Imam-ul-Haq's selection is nepotistic, but we need to back him now

[Square Drive]

I don't like the guy's personality. His SR is 5-10 points too slow. He has his problems.

But, we must not forget about what happened in the Asia Cup, and then the SA series that followed. When no one (including Fakhar, even Babar to an extent) stepped up, Imam did. Yes, we scored 350 today, but our line-up has generally been brittle and Imam has played a role in solidifying that.

I understand that in the past we used the same excuse for the likes of Shehzad/Azhar/Misbah, but 1. Their SR was a good 5-10 points lower than Imam's, and 2. They didn't average 50+, that too after playing in countries like SA (where he was our best batsman) and now in England, where he has been getting starts.

We've always talked about having a stable opening pair, preferably a dasher with a solid partner that puts a high prize on his wicket, and now we finally have that. Ideally, Abid can play and have a higher SR, along with giving us a right-left opening combo, but Imam has proven himself and we know what we are getting with him. It would've been a different case had we tried Abid earlier, but it's a little late now and heading into the WC, a stable top 3 can do wonders.

We have strokemakers in Fakhar, Babar, Haris, Hafeez/Asif, and one anchor batsman who is consistent and can help lay a strong base fits in well. I'm down to play Abid over him, but it wouldn't make sense this close to the WC; realistically, Imam will play, and that gives our top 3 stability so I don't mind.

He's 100% a nepotistic selection and that'll always hold true, but he hasn't fared as bad as we are making it seem. With our batting history, Imam is fine for our side, as long as he can even keep an SR of 80-85, which he just marginally falls outside of.

From the 1st to 2nd ODI, there has been improvement in his SR as well.

Let's now back Imam. Him & Fakhar is our best and safest opening partnership for the WC.

 

[Hasan123]

Some people have already made their minds up on him and won't change. My problem with him is that his strike rotation and shot range isn't good enough for modern day LO cricket. He needs to improve in this aspect to keep his place in the team.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Another Azhar Ali
None of the flair of his uncle

Not sure how he gets in the team ahead of Shan masood

 

[Farhan93]

Can't support him or back him ..no way..

He doesn't even try hard enough to up his SR. His main goal is always to maintain his avg so that no one could question his place in the side such a terrible and unacceptable approach. And on top of that his attitude is unbearable.
He's not good enough to be in the A or B team of Pakistan yet we are tolerating his presence in the main team and he wants us to tolerate his disgusting attitude too? No way..People like him should be ruthlessly taunted everywhere...

I would have showed sympathies because of the treatment he gets if he remained sensible about his criticism (though still would not have backed him as a player because he's useless) but now he does not deserve any backing nor sympathies. he should leave Pakistan set up and play club cricket in model town

 

[Technics 1210]

People do not understand, that being the nephew of one of the great Pakistani batsmen, comes with its own unique pressure and because of this, Imam-UH is under the spotlight more than any other player.

In situations like this, the player must let his talent do the talking, and looking at his ODI stats, he has answered his critiques well.

5 Centuries.
5 Half Centuries.
55+ Average
24 Matches

 

[moghul]

People do not understand, that being the nephew of one of the great Pakistani batsmen, comes with its own unique pressure and because of this, Imam-UH is under the spotlight more than any other player.

In situations like this, the player must let his talent do the talking, and looking at his ODI stats, he has answered his critiques well.

5 Centuries.
5 Half Centuries.
55+ Average
24 Matches

Being an "automatic selection" he is not under any pressure to improve or change his game. And, all his big scores were against minnows. He is not a bad player but there are better options available ahead of him, including Abid Ali and Shaan Masood.

 

[Cric1234]

The great Imam and his big improvement in strike rate from the first to the second match must be backed at all costs.
After all it seems like every innings he's playing these days is contributing to a negative result for the team.

 

[adzzy786]

His strike rate isn’t 5-10 too slow, it’s more 15-20 too slow. After watching his interviews and that he thinks he’s an automatic selection because he has a average of 55, yet a strike rate in 70’s needs to be addressed

 

[Cric1234]

Take away minnows and he has a similar strike rate to Azhar/Misbah/Shehzad playing in a more batting friendly era all hail his greatness Imam "I average 55" Ul-Haq.

 

[Square Drive]

He doesn't play for his spot/average, because he doesn't need to; he has his uncle as the selector.

