Is anyone planning for Pakistan's tour of Australia yet?

Given the options. Assuming Naseem can't make a comeback. I'd go with this XI

1. Shan
2. Abdullah
3. Saud
4. Babar (c)
5. Salman
6. Rizwan
7. Faheem
8. Jamal
9. Hasan
10. Shaheen
11. Abrar
Lol. Aamer Jamal, Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali as part of an attack in Australia?

Pakistan will get slaughtered.

And no, even Abrar is a little overrated on here.

PAK specialist spinners are all mediocre at best and some are utter rubbish.

PAK should go the other way round this time.

Pick 5 specialist batters + keeper batter +Mubasir Khan + 4 of your best fast bowlers.

Mohammad Ali is an OK option as he hits the deck and bowls around 135 kph.

You need 135 kph average pace in OZ . 130 -135 bowlers need to be extremely accurate to even survive.

And I'm talking about average pace throughout the day, not just 4 overs.
 
Lol. Aamer Jamal, Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali as part of an attack in Australia?

Pakistan will get slaughtered.

And no, even Abrar is a little overrated on here.

PAK specialist spinners are all mediocre at best and some are utter rubbish.

PAK should go the other way round this time.

Pick 5 specialist batters + keeper batter +Mubasir Khan + 4 of your best fast bowlers.

Mohammad Ali is an OK option as he hits the deck and bowls around 135 kph.

You need 135 kph average pace in OZ . 130 -135 bowlers need to be extremely accurate to even survive.

And I'm talking about average pace throughout the day, not just 4 overs.
Well according to year criteria there should be no players left to build a squad then.
 
Naseem Shah got injured and it's unlikely he'll be back in time. Even he does, we don't know what his rhythm will be like. Do remember that he is perhaps our best Test match bowler and would be great in Australian conditions.

Shaheen Shah Afridi is our spearhead pacer. He has been on and off with his pace and rhythm throughout this year. Even if he is ready and fully fit. He will need a partner on the other end.

Naseem our best Test match bowler? :misbah

Naseem Shah bowling averages:
In Aus: 68
In NZ: 73
In ENG: 70

Shaheen is our "spearhead pacer" - statement is true.
But, it doesn't tell that he's absolutely trash in Tests, specially overseas.

Shaheen Afridi bowling averages:
In Aus: 37
In NZ: 43
In ENG: 57
In SA: 27 (only face-saving he has in SENA).


So, Shaheen is slightly better but he's still quite terrible overseas, particularly for being our "spearhead".
 
Pakistan will get clean swept as per usual in test series, espcially if babar is still captain

Bro PAK will be thrashed in Aus no matter who is the captain.

Pak kept getting thrashed in AUS even under Imran Khan, before him, after him, even when we had Wasim, Waqar, Akhtar, Inzi, Yousuf playing for us.

Australia smashes us for fun in AUS, since the inception of Pakistan cricket.

It is not new.

And this time matters are even worse, as we have no bowling talent - whether pace or spin. Batting is okayish.

Only thing that might change our fortunes - we unearth quality bowling unit in the next 5 years, as well as batters.
 
Bro PAK will be thrashed in Aus no matter who is the captain.

Pak kept getting thrashed in AUS even under Imran Khan, before him, after him, even when we had Wasim, Waqar, Akhtar, Inzi, Yousuf playing for us.

Australia smashes us for fun in AUS, since the inception of Pakistan cricket.

It is not new.

And this time matters are even worse, as we have no bowling talent - whether pace or spin. Batting is okayish.

Only thing that might change our fortunes - we unearth quality bowling unit in the next 5 years, as well as batters.
Yes even when we have had good teams we have struggled. Pakistan test team is minnow like under babar so this mat end up bring worst massacre ever
 
The only planning that should take place is what curry house the players will visit so they can fill their boots and eat as much as they like. The cricket will be a sideshow - it will be an epic beating. An innings defeat in both games. May as well play a complete novice eleven and leave out Shaheen, Naseem, Hasan Ali and Rauf and play kids.
 
The only planning that should take place is what curry house the players will visit so they can fill their boots and eat as much as they like. The cricket will be a sideshow - it will be an epic beating. An innings defeat in both games. May as well play a complete novice eleven and leave out Shaheen, Naseem, Hasan Ali and Rauf and play kids.

Shaheen, Naseem, Hasan and Rauf must play this series and get truly exposed.

Any bowler who gets left out - it will be a massive favor to him by the selectors.
 
