What's new

How many 'power hitters' are there in Pakistan cricket?

pakistanigoneaussie

pakistanigoneaussie

Senior ODI Player
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
Runs
21,505
Post of the Week
2
Realistically how many do we have ?

I guess a lot of it depends on ones definition of Power hitter. If we are talking about a person who can clear the fence against any bowling at the word go, then sadly I reckon the only one is afridi.

If we are thinking players that have the ability to score quickly and hit big against pace and spin then even their the selection seems to be limited and largely players we have already tried - Maqsood, Umar, Nasir, Hammad ect

Yamin should get a go though.

I think Pakistan just isn't producing such players. All those mentioned are on the wrong side of 25.

From the younger lot I think Kamran Ghulam has great potential but it's too early for him.

Amad Butt is a strong boy who hits it clean but is more bowling allrounder.


The cupboard does seem to be incredibly bare
 
I doubt Maqsood will be able to hit the English pace bowlers.

Hammad is still living of that 6 he hit against England 4 years ago and has done nothing since.
 
The key is to find ones who are power hitters but are not hacks. For example Sharjeel is a power hitter but he is not a hack.
 
Its simple.. A power hitter has to be tall, muscular and strong. Someone like Yamin can barely hit spinners for sixes, let alone fast bowlers. He is good cricketer, I agree. But the spot for power hitting will remain vacant. The guy for this job is Sohaib Maqsood, he's muscular, 6'4, has the right technique, has all the shots, just needs to know when to play them and how to. Writing him off may prove to be very bad for Pakistan. Having him and Sharjeel in the same squad will fit the bill.
 
In all honesty I can't think of any who could do it in international cricket.
 
Saj said:
In all honesty I can't think of any who could do it in international cricket.
Click to expand...

Agree with you there Saj. There is no one in Pakistan who can hit a clean ball other than Sharjeel against pace and that too consistently.
 
Umar Akmal would probably qualify. Afridi isn't really a power hitter, he's hit and hope for the most part.
 
You dont need power hitters all the time, even sweet timers of the balls would do.

Some one like Rohit is a not a tonked up powerful unit, but he times them sweetly. Same was the case with Raina, before he lost his form and touch.

Or take UV, not a butcher of the ball like Sehwag or Dhoni, but a sweet hitter none the less....
 
Umar Akmal is a clean striker of the ball, so is Kamran... I see no harm in recalling them back in the team in different roles, that of hitting at the end batting at 6 and 7.
 
At the same time groom some of your youngsters in that hard hitting role, I remember very well Abdul Razzaq did NOT start as a big hitter, infact he used to bat at 3 and play very slowly.

Pakistan captains in the past like Wasim, Imran knew how to groom players, sadly in the present day it is not the case.
 
Sadly, there is none. And also if some hitter makes an entry into team if he plays some quick innings, impulsively our fans declare him hack :) So, our fans loves technical players. And MashAllah our current team is filled with it.

Jokes aside, there is no good hitter in our domestic circuit. You will see names of some old ttfs.
 
We need clean strikers of the ball. Misbah is the cleanest striker we have in our cricket right now and he's 42 and doesn't play ODIs. This tells you that we really don't have talent in our domestic cricket.
 
sam_ahm said:
Umar Akmal is a clean striker of the ball, so is Kamran... I see no harm in recalling them back in the team in different roles, that of hitting at the end batting at 6 and 7.
Click to expand...

Its mind boggling that Mohamamd Hafeez and Shoaib Malik can play in ODIs but not Umar Akmal.
 
Asif Ali and Kamran Ghulam can do the job for T20s for now. If they develop, they can be tried in ODIs too. In ODIs, we will have to play Umar Akmal at 6 and Amir Yamin at 7 for now.
 
Pakistani 'Graham Napier' Tariq Haroon. An old guy who is a specalist in T20 tullaybazi. It shows you that these old guys Afridi, Razzaq, Tariq are still the better ones. Very sad situation.
 
Ali Khan
Asif Ali
Navid Malik

These guys are specialist sloggers.

Ali khan Has hit more sixes the 4s in his t20 career, although he does have a afridiesque average because he bats low down the order.