Shan had his chances vs Australia but failed.

 

[Square Drive]

Take away minnows and he has a similar strike rate to Azhar/Misbah/Shehzad playing in a more batting friendly era all hail his greatness Imam "I average 55" Ul-Haq.

Let's take away minnows from Azhar/Misbah/Shehzad too, then.

And also Fakhar. And Babar. And everyone, for that matter.

You don't just take away minnows for any one player.

 

[trickyone]

Sorry but can't respect him... P@rchi shouldn't be near the team.

 

[Farhan93]

People do not understand, that being the nephew of one of the great Pakistani batsmen, comes with its own unique pressure and because of this, Imam-UH is under the spotlight more than any other player.

In situations like this, the player must let his talent do the talking, and looking at his ODI stats, he has answered his critiques well.

5 Centuries.
5 Half Centuries.
55+ Average
24 Matches

Strike rate? you ignored it very conveniently...it's in early 70s if you exclude that meaningless Zimbawe series....

 

[Hasan123]

He doesn't play for his spot/average, because he doesn't need to; he has his uncle as the selector.

Shan had his chances vs Australia but failed.

People confuse his lack of shot range and ability to rotate strike. He isn't being selfish, he just hasn't got the shot range and strike rotation yet. He may get it , we don't know yet. Our fans don't want to be patient unfortunately.

 

[Hawkeye]

He's not a nepotistic selection.

That's just blind hate by some.

Yes, you can criticize him on his style of play, poor strike rate and low average against the top 5 sides. But his overall average is quite decent.

So, deserves some more games to show that he can play as an opener should in this era. If he can't, and still continues to get selected, that will be a shame.

Problem is his lack of scoring shots. Just runs down the pitch. Can't play the short ball either.

 

[Farhan93]

Let's take away minnows from Azhar/Misbah/Shehzad too, then.

And also Fakhar. And Babar. And everyone, for that matter.

You don't just take away minnows for any one player.

Fakhar's strike rate is still outstanding even if u exclude Zimbawe series while imam strike rate reminds me of late 80s.. now you have to bring down other better batsmen in order to defend imam? that's the issue with blind supporters ... even that attempt of urs has failed because Fakhar's strike rate against top side is brilliant too while Imam's is atrocious

 

[Square Drive]

People confuse his lack of shot range and ability to rotate strike. He isn't being selfish, he just hasn't got the shot range and strike rotation yet. He may get it , we don't know yet. Our fans don't want to be patient unfortunately.

I agree.

Our only alternative is 31-year-old Abid, but Imam's ceiling is higher. Having said that, if Imam has a bad WC and loses his consistency while keeping his SR the same or lower, then yes, his spot should be in question (like any other player).

We've had a problem with our openers for decades now, and really shouldn't be complaining about two 50+ averaging openers.

 

[Square Drive]

Fakhar's strike rate is still outstanding even if u exclude Zimbawe series while imam strike rate reminds me of late 80s.. now you have to bring down other better batsmen in order to defend imam? that's the issue with blind supporters ... even that attempt of urs has failed because Fakhar's strike rate against top side is brilliant too while Imam's is atrocious

Fakhar was just an example. My point was, taking minnows out of individual players' stats doesn't make sense. For instance, remove Fakhar's double-hundred vs Zimbabwe and you'll see his average going down.

I don't agree with excluding stats against minnows to begin with. It's an international team, and you're supposed to take them seriously and beat them comprehensively. If you don't, then there's a problem.

No one's being a blind supporter. As I said, I wouldn't even mind Abid replacing Imam. But for fans to single out Imam and blame him day after day doesn't make sense.

 

[Farhan93]

People confuse his lack of shot range and ability to rotate strike. He isn't being selfish, he just hasn't got the shot range and strike rotation yet. He may get it , we don't know yet. Our fans don't want to be patient unfortunately.

why we should be patient when we have better openers in Pakistan?
Abid,Sharjeel,Shahzaib,Sami,Khurrum ,Ahsan Ali (even Azhar's inning in CT Final Imam can't produce ever ) . This logic that he's the best we have got is not valid and shouldn't be given ever again as a last resort to defend him.... he's one of the worse openers we have got in Pakistan and if he's playing in Pakistan and making runs that means on modern flat tracks our better domestic openers would do even better job if they are given fair chances. Abid Ali scored a century on his debut and that was a far better innings than any of imam's innings.. so please....get real

 

[moghul]

We will see nepotism in Abid Ali not getting any chances . What if Abid gets a chance and makes a big score with good SR. Inzi won't let that happen.

