Is a slogger averaging in the 20s necessary for a fragile batting lineup?

[asfandyar]

I was under the impression that we had moved on from the era of Afridi (who was also a bowler btw), where hitters averaging in the 20s were considered ok for team selection.

Asif Ali did have some good games, but he is a liability for a team that regularly fails to post 250+ scores.

 

[adzzy786]

Been saying it for such a long time. He needs to be out of the team

 

[Sherlock]

For one, he's played 8 ODIs. Secondly he averages 32+ not in the 20s.

Finally, it's easier to blame someone like Asif when others don't do their jobs above him.

 

[hitthestump]

For one, he's played 8 ODIs. Secondly he averages 32+ not in the 20s.

Finally, it's easier to blame someone like Asif when others don't do their jobs above him.

This.

 

[Bewal Express]

I saw some potential today- worth giving a run. Its not as if we have lots of others knocking on the door.

 

[ethan hunt]

He needs to pick his bowlers.
He is too skillful to discard .
Absolute monster hitter against pace unlike others in the team .
Fahim is the only other one with ability to hit pacers at the death . Hasnt shown it so far though.

 

[alized]

Doesn’t Asif nearly average the same as Sarfaraz and Malik

 

[asfandyar]

For one, he's played 8 ODIs. Secondly he averages 32+ not in the 20s.

Finally, it's easier to blame someone like Asif when others don't do their jobs above him.

List A. Am I blaming him? Have we lost yet? Please answer the question or don't bother commenting.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

He is our only option. In England he can be lethal. Not many teams have better death bowlers than India. He will win us a match definitely.

 

[Captain]

The problem lies with the team combination... Asif is only a T20 player at best... But problem is the whole 11 not just him..

 

[ExplicitAI]

A lot better than other batsmen who can't hit out to save their lives. At least he can push our totals higher.

 

[j_kazmi]

Well Faheem averages 15, Nawaz averages 23, Shadab is not a hitter and there is no other decent lower order hitter in sight.

So Asif is the least of our problems.

We’ve seen the difference between Asif and Afridi today in that Asif actually gives himself time at the crease rather than swinging like a maniac.

 

[adzzy786]

He never does the job. Every time he has come out to bat he’s not performed- his supporters argue he’s come out at the wrong time and can’t build an innings and can only finish one (Why you’d want such a one dimensional player is beyond me) yet for argument sake, Today the platform was set for him and he had it all and failed again. He could and should have taken us to 270/280 and with him never actually winning us any games why do we have him in the team? My issue isn’t with him getting out, it’s how he always gets out. No game awareness and very poor shot selection.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Poor man's afridi. Not a reliable guy. if Pakistan relies on him it will come back to bite them in an important match.

 

[CricketDon]

Umar Akmal our of form is better then Asif Ali. PP posters here need to swallow their price and arragance and accept umar Akmal is still our best number 6 and miles ahead of the current crop.

 

[deems]

I was under the impression that we had moved on from the era of Afridi (who was also a bowler btw), where hitters averaging in the 20s were considered ok for team selection.

Asif Ali did have some good games, but he is a liability for a team that regularly fails to post 250+ scores.

So the only guy in the team who can actually strike it clean has to make way all because our top order can't do what they're supposed to do. He just lacks game awareness and you can only gain that through experience and not getting dropped. He was set for a big one today but unfortunately malka got out at the wrong time.
Where Asif should have tried to go downtown, he went across the line. He will only learn from Shoaib Malik as they are slated to bat next to each other.

 

[Hariskhan]

Asif Ali is brilliant down the ground, he should stick to his strength, instead of belting it to long off. Cahal was either going to bowl it wide or the straighter one which he did

 

[yasir]

What a nonsense thread?? - What alternatives we have, Pakistan don't have single batsman who can hit 140+ seamers other than Fakir, Asif and Faheem, we have to play all three to have any chance of scoring 300 runs...Today we were 30 in first 10...Look at Sarfraz first, he cannot hit, nor rotate, WTH he is doing in the team??