The only planning that should take place is what curry house the players will visit so they can fill their boots and eat as much as they like. The cricket will be a sideshow - it will be an epic beating. An innings defeat in both games. May as well play a complete novice eleven and leave out Shaheen, Naseem, Hasan Ali and Rauf and play kids.
Shaheen still a bit raw but hope he can use his height to make use of the bouncy wickets, an area we have struggled with previously. Naseem got smacked around last time but he was only a schoolboy then and obviously has got a lot better.

Hasan has done well before but has regressed as a bowler and Rauf - well I don't fancy his chances. We truly have a mediocre bowling lineup.
 
Nothing like getting up early at 5 am to watch your team play a test match in Australia, started doing it 20 years back when Australia had that legendary team and even competing against them was a milestone.

GOAT cricket nation, most iconic and best grounds, best pitches (except for a few years last decade), best crowd, best coverage and GOAT commentary panel, pristine grass field under blue skies, tough and quality cricket with very little margin of error, aggression meeting aggression,
 
Rizwan at 3, Shadab as our main spinner and Hasan Ali? With that XI I can see all three tests ending in a innings and 300 runs + victory

The only chance we have to even win a single test is to select a team based on merit with the correct captain and bowlers.
1. Shan Masood (Vc)
2. Abdullah Shafiq
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz (C)
7. Salman/Fawad
8. Shaheen
9. Abrar
10. Mir Hamza
11. Hasnain/Dahani
Nice team selection though I want a fast bowling allrounder at 7 instead of salman/fawad
 
The only planning at the moment in PcB HQ is who will be next chief selector the merry go as usual, Waqar younis x Khan and Aqib Javed are the front runners Afridi as wild card entry, nothing else

If there was any sane mind they should do extensive scouting or polish the best domestic performers, the bowling standars in Pakistan cricket are atrocious. Nobody can name 5 fast bowlers capable of playing Test cricket in 5 seconds.

Fear is TTF like Hasan Ali Faheem Ashraf will be picked.

Playing XI will be

Shafiq
Imam
Shan
Babar
Saud
Agha
Sarfraz
SSA
Hassan
WasimJr./Naseem
Abrar

Ideally there should be pace bowling allrounder if any, going with inexperienced squad for this will only bring humiliation and new lows of record, therefore damage control should be the option don't whether Hassan and Shaheen are filly fit, unfortunately there is no quality pacer or spinner in Pakistan
 
Rizwan at 3, Shadab as our main spinner and Hasan Ali? With that XI I can see all three tests ending in a innings and 300 runs + victory

The only chance we have to even win a single test is to select a team based on merit with the correct captain and bowlers.
1. Shan Masood (Vc)
2. Abdullah Shafiq
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz (C)
7. Salman/Fawad
8. Shaheen
9. Abrar
10. Mir Hamza
11. Hasnain/Dahani
Shan, Asad Shafiq and Fawad still being considered, what seriously?
 
Pakistan will get clean swept as per usual in test series, espcially if babar is still captain
Even if you put Ricky Ponting as a captain for Pakistan. They will lose as well.

The core problem is we don't have a test team ready to compete in Australia. This is not the first time also mind you.
 
The only planning at the moment in PcB HQ is who will be next chief selector the merry go as usual, Waqar younis x Khan and Aqib Javed are the front runners Afridi as wild card entry, nothing else

If there was any sane mind they should do extensive scouting or polish the best domestic performers, the bowling standars in Pakistan cricket are atrocious. Nobody can name 5 fast bowlers capable of playing Test cricket in 5 seconds.

Fear is TTF like Hasan Ali Faheem Ashraf will be picked.

Playing XI will be

Shafiq
Imam
Shan
Babar
Saud
Agha
Sarfraz
SSA
Hassan
WasimJr./Naseem
Abrar

Ideally there should be pace bowling allrounder if any, going with inexperienced squad for this will only bring humiliation and new lows of record, therefore damage control should be the option don't whether Hassan and Shaheen are filly fit, unfortunately there is no quality pacer or spinner in Pakistan
I think despite everything. Faheem has proven himself as a bowling All Rounder in Test Cricket. He may not be a Frontline seamer but he is good as a 4th seam option.

Other than him there's Amir Jamal who bowls at 140 kph and has done well in FC. But his batting is questionable and he is yet to debut.
 