 

[Farhan93]

Fakhar was just an example. My point was, taking minnows out of individual players' stats doesn't make sense. For instance, remove Fakhar's double-hundred vs Zimbabwe and you'll see his average going down.

I don't agree with excluding stats against minnows to begin with. It's an international team, and you're supposed to take them seriously and beat them comprehensively. If you don't, then there's a problem.

No one's being a blind supporter. As I said, I wouldn't even mind Abid replacing Imam. But for fans to single out Imam and blame him day after day doesn't make sense.

Fans rightly single out imam because he always plays in typical imam's style ..mention me a one match against decent side where he started menacingly like scoring 25 runs on 10 balls....? Heck even tuk tuk like Ahmed Shehzad started few matches like that but ur imam can't because he knows he doesn't have too because his position is safe as long as his avg is decent ....u need to understand the issue with imam and the fact that Pakistan would do better without him instead of defending him . Give Abid and Fakhar 5 consecutive matches , and you will understand why Imam is such a waste of space

 

[CricFan2012]

He should be rotated with Abid Ali and play on tough pitches or against stronger bowlers.

 

[Bonafide Hustler]

He has no natural shots. WC will have a bunch of high scoring games and it would be really stupid to play him. They should open with Sarfraz and just drop Imam. 50 average means nothing in modern cricket when strike rate can lose you the game and puts too much pressure on the middle order. Every other team has attacking openers.

 

[Farhan93]

He has no natural shots. WC will have a bunch of high scoring games and it would be really stupid to play him. They should open with Sarfraz and just drop Imam. 50 average means nothing in modern cricket when strike rate can lose you the game and puts too much pressure on the middle order. Every other team has attacking openers.

This....

 

[babajee]

His biggest issue is that he nails shots straight to the fielder, just like Shehzad. Needs to work on piercing the gaps.

 

[Nasty Naz]

He has no natural shots. WC will have a bunch of high scoring games and it would be really stupid to play him. They should open with Sarfraz and just drop Imam. 50 average means nothing in modern cricket when strike rate can lose you the game and puts too much pressure on the middle order. Every other team has attacking openers.

I have been saying that for a long, especially considering Sarfraz success as an opener. And personally, I'd feel its the strongest batting lineup Pakistan can throw out there with Fakhar/Sarfraz/Babar/Haris/Malik/Hafeez/Imad/Shadab/Hasan/Afridi/Junaid or Amir.

We need more players playing for the team and playing aggressively instead of for their own stats.

 

[CricVet]

Sarfraz has to open but Bhatija is guaranteed for his spot by Chachoo. Who is Sarfraz to do otherwise.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Pakistani team is not scoring 350+ in every match. Imam is perfectly fine for this team which will struggle most of the time.

 

[CS Khan]

With Imam Pakistan won't be scoring 350 in every match.But with Abid they certainly have chance to score at least 300 plus.

 

[Oneking]

What’s imam’s strike rate in first 10 overs, he consumed more balls today and didn’t even rotate strike regularly, ends up taking Fakhar out of the game completely for 5 overs.
Pak should definitely try Abid with Fakhar, or sarfi with Fakhar who can rotate strike, and hit odd boundaries to take pressure of Fakhar.
Even today Babar is to be blamed for loss, when Fakhar was going after ever ball towards the end Babar should have stepped up and told Fakhar to take his time.

 

[Hasan123]

why we should be patient when we have better openers in Pakistan?
Abid,Sharjeel,Shahzaib,Sami,Khurrum ,Ahsan Ali (even Azhar's inning in CT Final Imam can't produce ever ) . This logic that he's the best we have got is not valid and shouldn't be given ever again as a last resort to defend him.... he's one of the worse openers we have got in Pakistan and if he's playing in Pakistan and making runs that means on modern flat tracks our better domestic openers would do even better job if they are given fair chances. Abid Ali scored a century on his debut and that was a far better innings than any of imam's innings.. so please....get real

Firstly when have I said that he is the best opener in Pakistan lol?