 

[asfandyar]

Doesn’t Asif nearly average the same as Sarfaraz and Malik

26 average in 51 List A matches vs 32 average in 8 ODIs (including 46 and 50* against Zimbabwe). You take your pick.

 

[Bewal Express]

Umar Akmal our of form is better then Asif Ali. PP posters here need to swallow their price and arragance and accept umar Akmal is still our best number 6 and miles ahead of the current crop.

Umer Akmal? Really, which planet do you live on?

 

[alized]

Umar Akmal our of form is better then Asif Ali. PP posters here need to swallow their price and arragance and accept umar Akmal is still our best number 6 and miles ahead of the current crop.

I thought Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq were best number 6 according to PP.

 

[Plumb]

Asif Ali ll cost us games, just like he did today..

 

[adzzy786]

Umar Akmal our of form is better then Asif Ali. PP posters here need to swallow their price and arragance and accept umar Akmal is still our best number 6 and miles ahead of the current crop.

You on drugs?

 

[Sirris]

If we have better option than him than discard him. Though I don't see any.

I would give him another series after the Asia Cup.

 

[Saj]

I've mentioned this before, but to succeed in international cricket you have to be more than a one-trick pony.

At the moment teams are working Asif out and he needs to showthat he has more than a few slogs in his armoury.

 

[indianpanacea]

Absolute liability... Not good for Odis.. May be good for t20....
Pakistani batting not good except for top 4...playing too many allrounders who r worst than regular tailenders... Pakistan need to improve and get rid of Asif... They should try Asad Shafiq in middle order... Absolute batting crap in lower middle order... Not good for cricketing game
Sarfaraz
Fakhar
Babar
Shafiq
Haris
Malik
Imad

 

[Hamad_H]

This is crazy!!! Asif Ali is the reason we got 238 which is a fighting score. If we had PP's golden boy Haris batting we would barely have 200 to defend. Some people are too ungrateful, we're not exactly blessed with power hitters in the team and when one comes in they complain.

 

[Titan24]

Lol! You have a better option, plz dont say Haris he cant score 30 of 20 in this lifetime

 

[Fahdi]

Fact is that after Asif our best hitter is Malik. Faheem can hit but is very inconsistent. Take out Asif's 30(20) and Pakistan barely makes 220.

Shadab needs time to get going, Nawaz has one shot in his arsenal, Hassan can slog spin I guess and that's about it.

I get that Bumrah is quality but if you want to win the world Cup we need to be able to handle bowlers like him. Against England 8/10 Bumrah's last 5 overs will go for 33 at the very least(which is still very good). Bad days he'll go for 45-50 good days 30.

 

[Titan24]

I've mentioned this before, but to succeed in international cricket you have to be more than a one-trick pony.

At the moment teams are working Asif out and he needs to showthat he has more than a few slogs in his armoury.

He has more tricks, he is pretty solid on the off as well. For his big shots he just needs to pick the right balls and right shots.

 

[asfandyar]

What a nonsense thread?? - What alternatives we have, Pakistan don't have single batsman who can hit 140+ seamers other than Fakir, Asif and Faheem, we have to play all three to have any chance of scoring 300 runs...Today we were 30 in first 10...Look at Sarfraz first, he cannot hit, nor rotate, WTH he is doing in the team??

For someone who cites Elon in their signature, you seem to have very little foresight. For the past two games, what was more important for us at number 6? 50+ runs or 140+ SR?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

For one, he's played 8 ODIs. Secondly he averages 32+ not in the 20s.

Finally, it's easier to blame someone like Asif when others don't do their jobs above him.

This is what I can't understand, why blame the big hitter when you are getting constant poor start from the top order?

 

[Fahdi]

I do agree that Asif needs to be reasonably consistent. We don't want batsmen averaging 22 but even a 31-32 average will do.

 

[Markhor]

Our ODI batting for a long time has been too one paced with a lack of powerhitters hurting our ability to accelerate especially in the death overs.

