality bad or things will go from bad to worse.

 

[Mamoon]

Adopt a batting culture and hire good coaches and facilities for the junior levels. I see people hoping that we get an Indian batting coach and 'mentors' like Viv and Sangakkara but they cannot do anything with finished products at the top level - they need to employed to work at the NCA and other academies across the country.

However that is al theoretical. In reality, nothing is going to happen so we should accept that we are a rubbish batting team and will remain so in the future.

 

[Amjid Javed]

The selectors, coach and captain need to start looking at players properly and stop selecting them based on scorecards seen on cricinfo etc.. and how they were "the top scorer in domestic tourney" etc... Its time pakistan started identifying what they think are the best batsmen mentally and technically and starting working hard with them in academys and at training centres to improve every aspect of the game, the number of technically inept batsmen we seem to select in 1st place has gone beyond a joke now and whats even worse is there seems to be no plan on how to improve such players when they have so many flaws.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

I don't see any Batsmen currently in the Pakistan Squad who has mental toughness and a knack of handling pressure situations i.e. when the going gets tough. PSL also fundamentally reinforced the latter that up coming Pakistani batsmen just don't have it in them to succeed when all chips are down and you are faced with an up hill task.
[MENTION=107807]Pete Rose[/MENTION] I think is correct when he says that there is no single batsmen in our lineup to rally around for others. You need someone in the mold of Kohil, Root, Williamson who can stop the battling landslide and at the same time soak up pressure and protect the other end as well. It is a huge ask for someone coming from the domestics to fill this role but we need to find someone who can at least do 40-50% of what Kohli did yesterday.

Somehow or another we need a quality bad or things will go from bad to worse.

People keep throwing in Kohli, Williamson, Root and Smith as if they are ordinary cricketers. These guys are currently head and shoulders above their competition and almost certain to end up as greats in the future.

Such players can lead their teams for decades hence comparing with them doesn't make any sense. You also can't make them in a cricket clinic or camp - yes you can improve them but the natural talent that they have is impossible to copy.

Such players don't remain hidden hence that is for sure that we don't have them.

Since you asked how we can fix our batting line-up, the thing is we already know we don't have greats so that check box is done and dusted. Now comes picking from the lot that offers mediocre and average players and here you have to pick those who show fight.

Miandad in his autobiography mentioned that his siblings were all older. And they would play with a wet ball (paani main bhigoo kar) on a skidding pitch so the ball would come even faster than it normally would. They would target his body and by the end of the day, he'd be all black and blue yet still steadfast on the crease.

Now this is what you can do with this lot. Put them against a bowling machine on 18 yards and set it to short crude stuff and see who has the heart to actually face it.

Select characters and people who are in for the fight. Work with them and let them grow. Stop our fascination with players like Hafeez, Afridi and Malik who are just not good at showing a proper fight. If we get one player who fights it out, it will rub off to others as well and we will start seeing some good batsmen coming up.

 

[gani999]

The PCB must invest in and set up a batting clinic on the lines of the MRF Pace Foundation in India. Our pace bowling improved vastly after the MRF foundation came into being.

 

[Amjid Javed]

The mind set, application required to be a top batsmen always seems to be lacking in pakistani players, also there is the problem of mental toughness and also the desire to put a price on a wicket and also show a hunger for runs. Until players start wanting to show the desire to be the best and get the required support domestically and coaching wise our batsmen will remain as 2nd or 3rd rate players.

 

[spade]

Sorry to say, I don't think there is any quick-fix to this problem. However, if you could recreate pressure situations and identify players who could grit it out, it could help to a certain extent but chances are that the established players have become rigid in terms of technique and temperament. I am disappointed not to see Sami Aslam in the ODI team, because playing in domestic cricket is going to be counter productive where the system isn't strong enough to inculcate the habit of good batting which might scramble his thought process through sub standard coaching and wrong advices, he was a good batsmen. while De Kock has been fast tracked and has performed wonderfully, Sami has been left behind. The Selectors also have to take the blame for the situation pakistan finds itself in. Needless to say, Pakistanis lack game awareness and astute handling of situations, which tragically isn't restricted to the playing XI because your coaching staff is just as thick headed as any of the players.

 

[yusuf.saya]

I personally don't think one batting coach is the solution - the problems with batting are so desperate, I propose that all other assistant coaches are sacked and for the next 12 months at least we have a three-man panel of batting coaches: an opener (Saeed Anwar / Mudassar Nazar ), a middle order batsman (Inzamam / Miandad), an Australian batsman to get another perspective (Steve Waugh / Justin Langer).

Each of these coaches gets two batsmen ONLY to focus on, work on their techniques and mentoring them - and most importantly assessing their performances and reporting back on their commitment, overall performance and progress/improvement. IF players are NOT performing & NOT improving , NO PROGRESS , these players should get kicked out.

this is definitely an out of the box idea and something which does feel like it would work. However the key question being - does PCB have the courage to think beyond the traditional way?