He is not the worst option we have though. He wouldn't have that average.

The reason I am saying we have to be patient because he is a young player and he is doing his best to improve. We know he won't be dropped whilst Inzi is selector so we have no choice to be patient.

Abid Ali has played 2 innings and we are painting him as a saviour. I don't see his peak lasting too long .

 

[khan_aa]

relax guys, the bowling lost us the match, not the batting.

compare the death bowling of both sides.

 

[Bonafide Hustler]

relax guys, the bowling lost us the match, not the batting.

compare the death bowling of both sides.

England could have scored 400 plus if Roy didn't get out. You need attacking openers in ODIs, or at least natural stroke makers. Either Sarfraz should open with Fakhar or Babar and Fakhar should open with Sarfraz 1 down. This is the only way to make sure runs keep flowing and also strike rotation. Babar would have been much more effective today if he was batting in the first 10 overs PP instead of Imam.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Lol @ Sarfraz opening in WC to Starc, Archer, Rabada, Boult etc.

Means we are one down even before the first ball is bowled.

 

[saeedhk]

He should be shown the door as soon possible. He is a reincarnation of Misbah and Asad.

He sucks out all of the momentum of the game because he cannot rotate the strike nor hit big. He is the biggest liability for a team in ODIs given how flat pitches are nowadays. He belongs to the early 1990s.

He plays for himself and he is more interested in preserving his average rather than to win matches. A total dud!

An awful batsman.

 

[Oneking]

Flat pithes, won’t make much difference
He can rotate strike and hit odd boundaries better than iman

 

[srh]

Need Sharjeel back; he is the real solution of opening problems

 

[Technics 1210]

Despite Imam's SR criticism, we lost by 12 runs yesterday.

Always makes sense to have a stable opener at one end. This is why Zaman and Ul-Haqwork well as openers.

If you looked at the score after 10 overs yesterday, Pakistan were no where near required RR for 372.

The old adage - always keep wickets in hand, then accelerate the innings when needs be.

 

[CricketDon]

People do not understand, that being the nephew of one of the great Pakistani batsmen, comes with its own unique pressure and because of this, Imam-UH is under the spotlight more than any other player.

In situations like this, the player must let his talent do the talking, and looking at his ODI stats, he has answered his critiques well.

5 Centuries.
5 Half Centuries.
55+ Average
24 Matches

Here is the problem with Pakistan cricket. This post here is the same mentality Pakistan analysts and setup staff have. Imam is a dud who won’t perform against a top side with a decent SR.

Those stats are redundant. Maybe when we tour minnow he can play.

 

[Syed1]

I don't understand why we have to back him?


If he was nepotistic and batting like a dream I would have understood. He averages in the mid 30s at a SR in the early 70s against SENA-I and we should still back him?


This is the attitude that has allowed other nepotistic selections to also play for a long time. This is also the reason why Pakistani people tolerate corruption and think halki phulki corruption is acceptable and inevitable.

 

[Technics 1210]

Here is the problem with Pakistan cricket. This post here is the same mentality Pakistan analysts and setup staff have. Imam is a dud who won’t perform against a top side with a decent SR.

Those stats are redundant. Maybe when we tour minnow he can play.

On the contrary the problem is fans like you; expecting to run before learning how to walk.

 

[IAJ]

He's not a nepotistic selection.

That's just blind hate by some.

Yes, you can criticize him on his style of play, poor strike rate and low average against the top 5 sides. But his overall average is quite decent.

So, deserves some more games to show that he can play as an opener should in this era. If he can't, and still continues to get selected, that will be a shame.

Problem is his lack of scoring shots. Just runs down the pitch. Can't play the short ball either.

Read your own post again, quite confusing.

 

[Farhan93]

Firstly when have I said that he is the best opener in Pakistan lol?

He is not the worst option we have though. He wouldn't have that average.

The reason I am saying we have to be patient because he is a young player and he is doing his best to improve. We know he won't be dropped whilst Inzi is selector so we have no choice to be patient.

Abid Ali has played 2 innings and we are painting him as a saviour. I don't see his peak lasting too long .