Asif ali scored a 100 on t20 debut for Faisalabad and gets handpicked by Misbah for domestic teams ever since.
Also scored some crucial runs for Islamabad united.

Navid Malik I think has the highest strike rate out off all the Pakistani batsmen.
 
What is Power Hitter?

First of all lets define power hitter and differentiate it from timing based batsmen. Power hitter is someone who can hit 4s and 6s at difficult angles with sheer power. He has ability to hit 6s at backfoot, with half hit/ mishit, half timing and so on. He doesn't need to wait for bad balls or less than good balls to hit a six or 4. Braithwaite, Buttler, Gayle, Warner etc are perfect examples.

Power hitter needs timing too, but not as much as pure timing batsmen do...Power is coming from muscles for most part and long levers, that's height is important as well. For instance Kohli can hit sixes but not like Gayle, neither from get go... Timing players need more time to set in, power hitters can go from early on, since there mishits can go through. If conditions of play remain favoring batsmen, they will be more significant down the road.

In all T20 leagues, power hitting role is pretty much out sourced to big guys from WI (mainly), AUS,SA,ENG...There are very few Desis filling in those role.It is becoming a speciality, require tall, muscular guys with long and muscular levers...The way Buttler hit some of the sixes/fours in last over on low full toss, it was not possible but short, slimmer batsmen couple of decade ago... Afridi was example of power hitter in Pakistan, he had very strong forearms, that was his key strength in batting... With age you loose both power and reflexes..

Guys like Kholi, Morgan, Root, Umar etc can hit sixes too, but more so on timing rather than power. Some of them have developed muscles too like AB and Kohli in recent years to make their power hitting more effective...


Its Dijavue for Us, Remember Hockey?

Back in early 1980s, we had every trophy in hockey World Cup, Champions Trophy, Asian Cup, Olympics. As game moves towards Astro turf, game become much faster, you need more muscular and active athletes.

This is sort of what happened in Hockey or pretty much all other sports, look at top hockey players from 70s/80s and now, their is a significant difference in physical body, lot more muscular, their BMI is obviously very different back in old days than now. Which is true in Athletics as well(if you see Olympics clips). Desies are not good at producing players or people in general with low BMI, this has lot to do with the gym and sports culture in our community, plus one dimensional nature of our diet :(

If Cricket continue to become a power oriented game, we are going to be left behind specially Pakistan. Test Cricket still has similar dynamics as in past... LOIs are diverging differently. May be ICC will do something to bring balance back... But cricket probably will catch up with rest of the sports, look at baseball, its lot more about upper body muscle power for both pitching and hitting, actually lot more than cricket...

Question is can we compete in modern form of cricket with kind of product (players/Athletes) our society and culture produces?? - Answer is similar to what we had in Hockey
 
You need a good top 4 who are good stroke players and can rotate the strike otherwise WI would have been no 1

Only Razzaq type player is needed at 7, that's it
 
Let's get one thing straight - there's a difference between power hitters and hacks. I've seen some PPers say since we lack power hitters we should select all the hacks like Mukhtar, Maqsood, Shahzaib etc.

If hacks were all we needed then Awais Zia would be a mainstay in our ODI team. Power hitting is not repeatedly closing your eyes and slogging through midwicket.

Power hitting is a technique in itself. England Lions even hired a baseball coach, Julian Wood, before a South Africa A series to give the batsmen technical tips to improve their ability to clear their ropes, and the result was a side including Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Sam Billings, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and James Vince twice smashing scores in excess of 375.

What Wood did was encourage batsmen to get lower in their stance, to create a similar standing position to that of a baseball hitter, encourages individuals to lift their bats higher and tries to increase hand speed in striking the ball. PCB should think outside the box and hire him. If we can't find the power hitters then at least try and coach it.
 
Last edited:
With due respect all mention sloggers including mine as per intl' standard are crap
Markhor is right slogging/powerhitting (hitting brainlessly is former while doing it with a technique is an art) it has become an art now baseball coach is the way of only PCB' thick tank could think :inti

But as per Justice Cooke ''Clowns :najam work in PCB'' and according to :akhtar PCB has jets :inti
 
So Australia played the likes of ...

Warner...Lynn...Marsh...Maxwell...with lower order consisting of Cummings..Faulkner & Stark..

