Inzi didnt pick Asif Ali in the WC squad but still picked him for England series to see if he performs as Inzi knows he is the only realistic option as a power hitter at the moment. Without power hitters in the team we saw what happened against Australia get the likes of Abid Ali and Rizwan to score hundreds in the same match and still dont chase 280.
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Inzamam-ul-Haq desperate for Asif Ali to perform
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aloo paratha
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Well shouldn't we all be desperate for him to perform? He's one of the only ones who we can actually call a power hitter, and we need one to propel our 280s into 310s.
Arsalan Pro
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Had Umar Akmal performed the way it was expected during the Australia and not indulged in the non-cricketing activities that created drama, Asif Ali wouldn't have got his chance again.
Basically, thinking of team management is that one power hitter is a must near the squad, irrespective of his performance.
Basically, thinking of team management is that one power hitter is a must near the squad, irrespective of his performance.
Chokli
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People used to hate Afridi and wanted him out of the XI.
Now people want someone who is not even half as good as Afridi + doesn't even bowl, in the side.
It be one thing if Asif Ali provided some basic medium pace or off spin/leg spin.
Give me one team that plays a hitter in slot of an all rounder or a batsman?
Now people want someone who is not even half as good as Afridi + doesn't even bowl, in the side.
It be one thing if Asif Ali provided some basic medium pace or off spin/leg spin.
Give me one team that plays a hitter in slot of an all rounder or a batsman?
Stewie
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You make a good point. The idea should be that all or most our batsmen should have power hitting skills in this day and age and not just one or two in the middle or lower order who are not consistent to begin with.
We need batsmen, I hate to say this, who don’t think about their hundreds and ncenthey have crossed 50 odd. Because that’s when they are settled and can up the SR and take on the bowlers. All batsmen take risks these days in that stage. But our guys are happy to rotate and get their hundred and make a place for themselves in the team. Nobody is looking at the bigger picture.
hadi123
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I think some of his picks are so questionable he can pick whoever he wants to really. I don't think, personally, Asif Ali is good enough but let's see how he does in the England series if he gets a chance to play in the starting XI
gazza619
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We needed run a 6/7 runs an over against Australia. Just needed a solid batsman who had common sense.
Asif Ali is a slogger and is overly rated on this forum.
Abdullah719
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The series against England will be crucial, I think he'll get most, if not all 5 ODIs.
Mercurial
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Rubbish selection.
Mercurial
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Spot on.
I hope you understand age is a reality and no one can remain 25 years old for ever, not even Afridi. Afridi's time has come and gone, life goes on.
That’s a proper reflection of where PAK cricket stands now to be harshly honest.
Not only Afridi, even 2015 standard Abdur Razzak would have walked past fast bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf..... and the con artist Kamran Akmal of 2010 ..... you know. People are desperate to see a hitter at 6-7 after Sarfraz promoting bowlers ahead of him to show their hitting talent. Difference is - Afridi & ARazzak were All-rounders ... even after 0 (1), you can expect 8-10 good overs from them.
This guy Asif Butler is picked as specialist bat with FC average of 21 & similar List A average (might have improved now .... he doesn’t entice me to check his career stats). It won’t ever work, unless PAK is absolutely desperate & keep playing him unconditionally- even a dead clock is correct twice a day, so Asif will connect something some days for his fan base to bump threads.
topspin
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Maybe we should try Misbah at no.6 instead
TeymurBlake
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Pakistan need a hitter and need one for the world cup down at No.6. Asif Ali is one that Inzi has invested in. Hopefully after the world cup, they can look at Kushdil Shah.
One of the most overrated batsmen to come up in recent times. He can definitely hit it big but I think Pakistan has to understand they're simply not built to chase 350 or so and including Asif Ali won't change that either.
If anything, the Asia cup should be a massive lesson as to what his inclusion did to the team and how poor it made our batting because it made Malik bat at 4 and Sarfraz at 5 instead of them being one down and clearly Malik/Sarfraz cannot be relied upon enough to carry the batting. Asif Ali himself doesn't possess the ability to play any sort of long innings either, he can slog a few sixes but thats about it.
If this team possessed a stronger and more reliable top order, something like India then you can afford to have a player like Asif Ali but not on this team where the team doesn't possess enough reliable batsmen. And Pakistan bowling is pretty good enough to defend a good total and the goal should be to have a team so they can get to 275-300 on a consistent basis instead of lucking into 350+ once in a while with Asif Ali.
If anything, the Asia cup should be a massive lesson as to what his inclusion did to the team and how poor it made our batting because it made Malik bat at 4 and Sarfraz at 5 instead of them being one down and clearly Malik/Sarfraz cannot be relied upon enough to carry the batting. Asif Ali himself doesn't possess the ability to play any sort of long innings either, he can slog a few sixes but thats about it.