Are you saying that apart from Shaheen, there are no pacers in Pakistan who can bowl 135 average over a day and hit a length while doing so?
You tell me. In your post you've already discarded the likely Test options for Pakistan.
Naseem our best Test match bowler? :misbah

Naseem Shah bowling averages:
In Aus: 68
In NZ: 73
In ENG: 70

Shaheen is our "spearhead pacer" - statement is true.
But, it doesn't tell that he's absolutely trash in Tests, specially overseas.

Shaheen Afridi bowling averages:
In Aus: 37
In NZ: 43
In ENG: 57
In SA: 27 (only face-saving he has in SENA).


So, Shaheen is slightly better but he's still quite terrible overseas, particularly for being our "spearhead".
That Naseem record was when he was new o Test Cricket at 16-17 years of age. Not when he was seaming and swinging that ball around in Sri Lanka.
 
White wash. Head, Smith, Marnus, Marsh, Green, Starc, Lyon, Cummins, Hazlewood

I don't see how Pak can win a test!!
 
You tell me. In your post you've already discarded the likely Test options for Pakistan.

That Naseem record was when he was new o Test Cricket at 16-17 years of age. Not when he was seaming and swinging that ball around in Sri Lanka.
I suspect there isn't anyone.

This Test series will simply reaffirm the decline and increasing irrelevance of Test cricket.

It's going to be an utter thrashing and, despite the inevitable protestations by the OP, could not have been avoided by any player available in Pakistan.

PCB should increase their focus even further on white ball cricket .

Test cricket is simply not worth investing in
 
Top performers from the Quiad-e-azam trophy should be given a go for this tour. Khurram shehzad was the top wicket-taker i guess, so he should be there with Shaheen and also mir hamza should be there. That is what i think.
 
I suspect there isn't anyone.

This Test series will simply reaffirm the decline and increasing irrelevance of Test cricket.

It's going to be an utter thrashing and, despite the inevitable protestations by the OP, could not have been avoided by any player available in Pakistan.

PCB should increase their focus even further on white ball cricket .

Test cricket is simply not worth investing in
That doesn't mean PCB, team or the fans should stop rooting for their team, however abysmal the result maybe.

The best available players should be playing. If it means the likes of Shaheen, Hasan, Wasim, Faheem, etc. So be it. If there's anyone in domestic cricket that deserves to be in the side then he should be in.

I don't particularly believe that having only out and out fast bowler (140+ KPH) will get you wickets in Australia. Quality is first, speed is secondary. If there's no bowler in Pakistan that can take wickets in Australia. So be it. You still got to select and back your best bowlers.
 
That doesn't mean PCB, team or the fans should stop rooting for their team, however abysmal the result maybe.

The best available players should be playing. If it means the likes of Shaheen, Hasan, Wasim, Faheem, etc. So be it. If there's anyone in domestic cricket that deserves to be in the side then he should be in.

I don't particularly believe that having only out and out fast bowler (140+ KPH) will get you wickets in Australia. Quality is first, speed is secondary. If there's no bowler in Pakistan that can take wickets in Australia. So be it. You still got to select and back your best bowlers.
Didn't say fans should stop supporting . Speed is important in Australia. You need sharp fast medium bowlers who are ALSO accurate.

I didn't say it's one or the other.


Also , I said you need to be consistently above 135 kph and hitting a length . 140 kph average pace bowlers are rare in Tests.
 
14 consecutive test losses in Australia. Spread across almost 25 years, 5 test tours. God knows how many captains, coaches, players were involved.

When PCT wins a test in Australia, it will be a more joyous occasion for their fans than the T20 World Cup game against India in Dubai 2 years back.
 
Abdullah
Imam/Hurraira
Shan/Kamran Ghulam
Babar
Saud
Rizwan/Sarfaraz
Salman Agha/Mubashir Khan
Abrar/Nouman
Shaheen
Wasim jnr/Khurram Shahzad
Hasan Ali/Arshad Iqbal

The names written first are first priority. Go in with this team and you might actually win ONE TEST MATCH. Looks a good squad atleast on paper

Ihsanullah is 100% ruled out. And I don't see PCB taking a risk with Naseem
The delusion.

This team should be given PKR 10 million prize money if they stretch any of the three Test matches to day 4.

Pakistan cannot put together any squad that can avoid humiliation Down Under. Just not good enough.
 
14 consecutive test losses in Australia. Spread across almost 25 years, 5 test tours. God knows how many captains, coaches, players were involved.