You said fans don't want to be patient unfortunately? what did you mean? why should we be patient with one of the most pathetic openers in Pak set up? you think just because his avg is good so he should be given 100 more matches? don't you see how easy is to maintain a good avg on flat tracks which we see in 95% of ODIs nowadays? He compromises on his SR to keep up his avg ,which damage Pakistans chances at the end, so that he can keep media and his critics silent as he always can always come up with " I have average of 55 in ODIs more than Saeed Anwar yet they criticize me " That is **. Saeed Anwar does not play in an era where ball doesn't swing, boundaries are short, pitches are flattest.. Abid Ali can maintain fantastic average and better strike rate than nephew in ODIs even though he is still more suited to test , that easy is ODI cricket nowadays for the batters . why do you think they are not giving Abid a fair chance? because of the same reason, Inzi and management know he will make Imam look like a waste of space if he is given 5-10 consecutive matches with Fakhar.

It's time for us fans to get real and call spade a spade. Imam is one of the worse openers in Pakistan set up but still playing and damaging Pakistan's winning chances on consistent basis just because he's a nephew of the former great. There is no two ways about it

 

[Farhan93]

relax guys, the bowling lost us the match, not the batting.

compare the death bowling of both sides.

bowling and Imam both are real culprits.

Babar also played a part

 

[Farhan93]

Despite Imam's SR criticism, we lost by 12 runs yesterday.

Always makes sense to have a stable opener at one end. This is why Zaman and Ul-Haqwork well as openers.

If you looked at the score after 10 overs yesterday, Pakistan were no where near required RR for 372.

The old adage - always keep wickets in hand, then accelerate the innings when needs be.

not when you are chasing scores like 373 . you need Fakhar/Sharjeel , Fakhar/Shahzaib, if not then Fakhar/Any selfless opener who can maintain strike rate of 110 not the one who plays with a strike rate of 60s and 70s while chasing 373

 

[Chokli]

On a pitch like yesterdays he should have played conventional cricket.

I did not see any cover drives, straight drives, square drives etc.

A proper batsman would have loved batting on yesterdays pitch.

This is where I miss Salman Butt.

 

[Chokli]

not when you are chasing scores like 373 . you need Fakhar/Sharjeel , Fakhar/Shahzaib, if not then Fakhar/Any selfless opener who can maintain strike rate of 110 not the one who plays with a strike rate of 60s and 70s while chasing 373

Please stop mentioning Shahzaib.

This isn't 2009 anymore, Shahzaib is history.

 

[Chokli]

I think Imam should stick to Test Cricket for now.

Abid Ali demonstarted in his 100 that he has all the conventional shots and with Fakhar already being an unorthodox player you need a batsman who can play orthodox shots.
[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION]

 

[Farhan93]

Please stop mentioning Shahzaib.

This isn't 2009 anymore, Shahzaib is history.

Trust me he would be lethal in this era when conditions suit his style of batting. His 44 (30), 60 (38) as an opener would have been quite valuable for us..he can play shots on the up over the fielders (like Sharjeel) an ability which our current players lack except Hafeez .

 

[Farhan93]

I think Imam should stick to Test Cricket for now.

Abid Ali demonstarted in his 100 that he has all the conventional shots and with Fakhar already being an unorthodox player you need a batsman who can play orthodox shots.
[MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION]

Imam's not good for test. His technique is atrocious , his avg in test will always remain like 28,29,30 in test. Mark my words
Fakhar and Abid are two best openers for test both have great FC numbers and they will deliver in test ,just need to be given 2-3 consecutive series...

 

[CadPakFan]

He has no natural shots. WC will have a bunch of high scoring games and it would be really stupid to play him. They should open with Sarfraz and just drop Imam. 50 average means nothing in modern cricket when strike rate can lose you the game and puts too much pressure on the middle order. Every other team has attacking openers.

Came here to say this.

 

[Chokli]

Trust me he would be lethal in this era when conditions suit his style of batting. His 44 (30), 60 (38) as an opener would have been quite valuable for us..he can play shots on the up over the fielders (like Sharjeel) an ability which our current players lack except Hafeez .

He's history.

Didn't make use of his chances when he got them and isn't even featured in the PSL.

 

[Chokli]

Imam's not good for test. His technique is atrocious , his avg in test will always remain like 28,29,30 in test. Mark my words
Fakhar and Abid are two best openers for test both have great FC numbers and they will deliver in test ,just need to be given 2-3 consecutive series...

Words marked.