If this team possessed a stronger and more reliable top order, something like India then you can afford to have a player like Asif Ali but not on this team where the team doesn't possess enough reliable batsmen. And Pakistan bowling is pretty good enough to defend a good total and the goal should be to have a team so they can get to 275-300 on a consistent basis instead of lucking into 350+ once in a while with Asif Ali.
Prince of Pakistan
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Pakistan doesn't have the luxury to pick a specialist batsman who is a hit or miss with such a weak batting line up.
What would you do? Select someone who scores once in 5 innings or pick someone of whom you know he will at the least contribute 30/40 runs and build up a partnership to get Pak to a reasonable score if not 330+.
Easy choice right? We can all bash Inzi for this non selection but it's the right thing to do for this weak batting line up. Just pray Hafeez, Fakhar and Imad have a good time in the UK.
Got to be practical for such a huge occasion.
What would you do? Select someone who scores once in 5 innings or pick someone of whom you know he will at the least contribute 30/40 runs and build up a partnership to get Pak to a reasonable score if not 330+.
Easy choice right? We can all bash Inzi for this non selection but it's the right thing to do for this weak batting line up. Just pray Hafeez, Fakhar and Imad have a good time in the UK.
Got to be practical for such a huge occasion.
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gazza619
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So true. Asif Ali would have made the side if he bowled as well.
gazza619
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Lets say Inzi’s desperate wish comes true and Asif Ali comes good against England.
How will he fit him into the team? Will he drop his old colleague Shoaib Malik or his nephew Imam?
How will he fit him into the team? Will he drop his old colleague Shoaib Malik or his nephew Imam?
Abid Ali
gazza619
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Dont think so. Imad is a bowler.
For me Asif Ali’s competion is Shoaib Malik as both at no.6.
Bilal7
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Nicely explained. It is a shame that so many of our fans do not follow the series of events. Umar Akmal would have been in the 15/17 had he not shot himself in the foot again. Asif was the backup power-hitter and therefore only gets him chance after Akmal did not take his.
Bilal7
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It is a serious allegation at this point to claim that Inzamam has any problem with dropping non-performing or past-it seniors. He's dropped everyone from Shahid Afridi to Mohammad Hafeez to Mohammad Amir multiple times and from multiple formats.
Bilal7
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If only the rest of the forum got to terms with reality, instead of pretending that every team can bat like England and Australia. Pakistan's strength is the bowling attack and we need to ensure that we give them enough runs to play with in each game. The squad that has been selected is capable of putting on 270-280 consistently, which should be enough to take us to the semi-finals, InshaAllah.
ads101
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Asif's a huge talent, you can see how he hits, he looks far better in that aspect than any other batsman in the PSL. Clean hitting. It's no wonder Inzi (and probably Mickey too) want this guy to perform. He's not a pure out and out slogger like Afridi had been doing.
He is also one of the three Pakistani batsmen who have really stood out in the PSLs for ability to score big, accelerate and dominate attacks. The other two are Kamran Akmal and Sharjeel who are not in consideration right now. And PSL is still the closest thing to international cricket for Pakistan in limited overs.
I think people are also being a bit harsh he hasn't had a lot of chances, and hasn't looked terrible at the crease. He's also under pressure to score quick, he's striking over 130 SR in T20s and in ODIs. And yes his overall domestic record is bad, but since he broke out in PSL, he has done well in domestic, list A and recent PSL. The promise of Asif is clearly since that breakout in PSL, Asif's improved and turned over a new leaf thus learnt to perform in domestic consistently now, i.e. something has clicked.
He is also one of the three Pakistani batsmen who have really stood out in the PSLs for ability to score big, accelerate and dominate attacks. The other two are Kamran Akmal and Sharjeel who are not in consideration right now. And PSL is still the closest thing to international cricket for Pakistan in limited overs.
I think people are also being a bit harsh he hasn't had a lot of chances, and hasn't looked terrible at the crease. He's also under pressure to score quick, he's striking over 130 SR in T20s and in ODIs. And yes his overall domestic record is bad, but since he broke out in PSL, he has done well in domestic, list A and recent PSL. The promise of Asif is clearly since that breakout in PSL, Asif's improved and turned over a new leaf thus learnt to perform in domestic consistently now, i.e. something has clicked.
Bilal7
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He should get the T20 and two ODIs to show what he has and Hafeez should get the remaining matches to do the same. Malik should get all the matches given that his batting form and ability is the most unclear.
Titan24
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If Inzamam was so desperate why didnt he select Iftikhar Ahmed and Asif Ali as well along side Umar Akmal against Australia so that even if one of them would have showed some potential he could have been easily taken forward with confidence?
