"I will continue working hard and not bow down to negativity" : Saud Shakeel

[shamaan]

Was about time.

However, what we should realize is that realistically speaking, only one of Salman Agha, Saud Shakeel, and Kamran Ghulam will be given a consistent chance until the likes of Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali retire. Who we pick will have to be very prolific.

Hope he does well, has deserved the international call-up.

i think its between kamran ghullam and saud shakeel as genuine top/middle order batters i see salman agha competition with nawaz as all rounders what do you tbink ?

 

[UzmanBeast]

i think its between kamran ghullam and saud shakeel as genuine top/middle order batters i see salman agha competition with nawaz as all rounders what do you tbink ?

Yeah, if Salman Agha is competing with Nawaz for the all-rounder slot, I'd say that Nawaz gets the leverage over him by being a much better bowler and having a very decent batting average in FC Cricket.

The question is, will Babar (since he has full authority) go with the person who's in red-hot form, or look towards a consistent performer throughout many seasons?

Personally, I think Saud should get a go, he almost has 50 FC games to his name, and he has experience in more batting situations. He's also been extremely consistent.

One thing I know for sure is that whoever gets selected does so on the basis of merit, and that's the bigger picture here.

 

[shamaan]

Yeah, if Salman Agha is competing with Nawaz for the all-rounder slot, I'd say that Nawaz gets the leverage over him by being a much better bowler and having a very decent batting average in FC Cricket.

The question is, will Babar (since he has full authority) go with the person who's in red-hot form, or look towards a consistent performer throughout many seasons?

Personally, I think Saud should get a go, he almost has 50 FC games to his name, and he has experience in more batting situations. He's also been extremely consistent.

One thing I know for sure is that whoever gets selected does so on the basis of merit, and that's the bigger picture here.

yes i see salman and nawaz competing for the all rounder spot on a spinning pitch id go nawaz on a seemer friendly id go with agha.

To be honest the final xi is going to be interesting as you got azhar,saud,kamran,Fawad, fighting for 2 spots unless azhar opens then 3 spots .


Yes definitely so either way il be happy with anyone being selected although id go with saud

 

[UzmanBeast]

yes i see salman and nawaz competing for the all rounder spot on a spinning pitch id go nawaz on a seemer friendly id go with agha.

To be honest the final xi is going to be interesting as you got azhar,saud,kamran,Fawad, fighting for 2 spots unless azhar opens then 3 spots .


Yes definitely so either way il be happy with anyone being selected although id go with saud

Saud has the least technical flaws out of all the new batsmen selected, but he has some temperamental issues which prevent him letting himself score big. That requires a different type of coaching, but he has the skill and talent to be a mainstay in the middle order.

Personally, only one of Salman Agha and Nawaz will make it into the setup, and I'd rather take the one who's in better form at the moment, which is Salman Agha. However, Mohammad Nawaz is also a very reliable bowling option, much better bowler than Salman Agha. Salman might make the cut over Nawaz if Yasir plays, because of opposite spin benefiting us.

However, one must credit Mohammad Wasim for providing Babar Azam with a lot of options, and it's up to Babar to be open-minded and fully consider the opposition when making the playing XI.

 

[BakuGM]

Saud has the least technical flaws out of all the new batsmen selected, but he has some temperamental issues which prevent him letting himself score big. That requires a different type of coaching, but he has the skill and talent to be a mainstay in the middle order.

Personally, only one of Salman Agha and Nawaz will make it into the setup, and I'd rather take the one who's in better form at the moment, which is Salman Agha. However, Mohammad Nawaz is also a very reliable bowling option, much better bowler than Salman Agha. Salman might make the cut over Nawaz if Yasir plays, because of opposite spin benefiting us.

However, one must credit Mohammad Wasim for providing Babar Azam with a lot of options, and it's up to Babar to be open-minded and fully consider the opposition when making the playing XI.

Are we sure all of the above players will make it into the squad of 16? Who do you guys think will not make the cut?

 

[MenInG]

Want to represent Pakistan in all three formats: Saud Shakeel

• “I am blessed to have come through age-group cricket, through a proper pathway and if given chance I look forward to grabbing it with both hands,” says Karachi born left-handed batsman

Karachi, 17 January 2021:

Saud Shakeel the left-handed middle-order batsman has been named in Pakistan’s 20-member squad for the two Test-match series against South Africa starting from 26 January at the National Stadium. The 25-year-old Saud hails from Karachi, and started playing cricket at the year of 12.

Saud has featured in most of the age-group tournaments of PCB, he started his journey by representing Karachi in PCB’s U16 tournament in 2011. He represented U19 for the first time in 2013, and later captained the Pakistan U19 team in 2014. He was picked in Pakistan A squad for the tour of England in 2016, where current Pakistan captain Babar Azam was his captain.

Saud featured in a four-day and four 50-over matches on the tour and played alongside Aamer Yamin, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan. He led Pakistan Emerging team to victory in ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup Tournament in 2019, the side defeated Bangladesh in the final by 77 runs.

Saud has scored 3220 runs in 46 first-class matches. He has struck 10 centuries and 17 half-centuries at an average of 48.78, with 174 as his best score. With his left-arm spin Saud has taken 23 wickets. In 67 List A matches, Saud has scored 2347 runs at an average of 46.01. He has struck four centuries and 18 half-centuries and taken 26 wickets.

Expressing his delight over his inclusion in the Test squad against South Africa, Saud Shakeel said: “I could not watch team selection’s press conference, but after the team announcement, my Sindh team mates started ringing me and came to my room and congratulated me on my selection.

“It is an honour for me to represent Pakistan national team, but my real goal is to feature for the national team in all three formats.

“Throughout my cricket journey, I had learnt a lot from Asad Shafiq and Sarfaraz Ahmed, and now I look forward to learning as much as I can in the national team camp.

“I am blessed to have come through age-group cricket, through a proper pathway and if given chance I look forward to grabbing it with both hands.

“Occupying the crease and rotation of strike are my strong points.”

 

[UzmanBeast]

Are we sure all of the above players will make it into the squad of 16? Who do you guys think will not make the cut?

Not a difficult question to answer.

Given that South Africa is a team that's pretty weak against spin, and also given the fact that the Karachi wicket is likely to be very dry, our 16 man squad will probably be:

Babar Azam (c)
Mohammad Rizwan (vc)
Abid Ali
Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Fawad Alam
Yasir Shah
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Hassan Ali
Saud Shakeel
Sajid Khan
Salman Ali Agha
Kamran Ghulam
Mohammad Nawaz
Faheem Ashraf
Sarfaraz Ahmed

That leaves out Abdullah Shafique, Nauman Ali, Haris Rauf, and Tabish Khan.

That's what it would look like for the first test match IMO.

The playing XI for Karachi should look to accomodate:

Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Kamran Ghulam
Babar Azam (c)
Fawad Alam
Mohammad Rizwan
Faheem Ashraf
Hassan Ali
Yasir Shah
Sajid Khan
Shaheen Shah Afridi

At the moment, the only place I'm a bit concerned with as far as that squad goes is the fast-bowling. I want to be certain that it's a dry wicket before going in with two quicks, and Yasir + Sajid is a must because of opposite spin.