 

[Madplayer]

Long term and actual solution :
Invest in cricket at grass root level, school college and university cricket. Improve the facilities and coaching there. Appoint honest officers (preferably ex cricketers) there to keep a check on nepotism. Improve the quality of grounds so fielders can make a habbit of diving. Identify and invest in batsmen from such a low level and take them forward and keep track of their progress. This will start giving you better batsmen in next 8 years.

Short term fix :

Work on the current batsmen's ability to rotate strike. Minimize dot balls. Thats about it.

 

[lahoriyah1234]

Hire batting Coach who can work on Batsmen mental toughness side, rotation, and the abiltiy to observe the pressure and knows when to take on the opposition. May be some like Deano or Inzamam. Most importantly do not pin hopes of PSL to give good batsmen, having good A tour fixtures, having better Under 19 coach. Pakistan do have good bunch of batsmen likes of Umar akmal, harris sohail, babar, shahzad just let them play together and kick leeches out like malik, afridi, khuraam shouldnt have been selected anyway for Asia Cup. Personally i really liked hafeez as a Captain, i think he should take over T20 and ODI and he should bat at no.4. But PCB less said the better.

 

[JibranAnsari]

If we start guiding the young ones at under 15 , 17 and 19 level and discourage the afridi and misbah ( boom boom and tuk tuk)brand of cricket we probably will start finding good players in the next 7 8 years

Selectors will have to go and watch matches. Openers who can rotate strike in the first 10 overs (cutt of average of 32 33) should be selected ahead of the guys who score big but struggle to rotate strike early in the innings. Two good openers are our problem since amir and saeed. Unless we find good openers we will continue to be mediocre.

 

[The Last Of The Stars]

The selectors, coach and captain need to start looking at players properly and stop selecting them based on scorecards seen on cricinfo etc.. and how they were "the top scorer in domestic tourney" etc... Its time pakistan started identifying what they think are the best batsmen mentally and technically and starting working hard with them in academys and at training centres to improve every aspect of the game, the number of technically inept batsmen we seem to select in 1st place has gone beyond a joke now and whats even worse is there seems to be no plan on how to improve such players when they have so many flaws.

If you don't look at the top scorers etc then you will kill the merit. Statistics play a big role. Our selectors select players mostly like what you have suggested. They rarely check their statistics. Iftikhar had performed well in domestic T20s while he got selected for ODIs. Ideally Haris Sohail should have been inducted into the Test team some years ago, but they stuck with mediocre batsmen like Azhar and Asad, just because one of them looks good technically and mentally according to them while his FC record is not impressive, hence no matter however technically good he will be, his application will most likely resemble his FC record. Umar Akmal's statistics have regressed with time yet he gets a free ride just because the selectors see in them something mysterious. No one is perfect technically but statistics must be valued more as it's mostly a true representation of the application of players. Our selectors are old school and out dated. I don't think they value statistics more especially overall career statistics. They go mostly by looks.

 

[Bilal7]

It isn't rocket science. You simply pick your better batsmen! In Pakistan, the batsman that have been doing well or who have the potential to do well are:

Azhar
Shafiq
Akmal
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Maqsood
Aslam

Simply pick four or five of these in all three of your teams after the vets retire and the battinf will be quite decent.

 

[Veteran]

Posting after a long time here. Was shocked at the batting performance yesterday. Hard to understand that these international players seemed to have no idea how to bat in these conditions. I think something needs to be done and there are some good suggestions here. Many of the suggestions mention the importance of singles but rotating strike requires a basic understanding of running between the wickets. This is a fundamental aspect of batting that is not focussed on sufficiently. Not sure who could work on this with our cricketers certainly not Inzimam.

 

[Markhor]

- Use some of the PSL revenues to invest in grassroots coaching, there's too many technically flawed batsmen who just don't have the game to survive against quality international attacks.

- Arrange more A team tours to places like England, South Africa and New Zealand to expose batsmen to overseas conditions.

- Fact is T20s have revolutionised the modern game and quality batsmen are a must. Even in Tests teams are scoring at almost ODI pace and in ODIs we see scores of 400 now. You cannot be successful in LOIs without power hitters and sound strike rotation. Therefore, our coaching emphasis must shift. The national team head coach should have a batting background. There's no need for both Waqar and Azhar or Mushtaq.

 

[Gayle_Force]

The problem I see is that there has been too much experimentation with the batting lineup over the last 2 years or so and it has resulted in a completely unsettled batting lineup. We have had a different batting ineup in every series and it has become ridiculously easy to get selected at the top level. I feel this has also contributed to the number of comical runouts that we are seeing recently. Pakistan needs to identify 7-8 batsmen that are suitable at the top level and give them a consistent run with the squad for a 12 month period regardless of performance.

Furthermore, there also seems to be confusion about each individual batsman's role within the team. Like on any given day you dont know whether hafeez will be opening or coming one down. Also, Umar Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik dont really seem to have a fixed position.