Just because a player isn't good now doesn't mean he'll never be good.

Saved us from embarrassment against Ireland on a tricky pitch where all the technical batsmen failed.

Should be backed in Tests and work on his LOI game.

 

[CadPakFan]

Lol @ Sarfraz opening in WC to Starc, Archer, Rabada, Boult etc.

Means we are one down even before the first ball is bowled.

Sarfraz hasn't opened since the 2015 WC how can you say how he will fare without him even being given a chance?

 

[superman]

Another Azhar Ali
None of the flair of his uncle

Not sure how he gets in the team ahead of Shan masood

I would drop him, but Shan Masood??? I would play Shaheen as an opener rather than shan masood

 

[Chokli]

Lol @ Sarfraz opening in WC to Starc, Archer, Rabada, Boult etc.

Means we are one down even before the first ball is bowled.

Sarfraz hasn't opened since the 2015 WC how can you say how he will fare without him even being given a chance?

He didn't fare too badly when he did open in 2015.

Faced Steyn, Abbot and Morkel.

Scored 10 against Starc and Co but he did outscore Ahmed Shehzad.

 

[The Viper]

Trust me he would be lethal in this era when conditions suit his style of batting. His 44 (30), 60 (38) as an opener would have been quite valuable for us..he can play shots on the up over the fielders (like Sharjeel) an ability which our current players lack except Hafeez .

Garbage player. Just because he has a good strike rate in domestics doesn't ensure he will succeed at international level.

 

[Farhan93]

He's history.

Didn't make use of his chances when he got them and isn't even featured in the PSL.

Even Fakhar wasn't selected for first season of PSL .Though he had been scoring runs and with great strike rate in both List A and domestic t20 since 2014. we wasted his 3-4 years as well. so? Don't trust PSL selection..

Look,I am not saying Shahzaib is Worldclass or anything i just think his ability to play fearless and aggressive cricket and over the top shots will suit modern day cricket in which he was never given a chance. his quick 40s or 60s as an opener would help the team greatly and would help Fakhar to go big and play his natural game without any pressure of keeping up the RR

 

[Farhan93]

Words marked.

Just because a player isn't good now doesn't mean he'll never be good.

Saved us from embarrassment against Ireland on a tricky pitch where all the technical batsmen failed.

Should be backed in Tests and work on his LOI game.

that was one innings. what about his overall test record and FC record ? That tells alot. Abid and Fakhar are two best openers in Pakistan and we are not utilizing them then we complain why we are so far behind in every format.. Lack of Merit is an issue, our best players don't get picked . Kashif bhatti,Abid Ali,Fawad ,are just few of many whose career have been destroyed because of lack of merit

 

[Farhan93]

I would drop him, but Shan Masood??? I would play Shaheen as an opener rather than shan masood

Shan is even worse lol

 

[Farhan93]

Garbage player. Just because he has a good strike rate in domestics doesn't ensure he will succeed at international level.

I know, but pitches in ODIs are flattest in history that give me confidence to say that. every other batsman in the world since the advent of modern day cricket has an average of 40+ and strike rate over 95+ so he can do better than most..I am sure he is better opener than Soumya Sarkar if he can maintain strike rate of 95+ in ODIs I think Shahzaib can easily maintain 110+ and avg of around 38.which would be great for us. Btw our top priority is still Sharjeel, I was just saying he is an another option we usually forget

 

[The Viper]

I know, but pitches in ODIs are flattest in history that give me confidence to say that. every other batsman in the world since the advent of modern day cricket has an average of 40+ and strike rate over 95+ so he can do better than most..I am sure he is better opener than Soumya Sarkar if he can maintain strike rate of 95+ in ODIs I think Shahzaib can easily maintain 110+ and avg of around 38.which would be great for us. Btw our top priority is still Sharjeel, I was just saying he is an another option we usually forget

Shazaib hasn't played a game since 2017 and was banned for spot fixing in Feb 2018- i wouldn't want him in the team.

 

[Farhan93]

Shazaib hasn't played a game since 2017 and was banned for spot fixing in Feb 2018- i wouldn't want him in the team.

That's a different issue. Then you also wouldn't want Sharjeel in the side..