That's what I think will end up happening.

 

[shamaan]

Saud has the least technical flaws out of all the new batsmen selected, but he has some temperamental issues which prevent him letting himself score big. That requires a different type of coaching, but he has the skill and talent to be a mainstay in the middle order.

Personally, only one of Salman Agha and Nawaz will make it into the setup, and I'd rather take the one who's in better form at the moment, which is Salman Agha. However, Mohammad Nawaz is also a very reliable bowling option, much better bowler than Salman Agha. Salman might make the cut over Nawaz if Yasir plays, because of opposite spin benefiting us.

However, one must credit Mohammad Wasim for providing Babar Azam with a lot of options, and it's up to Babar to be open-minded and fully consider the opposition when making the playing XI.

To be honest most players have technical faults but at the end of the day its about scoring runs and saud does that.i want saud to bat at 4 in sena i think he will be successful thier but i expect him to bat 3 if played against south africa.

Yes defonitely it will be one of agha or nawaz will take the all rounder spot i would go with nawaz in karachi as he can be useful on the dead pitches with the ball and i would go with agha in pindi as hes a better batter and conditions may require extra batter who can ball.


Defonitely no excuses from babar hes literally got all options avaliable

 

[UzmanBeast]

To be honest most players have technical faults but at the end of the day its about scoring runs and saud does that.i want saud to bat at 4 in sena i think he will be successful thier but i expect him to bat 3 if played against south africa.

Yes defonitely it will be one of agha or nawaz will take the all rounder spot i would go with nawaz in karachi as he can be useful on the dead pitches with the ball and i would go with agha in pindi as hes a better batter and conditions may require extra batter who can ball.


Defonitely no excuses from babar hes literally got all options avaliable

I agree, both Nawaz and Salman should feature in games where they are likely to be used well.

Saud won't play at 3 unless Azhar Ali opens, and with the inclusion of Abid Ali, Imran Butt, and Abdullah Shafique, I think the management is going to keep him at 3.

I'd want him to open as well, but he hasn't opened in quite some time, so it's fair to say that he should stay at the spot he feels most comfortable.

Saud will have to slot down at 6, which isn't the ideal spot to start, but like most good players introduced into test matches, you have to fight for a higher spot. Ideally speaking, after Azhar retires, we'll see someone like Salahuddin or Kamran Ghulam take that spot, and the highest Saud could go would be at 5, which is perfect as he would maximize batting with Babar Azam.

Team scope looks pretty good from a batting point of view. The bowling, especially the fast bowlers, are more worrying. Apart from Shaheen, I don't see anyone guaranteed to stick around for the next few years. Hassan Ali has proved his fitness, but injuries can happen at any time, and he is relatively injury prone in recent times.

 

[shamaan]

I agree, both Nawaz and Salman should feature in games where they are likely to be used well.

Saud won't play at 3 unless Azhar Ali opens, and with the inclusion of Abid Ali, Imran Butt, and Abdullah Shafique, I think the management is going to keep him at 3.

I'd want him to open as well, but he hasn't opened in quite some time, so it's fair to say that he should stay at the spot he feels most comfortable.

Saud will have to slot down at 6, which isn't the ideal spot to start, but like most good players introduced into test matches, you have to fight for a higher spot. Ideally speaking, after Azhar retires, we'll see someone like Salahuddin or Kamran Ghulam take that spot, and the highest Saud could go would be at 5, which is perfect as he would maximize batting with Babar Azam.

Team scope looks pretty good from a batting point of view. The bowling, especially the fast bowlers, are more worrying. Apart from Shaheen, I don't see anyone guaranteed to stick around for the next few years. Hassan Ali has proved his fitness, but injuries can happen at any time, and he is relatively injury prone in recent times.

thats true he will most likely bat at 3 it will be bold decision to open with him.i think taking in account sena conditions and asain condition he should bat at 5 after babar.but he could do a job at 3 in asain conditions thou but vulnerable at 3 in sena.

Yes fast bowling is a worry in the longer format.

I rate saud very highly more highly than kamran and usman.i think him and babar at 4 and 5 can be a long term options.he plays all rounder the wicket and looks good when playing his shots

 

[UzmanBeast]

thats true he will most likely bat at 3 it will be bold decision to open with him.i think taking in account sena conditions and asain condition he should bat at 5 after babar.but he could do a job at 3 in asain conditions thou but vulnerable at 3 in sena.

Yes fast bowling is a worry in the longer format.

I rate saud very highly more highly than kamran and usman.i think him and babar at 4 and 5 can be a long term options.he plays all rounder the wicket and looks good when playing his shots

Saud and Babar will be a solid middle order, and the LHB and RHB combination will work even more in our favor.

I hope to see both batting together and developing over the years so that we have two great middle order batsmen.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Saud and Babar will be a solid middle order, and the LHB and RHB combination will work even more in our favor.

I hope to see both batting together and developing over the years so that we have two great middle order batsmen.

Saud is class class class. Can’t believe he hasn’t debuted yet.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Saud is class class class. Can’t believe he hasn’t debuted yet.

He's young as well, so he has plenty to offer. He's gonna start from the NO.6 spot, and work his way up, but NO.5 is the perfect place for him IMO.

Plus, Saud also offers some left-arm spin if needed, and is pretty reliable in the bowling if a few overs are needed.

He's a good test match specialist player. In List A, he needs to improve his strike rate a bit because we can't have someone else playing like Imam.

Our 4, 5, 6 should have strike rates near 100 or 95 so that they can accumulate runs quickly.

 

[Greenstorm]

He's young as well, so he has plenty to offer. He's gonna start from the NO.6 spot, and work his way up, but NO.5 is the perfect place for him IMO.

Plus, Saud also offers some left-arm spin if needed, and is pretty reliable in the bowling if a few overs are needed.

He's a good test match specialist player. In List A, he needs to improve his strike rate a bit because we can't have someone else playing like Imam.

Our 4, 5, 6 should have strike rates near 100 or 95 so that they can accumulate runs quickly.

I don't see Imam getting many chances under M Wasim even in ODIs. I think we should use Babar and Saud at 3,4 respectively to provide stability and consistency. The openers and 5,6,7 should all be able to bat at 100+ strike rates.

 

[shamaan]

Saud and Babar will be a solid middle order, and the LHB and RHB combination will work even more in our favor.

I hope to see both batting together and developing over the years so that we have two great middle order batsmen.

Very solid middle order and they will try and score runs and put the opposition under preesure with intend.

 

[KoyoAli]

I don't see Imam getting many chances under M Wasim even in ODIs. I think we should use Babar and Saud at 3,4 respectively to provide stability and consistency. The openers and 5,6,7 should all be able to bat at 100+ strike rates.

You are hugely mistaken if you think so. Wasim is not anti-Imam. Dropping him from the Test side was understandable since Imam shouldn't be there, to begin with. However, Imam is the lynchpin of the ODI side and Md Wasim would recognize that. Imam's performances speak for themselves, unfortunately, he is hated by almost all Pakistani fans.

However, he will continue to play for Pakistan as he deserves to play. I have been seeing much-needed improvement in his strokeplay and power hitting of late. Hopefully, that will reflect on his ODI strike-rate very soon.