Lastly, I think fans need to accept also that at the current stage there is no quick fix and it will take Pakistan Cricket atleast a year or more to recover from the current shambles.

 

[Syed1]

I'd like to see our batsmen score 250 in ODIs without a boundary being hit.

Get the basics right first. When kids are first exposed to batsmanship the first thing they are taught is defense, the second is to take a single. Our batsmen can't even get these basics right, but ask them to clear the leg and swing across the line and they will happily do it everyday and twice on Sunday.

 

[Seamer]

We need to give these batsman time to gel together for next champions trophy:

1. Azhar Ali
2. Hafeez
3. Haris Sohail
4. Babar Azam
5. Umar Akmal
6. Rizwan
7. Sarfaraz

 

[AZulfi]

By not emulating '2 sixes and then out' Afridi

 

[AZulfi]

The following comment I read somewhere sums it up very nicely

In Pakistan you are still producing decent enough bowlers because the young generation of bowlers still have likes of Imran Khan, Wasim. Waqar as their idols.

For batters, this stupidly excessive glorification of 'Boom Boom' style of brain dead batting means your young cricketers want to be the next Shahid Afridi, not Inzimam, Miandad, Yousuf, Saeed Anwar or Zaheer Abbas.

Why would young Pakistani batters fix their techniques when they know it is ultimately 'Shahid bhai' who gets all the lucrative sponsors and media attention for hitting occasional sixes? So naturally they'll try to emulate him to share fame with him.

 

[Seamer]

We need to let these guys gel together for 2019 world cup:

Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Sami Aslam, Umar Akmal, Maqsood,Asad Shafiq. Azhar Ali, Shehzad, Rizwan, Sarfaraz

Ideally this should be our top 6 for Champions trophy next year:

1. Hafeez/Azhar Ali
2. Shehzad/ Sami Aslam
3. Haris Sohail
4. Babar Azam
5. Umar Akmal/ Maqsood
6. Rizwan/ Sarfaraz

 

[Syed1]

Since none of our batsman is individually any good we should pack our team with 7-8 batsman and hope two or three of them come off and any given day.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

So basically after 35 responses we haven't established how can we improve the performance on a short term basis. . I guess there is no simple answer for this....... Our collapse is eminent and I now see the why [MENTION=1080]miandadrules[/MENTION] hates Afridi for the colossal damage he has done for the whole batting culture for the new generation.

Can we now hit the panic button guys [MENTION=138379]#GreenRoars[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=133726]GoUgandaCranes[/MENTION]. We're literally scrapping the bottom of the barrel here

 

[Gayle_Force]

So basically after 35 responses we haven't established how can we improve the performance on a short term basis. . I guess there is no simple answer for this....... Our collapse is eminent and I now see the why [MENTION=1080]miandadrules[/MENTION] hates Afridi for the colossal damage he has done for the whole batting culture for the new generation.

Can we now hit the panic button guys [MENTION=138379]#GreenRoars[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=133726]GoUgandaCranes[/MENTION]. We're literally scrapping the bottom of the barrel here

Trying to find short term solutions is the reason we are in this mess in the first place. We need to swallow the bitter pill and look for long term solutions.

 

[HuzaifaAzam3]

Haris sohail, babar azam, mohammad Rizwan will be our backbone in the future. Only good batsman I see in odis.

Where is Haris sohail as of now?

Hafeez cannot play any ball that swings or bounces more then a flat pitch. Malik needs to step up his game in order to stay till 2019.

Sami Aslam made 45 in his only game. He should be given another chance.

Shehzad should be in test team only for now and akmal only in t20. Noth need to perform their and learn how to convert their game in to 9ther formats by playing domestic.

Sarfaraz is good for tests and should try opening in odis, maybe it pulls off. And he should be captain in place of Azhar. No one else deserves it.



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[Spidy201]

The biggest problem of pakistan's bating is this 'quick fix'. You want results in 10-12 months, when it takes 2-3 years for a batsman to mature and adjust to international level. This is like saying India want to improve test bowling in next 10-12 months, no coach can do that. and only solution left is changing and chopping. But if you ask for 'quick fix' only thing one could do is give you there preffered batting line up, so let me try aswell.

hafeez(keep s. aslam in team, backup)
Umar akmal(dont think he's good with spin)
B Azam
H sohail
S Malik
A sarfraz
afridi and wahab as bowling allrounders

pakistan dont need hacks like sharjeel or manzoor, consistant line up to make 140-145 in t20 and 240-250 in odis should be first target. bowlers will have to do the rest.

 

[HuzaifaAzam3]

Good to see people actually realizing the importance of young players in the thread.