He might be desperate to find a power hitter but his desperation didnt reflect in the selection he did against Aus as most of the players he selected served no purpose regarding the power hitting issue which Pakistan is facing.
Iftikhar Ahmed was in pretty decent form in PSL and Pakistan Cup, he can hit the ball pretty well and can easily contribute 4,5 or even more off spin overs when required. Surprised that he wasnt even tried against Australia when we were trying so called bench strength in the form of Abbas and Yasir.
He might be desperate to find a power hitter but his desperation didnt reflect in the selection he did against Aus as most of the players he selected served no purpose regarding the power hitting issue which Pakistan is facing.
Iftikhar Ahmed was in pretty decent form in PSL and Pakistan Cup, he can hit the ball pretty well and can easily contribute 4,5 or even more off spin overs when required. Surprised that he wasnt even tried against Australia when we were trying so called bench strength in the form of Abbas and Yasir.
Chokli
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Take out his performance against Zimbabwe and tell me what you get?
If Asif is such a huge talent why didn't he set the recent Pakistan Cup on fire with his batting performances?
What good is the clean hitting if it doesn't even come off as much as Afridi's hitting?
Lol "not a pure out and out slogger", then what is he mate? Is he a proper batsman?
Educate yourself on cricket first mate.
Chokli
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Even the fans have lost it, no team in their right mind would ever play a specialist six hitter at 7.
Especially someone who will only come off 1/10 innings.
These moronic fans are expecting Asif Ali to score 50(24) every single match, it's like they learnt nothing at all from the Asia Cup debacle.
Chokli
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He'd be the first name in the XI if he could bowl
So true... even razzaq was better then asif ali even without his bowling.. Asif Ali should really up his game now..
CricFan2012
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When Afridi was playing we had unreliable batsmen.
Now that it's possible to score 250+ on most days because of the emergence of Babar, Harris, also just compare openers like Imam and Fakhar to Kamran, Farhat, Shehzad of the past.
We were 100-5 on some days and Afridi did the same brainless batting every time.
Even though Afridi was a hit and a miss player he would perfectly fit in our line up because we can afford the risk, we now have wickets remaining but lack the risk takers.
Sunny_majoka
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Good point he should have selected at least asif ali along with akmal
Justcrazy
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He is average slogger , not good for number 6 spot.
Yuvi was perfect for that slot , quality batsman who could change gears with proper hitting , and could bowl 6 - 7 overs .
Number 6 should be ideally for a batting all rounder , followed by 3 bowling all rounders . That is perfect balance.
6 Yammine
7 Imad
8 Faheem
9 Shadab This kind of batting is required.
Yuvi was perfect for that slot , quality batsman who could change gears with proper hitting , and could bowl 6 - 7 overs .
Number 6 should be ideally for a batting all rounder , followed by 3 bowling all rounders . That is perfect balance.
6 Yammine
7 Imad
8 Faheem
9 Shadab This kind of batting is required.
ask_analyse_act
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Why not ask Malik or hafeez to do that role, since they are undroppable
Asif is a sitting duck against any good bowling be it spin or pace.
Asif is a sitting duck against any good bowling be it spin or pace.
People got offended when Afridi said there isn’t a power hitter in Pakistan. I agreed with him even then and still do. People always wanted Afridi out of the team because he can’t score big. The same people want Asif Ali in the team. Also, Afridi bowled 10 overs each game and was a match winner with both bat and ball. Asif Ali can’t bowl or field, and has the average of a tailender. Shows the state of pak cricket. Same goes for Faheem Ashraf, a mediocre bowler who plays as an all rounder.
I beg to differ - only thing that has changed is that, ODI context has changed from ~250 per to 300+ per .... that has it's impact on average & SR of top 3-4 batsmen, so current squad has 5 of the top 6 average holders in history of PAK ODI cricket.
Now, wicket remains (at hand) because the batting condition is such that it has become a contest between bat vs bat ....on 300+ wickets, you don't need to be too reliable to survive 50 overs. Couple of times in recent days, ODIs were played on a bit difficult conditions or on conditions where new ball pair had something in their favor - last Asia Cup & last NZ tour .... we have seen the reliability.
Afridi will be a superstar in current team, and he merited his spot in that team as well .... Asif Butler has no place in either of the team. His only utility is T20, and definitely T10 cricket.
shaz619
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Asif is a good guy to have in the squad but I just feel with his personal issue as well unfortunately it wont be easy for him to perform
Usually family tragedy can galvanize you in a good way. Obviously what happened to him is terrible that goes without saying.
shaz619
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Yes this is true I totally agree but at the same time can have opposite effect and it's not easy at all, iA hope god makes it easier for him and his family
Chokli
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Yes he does not so far what I have seen of him he is not even better than Afridi. But Inzamam is giving him plenty of chances out of shear desperation.
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