 

[Greenstorm]

You are hugely mistaken if you think so. Wasim is not anti-Imam. Dropping him from the Test side was understandable since Imam shouldn't be there, to begin with. However, Imam is the lynchpin of the ODI side and Md Wasim would recognize that. Imam's performances speak for themselves, unfortunately, he is hated by almost all Pakistani fans.

However, he will continue to play for Pakistan as he deserves to play. I have been seeing much-needed improvement in his strokeplay and power hitting of late. Hopefully, that will reflect on his ODI strike-rate very soon.

I hope he has improved his power game as you say because otherwise I don't see M Wasim continuing with an opener whose strike rate is 80.

 

[UzmanBeast]

You are hugely mistaken if you think so. Wasim is not anti-Imam. Dropping him from the Test side was understandable since Imam shouldn't be there, to begin with. However, Imam is the lynchpin of the ODI side and Md Wasim would recognize that. Imam's performances speak for themselves, unfortunately, he is hated by almost all Pakistani fans.

However, he will continue to play for Pakistan as he deserves to play. I have been seeing much-needed improvement in his strokeplay and power hitting of late. Hopefully, that will reflect on his ODI strike-rate very soon.

Power-hitting isn't Imam's weakness, and it will never become his strength.

Imam struggles to take singles and doubles early on in his innings. He gets stranded at the crease and doesn't find gaps to take singles.

I often just get confused watching him bat. Yes he can play the strokes and averages very high, but he fails in taking singles and doubles.

It's only until someone like Babar is at the other end who starts taking a lot of singles, when Imam starts doing the same.

He needs to improve that aspect of his game to play fewer dot deliveries, so that the pressure doesn't build on him much less on his partner.

Imam's low strike rate is the reason we can't chase well in ODI cricket, if he can take his strike rate higher, it will be very beneficial for us.

On the flipside, an opener like Haider Ali is very aggressive, too aggressive for my liking. Hit a boundary, and take a single. That's my philosophy, but he tries to take too many boundaries off one over at times, and that results in his downfall. If I were the Pakistan coach right now, I'd tell Haider to play balls on merit. If it's a good ball, block it or look for the single. Don't try to apply yourself in situations where aggression is not needed. He's young, but he will learn.

Imam is pivotal for our success as an ODI team in the future. He should be playing every game, trying to improve his strike rate and statistics. He has a lot of potential, and if he can become as good as Babar Azam in white-ball, it will go a long way for us as a team. I want to see more partnerships between him and Babar, I think they compliment each other very well.

In my opinion, Haider Ali should start opening alongside Imam. If not, then he should be played down at 5 with Sharjeel or someone else opening, to give us a more modern and robust looking side.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

A very unpopular and controversial opinion. He’s a clone of Asad Shafiq. Few good scores till the teams work him out, then would become a HTB, then will start playing career saving 2nd inning knocks once the match is already decided. At least Shafiq got to play 70+ matches cos he was Misbah’s friend and was hiding at 6, post Misbah he played coz he was “experienced”. It won’t be the case with Saud

Mark this post if you want. Will see you in two years

 

[Shoaibbtt]

You are hugely mistaken if you think so. Wasim is not anti-Imam. Dropping him from the Test side was understandable since Imam shouldn't be there, to begin with. However, Imam is the lynchpin of the ODI side and Md Wasim would recognize that. Imam's performances speak for themselves, unfortunately, he is hated by almost all Pakistani fans.

However, he will continue to play for Pakistan as he deserves to play. I have been seeing much-needed improvement in his strokeplay and power hitting of late. Hopefully, that will reflect on his ODI strike-rate very soon.

All i say about Imam is that you must prove your point to be selected as a red ball player, and it's evident at the moment that he's not quite ready after being given ample chances. He needs to play more domestic before being given a chance again. I stand by him that he's a valuable player in Odi and has potential to be a t20 players, however at the moment he needs more time in domestic before he is re-selected. The domestic guys work their socks off and it's disheartening selecting someone again who's not done anything to deserve it.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Saud Shakeel is a class batsman who I rate quite highly but there's no denying that he has a difficult task of getting into the side. I suspect Abid and Imran Butt will be the openers with Azhar, Babar and Fawad Alam to make the middle order. Rizwan at 6 and Nawaz at No.7 as he will be looked at to provide more with the bowl and give quick fire runs with Faheem with the bat.

Nawaz btw is a capable batsman, he's been coming in at No.5 for Northern and I suspect Babar also has some amount of trust in him. He has good control, temperament with the bat and with ball. So I suspect Nawaz at 7 and Faheem at 8.

 

[Greenstorm]

A very unpopular and controversial opinion. He’s a clone of Asad Shafiq. Few good scores till the teams work him out, then would become a HTB, then will start playing career saving 2nd inning knocks once the match is already decided. At least Shafiq got to play 70+ matches cos he was Misbah’s friend and was hiding at 6, post Misbah he played coz he was “experienced”. It won’t be the case with Saud

Mark this post if you want. Will see you in two years

Nah, he has much more class than Shafiq. I see a younger Harris Sohail in him, (not as talented as him but much fitter).

 

[b.lesner]

Saud Shakeel is a class batsman who I rate quite highly but there's no denying that he has a difficult task of getting into the side. I suspect Abid and Imran Butt will be the openers with Azhar, Babar and Fawad Alam to make the middle order. Rizwan at 6 and Nawaz at No.7 as he will be looked at to provide more with the bowl and give quick fire runs with Faheem with the bat.

Nawaz btw is a capable batsman, he's been coming in at No.5 for Northern and I suspect Babar also has some amount of trust in him. He has good control, temperament with the bat and with ball. So I suspect Nawaz at 7 and Faheem at 8.

Are you kidding me you want to with only 3 specialist bowlers on karachi wicket

 

[TeymurBlake]

Are you kidding me you want to with only 3 specialist bowlers on karachi wicket

No I'm not kidding. Nawaz is a left arm spinner like Nauman Ali, but Nawaz is more accomplished with the bat than Nauman. It wouldn't be surprising to see Nawaz brought in at No.7 and utilised as a second spinner behind Yasir.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Saud Shakeel is a class batsman who I rate quite highly but there's no denying that he has a difficult task of getting into the side. I suspect Abid and Imran Butt will be the openers with Azhar, Babar and Fawad Alam to make the middle order. Rizwan at 6 and Nawaz at No.7 as he will be looked at to provide more with the bowl and give quick fire runs with Faheem with the bat.

Nawaz btw is a capable batsman, he's been coming in at No.5 for Northern and I suspect Babar also has some amount of trust in him. He has good control, temperament with the bat and with ball. So I suspect Nawaz at 7 and Faheem at 8.

I'm getting reports that the following will be the potential XI for Karachi:

1. Abid Ali
2. Azhar Ali
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam (c)
5. Fawad Alam
6. Muhammad Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Yasir Shah
9. Sajid Khan
10. Hassan Ali
11. Shaheen Afridi

 

[TeymurBlake]

I'm getting reports that the following will be the potential XI for Karachi:

1. Abid Ali
2. Azhar Ali
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam (c)
5. Fawad Alam
6. Muhammad Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Yasir Shah
9. Sajid Khan
10. Hassan Ali
11. Shaheen Afridi

Really??? Hmm...