My team for champions trophy (world cup to far right now)

1. Sami Aslam / Azhar Ali
2. Babar Azam
3. Harris Sohail
4. Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) (c)
5. Mohammad Rizwan
6. Shoaib Malik / Hafeez
7. Imad Wasim / Mohammad Nawaz / Anwar Ali
8. Wahab Riaz
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Mohammad Irfan
11. Imad Wasim / Mohammad Nawaz / Anwar Ali

I miss the old junaid khan I could see bits of the old him in psl. I think he should be recalled after t20 world cup and tested out. If he has indeed improved like he says, he should be in place of irfan or wahab depending on their fitness/performance.




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[AZulfi]

Haris is over-rated
Malik is inconsistent with the bat

Babar Azam is the only decent batsman we have right now (apart from Younis and Misbah in tests)

 

[#GreenRoars]

So basically after 35 responses we haven't established how can we improve the performance on a short term basis. . I guess there is no simple answer for this....... Our collapse is eminent and I now see the why [MENTION=1080]miandadrules[/MENTION] hates Afridi for the colossal damage he has done for the whole batting culture for the new generation.

Can we now hit the panic button guys [MENTION=138379]#GreenRoars[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=133726]GoUgandaCranes[/MENTION]. We're literally scrapping the bottom of the barrel here

I would like to take 1 year back to back failures in order to get a better future batting team. I don't mind defeats, but problem is our batting isn't approving. We have tried many coaches, but problem still persists.

What does this mean?

It means our players don't want to improve themselves. They dont want to take responsibility. Look at Umar Akmal, i have watched his million interviews and i found one thing common "Blame others or batting position or pitch condition or team collapse".

Look at Ahmed Shehzad, busy in liking anti team, anti chairman stuff. Do you expect any betterment from this player?

Wahab Riaz is still dreaming that one spell in WC, in every interview he and his team mates, coaches e.t.c will recall the same incident.

Then here comes our captain Shahid Afridi, who always try to pretend like an over confident person who is leading Wasim, Waqar, Inzi, Moyo, young YK, Zaheer e.t.c with the brain of Imran Khan.

We tried to bring stability in our ODi team, and guess what? We brought Azhar Ali as our captain

Since 2015 WC, we have played enough LOI games, but still we couldn't manage a single good playing 11. We are changing players in every series, rotation policy is on fire. We bring players in to the team without any solid reason and we kick them out with out any reason.

We have lots of good players in our domestic, but we brought Khurram Manzoor as our opener Well i don't mind his selection tbh, nor his fault.


Our whole team, management, selectors are stuck in the past. They are not realizing that it's not 80s cricket, today's cricket is very much modern now and professional. You need to be professional in every thing, your game, your fitness, your body language.

And guess what, we will see changes for WT20 squad too, heavy chances that Khurram may leave out of the squad and may be some other changes.

When your players don't know that either they play next game or not, on what position they will play, how they will bowl, what will be the plan, what will be field set, then how we can bring change????

Our team only needs a long term investment, select a pool of players, define their roles and stick with them. It will take year or two, but at least it will give us some bright future. And we have seen examples like NZ, Australia.

Otherwise bro, we will become worst team than WI in LOIs sooner.

 

[mr-k]

Try to learn and admit mistakes...

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

So basically after 35 responses we haven't established how can we improve the performance on a short term basis. . I guess there is no simple answer for this....... Our collapse is eminent and I now see the why [MENTION=1080]miandadrules[/MENTION] hates Afridi for the colossal damage he has done for the whole batting culture for the new generation.

Can we now hit the panic button guys [MENTION=138379]#GreenRoars[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=133726]GoUgandaCranes[/MENTION]. We're literally scrapping the bottom of the barrel here

Mamoon has been pressing the panic button for about three years now. He has pressed it so many times that the button has his finger prints etched on it.

On the other hand, the kind of person that I am and the place that cricket has in my life now, I don't necessarily need to panic anymore.

Yes every loss hurts but there are other distractions in life. Since as a country we are generally on a declining curve, all of this adds up to one ginormous ball of despair and moves to a certain place in the heart.

I don't believe in saviors emerging and saving our cricket hence I will be watching PSL more than anything else

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Mamoon has been pressing the panic button for about three years now. He has pressed it so many times that the button has his finger prints etched on it.

On the other hand, the kind of person that I am and the place that cricket has in my life now, I don't necessarily need to panic anymore.

Yes every loss hurts but there are other distractions in life. Since as a country we are generally on a declining curve, all of this adds up to one ginormous ball of despair and moves to a certain place in the heart.

I don't believe in saviors emerging and saving our cricket hence I will be watching PSL more than anything else

Haha ) Spot on !!! He seems to be the Paul Bearer of the PP Panic Button for some years now . On a side note cricket has taken a back seat in my life also once I started my professional life a few years back lekin for some messed up reason these idiots just hold me hostage on an emotional level and even though I tell myself that 'I won't get upset' - at the end of the day I just break down in tears and sorrow

We have almost tried everything in the past 3 years now and the batting conundrum isn't even remotely solved. I fail to acknowledge the notion that Pakistan has just stopped producing batsmen because out of 180 million people 1 million would definitely play the game at a competitive level and are we saying that out of 1 million players we can't field 5 decent batsmen in our playing XI ?? Seems highly unlikely to be honest.