Pakistan played...

Sharjeel..Imad Wasim..

Not long ago we had...

Afridi..Razzaq..

Have the people in Pakistan shrunk with no power anymore? Where are the big strong men who can hit huge sixes?

At the back end of the innings we someone like Rizwan coming in. What is going on?
 
It's either the bats they are using or they are just weak.
None of the hits have come remotely close to being anywhere near a 6.
 
volcyz said:
It's either the bats they are using or they are just weak.
None of the hits have come remotely close to being anywhere near a 6.
Click to expand...

I would go with weak.

Afridi and Razzaq weren't over 6ft but both were very strong. These guys struggle to get it off the square at times. ODI cricket has evolved to the next stage, big hitters are a must or you will not win too many matches.
 
My List :


1. Shahzaib Hassan

2. Naveed Malik

3. Ali Khan

4. Asif Afridi

5. Sharjeel Khan

6. Sohail Khan

7. Tariq Haroon

8. Misbah ul Haq

9. Amad Butt

10. Kamran Ghulam

11. Awais Zia
 
Not many, however; you don't need power hitters to be a decent batting unit. It's always better to have couple of Butlers at the start & end of innings; but that doesn't mean it should go to this level that target of 220 becomes tug of war.

I explained that in some other thread to @Sensible Indian Fan with a classic example of Bangladesh. We actually don't have many hitters, let alone power hitters, who can flat bat a six like tennis shot. But, what we do is maintain a very good RR from ball 1 - even when we chased 320 in WC; hardly ever the asking touched 7.5. Technically correct players with good timing & placements can maintain 5+ RR from 10th over without going crazy. PAK's entire strategy is built on 35-15 basis (double up scores from 35th over); which can work up to 250 per match - 125/2 at 35 overs can finish 245/9. But, it won't work on 320 per condition. Slogging has an elasticity; even 180/3 after 35 overs can't add another 170 in last 15. PAK's batting problem is not lack of power hitter; rather opener & No. 3 with scores of 24 (48) & 4 (8). I didn't see yesterdays chase; but I can categorically tell that Azhar cost Sarjeel's wicket - every time he'll do that, whenever PAK is chasing 260+
 
in every street of Pakistan , you will power hitters.

they just need to be groomed and need proper coaching
 
Abdullah719 said:
Yeah. Don't think that list has age-limits though - Misbah is there too...
Click to expand...
I saw him play in the Corporate T20 Cup and couldn't believe a player of such mediocrity is playing FC cricket.

Bowls 120 KPH pies and can slog the spinners.
 
There are players who can hit the ball hard but they aren't coached like players from other countries in that their shots aren't calculated and their technique inefficient.

I've been repeating this for a long time. Pakistan need qualified coaches(batting and bowling). Ever since our players were cut off from county, our domestic coaches have been thoroughly exposed. This is where the problem lies.
 
exactly..basics are not strong.. and they are dumb too mentally..

like if we are strong in one shot.. then we have to master of it.. and practice hard on that shot to the level that it become our go to shot..
and if we weak at some shot then we need to practice and develop ourselves to a level that atleast we can take a single.

muscle memory is a thing which our batters dont know I think.. (may be i am too frustrated today)

i remember somewhere buttler was saying that he has developed his scoop to new level and which is helping him in other shots as well.. (not sure whether he was buttler or not)
 
Ellipsism said:
Isn't Tariq Haroon 40 years old.
Click to expand...


He is. I am not advocating for his Selection.

These are batsman with strong wrists and forearms and they can play short arm jab shots except Misbah. And they can hit 100 plus meters sixes.
 
I use sixes to innings ratio as a measure of power hitting ability.