So Sajid Khan looks to be preferred as the second spinner (who btw I don't rate whatsoever) and open with Azhar Ali over Imran Butt. What is the source of this report?

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

Nah, he has much more class than Shafiq. I see a younger Harris Sohail in him, (not as talented as him but much fitter).

Class is different but I am talking about the mental game. He looks a very timid and mentally weak player. I might very well be wrong tho. But that’s my take on him. If he can perform, it’s good to have another player apart from Babar and Rizwan

 

[Greenstorm]

Power-hitting isn't Imam's weakness, and it will never become his strength.

Imam struggles to take singles and doubles early on in his innings. He gets stranded at the crease and doesn't find gaps to take singles.

I often just get confused watching him bat. Yes he can play the strokes and averages very high, but he fails in taking singles and doubles.

It's only until someone like Babar is at the other end who starts taking a lot of singles, when Imam starts doing the same.

He needs to improve that aspect of his game to play fewer dot deliveries, so that the pressure doesn't build on him much less on his partner.

Imam's low strike rate is the reason we can't chase well in ODI cricket, if he can take his strike rate higher, it will be very beneficial for us.

On the flipside, an opener like Haider Ali is very aggressive, too aggressive for my liking. Hit a boundary, and take a single. That's my philosophy, but he tries to take too many boundaries off one over at times, and that results in his downfall. If I were the Pakistan coach right now, I'd tell Haider to play balls on merit. If it's a good ball, block it or look for the single. Don't try to apply yourself in situations where aggression is not needed. He's young, but he will learn.

Imam is pivotal for our success as an ODI team in the future. He should be playing every game, trying to improve his strike rate and statistics. He has a lot of potential, and if he can become as good as Babar Azam in white-ball, it will go a long way for us as a team. I want to see more partnerships between him and Babar, I think they compliment each other very well.

In my opinion, Haider Ali should start opening alongside Imam. If not, then he should be played down at 5 with Sharjeel or someone else opening, to give us a more modern and robust looking side.

You have correctly identified the issue with Imam, 'can't chase high targets with him' but then you said that he is 'pivotal for future ODI success' which makes no sense. He should be working on his strike rate in domestics instead of intl cricket.

I think M Wasim and co have two options going forward regarding openers in ODIs,

1. Continue with the current strategy of one aggressive (95+ strike rate) opener and an accumulator on the other end. (outdated concept)

2. Go with two aggressive openers. (Haider, Sharjeel, Fakhar, Farhan, Nasir etc)

I prefer the second option as it is more in line with modern cricket but if we are adamant to go with the first option then we need to find a better accumulator than Imam (too slow). I believe we can try Saud as opener, he can maintain better strike rate (close to Babar's).

 

[Greenstorm]

Class is different but I am talking about the mental game. He looks a very timid and mentally weak player. I might very well be wrong tho. But that’s my take on him. If he can perform, it’s good to have another player apart from Babar and Rizwan

You are right about the mental aspect. Saud seems to have concentration issues but it is something that a good coach can manage. Babar had similar issues in 4 day/test cricket but Mickey helped him out. It is essential for these young players to have a proper professional coaching staff to support them. They will only regress under losers like Misbah and Waqar as we have seen with multiple players already.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

You are right about the mental aspect. Saud seems to have concentration issues but it is something that a good coach can manage. Babar had similar issues in 4 day/test cricket but Mickey helped him out. It is essential for these young players to have a proper professional coaching staff to support them. They will only regress under losers like Misbah and Waqar as we have seen with multiple players already.

You still didn’t get my point. There’s a difference between mentally weak player and player with concentration issues. Babar was never mentally weak(not saying he’s strong either), he just had concentration issues. But Saud looks mentally weak. What I mean by that, little pressure get out, no pressure score a career saving hundred, match already lost, score a good century.


Yes you can work on players with concentration issues, mentally weak player is weak. Coach is there coach, you need sports psychologist for that, which Pakistan don’t have

 

[Greenstorm]

You still didn’t get my point. There’s a difference between mentally weak player and player with concentration issues. Babar was never mentally weak(not saying he’s strong either), he just had concentration issues. But Saud looks mentally weak. What I mean by that, little pressure get out, no pressure score a career saving hundred, match already lost, score a good century.


Yes you can work on players with concentration issues, mentally weak player is weak. Coach is there coach, you need sports psychologist for that, which Pakistan don’t have

Saud has captained U19 national team and a first class team at a young age. I don't think he is mentally weak.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I'm getting reports that the following will be the potential XI for Karachi:

1. Abid Ali
2. Azhar Ali
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam (c)
5. Fawad Alam
6. Muhammad Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Yasir Shah
9. Sajid Khan
10. Hassan Ali
11. Shaheen Afridi

This has been my predicted XI for a week

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

Saud has captained U19 national team and a first class team at a young age. I don't think he is mentally weak.

You’re talking about the “captain” appointed by the PCB. Misbah was a “captain”, Azhar was a “captain” twice, Sarfraz was a “captain”, Asad was a “vice captain”, Shan was about to become a “captain”. Won’t comment much on that tbh


I am more than happy to be proved wrong, but not expecting much from him

 

[Thunderbolt14]

We'll know close to time, but personally thinking more and more about that first test which on paper we should win, i would go with Numan over Sajid as a bowler even though Nauman is not exactly credible with the bat. I'll want to check though and see who is better of the 2 and who would be a valued asset in Karachi personally if we are talking bowling then Numan.

Nauman generally has much more control and is more deceptive, but averages 50 odd in NSK while Sajid averages 22 or so. That being said [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] feels the SLAO option will be effective against SA. So let’s see what the management goes with.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Nauman generally has much more control and is more deceptive, but averages 50 odd in NSK while Sajid averages 22 or so. That being said [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] feels the SLAO option will be effective against SA. So let’s see what the management goes with.

I still stand by not changing the batting too much, a lot of the guys have great averages at that ground and should shine. InshAllah this is the case cause i really want a few names to smash records, typically 2-3 will be ideal for batting i.e. bowl the opposition out cheaply, build a really good lead that they can't come back from, day 4/5 is a batsman's nightmare at NSK.

 

[shamaan]

A very unpopular and controversial opinion. He’s a clone of Asad Shafiq. Few good scores till the teams work him out, then would become a HTB, then will start playing career saving 2nd inning knocks once the match is already decided. At least Shafiq got to play 70+ matches cos he was Misbah’s friend and was hiding at 6, post Misbah he played coz he was “experienced”. It won’t be the case with Saud

Mark this post if you want. Will see you in two years

How many runs did younis khan get in the second innings compared to his first innings will see you in two years

 

[shamaan]

Saud Shakeel is a class batsman who I rate quite highly but there's no denying that he has a difficult task of getting into the side. I suspect Abid and Imran Butt will be the openers with Azhar, Babar and Fawad Alam to make the middle order. Rizwan at 6 and Nawaz at No.7 as he will be looked at to provide more with the bowl and give quick fire runs with Faheem with the bat.