 

[Abdul]

It's inevitable - no ifs ands or buts

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Pakistan are ranked no.9 in ODI's and have had a horrible time in T20's as well. Yet they keep playing the same core in the batting unit. You can't expect anything to change.

England were in a similar position but they actually did something to change it after WC 2015, they removed experienced pros who were just not fit for modern style of batting and backed a young skipper to lead a dynamic side. And results followed.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I would like to post something, but i feel it would just irk the people so I am staying mum

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

I would like to post something, but i feel it would just irk the people so I am staying mum

Since when did you start caring about not irking people Dr. Sb?

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Since when did you start caring about not irking people Dr. Sb?

I usually speak my mind , but too much of truth can kill you sometimes.

 

[coy0607]

batting is more about grit than talent. we have to develop a mindset where batsmen need to start fighting, not just try and hit out every time the going gets tough

I like Hafeez, Malik and Azhar, but ultimately they are what they are and their is no future with them in ODI/T20I. better to do a full re-build now, its not like persisting with those guys is helping us

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

I usually speak my mind , but too much of truth can kill you sometimes.

Kill them by the truth rather than letting them grow on the filth of lies Dr. Sb.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

So basically after 35 responses we haven't established how can we improve the performance on a short term basis. . I guess there is no simple answer for this....... Our collapse is eminent and I now see the why [MENTION=1080]miandadrules[/MENTION] hates Afridi for the colossal damage he has done for the whole batting culture for the new generation.

Can we now hit the panic button guys [MENTION=138379]#GreenRoars[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=133726]GoUgandaCranes[/MENTION]. We're literally scrapping the bottom of the barrel here

As far as I am concerned no its not the time to push the panic button.


Short term remedies for Asia cup are :

Move Mohammad Hafeez to number 3 his preferred batting position and hide Malik at number 5 while slot Akmal at number 4 with Khurram opening.

Hopefully team bats well against UAE and gains the needed momentum and confidence.

If Khurram Manzoor struggles against UAE aswell which is unlikely than drop him and select Nawaz or Imad or Anwar Ali as per pitch conditions.


Hope we reach Asia cup final inshaAllah.


Than picture will be more clear for World T20 and if Babar gets fit before 8th March and Khurram still struggles than drop Khurram and select Babar Azam provided he has gained ful fitness.


Also see how Anwar, Irfan & Wahab fare and anyone of them gets a very very poor game than drop him and select Hasan Ali or Sohail Khan for World T20 but it's highly unlikely unless any of them goes for 45 plus in 4 overs.


For the longterm solution call Ahsan Ali, Nauman Anwar, Fakhar Zaman, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel Shoaib Ahmed Minhas and assess there techniques and game. Wrt Nauman first revive his old stance and technique as ChachaCricket mentioned in another thread while wrt to Ahsan teach him sports psychology and work on mental.sife of his game.

But Shoaib Ahmed Minhas, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel & Fakhar Zaman should be part of Pakistan A squads (list A) for next 2,3 series atleast and see how they perform especially against England Lions in England. Once the coaches with Pakistan A and NCA believe that the best 2 of this lot have been polished and developed and they are ready for international cricket and they have performed at optimum level for Pakistan A with good average & strike rate than induct them into pakistan team in place of those players after 6 to 9 months time who are struggling to perform at that point of time and selectors and team management don't see them in their longterm plan for.champions trophy or next worldcup.


Among these players Fakhar Zaman is one player who has had a decent experience of playing for Pakistan A where he has piled up good number of runs so if the NCA coaches and pakistan A coaches of last two three A tours believe that he is ready than we can select him directly now for World T20 or for the odi series against England in England.


But trust me for once. The best under 21 batting talent in pakistan is Saud Shakeel. He has a very good stance. Great timing and his shots placement is immaculate. He is very humble guy and very hard working and committed player. He plays shots on the merit of the ball and he is sensible player.

Mohammad Yousuf was a huge fan of Saeed Anwar and modelled his batting on him and he rates Saeed very highly. Yousuf has not been seen on TV praising any batsman except Asad Shafique. But when he saw Saud's little innings in Under 19 WC quarterfinal he said that this kid has reminded me of Saeed Anwar bhaee.

Saud is very pleasant and easy on the eye when you see him batting. No awkward stance or crouch. Simple & Stylish. He is under pcb wings since the age of 14 just like Babar Azam & Umar Akmal etc.

Faisal Iqbal mistreated him & Saad Ali as captain of Karachi in Saud's first FC season by sometimes sending him even at number 7 whereas he is a middle order batsman beat suited for number 4 or number 5. Still you see he averaged 49 in his debut FC season with 2 or 3 centuries. It was due to his batting mainly and also due to Saad Ali that Karachi did well in last FC season otherwise there team was a nothing team. Despite mistreatment this Saud averaged 49 in his debut season.