For List-A (names are from the top of my head):

Sharjeel Khan = 85/62 = 1.37
Shahzaib Hasan: 55/54 = 1.02
Abdur Rehman Muzammil 25/21 = 1.20
Umar Akmal 28/45 = 0.62
Awais Zia 22/59 = 0.37
Sohaib Maqsood (data incomplete), for ODIs 8/18 = 0.44
Fakhar Zaman 35/42 = 0.83
Naved Malik 27/44 = 0.62
Kamran Ghulam 3/19 = 0.16
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
My List :


1. Shahzaib Hassan

2. Naveed Malik

3. Ali Khan

4. Asif Afridi

5. Sharjeel Khan

6. Sohail Khan

7. Tariq Haroon

8. Misbah ul Haq

9. Amad Butt

10. Kamran Ghulam

11. Awais Zia
Click to expand...


6/innings ratios (also refer to my previous post):

1. Asif Afridi 3/7 = 0.43

2. Amad Butt 12/16 = 0.75

3. Ali Khan 38/52 = 0.73
 
asfandyar said:
I use sixes to innings ratio as a measure of power hitting ability.

For List-A (names are from the top of my head):

Sharjeel Khan = 85/62 = 1.37
Shahzaib Hasan: 55/54 = 1.02
Abdur Rehman Muzammil 25/21 = 1.20
Umar Akmal 28/45 = 0.62
Awais Zia 22/59 = 0.37
Sohaib Maqsood (data incomplete), for ODIs 8/18 = 0.44
Fakhar Zaman 35/42 = 0.83
Naved Malik 27/44 = 0.62
Kamran Ghulam 3/19 = 0.16
Click to expand...

*Sohaib Maqsood is actually 16/25 = 0.64 in ODIs. Data for List-A are not available
 
Ajinkya Rahane is capable of playing at 100 SR and he is not a power hitter, Kane Williamson, even Manish Pandey...

Abdul Razzaq.. was he a power hitter? I think he was a proper batsman. The only power hitter who clicked for Pakistan in last 20 years was Shahid Afridi... And Afridi had that X factor in him, he was a match winner on his day

You first need good proper batsman, who can bat and adapt well to formats.. Don't look for wrong people who can simply slog and don't serve any purpose.
 
asfandyar said:
6/innings ratios (also refer to my previous post):

1. Asif Afridi 3/7 = 0.43

2. Amad Butt 12/16 = 0.75

3. Ali Khan 38/52 = 0.73
Click to expand...


Cricket is not played on Stats books.


I have named these people because I have seen them hit hugeee sixes and show their immense power.


There was a fast bowler of Sialkot Stallions Sarfraz Ahmed. He was also a power house and used to hit huge sixes.


Just clearing the rope doesn't mean one is a power hitter. Some players do it merely on timing and I haven't named them because they are not power hitters.
 
asfandyar said:
I use sixes to innings ratio as a measure of power hitting ability.

For List-A (names are from the top of my head):

Sharjeel Khan = 85/62 = 1.37
Shahzaib Hasan: 55/54 = 1.02
Abdur Rehman Muzammil 25/21 = 1.20
Umar Akmal 28/45 = 0.62
Awais Zia 22/59 = 0.37
Sohaib Maqsood (data incomplete), for ODIs 8/18 = 0.44
Fakhar Zaman 35/42 = 0.83
Naved Malik 27/44 = 0.62
Kamran Ghulam 3/19 = 0.16
Click to expand...


Basit Ali rates him highly and was voicing for his inclusion into Pak Odi team in 2015.


Don't remember exactly but you or someone else told me that his stance is very Unorthodox so he isn't international material. Sana Mir might think otherwise :root
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Cricket is not played on Stats books.


I have named these people because I have seen them hit hugeee sixes and show their immense power.


There was a fast bowler of Sialkot Stallions Sarfraz Ahmed. He was also a power house and used to hit huge sixes.


Just clearing the rope doesn't mean one is a power hitter. Some players do it merely on timing and I haven't named them because they are not power hitters.
Click to expand...

A 70 meter six yields the same amount of runs as a 120 meter six. In contrast, a powerful hitter can hit it miles into the air, only for the ball to be caught right at the boundary. Numbers are there to disprove our delusions, and every listing and/or comparison that you provide is an opinion unless you have numbers to back it up.

On a side note, I was not disagreeing with you in the quoted post, I was actually agreeing, and then implying how awful our hitters are compared to other countries.
 
Lack of power hitters hurting Pakistan, most of the batsmen got out caught with a few metres of the boundary which was disappointing to see.
 
Finisher said:
Lack of power hitters hurting Pakistan, most of the batsmen got out caught with a few metres of the boundary which was disappointing to see.
Click to expand...