Nawaz btw is a capable batsman, he's been coming in at No.5 for Northern and I suspect Babar also has some amount of trust in him. He has good control, temperament with the bat and with ball. So I suspect Nawaz at 7 and Faheem at 8.

He should play at 3 in asain conditions and at 4 in sena

 

[UzmanBeast]

You have correctly identified the issue with Imam, 'can't chase high targets with him' but then you said that he is 'pivotal for future ODI success' which makes no sense. He should be working on his strike rate in domestics instead of intl cricket.

I think M Wasim and co have two options going forward regarding openers in ODIs,

1. Continue with the current strategy of one aggressive (95+ strike rate) opener and an accumulator on the other end. (outdated concept)

2. Go with two aggressive openers. (Haider, Sharjeel, Fakhar, Farhan, Nasir etc)

I prefer the second option as it is more in line with modern cricket but if we are adamant to go with the first option then we need to find a better accumulator than Imam (too slow). I believe we can try Saud as opener, he can maintain better strike rate (close to Babar's).

Granted that he bats slowly, keep in mind that his strike rate is around 80.4, whereas Kane Williamson, one of the fab 4, has a SR of 81.8.

Imam averages a lot, and has provided a lot of stability in the top order.

Imam should look to recover from his injuries and play in the Pakistan Cup, because it will be beneficial for him.

Additionally, he should spend some time at the NSK with Mohammad Yousuf about how to play strokes into the gaps, and how to handle pressure.

Ideally, I'd want Saeed Anwar to coach our openers in white-ball cricket, but we don't have him on the coaching staff.

Two aggressive openers won't work as a tactic, because both will play their shots regardless of the situation. The best way to approach the problem will be to have the batting lineup of:

Imam Ul Haq
Sharjeel Khan
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Haider Ali
Mohammad Rizwan/Sarfaraz Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan

In my opinion, Haider Ali is a far better talent than Khushdil Shah, and he should start in the middle order. Ideally, I'd like to have him bat at 4 with Haris at 5, but Haris has merited the NO.4 slot through some good performances.

We still need a finishing batsman, preferably someone who can keep wickets. Azam Khan should be developed, but he needs to become fit first.

 

[BigShak]

Babar should take responsibility and move up to number 3 IMO. Going to be a massive test for Saud at 3 against a quality pace attack like SA’s. Hope he comes through it.

 

[BigShak]

You still didn’t get my point. There’s a difference between mentally weak player and player with concentration issues. Babar was never mentally weak(not saying he’s strong either), he just had concentration issues. But Saud looks mentally weak. What I mean by that, little pressure get out, no pressure score a career saving hundred, match already lost, score a good century.
Yes you can work on players with concentration issues, mentally weak player is weak. Coach is there coach, you need sports psychologist for that, which Pakistan don’t have

If you’d followed Saud’s career you’d have noted there have been a good few match winning innings from him whilst chasing. Recent one against CP in the QeA Trophy in the earlier rounds and theres also the instance where he chased down a target against SL A with a not out on the final day. Don’t know why people here like making mad predictions like this before even giving the player a chance.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

[MENTION=153791]UzmanBeast[/MENTION] Saeed Anwar has left the cricketing world entirely. But completely agree he’d have been fantastic.

Saleem Malik would also have been excellent if he weren’t a rat.

 

[UzmanBeast]

[MENTION=153791]UzmanBeast[/MENTION] Saeed Anwar has left the cricketing world entirely. But completely agree he’d have been fantastic.

Saleem Malik would also have been excellent if he weren’t a rat.

He knew the right definition of the word "attacking batsman".

Take minimal risks but be equally as dangerous when teams bowl to your strong zones.

He was truly fantastic, one of the best ODI openers in my eyes.

A lot of people remember players like Sehwag, and often think that aggressive opening started from there, but the reality is, Anwar and a few others in the 90's really set the tone for the modern role of an opener, and Virender Sehwag as a great talent who took that role to a new level.

Saeed Anwar was probably my favourite opening batsman from the subcontinent, and that's a personal bias but if he were still in the cricketing world, he'd be of great use to Pakistan right now, especially with the likes of Abdullah and Haider not knowing when to attack and when to defend.

However, we do have Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf available for coaching roles. I hope that our batsmen make full use of the training facilities and development plans along with the coaching which Mohammad Yousuf will oversee along with Mohammad Zahid. I think Shadab should be sent to a development program with Mushtaq Ahmed to work on his spin bowling, and at the same time, work with Mohammad Yousuf on a batting plan to improve his ODI strike rate and his test match game awareness. Mushtaq Ahmed should work with Shadab on a lot of aspects of bowling, like flight, dip, turn, use of variations, and also how to set up batsmen in test cricket.

A lot of people often under-appreciate the facilities we have now, and when there's no international cricket happening, we should sent our big players, or newer talents to the NHPC to get training, conditioning, fitness, and also to improve their skills.

I'd want Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Zafar Gohar, and more to spend time at the NHPC to make sure that our domestic talents and bench strength is intact.

 

[TeymurBlake]

He should play at 3 in asain conditions and at 4 in sena

Saud Shakeel at No.3???? not sure

I think Babar Azam will be groomed to take the No.3 spot in Tests once Azhar is done.

 

[shamaan]

Saud Shakeel at No.3???? not sure

I think Babar Azam will be groomed to take the No.3 spot in Tests once Azhar is done.

Yes only on flat pitches thou

 

[Nabeel23]

He should play at 3 in asain conditions and at 4 in sena

He should be groomed as a number 5 batsman over the likes of Haris Sohail and Fawad Alam He has a lot of potential but I think number 3 is too early for him especially in SENA. I don’t think he has the technique to be that high up and has issues with his temperament and sort of reminds me of Asad Shafiq who has made a career out of scoring meaningless runs. I hope Yousuf and Younis work with him and hopefully change his mindset, he has all the shots so the potential is there.

 

[shamaan]

He should be groomed as a number 5 batsman over the likes of Haris Sohail and Fawad Alam He has a lot of potential but I think number 3 is too early for him especially in SENA. I don’t think he has the technique to be that high up and has issues with his temperament and sort of reminds me of Asad Shafiq who has made a career out of scoring meaningless runs. I hope Yousuf and Younis work with him and hopefully change his mindset, he has all the shots so the potential is there.

yes thats why i said he should bat at 3 in asain conditions only hes cut shot his sublime

 

[Rayyman]

yes thats why i said he should bat at 3 in asain conditions only hes cut shot his sublime

Babar Azam or Fawad Alam should have some balls and move up to number 3. Look at Kane Williamson, he does it in tough batting conditions. The pansies in our team seem to love to hide down the order.

 

[shamaan]

Babar Azam or Fawad Alam should have some balls and move up to number 3. Look at Kane Williamson, he does it in tough batting conditions. The pansies in our team seem to love to hide down the order.

Defonitely not fawad alam .kohli bats at 4 and so does smith.its not likr babar has played 50 tests

 

[Greenstorm]

Granted that he bats slowly, keep in mind that his strike rate is around 80.4, whereas Kane Williamson, one of the fab 4, has a SR of 81.8.

Imam averages a lot, and has provided a lot of stability in the top order.