Saud is rated very highly in Karachi circle and as far as I am concerned I call him the best batting talent from province of Sindh and I myself my from Punjab.

Tauseef Ahmed was the coach of Karachi I think and the best thing I saw was that he gave Saud Shakeel all the games khi played despite him failing in couple of them. But it tells u that he also rates him very highly or he was under instruction from PCB wrt Saud.

For me the new finds of last domestic season were Saud Shakeel, Amad Butt and Altaf Ahmed Khan.


Karachi has produced Zaheer Abbass, Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar and if PCB regions and departments treat Saud fairly and groom and develop him properly seeing him as a future asset for Pakistan than this kid will be among the best produced by Karachi in terms of Batsman.


We cannot ever become a batting powerhouse like India while we can match their spinners and produce better pacers than them but in form of Fakhar Zaman , Saud Shakeel, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam and Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Rizwan we can develop a good reasonable batting line up to give a good fight.


Wrt matches against India we have to overcome the pressure issue. May be we need people like Saeed Anwar and that sports psychologist Mr.Babri to talk to Pakistan team. It's our failure to handle pressure which results in us either dropping 4 catches of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar in one innings of 98 (2011) or Razzaq standing at short mid off rather than standing as usual Mid off (2003) or Batting crumbling as if it's not Pakistan team but lowest ranked associate team facing Indian bowlers (2016)
Similarly Aamer Sohail losing temper by hot words uttered by Prasad (1996) etc etc.

 

[street cricketer]

I would like to post something, but i feel it would just irk the people so I am staying mum

Go on

 

[miandadrules]

I don't understand why Afridi fans are complaining. Isn't this team batting in the same manner Afridi does? They will probably hit their fill of 6's against UAE.

So why is it that when Afridi performs like this you are sent in to euphoria but despair when the rest of the team follows suit?

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

I don't understand why Afridi fans are complaining. Isn't this team batting in the same manner Afridi does? They will probably hit their fill of 6's against UAE.

So why is it that when Afridi performs like this you are sent in to euphoria but despair when the rest of the team follows suit?

Have you ever seen FB posts on Lala and his 'legendary exploits' People are so arrogant about facts - It's mind boggling probably borderline insanity as well

 

[ads101]

There's no senior batsmen to take responsibility and for younger batsmen to play with. Hence the problem. We have that in tests, but in LOI we don't, we don't have a single great batsman.

I don't think it's something that's easy to overcome, just have to strike lucky and hope one of the young talents turns into a great batsman. It's a bit like Tendulkar, he didn't have many batsmen good playing with him early on in his career, but inspired a legion of batsmen (and played with them) in the latter of his career.

In T20s dunno what to do except drop Hafeez.

In ODIs I'd have a line up of:

1. Sami Aslam
2. Azhar Ali
3. Hafeez
4. Babar Azam
5. Malik
6. Umar Akmal
7. Sarfraz Ahmed

With Sarfraz as captain, I've lost faith in Azhar Ali. Think that's the best line up we can produce. Haris coming back would strengthen the side when he's fit.

 

[KeyboardWarrior]

Get someone like Tendulkar, Sangakkara for NCA (if possible) ....
Becoz you cant fix this problem in couple of years ....
and if you dont want to bundle out under 100 in 2019 WC thn its time to get rid the likes of Hafeez, Shahzad, Malik , Akmals .... all are useless ....
Give someone captaincy whos Street smart .....

 

[Bilal7]

It isn't rocket science. You simply pick your better batsmen! In Pakistan, the batsman that have been doing well or who have the potential to do well are:

Azhar
Shafiq
Akmal
Babar
Haris
Rizwan
Maqsood
Aslam

Simply pick four or five of these in all three of your teams after the vets retire and the battinf will be quite decent.

So basically after 35 responses we haven't established how can we improve the performance on a short term basis. . I guess there is no simple answer for this....... Our collapse is eminent and I now see the why [MENTION=1080]miandadrules[/MENTION] hates Afridi for the colossal damage he has done for the whole batting culture for the new generation.

Can we now hit the panic button guys [MENTION=138379]#GreenRoars[/MENTION] [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=133726]GoUgandaCranes[/MENTION]. We're literally scrapping the bottom of the barrel here

Our short-term solution. Once again, I emphasize, pick your best batsmen and scrap the mediocre ones like Khurrum, Shehzad, Malik, Iftiqar, Fawad, Masood, etc.

 

[IM NOT YOU]

open with umar akmal and sami aslam, and let fakhar zaman bat 1 down.

introduce saud shakeel as well.

in the meantime have the middle order consist of babar azam, sarfraz ahmed, and haris sohail.



let the guys who average close to 50 in domestic (the ones I listed) have a long run and weed out rubbish like sharjeel khan, Khalid latif, ahmed shehzad, etc and anybody else who cant rotate strike.

unfortunately hafeez and shehzad have been occupying the top 3 or 4 slots so regularly for the last 4 years that it has destroyed our cricket because both are mediocre and both fail in big games.

we need to have at least 8 guys out of the 15 consist of babar azam, fakhar zaman, sami aslam, saud shakeel, imad wasim, haris sohail, fawad alam, imam ul haq.

let guys who succeed at u19 and A tours play and play.

organize entire series between pak A and pak national or pak A vs pak B so that the best 20 players on the fringe can all play in the same match for a full series .