Hitting against the wind. Asif and Imad's shots would've been six otherwise. Faheem needs to play straight and stop slogging leg side.

All 3 are good power hitters even Hasan Ali.
 
Power hitters are useless and not necessary. From SA's side it was Faf and Hendricks who did most of the work and their "power hitters" did jack.

What we needed was one of the top four who got starts to convert the 40s into a 70 and we'd be over the line.
 
Not many.

Only guys that can whack a pacer for six are the Akmal brothers, Asif Ali, Maqsood, Imad, Naveed Malik, Ali Khan and probably a few others, but can't remember them at this time or don't know them.

The biggest loss in this department has to be the loss of the trio Sharjeel, Khalid and Shahzaib - proper monster hitters.
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Power hitters are useless and not necessary. From SA's side it was Faf and Hendricks who did most of the work and their "power hitters" did jack.

What we needed was one of the top four who got starts to convert the 40s into a 70 and we'd be over the line.
Click to expand...

Because Babar and Talat couldn't clear the boundary they put more and more pressure on themselves and the rest with the RRR climbing to 12.
 
Barragan said:
Not many.

Only guys that can whack a pacer for six are the Akmal brothers, Asif Ali, Maqsood, Imad, Naveed Malik, Ali Khan and probably a few others, but can't remember them at this time or don't know them.

The biggest loss in this department has to be the loss of the trio Sharjeel, Khalid and Shahzaib - proper monster hitters.
Click to expand...

Gotta agree with this.

All could handle pace bowlers with ease, especially Sharjeel.
 
Finisher said:
Lack of power hitters hurting Pakistan, most of the batsmen got out caught with a few metres of the boundary which was disappointing to see.
Click to expand...

Imad Wasim, Asif Ali and Faheem Ashraf are alle powerhitters, they have proven that. But there are other problems with them; they simply don’t read the game well and are also inconsistent.
 
sharjeel and umar Akmal has to be the best and most needed players right now in Pakistan team
 
Would much rather have proper bats who can find the gaps and boundaries rather than "power hitters" like Asif who are only do chaar ball ke mehmaan. Six and out types.
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Power hitters are useless and not necessary. From SA's side it was Faf and Hendricks who did most of the work and their "power hitters" did jack.

What we needed was one of the top four who got starts to convert the 40s into a 70 and we'd be over the line.
Click to expand...

Faf du Plesis hit 4 sixes, isn’t that power hitting?

Pakistan’s top 6 hit only 3 sixes

South Africa’s lower order didn’t do jack because Faf and Hendricks played for majority of the innings, Hendricks also hit 2 sixes.

Pakistan’s power hitter Fakhar Zaman failed, if he played well it would’ve been a different outcome.

To say power hitters aren’t needed in T20’s is crazy.

If it wasn’t for Brathwaites power hitting ability, his team would’ve lost the final of the WT20
 
YousafTheBeast said:
Faf du Plesis hit 4 sixes, isn’t that power hitting?

Pakistan’s top 6 hit only 3 sixes

South Africa’s lower order didn’t do jack because Faf and Hendricks played for majority of the innings, Hendricks also hit 2 sixes.

Pakistan’s power hitter Fakhar Zaman failed, if he played well it would’ve been a different outcome.

To say power hitters aren’t needed in T20’s is crazy.

If it wasn’t for Brathwaites power hitting ability, his team would’ve lost the final of the WT20
Click to expand...

Faf is an all around player. He's not an out and out power hitter.
 
I think/hope the selectors are saving a spot in the WC squad for the best power hitter from the PSL. Could be a name we know of or someone we didn't think about previously.
 
Afghanistan Power Hitters>>Pakistan batsmen

And we taught them cricket, thats when you know its bad.
I miss Afridi.
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Faf is an all around player. He's not an out and out power hitter.
Click to expand...

Lol just because he makes power hitting easy and elegant doesn't mean he is not a power hitter. That inside out lofted drive for six and powerful pull shots are amazing to watch. It's just that he is captain and has more responsibility to play long innings which is why he is careful otherwise he has all thr shots to clear the ropes.
 