Imam should look to recover from his injuries and play in the Pakistan Cup, because it will be beneficial for him.

Additionally, he should spend some time at the NSK with Mohammad Yousuf about how to play strokes into the gaps, and how to handle pressure.

Ideally, I'd want Saeed Anwar to coach our openers in white-ball cricket, but we don't have him on the coaching staff.

Two aggressive openers won't work as a tactic, because both will play their shots regardless of the situation. The best way to approach the problem will be to have the batting lineup of:

Imam Ul Haq
Sharjeel Khan
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Haider Ali
Mohammad Rizwan/Sarfaraz Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan

In my opinion, Haider Ali is a far better talent than Khushdil Shah, and he should start in the middle order. Ideally, I'd like to have him bat at 4 with Haris at 5, but Haris has merited the NO.4 slot through some good performances.

We still need a finishing batsman, preferably someone who can keep wickets. Azam Khan should be developed, but he needs to become fit first.

Williamson's strike rate is acceptable because he is the only (2nd if Latham plays) accumulator in NZ batting line. All of the modern day batting lines of top teams are build around one (two at most) reliable but 'slow' batsman. We have a perfect one in Babar and I believe Saud can be the second one who can bat either as opener or at 4 to provide stability. Rest should all be big hitters who possess power game. Now I understand that we don't have Guptills and Taylors in our domestic cricket but we have to keep looking out for them, providing opportunities to the potential candidates, replacing them after prolonged failures until we end up with a dynamic, performing batting line up.

You have gone with the safe option with your proposed line up, something we have been doing until now and the results are in front of us. ODIs are approached as extended version of T20s, do you think that your proposed line up has the ability to chase anything above 320 ? If Sharjeel gets out early then you have got 3 batsmen (Imam, Babar and Harris) batting with sub 100 Sr. That leaves too much for Haider who is only followed by lord Rizwan himself .

We have plenty of LOI cricket this year in which we can experiment and build a team towards 2023 WC. I am hoping that under M Wasim, we will rethink our approach towards ODI batting. This is something that I will be looking for,

Sharjeel/Nasir/Farhan
Haider/Fakhar/Zeeshan malik
Babar
Saud (Harris is not fit enough for ODI batting, lack of ODI hundreds is proof of that)
Iftikhar/Zeeshan malik/Haider/Shadab
Azam
Shadab

Yes it looks fragile but this is the direction we need to go if we are to become a competitive ODI side. The safety first approach has only taken us so far.

 

[KoyoAli]

I hope he has improved his power game as you say because otherwise I don't see M Wasim continuing with an opener whose strike rate is 80.

Well Mohammad Wasim is not dropping Imam. Its not happening. And there is no reason for it to happen. You don't drop a player with his record.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I think we need to stop considering Imam as an accumulator. He’s showed improvement in his SR in T20 cricket over the last two years, and he has yet to play an ODI again since his run a ball century against Bangladesh in the world cup (I think one game against Sri Lanka since then).

This allows Saud the opportunity to make our limited overs team.

1. Imam ul Haq
2. Haider Ali
3. Babar Azam (c)
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Iftikhar Ahmed
6. Azam Khan (wk)
7. Shadab Khan
8. Imad Wasim
9. Hassan Ali
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Haris Rauf

Subject to form and other players doing well, obviously.

This is probably what we can look at in ODI cricket to be honest, with Saud forming the backbone of our middle order while Babar, Iftikhar, and Azam play around him.

 

[KoyoAli]

A very unpopular and controversial opinion. He’s a clone of Asad Shafiq. Few good scores till the teams work him out, then would become a HTB, then will start playing career saving 2nd inning knocks once the match is already decided. At least Shafiq got to play 70+ matches cos he was Misbah’s friend and was hiding at 6, post Misbah he played coz he was “experienced”. It won’t be the case with Saud

Mark this post if you want. Will see you in two years

Yeah on another thread I saw Babar being called the same. Haidar Ali has been called Umar Akmal in his very short career and these comparisons won't stop either. We have a weird fetish for this but the good thing about Imam is that he doesn't pay attention to these things and usually performs with the bat. We haven't had much ODI cricket in while so it's easy to forget his performances.

 

[Mobashir]

Saud Shakeel can fit in at number 5. With the presence of Rizwan in the team we should always go with an all rounder at 7 and Rizwan at 6.

So the midle order will look like :
3. Azhar Ali
4. Babar Azam
5. Saud Shakeel

But I doubt they will leave out Fawad Alam in the next tour.

 

[KoyoAli]

Williamson's strike rate is acceptable because he is the only (2nd if Latham plays) accumulator in NZ batting line. All of the modern day batting lines of top teams are build around one (two at most) reliable but 'slow' batsman. We have a perfect one in Babar and I believe Saud can be the second one who can bat either as opener or at 4 to provide stability. Rest should all be big hitters who possess power game. Now I understand that we don't have Guptills and Taylors in our domestic cricket but we have to keep looking out for them, providing opportunities to the potential candidates, replacing them after prolonged failures until we end up with a dynamic, performing batting line up.

You have gone with the safe option with your proposed line up, something we have been doing until now and the results are in front of us. ODIs are approached as extended version of T20s, do you think that your proposed line up has the ability to chase anything above 320 ? If Sharjeel gets out early then you have got 3 batsmen (Imam, Babar and Harris) batting with sub 100 Sr. That leaves too much for Haider who is only followed by lord Rizwan himself .

We have plenty of LOI cricket this year in which we can experiment and build a team towards 2023 WC. I am hoping that under M Wasim, we will rethink our approach towards ODI batting. This is something that I will be looking for,

Sharjeel/Nasir/Farhan
Haider/Fakhar/Zeeshan malik
Babar
Saud (Harris is not fit enough for ODI batting, lack of ODI hundreds is proof of that)
Iftikhar/Zeeshan malik/Haider/Shadab
Azam
Shadab

Yes it looks fragile but this is the direction we need to go if we are to become a competitive ODI side. The safety first approach has only taken us so far.

Why on Erath should we be dropping our second best batsman in ODIs? Saud hasn't even played any Intl cricket and he is already better than a proven performer? Lol you ppl will be talking about dropping Babar as well soon enough when some other younger that "looks lie Kholi" spots their eye.

 

[Greenstorm]

I think we need to stop considering Imam as an accumulator. He’s showed improvement in his SR in T20 cricket over the last two years, and he has yet to play an ODI again since his run a ball century against Bangladesh in the world cup (I think one game against Sri Lanka since then).

This allows Saud the opportunity to make our limited overs team.

1. Imam ul Haq
2. Haider Ali
3. Babar Azam (c)
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Iftikhar Ahmed
6. Azam Khan (wk)
7. Shadab Khan
8. Imad Wasim
9. Hassan Ali
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Haris Rauf

Subject to form and other players doing well, obviously.

This is probably what we can look at in ODI cricket to be honest, with Saud forming the backbone of our middle order while Babar, Iftikhar, and Azam play around him.

Good line up, though I will replace Imam with an attacking opener. Need to bring in some badmashi at the top

 

[Greenstorm]

Why on Erath should we be dropping our second best batsman in ODIs? Saud hasn't even played any Intl cricket and he is already better than a proven performer? Lol you ppl will be talking about dropping Babar as well soon enough when some other younger that "looks lie Kholi" spots their eye.