 

[AlphaFighter]

Pretty simple. Identify the best 10-15 batsmen in the country and just stick with them for atleast 2 years. Too much chopping and changing is what has contributed to this batting emergency in the country and the fact that too many players just play for themselves, their own spots in the team and don't really express themselves properly with the bat.

 

[AlphaFighter]

This successful PSL tournament can bring about so many opportunities for change for the better. Najam Sethi has already said that the franchise owners now want ownership of all the regional teams and facilities. The PCB will now have money to upgrade all their stadiums as per international standards. This will give the PCB the opportunity to hire better coaches at the domestic grass roots level, at the NCA. This gives the PCB the opportunity to establish academies in other cities in Pakistan.

This is why successfully running the PSL was important for the PCB.

 

[BabarAkmal_Fan]

Babar Azam is our only decent batsman in the pipeline. I love Umar Akmal but how many chances is he going to get?

 

[AZulfi]

To be honest we have only got one talented young batsman right now, Babar Azam and his loss due to injury is a big blow

Umar Akmal is talented but not taking responsibility with the bat.

Sharjeel is a hack or slogger. Manzoor is not the answer either. If these two fail in the next games of Asia Cup, Shehzad (another unreliable player) will be back

Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali are mainly test players. Their game is not suited to limited overs cricket (However could try Asad as a stabiliser in the middle overs of ODI). Younis and Misbah will obviously play tests

Malik is too inconsistent

Sarfraz hasn't done much with the bat of late

Haris Sohail is over-rated but could be tried again

Sami Aslam made 45 in the only ODI he's played so far

Hafeez has been our most consistent batsman across all formats in recent times (which is saying something)

 

[AamirWarraich]

We need better facilities and coaches for batsmen at the grassroots level. On the short term, kick out all the TTFs. Hafeez is good only in UAE, Malik has been exposed again, Khurram never should've been in the T20 squad.

Our batting mentality is messed up. The players don't know how to take singles. They play too many dot balls. They also are mostly unfit so that's another reason why they don't like running. Lol

 

[AamirWarraich]

Insha Allah 2019 ODI team will be
Sami Aslam
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Saud Shakeel
Umar AKMAL (if he matures, unlikely)/Rizwan
Sarfraz Ahmed
An all rounder
Mohammad Aamir
and three other fast bowlers
Hassan Ali
Sameen Gul
Junaid Khan (if he recovers form) or someone else.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Short term fix is the correction of batting order. Afridi should really answer these questions:

Why did Hafeez open the inning when Manzoor who was selected as a specialist opener was playing too?

Why were they hiding Umar Akmal down the order when he had a great PSL and his good against fast bowling but weak against spin?

Why Malik, who is completely out-of-form, was sent to bat when 2 wickets were already lost early?

Why is Sarfraz continuously playing as a finisher when he is more suited for middle order?

South Africa opened with AB and Amla against England and they thrashed England. That is how you play T20. Your best batsmen should get maximum overs in T20s. On the other hand, for some strange reason, Pakistani think-tank wants to expose their weak and out of form batsman first.

With current squad (which is a batsman short), this I think is the best possible batting order:

1. Sharjeel
2. Hafeez
3. Akmal
4. Sarfraz
5. Afridi
6. Nawaz
7. Malik
8. Imad
9. Sami
10. Aamer
11. Irfan

 

[The_Odd_One]

Long term fix is to get rid of old horses: Hafeez, Malik, and Afridi and invest in players who can play next WC.

1. Azhar
2. Akmal
3. Harris
4. Babar
5. Sarfraz
6. Asad
7. Nawaz
8. Yamin
9. Hassan
10. Aamer
11. Asghar

Backups:
Sharjeel, Aslam, Rizwan, Aadil, and Gohar

 

[Kaka4pope]

Send promising batsmen overseas - Oz, England, South Africa, even New Zealand - get them familiar with pitches that move.

Doesn't have to be for the best teams, Pakistani youngsters probably wouldn't be top of the lists for overseas slots in any case but even at good club level..

 

[itsme]

They have to learn to rotate the strike and for that they mainly have to learn running between the wickets,this is their biggest problems.

 

[LegendAli]

Babar Azam is our only decent batsman in the pipeline. I love Umar Akmal but how many chances is he going to get?

So you admit Umar is mediocre and has already gotten way too many chances, than why do you still love him?

 

[BabarAkmal_Fan]

So you admit Umar is mediocre and has already gotten way too many chances, than why do you still love him?