I was just saying if we want to play modern ODI cricket, what are our options.. Fakhar,Sharjeel,and Shahzaib come to my mind as openers. Awais and Mukhtar aren't good enough for Internationals

 

[Chokli]

that was one innings. what about his overall test record and FC record ? That tells alot. Abid and Fakhar are two best openers in Pakistan and we are not utilizing them then we complain why we are so far behind in every format.. Lack of Merit is an issue, our best players don't get picked . Kashif bhatti,Abid Ali,Fawad ,are just few of many whose career have been destroyed because of lack of merit

One innings that showed a glimpse of what he is capable.

Merit was never a thing in Pakistan Cricket and yes I agree we've lost out on a lot of talent because of that.

 

[Farhan93]

One innings that showed a glimpse of what he is capable.

Merit was never a thing in Pakistan Cricket and yes I agree we've lost out on a lot of talent because of that.

' One innings that showed a glimpse of what he is capable. '

By that Logic Shehzad should have never been dropped from any format as he's shown many times what he's capable of . But we know he's just a dud

 

[Chokli]

' One innings that showed a glimpse of what he is capable. '

By that Logic Shehzad should have never been dropped from any format as he's shown many times what he's capable of . But we know he's just a dud

We've had a larger sample size for Shehzad.

For Imam we don't.

 

[Jin Chacha]

For Imam's sake I wish someone else takes over our selection committee. No matter how many runs he makes this nepotism tag will continue to haunt him till Inzi is the chief selector. Imran Farhat was always accused of the same tag but he was never heckled the way Imam is. I just dont get why he gets so much hate.

 

[Chokli]

I just dont get why he gets so much hate.

Social media.

It's just the cool thing to do.

 

[CleverSir]

I'm not sure why this is a conversation that needs to happen every few days. Yes it is a bit nepotistic, and a bit based on talent. Clearly he can play cricket at the highest level. His stats bear that out. He does have a LONG way to go to be called "good". He is an average player with decent stats. I'll judge him 25-30 matches into his career. He is also not the reason we lost yesterday. Our batsman put up a huge fight. The bowlers lost the plot, especially towards the end of the innings.

 

[Farhan93]

We've had a larger sample size for Shehzad.

For Imam we don't.

And Imam's following Shehzad footsteps, atleast Shehzad has done very well at test level. And also scored a century in t20s ..Imam doesn't have technique to survive in Test and clearly lack ability and shots to do something of note in ODIs and T20s so imam is basically worse than Shehzad..

 

[Pete Rose]

Whether nepostic or not point remains the same. this top order is very very very over reliant of fakhar zaman firing.
Based on presented evidence its difficult to argue that we would have stayed in the game as long as we did babar and imam were batting. I really have nothing against Imam, because I think he batted the situation yesterday, but we are not going to have fakhar firing in every game, so imam needs to up his intent.

 

[Chokli]

And Imam's following Shehzad footsteps, atleast Shehzad has done very well at test level. And also scored a century in t20s ..Imam doesn't have technique to survive in Test and clearly lack ability and shots to do something of note in ODIs and T20s so imam is basically worse than Shehzad..

Again, larger sample size for Shehzad.

Can't drop a player that has shown promise, need to back them and give them full confidence.

 

[Farhan93]

For Imam's sake I wish someone else takes over our selection committee. No matter how many runs he makes this nepotism tag will continue to haunt him till Inzi is the chief selector. Imran Farhat was always accused of the same tag but he was never heckled the way Imam is. I just dont get why he gets so much hate.

because he deserves it, first he was wrongly selected, second, pathetic selfish performances, thirdly, that disgusting attitude.,,, I hope he learns his lessons soon, go back to domestic and improve as a player as a person then can join A team or he should be annoyed and taunted more and more. we need characters like Fakhar Zaman who despite performing magnificently remains humble and put country first not the likes of Imam who perform badly but have attitude of Lara

 

[Farhan93]

Again, larger sample size for Shehzad.

Can't drop a player that has shown promise, need to back them and give them full confidence.

again by that logic no young batsman of age 22-23 should be dropped before he has played 100 ODIs and 30 tests...this is not right and no way to justify the place of someone who doesn't deserve to be in the team in any format. Has failed in test and his FC record backs that he isn't a longest format player. His strike rate in ODIs against top 9 sides is 72 which is atrocious while other openers in the world are touching 100... we can't give him 100 more matches.. it's been proved that he's a rubbish player who only got selected because of his uncle..we would be fools to keep giving him chances again and again thinking he would improve..it doesn't work like that.. his belief that he is an automatic choice is growing stronger because of that.. he should have been dropped after 10 ODIs and 5 tests even if he got wrongly picked in the first place

 

[taqi]

here is he against top five average drops as well as strike rate

 

[CadPakFan]

He didn't fare too badly when he did open in 2015.