He is not second best, thats Fakhar. Striker rate of 80 is unacceptable for a modern day LOI opener.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Williamson's strike rate is acceptable because he is the only (2nd if Latham plays) accumulator in NZ batting line. All of the modern day batting lines of top teams are build around one (two at most) reliable but 'slow' batsman. We have a perfect one in Babar and I believe Saud can be the second one who can bat either as opener or at 4 to provide stability. Rest should all be big hitters who possess power game. Now I understand that we don't have Guptills and Taylors in our domestic cricket but we have to keep looking out for them, providing opportunities to the potential candidates, replacing them after prolonged failures until we end up with a dynamic, performing batting line up.

You have gone with the safe option with your proposed line up, something we have been doing until now and the results are in front of us. ODIs are approached as extended version of T20s, do you think that your proposed line up has the ability to chase anything above 320 ? If Sharjeel gets out early then you have got 3 batsmen (Imam, Babar and Harris) batting with sub 100 Sr. That leaves too much for Haider who is only followed by lord Rizwan himself .

We have plenty of LOI cricket this year in which we can experiment and build a team towards 2023 WC. I am hoping that under M Wasim, we will rethink our approach towards ODI batting. This is something that I will be looking for,

Sharjeel/Nasir/Farhan
Haider/Fakhar/Zeeshan malik
Babar
Saud (Harris is not fit enough for ODI batting, lack of ODI hundreds is proof of that)
Iftikhar/Zeeshan malik/Haider/Shadab
Azam
Shadab

Yes it looks fragile but this is the direction we need to go if we are to become a competitive ODI side. The safety first approach has only taken us so far.

Sharjeel Khan
Fakhar Zaman (No other attacking alternative who is also relatively reliable, let's see how he performs in Pakistan Cup.)
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail/Saud Shakeel (Both are almost the same, Haris lacks the ability to convert, and so does Saud.)
Haider Ali (This is a position where he should ideally start, because it makes no sense to push someone like Fakhar down to this position.)
Azam Khan (Power-hitting)
Imad Wasim (Mostly plays intelligently in death situations, finds gaps and boundaries. Crucial to the team.)
Usman Qadir (Better bowler than Shadab, will see his bowling results in Pakistan Cup.)
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf

That's what we should be looking for as a competitive ODI team. The World Cup in India means that we need players who are confident against spin, and the likes of Fakhar, Babar, and Saud can handle that. Sharjeel has that explosive nature at the top of the order which can put things in our favor. Haider won't be playing his natural role, but he has the skills to play at 5 with a high strike rate and really take the game towards the end, where someone like Imad and Azam can truly flex their muscles to take us over the line. Unfortunately, you can only play one of Imad or Shadab now, because we don't need two spin-bowling all-rounders, who frankly, don't offer a high quality of spin. We need a genuine spinner in Usman Qadir if we want match-winning performances from our bowling attack.

Those are my viewpoints. However, Iftikhar looks to be in good form, and that 5 slot is more suited for him.

 

[Greenstorm]

Sharjeel Khan
Fakhar Zaman (No other attacking alternative who is also relatively reliable, let's see how he performs in Pakistan Cup.)
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail/Saud Shakeel (Both are almost the same, Haris lacks the ability to convert, and so does Saud.)
Haider Ali (This is a position where he should ideally start, because it makes no sense to push someone like Fakhar down to this position.)
Azam Khan (Power-hitting)
Imad Wasim (Mostly plays intelligently in death situations, finds gaps and boundaries. Crucial to the team.)
Usman Qadir (Better bowler than Shadab, will see his bowling results in Pakistan Cup.)
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf

That's what we should be looking for as a competitive ODI team. The World Cup in India means that we need players who are confident against spin, and the likes of Fakhar, Babar, and Saud can handle that. Sharjeel has that explosive nature at the top of the order which can put things in our favor. Haider won't be playing his natural role, but he has the skills to play at 5 with a high strike rate and really take the game towards the end, where someone like Imad and Azam can truly flex their muscles to take us over the line. Unfortunately, you can only play one of Imad or Shadab now, because we don't need two spin-bowling all-rounders, who frankly, don't offer a high quality of spin. We need a genuine spinner in Usman Qadir if we want match-winning performances from our bowling attack.

Those are my viewpoints. However, Iftikhar looks to be in good form, and that 5 slot is more suited for him.

Yes this is much better line up imo. I agree with Saud-Harris comparison though unlike Harris, Saud has the time and physical fitness to improve on his conversions.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Yes this is much better line up imo. I agree with Saud-Harris comparison though unlike Harris, Saud has the time and physical fitness to improve on his conversions.

Bringing Saud into the team won't make as much of an effect as keeping Haris Sohail there, because both are relatively the same in List A cricket. The difference is that I'd take Haris over Saud because Haris has played 40 or so ODI games, and has done well for us at that role. When two players are extremely similar in their statistics, you have to go by other factors. Yes, fitness plays into Saud's favor but Haris has something that Saud doesn't, the international exposure.

The question arises on whether or not we play Haider Ali or Iftikhar Ahmed. Iftikhar has much more in his favour both with a batting average of 50+ and a strike rate near 90, and even some respectable figures with the ball. If we play Iftikhar, that means that we have someone more accustomed to the middle order, and if that's the case, our team would look pretty solid. Now, the problem left to sort is what to do with Haider Ali. He has a few more games of the Pakistan Cup to play in, and if he's in form in the domestic circuit, we should try to find a place for him in the team.

Though Fakhar has been very reliable at the top of the order in ODI cricket, his current form makes me question the decision of putting him there. However, T20 and ODI are two different formats, so I will wait to see his performances in the Pakistan Cup before making my judgement.

Sharjeel Khan should be our opener alongside Haider Ali. You get a lot of explosiveness, but both are pretty unreliable to give you a good stand up front. That's the only reason I'd put Imam-Ul-Haq at the top of the order, he can get you runs in most games. His technique is solid, he doesn't give many chances, but he needs to improve his strike rate.

However, there is a fix to the issue regarding Haris Sohail. If he is well and truly out of form, and Mohammad Wasim thinks that it should be better to send him into domestic cricket, then we should look to play the following team:

Imam-ul-Haq
Sharjeel Khan
Babar Azam (c)
Iftikhar Ahmed
Haider Ali
Azam Khan
Imad Wasim
Usman Qadir
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

 

[shamaan]

I can see azam khan,sharjeel given a chance in t20s and odis

 

[Ahson8]

Should replace Abid in Rawalpindi with Azhar moving up to open.

 

[Firebat]

"Saud Shakeel is part of our Test squad - we have now included him in the 50-over format also; His stats in List A have been impressive and he has been a consistent performer there" : Mohammad Wasim

 

[shamaan]

Cant waite to see him perform hes an excellent player

 

[Saj]

Well, the wait is nearly over.

Surely he makes his long-waited international debut in Zimbabwe, unless some other piece of bad luck hits him.

 

[Farabi]

Well, the wait is nearly over.