Last edited:
I fail to understand how imam is an ODI opener and can't be T20 opener... How can he improve his SR in ODIs without playing T20s especially when all nations have same ODI and T20 openers...
 
indianpanacea said:
I fail to understand how imam is an ODI opener and can't be T20 opener... How can he improve his SR in ODIs without playing T20s especially when all nations have same ODI and T20 openers...
Click to expand...

Because in ODIs an opener who can score a slowish 60 is more valuable for a team with overall batting ability of the Pakistan team than one who can score a quick 30 - in T20s it’s the other way around, batsmen can chip in with 30s and 20s and the team can still be competitive and get a decent total if you have all rounders all the way down to 9/10 who can also get 20s.. most important is the runs come quickly at more than a run a ball.
 
I think, power hitter doesn't mean Afridi or Wasim Akram - to me, a power hitter is someone who can execute a proper cricket shot with brutal power, so that an one bounce single can clear Long On or Long Off or Sweeper Cover or 3rd Man for a SIX. But, the fundamentals have to be there - footwork, hand-eye, balance, shift of body weight, high back lift, bat swing and quick judgement of length. These are batting skills - without those Asif Butler with all his power hitting, can't move beyond 20s in FC or List A average.

In that regard, there are only 3 I have seen in last 10-12 years - Umar Akmal, Shoaib Maqsood and Sharjeel Khan. Any one can swing the bat along shoulder arc like a golfer, and if he can connect, it'll clear 60 metres easily with modern bats. In that regard biggest power hitter is probably Mo Irfaaaaan, who had couple of 100 metre sixes in one innings, but I guess we are not looking for that. The signature shots that I use to differentiate a power hitter and a leg slogger is what Umar & Maqsood had - inside out lofted drive to clear extra cover or long off boundary for a SIX. Next one is the "Upar Cut", to clear 3rd man against short ball, something was a signature shot of Sehwag and Sharjeel was capable of that.

Rest are basically poor mans Shahid Afridi.
 
Answer to the question is : None

Do not call slogger Asif Ali as power hitter. Amir/Hasan bats better than some of our so called All rounders.
In-fact we should develop Amir/Hasan as AR.

My XI:

Shoaib Malik
Shan Masood
Babar
Imad Wasim
Sarf
Shadab
Hafeez
Amir
Hasan
Faheem
Junaid
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Power hitters are useless and not necessary. From SA's side it was Faf and Hendricks who did most of the work and their "power hitters" did jack.

What we needed was one of the top four who got starts to convert the 40s into a 70 and we'd be over the line.
Click to expand...

[MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION]

Today we had our opener score 90, another score 48 and we still never managed to get over the line.

You said power hitters are useless and not necessary, but the last 2 T20s have proved you wrong.
 
Whilst South Africans hit sixes into the stands, Pakistan players have been giving catching practise to the boundary riders again.
 
Too many players have either been bowled at the death or have hit slower balls straight to the fielders. The South African players have not given too many half vollies at pace. That should indicate where the problem is. What are the Pakistani players doing to counter full blooded yorkers in the nets? When are they going to move away from that predictable cross bat swipe for which opposition bowlers can plan and opposition captains can place fielders for?
 
Asif should be out of the team without giving any thought. The PP experts call him the best lol those who says that have no idea about cricket is, embarrassing to say the least
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BouncerGuy
"There are 4 young cricketers – Nawaz, Saim, Haris, and Sahibzada Farhan - around whom the future of Pakistan cricket will revolve": Salman Ali Agha
Replies
21
Views
1K
jnaveen1980
J
Rana
How worried are you about the future of Pakistan's middle order in the T20Is?
Replies
20
Views
1K
introvert
introvert
MenInG
"India are disrespecting cricket, and I believe that disrespecting cricket somehow comes back to you": Salman Ali Agha
2 3
Replies
162
Views
3K
Technics 1210
Technics 1210
Cricket Warrior
"Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi are very much in our plans — they’ve delivered for Pakistan": Salman Ali Agha
Replies
50
Views
3K
Mamoon
Mamoon
BouncerGuy
"Cricket today has a huge financial side and many players are focused on making money": Waqar Younis
Replies
17
Views
1K
Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH
S
Back
Top