Faced Steyn, Abbot and Morkel.

Scored 10 against Starc and Co but he did outscore Ahmed Shehzad.

Thats what I am saying you can't write off Sarfraz without giving him a chance to open.

 

[Hasan123]

You said fans don't want to be patient unfortunately? what did you mean? why should we be patient with one of the most pathetic openers in Pak set up? you think just because his avg is good so he should be given 100 more matches? don't you see how easy is to maintain a good avg on flat tracks which we see in 95% of ODIs nowadays? He compromises on his SR to keep up his avg ,which damage Pakistans chances at the end, so that he can keep media and his critics silent as he always can always come up with " I have average of 55 in ODIs more than Saeed Anwar yet they criticize me " That is **. Saeed Anwar does not play in an era where ball doesn't swing, boundaries are short, pitches are flattest.. Abid Ali can maintain fantastic average and better strike rate than nephew in ODIs even though he is still more suited to test , that easy is ODI cricket nowadays for the batters . why do you think they are not giving Abid a fair chance? because of the same reason, Inzi and management know he will make Imam look like a waste of space if he is given 5-10 consecutive matches with Fakhar.

It's time for us fans to get real and call spade a spade. Imam is one of the worse openers in Pakistan set up but still playing and damaging Pakistan's winning chances on consistent basis just because he's a nephew of the former great. There is no two ways about it

They just expect results straight away. Imam has shown signs of improvement whilst he has been an international cricketer. I would love to have a Jason Roy or Warner type opener but that isn't possible right now.

If Imam doesn't come good he will be dropped.

 

[Jin Chacha]

because he deserves it, first he was wrongly selected, second, pathetic selfish performances, thirdly, that disgusting attitude.,,, I hope he learns his lessons soon, go back to domestic and improve as a player as a person then can join A team or he should be annoyed and taunted more and more. we need characters like Fakhar Zaman who despite performing magnificently remains humble and put country first not the likes of Imam who perform **** but have attitude of Lara

Imam didn't have an attitude problem until the media and some 'fans' started heckling and taunting him nonstop. He is a 24 year old who is already under immense pressure because of these constant nepotism accusations so I would cut him some slack as far as the attitude is concerned. But I do hope he answers his critics with the bat in future instead of these childish emotional outbursts. And yes we need characters like Fakhar Zaman but we might as well wish for characters like Saeed Anwar. You have to make do with what you have not what you wish for and Imam is among the best openers we have available right now.

As far as 'pathetic selfish performances' are concerned, that is an opinion and different people will have different perspectives on the same innings. Statistically, Imam's has the highest average in the team and his career strike rate of ~80 is comparable to that of most of our other batsmen so all this talk of 'too slow' is just hyperbole.

 

[Farhan93]

They just expect results straight away. Imam has shown signs of improvement whilst he has been an international cricketer. I would love to have a Jason Roy or Warner type opener but that isn't possible right now.

If Imam doesn't come good he will be dropped.

What are the improvements? He is still the same, has not developed any strokes...atleast he could have added cover drives,straight drives to his repertoire if not more in these 2 years but instead his attitude has grown worse and now he considers himself as an automatic choice just because his avg is in 50s while his strike rate is worst in the world among all the openers.

We have Sharjeel ,we could have called him back.little early for the world cup it was possible we didn't because fans and media were satisfied with Imam's pathetic batting .
We have solid opener in Abid Ali who has more strokes than Imam but you want us to back most pathetic opener in the country ? this is strange

 

[Cric1234]

They just expect results straight away. Imam has shown signs of improvement whilst he has been an international cricketer. I would love to have a Jason Roy or Warner type opener but that isn't possible right now.

If Imam doesn't come good he will be dropped.

That's why Umar Akmal should've been tried as an opener on these pitches he can leather the bowling to all parts yesterday's wicket was similar to the one in the Pakistan Cup.