Asif along with Fakhar are the cleanest boundary hitters in the side. He just needs to learn how to pace an innings and not go after every ball. He does have a modest domestic record which is to be expected given he plays a high risk game, but he impressed in the PSL and did well in the Zimbabwe tri-series. Given we're not blessed with a lot of powerhitters, he deserves an extended run.

 

[asfandyar]

This is crazy!!! Asif Ali is the reason we got 238 which is a fighting score. If we had PP's golden boy Haris batting we would barely have 200 to defend. Some people are too ungrateful, we're not exactly blessed with power hitters in the team and when one comes in they complain.

Since when is 238 a score to thump your chest for? I have to laugh at how the kids of today have set such low standards for themselves that 30 off 20 seems like a match winning performance.

 

[Titan24]

For someone who cites Elon in their signature, you seem to have very little foresight. For the past two games, what was more important for us at number 6? 50+ runs or 140+ SR?

Yes but, for team to improve our top order needs to be consistent rather than having consolidators till the end.

With your plan even if batting goes well for us there is a 50-50 chnace we might win. With proper lineup with good hitters in lower middle there is atleast 80-20 chance to win if batting goes as planed.

What you are suggesting is a short term solution and will never allow Pak to go in the top 3

 

[Snowflake]

He needs to become smarter in terms of picking his bowlers and constructing the innings when needed. That comes with experience. Play him for a while, as he definitely has potential, but if he doesn't build on that, he needs to be dropped.

 

[Snowflake]

Since when is 238 a score to thump your chest for? I have to laugh at how the kids of today have set such low standards for themselves that 30 off 20 seems like a match winning performance.

To be fair, he said its a fighting score. No chest thumping

 

[Virat_Kohli_fan]

It's not Asif's fault. Big hitters are not supposed to be consistent, however I would like him to develop a better brain than Afridi as his career moves on.

 

[sjahmed23]

Asif Ali type players are rare in Pakistan he should be nurtured and allowed to play his natural game. I think he will improve with experience and he does look like the Razzaq type finisher we've been looking for.

 

[Snowflake]

I believe Asif will get better with time. He'll understand his strengths and weaknesses better and once he does that, he'll be invaluable. Definitely worth someone worth sticking with.

 

[Hamad_H]

Since when is 238 a score to thump your chest for? I have to laugh at how the kids of today have set such low standards for themselves that 30 off 20 seems like a match winning performance.

It is not a chest-thumping score, I agree but it is a defendable score. A lot more defendable than a score of 200, it should give us hope rather than us being pessimistic and with a score like this, every run counts so a 30 off 20 is this match still is valuable. You must judge scores in context, not just from what you read.

 

[Hasan123]

He is a power hitter. Something which we don't have. He can also hit pacers . Our other batsmen cannot do this. He has potential to be more than a slogger. He needs to be given a run of games.

 

[mirza105]

Since when is 238 a score to thump your chest for? I have to laugh at how the kids of today have set such low standards for themselves that 30 off 20 seems like a match winning performance.

Haha why laugh at the kids
When the captain of team says they are are looking for 250.
That's sarfaraz ahmed for you,the best captain to ever .

 

[Sherlock]

List A. Am I blaming him? Have we lost yet? Please answer the question or don't bother commenting.

Take a deep breath. You opened a thread about why do we need Asif, without even digesting the fact our middle order has been shocking since the like of Razzaq and Akmal disappeared for various reasons. His batting ability is more than just a slogger, as you suggested. He comes so far down the order at times we don't see his potential.

Once again I'll say this, why blame someone like Asif and label him a "liability" when the players above him are not doing their jobs?!


What exactly do you mean, "have we lost yet?"

 

[Savak]

Lol, Afridi got away with Asif's batting average because he could bowl as well and was able to compensate for his batting failures with the ball or bowling failures with the bat. With every batting failure Asif Ali will be under pressure for his position in the team.