When PCT wins a test in Australia, it will be a more joyous occasion for their fans than the T20 World Cup game against India in Dubai 2 years back.
It should be, but the general fans don’t care about Test cricket especially when the play is almost over by the time they wake up.

Pakistan winning (or not losing) a Test match in Australia at some point in the future will be passionately celebrated here only.
 
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You tell me. In your post you've already discarded the likely Test options for Pakistan.

That Naseem record was when he was new o Test Cricket at 16-17 years of age. Not when he was seaming and swinging that ball around in Sri Lanka.
There is nothing Australian batsmen love than a pace bowler who sprays it everywhere!
 
There is nothing Australian batsmen love than a pace bowler who sprays it everywhere!
Naseem Shah is not one of them. He has a much better line and length than any other bowler in the Pakistani line-up. Him not being there will be a huge loss as well. His absence has affected the Pakistani team big time in the World Cup and they're gonna be affected again during the Aussie tour.
 
That Naseem record was when he was new o Test Cricket at 16-17 years of age. Not when he was seaming and swinging that ball around in Sri Lanka.

Naseem Shah is not one of them. He has a much better line and length than any other bowler in the Pakistani line-up. Him not being there will be a huge loss as well. His absence has affected the Pakistani team big time in the World Cup and they're gonna be affected again during the Aussie tour.

I really, REALLY hope that Naseem Shah gets to play this series.

If he does not, it will be a MASSIVE favor to him - he will avoid the inevitable thrashing he's going to receive, and our fans will continue to think that Naseem Shah has "improved" and will not get thrashed like the last time he was in AUS.

Yes, he has improved in T20s.

However, he's been terrible in Tests continuously. He's also short.
It's a recipe for disaster in Australian conditions.

I continue to pray that our "premier" and "no. 1 bowling attack" consisting of Rauf, Hasan, Shaheen and Naseem plays this Aus tour.
 
I suspect there isn't anyone.

This Test series will simply reaffirm the decline and increasing irrelevance of Test cricket.

It's going to be an utter thrashing and, despite the inevitable protestations by the OP, could not have been avoided by any player available in Pakistan.

PCB should increase their focus even further on white ball cricket .

Test cricket is simply not worth investing in
Perhaps not for PCB, but tests remain enthralling and catch eyeballs in Oz, Eng, Ind, NZ atleast... Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport and thats what seperates the men from the boys. Appreciate not a lot of folks can invest in following a 5 day game, but the plots, sub plots and the sessions by session change in game, cannot be provided by T20 or 50 over ODI.

Remove test cricket and you might as well watch baseball etc.

Lastly the current ODI attack is so good, becuase they are bowling test lengths and you cannot learn that without playing it, as evidenced by lamentable state of Pakistan bowling unit in this current ODI WC.

If anything nations need to stop playing T20I outside of league and need meet only once every 2 years for a WC.
 
I really, REALLY hope that Naseem Shah gets to play this series.

If he does not, it will be a MASSIVE favor to him - he will avoid the inevitable thrashing he's going to receive, and our fans will continue to think that Naseem Shah has "improved" and will not get thrashed like the last time he was in AUS.

Yes, he has improved in T20s.

However, he's been terrible in Tests continuously. He's also short.
It's a recipe for disaster in Australian conditions.

I continue to pray that our "premier" and "no. 1 bowling attack" consisting of Rauf, Hasan, Shaheen and Naseem plays this Aus tour.
Wrong. You aren't up to date.

Naseem Shah has statistically been our best bowler in test matches over the last year and half. That includes matches vs Aus, NZ, Eng and SL.
 
Perhaps not for PCB, but tests remain enthralling and catch eyeballs in Oz, Eng, Ind, NZ atleast... Test cricket remains the pinnacle of the sport and thats what seperates the men from the boys. Appreciate not a lot of folks can invest in following a 5 day game, but the plots, sub plots and the sessions by session change in game, cannot be provided by T20 or 50 over ODI.

Remove test cricket and you might as well watch baseball etc.

Lastly the current ODI attack is so good, becuase they are bowling test lengths and you cannot learn that without playing it, as evidenced by lamentable state of Pakistan bowling unit in this current ODI WC.

If anything nations need to stop playing T20I outside of league and need meet only once every 2 years for a WC.
Catches eyeballs only in the Big 3 and that too only when there is a competitive series. There is no incentive - financial or otherwise to play Test cricket for anyone apart from Big 3.