Surely he makes his long-waited international debut in Zimbabwe, unless some other piece of bad luck hits him.

There’s no ODI in Zim.
In tests, Misbah will likely not change “winning combination” and play Imran Butt again.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

There’s no ODI in Zim.
In tests, Misbah will likely not change “winning combination” and play Imran Butt again.

Rumour he might play according to media, they are keen to play him.

They might drop Abid for Azhar and Saud at 3.

 

[Firebat]

Needs to get a game in the Tests. He surely can't do much worse than the current top order.

 

[MenInG]

Huge moment of shame for Pakistan think tank if Saud is not picked for the XI against Zimbabwe in the 2nd Test

 

[TheNightWatchman]

Huge moment of shame for Pakistan think tank if Saud is not picked for the XI against Zimbabwe in the 2nd Test

It really makes no sense not to play him. He is the ideal replacement for the aging and underperforming Azhar Ali.

 

[Saj]

There’s no ODI in Zim.
In tests, Misbah will likely not change “winning combination” and play Imran Butt again.

Ideal opportunity to play Saud in the 2nd Test against a frankly awful home side.

 

[Line and Length]

Would be a travesty if he's not picked for the 2nd Test. Would be a downright idiotic decision not to play him against the 10th ranked Test team.

 

[NauV]

Ideal opportunity to play Saud in the 2nd Test against a frankly awful home side.

Who would you drop? Azhar? Is Saud a number 3 batsman?
Unless you drop a bowler . .

See it's a Chicken and egg situation . .

Currently, Azhar, Babar, Fawad and Rizwan are our 3, 4, 5, 6 . .
The only person I can see Saud replacing is Azhar but don't think Azhar is about to get dropped any time soon (though I would love to Azhar retire now . . he has been a liability for quite a while esp abroad) . .

What if Saud scores a century against a mediocre Zimbabwe . . what do we do for the following test match?

Its a tough one . . On the one hand, you want to give chances to domestic performers but if there's no spot in the team currently, what's the right thing to do?

I personally don't think Saud has a spot in the starting XI just yet . . I am a big supporter of him and I think he should be persisted with till a spot opens up in the middle order which it should soon . . I think Azhar ali is coming towards the end of his career and I am not sure how long Fawad will warrant a spot given he is already 35. . perhaps a couple of years?

So as long as the expectation is clear to Saud that he is not going to be a first choice starting XI batter for now but he is getting a game just to get exposure, I am okaay with that . . the expectation also needs to be that he is first in line to replace any one in the middle order . . that needs to be backed by consistency in selection . . However, does the team management have the guts to drop him if he scores a 100? Would the media/fans spare the team management if he gets dropped after a 100? I am not sure . . therein lies the dilemma

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Saud is the new Fawad Alam and will probably get his fair run after his thirties.

Usman Salahuddin and Saud Shakeel are two batsmen who will be wasted by the PCB in order to preserve seniors.

 

[Amjad007]

If he don’t play , misbah needs sacking.

 

[shamaan]

Who would you drop? Azhar? Is Saud a number 3 batsman?
Unless you drop a bowler . .

See it's a Chicken and egg situation . .

Currently, Azhar, Babar, Fawad and Rizwan are our 3, 4, 5, 6 . .
The only person I can see Saud replacing is Azhar but don't think Azhar is about to get dropped any time soon (though I would love to Azhar retire now . . he has been a liability for quite a while esp abroad) . .

What if Saud scores a century against a mediocre Zimbabwe . . what do we do for the following test match?

Its a tough one . . On the one hand, you want to give chances to domestic performers but if there's no spot in the team currently, what's the right thing to do?

I personally don't think Saud has a spot in the starting XI just yet . . I am a big supporter of him and I think he should be persisted with till a spot opens up in the middle order which it should soon . . I think Azhar ali is coming towards the end of his career and I am not sure how long Fawad will warrant a spot given he is already 35. . perhaps a couple of years?

So as long as the expectation is clear to Saud that he is not going to be a first choice starting XI batter for now but he is getting a game just to get exposure, I am okaay with that . . the expectation also needs to be that he is first in line to replace any one in the middle order . . that needs to be backed by consistency in selection . . However, does the team management have the guts to drop him if he scores a 100? Would the media/fans spare the team management if he gets dropped after a 100? I am not sure . . therein lies the dilemma

Ideally I would want saud batting at 4 but I don't see babar moving up so proberly 3 is were he will get his chance.

 

[Saj]

Who would you drop?

I would leave out Azhar Ali.

He doesn't need to play against this Zimbabwe team, what can he possibly learn from playing against them?

 

[TeymurBlake]

Its a good opportunity to play in the 2nd Test. Its depends if Misbah will. He will think the 2-0 win against Zim would look better than allowing Saud Shakeel to debut.

 

[Line and Length]

Who would you drop? Azhar? Is Saud a number 3 batsman?
Unless you drop a bowler . .

See it's a Chicken and egg situation . .

Currently, Azhar, Babar, Fawad and Rizwan are our 3, 4, 5, 6 . .
The only person I can see Saud replacing is Azhar but don't think Azhar is about to get dropped any time soon (though I would love to Azhar retire now . . he has been a liability for quite a while esp abroad) . .

What if Saud scores a century against a mediocre Zimbabwe . . what do we do for the following test match?

Its a tough one . . On the one hand, you want to give chances to domestic performers but if there's no spot in the team currently, what's the right thing to do?

I personally don't think Saud has a spot in the starting XI just yet . . I am a big supporter of him and I think he should be persisted with till a spot opens up in the middle order which it should soon . . I think Azhar ali is coming towards the end of his career and I am not sure how long Fawad will warrant a spot given he is already 35. . perhaps a couple of years?

So as long as the expectation is clear to Saud that he is not going to be a first choice starting XI batter for now but he is getting a game just to get exposure, I am okaay with that . . the expectation also needs to be that he is first in line to replace any one in the middle order . . that needs to be backed by consistency in selection . . However, does the team management have the guts to drop him if he scores a 100? Would the media/fans spare the team management if he gets dropped after a 100? I am not sure . . therein lies the dilemma

It's honestly not that complicated. When you currently have two openers who are not Test Match caliber then it's not that complicated. Drop Abid, move Azhar to opening, and play Saud at #3 where he played for Sindh in the QEA Trophy. Azhar opened as captain so I'm sure he won't have any qualms with opening now either.

 

[HussainZ]

It's honestly not that complicated. When you currently have two openers who are not Test Match caliber then it's not that complicated. Drop Abid, move Azhar to opening, and play Saud at #3 where he played for Sindh in the QEA Trophy. Azhar opened as captain so I'm sure he won't have any qualms with opening now either.

Absolutely. When would we give chances to youngsters if not against Zimbabwe C?

 

[NauV]

It's honestly not that complicated. When you currently have two openers who are not Test Match caliber then it's not that complicated. Drop Abid, move Azhar to opening, and play Saud at #3 where he played for Sindh in the QEA Trophy. Azhar opened as captain so I'm sure he won't have any qualms with opening now either.

That works but I doubt it's going to happen. Seems they made a decision to move Azhar down after Misbah/Younis retired and wanted to stick with that. .