Because he's an entertaining player when on song. When he performs it is great, but unfortunately it'll probably only be in PSL and other T20 leagues in the future.

Unless he somehow turns it around.

 

[Syed1]

Play 8 proper batsmen and 3 bowlers. Hope that some of the batsmen can roll their arms over economically.

 

[LegendAli]

Because he's an entertaining player when on song. When he performs it is great, but unfortunately it'll probably only be in PSL and other T20 leagues in the future.

Unless he somehow turns it around.

If you love below average players just because they're above average when on song than there's a whole list of players I could throw at you and trust me they deserve way more love than Akmal.

 

[jib13673]

I have a question for you. How do you know that Babar is technically very good. He has just played few games. Real nature and weekness of batsmen will show up when they play arround 20 to 30 ODI. Umer akmal is laways best player in pakistan. He has played aganst australia, south africa and many great bowlers.

And please shafiq, he cant score runs and what we do with his technical skills.
His average is 26 and strike rate so poor.

 

[jib13673]

If you see previous t20 played by pakistan in Newzeland or against England. You will see umer akmal is the only consistent player.

 

[Junaids]

Two words.

Salman Butt.

In every form of the game. Even in T20 he will bat 12 overs for 40 off 36 balls, and when he gets out you are 100-2 from twelve overs. Your remaining batsmen then have 48 balls, so you should score 170+.

How can you keep selecting Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan and Khurram Manzoor, who lack the footwork to survive?

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Two words.

Salman Butt.

In every form of the game. Even in T20 he will bat 12 overs for 40 off 36 balls, and when he gets out you are 100-2 from twelve overs. Your remaining batsmen then have 48 balls, so you should score 170+.

How can you keep selecting Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan and Khurram Manzoor, who lack the footwork to survive?

Three words

Salman Messiah Butt.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Two words.

Salman Butt.

In every form of the game. Even in T20 he will bat 12 overs for 40 off 36 balls, and when he gets out you are 100-2 from twelve overs. Your remaining batsmen then have 48 balls, so you should score 170+.

How can you keep selecting Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Sharjeel Khan and Khurram Manzoor, who lack the footwork to survive?

This could be a relatively better short term solution, but the amount of animosity he would be subjected too and well deserved to be honest would really disrupt the team combination and players would find it really hard to gel together as a unit.

Plus having Amir and Butt in the same XI would make matters worse because I believe that during the fives years on their respective bans Butt and Amir had an extremely bad fallout. Both blamed each other for a set of 2-3 media interviews.....so that's that.....

On cricketing ability Butt is in the same mold as that of Hafeez / Malik type of players. He will be a beast on flat tracks and against India primarily. Any hint of Movement and S.Butt becomes a walking wicket. His averages and statistics in Eng and other places where the ball did a little in the early overs is a testament to the mediocrity he has in him as a player.

I know now you will bring up that 70 odd score he made in Australia against Mcgrath and Co. but you know what even Imran Farhat has a 50+ score against Styen, Morkel and Philander in SA (At their respective peaks) so now does that mean Farhat is the next best thing since sliced bread..... I don't think so . To put it simply, it was an equivalent level of fluke that which we experienced Afridi pull off in the last Asia cup match against India and Bangladesh.

All the above was 6 years ago and quite honestly Butt could have improved his game over the course of the last half a decade....who knows.... He was I think the second highest run getter in the National ODI tournament which could indicate that he might just be a stop gag solution to this opening conundrum but the fact of that matter is; in that same tournament K.Akmal was the highest run getter which is just worthy and gives us a very contrasting view that maybe.... just maybe the quality of the tournament and the bowlers bowling to Butt would not have been at their competitive best.

These are all speculations and subjective opinions but I genuinely believe that trying the latter has no harm in it. There is no one bigger or no cause bigger than the success of Pakistan cricket on the field and if it means that we have to subject ourselves to tolerating Butt on field, then so be it.

P.S. One thing I am extremely sure about is the fact that if Butt (somehow or another is selected; which right now seems impossible to be honest) he needs to start performing from ball 1 and consequently he would be put on the shortest leash any Pakistani cricketer would be subjected too.

Maybe that's exactly what he may need to perform and what Pakistan may need to get it's opening batting problem sorted out.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Pakistan can never improve their batting because of 2 reasons,
1> Pakistani cricket fans are pathetic all they love is hit and miss players!
2> Pakstani cricket fans are way too impatient plus they have zero vision in recognizing a true batting talent!

Thank You so much for your extremely insightful opinion on the matter. An excellent job at generalizing everyone with the same stick and proving your massive knowledge on the gentlemen's game.

Clearly the fans are the ones that call the shots when making selections and which players need to be invested upon and who are key batter in the domestic setup. The coaches in clubs, departments, A teams, U-19s and other domestic teams are just there for attendance sake and every decision is done by a voting process like the Indian Idol.

I think we should now close this thread since Mr. Batting prodigy has given us the massive input we were all so desperately waiting for. Thank you so much Sir

/thread