NZC definitely don't want to host more Tests
 
Catches eyeballs only in the Big 3 and that too only when there is a competitive series. There is no incentive - financial or otherwise to play Test cricket for anyone apart from Big 3.

NZC definitely don't want to host more Tests
NZC want to host more tests, but only if other nations dont ask for a 2 test series and 7 T20s. T20 will need to finance tests or teams need to voluntarily give up playing tests and then cricket formally needs to be a a 2 tiered sports. Test playing full members and others where ex test playing nations can be lumped with like of PNG, Nepal, Oman etc.

Thats the choice the adminstrators of the test playing nations need to make. Do they want to be a full spectrum team or just a multi coloured T20 baseball team.

Giving up tests is giving up FC cricket, give that up, might as well give up cricket completely. Where will your cover drive be honed if not test cricket, in T20 you would be practicing your jabs and pulls. Where will your next BSB or SW come from, deffo not from T20s.

Tests will survive, atleast the current 40 somethings dont croak off...
 
NZC want to host more tests, but only if other nations dont ask for a 2 test series and 7 T20s. T20 will need to finance tests or teams need to voluntarily give up playing tests and then cricket formally needs to be a a 2 tiered sports. Test playing full members and others where ex test playing nations can be lumped with like of PNG, Nepal, Oman etc.

Thats the choice the adminstrators of the test playing nations need to make. Do they want to be a full spectrum team or just a multi coloured T20 baseball team.

Giving up tests is giving up FC cricket, give that up, might as well give up cricket completely. Where will your cover drive be honed if not test cricket, in T20 you would be practicing your jabs and pulls. Where will your next BSB or SW come from, deffo not from T20s.

Tests will survive, atleast the current 40 somethings dont croak off...
A visiting side has nothing to lose by playing more Tests . Test matches are expensive to host and will simply eat into NZC profits .

Also, India and England Test tours generate the most revenue for NZC . If they don't want to play more than 2 Tests against these 2 sides , then there's no hope of playing more Tests against other sides.

Even SA who used to play 3 Test series in NZ are down to 2 and many players are going to prefer SA 20 over this Test series.

Unless it's Big 3 Test series , the format is dead and no amount of administrative intervention is changing that
 
A visiting side has nothing to lose by playing more Tests . Test matches are expensive to host and will simply eat into NZC profits .

Also, India and England Test tours generate the most revenue for NZC . If they don't want to play more than 2 Tests against these 2 sides , then there's no hope of playing more Tests against other sides.

Even SA who used to play 3 Test series in NZ are down to 2 and many players are going to prefer SA 20 over this Test series.

Unless it's Big 3 Test series , the format is dead and no amount of administrative intervention is changing that
Test cricket from the start has been the most illogical sport
.
It's so unfair on bowlers at so many levels. A DOT BALL is NOT REWARDED
Unlike in t20 and ODI

A good leave? Seriously
people are paying money to see you leave a ball lol

Finally sense is prevailing and people are understanding how pathetic a format it is

I used to watch a lot of football, and believe me, NOTHING comes closer to the thrill that a t20 match gives you.
It's the perfect format. Not long like ODI and not nonsense cricket like t10

Cricket would have been the most popular sport on the planet if the administrators had scrapped test cricket a 100 years ago and started playing only t20
 
Haris Rauf is just 1 inch shorter than Jofra Archer. He's 1 inch shorter than Imran Khan, who had huge success in Australia.

Batsmen can't attack him like they do in ODIs because they will get caught in the slips. Also, the ability to bowl 2 bouncers per over will discourage them from committing to the front foot.

Australia don't play Bazball. They always struggled with the extra pace of Wahab Riaz and Haris Rauf is much quicker than he was.
Omg! Mate you need to actually watch Pak cricket.

1) extreme pace in Australia. Of course..where is extreme pace not an advantage? But extreme pace has to be well directed. Eg Harmison in 2005 v Harmison in 2006. Completely different bowlers. In Australia there is very little swing and the seam will flatten. Harris the spray gun will be mauled. Pak has a problem with bowling in that they are brought up on a diet of T20. They are struggling with 60 balls let alone 120 per bowler.

2) Shadab? Are you serious? And for tests? This boy can’t land it on the strip let alone on a handkerchief. Nawaz the less said the better. I know you give example of Abdul qadir but I pretty much watched all those tussles and it was clear Imran occasionally preferred Tauseef/Iqbal qasim. But these choices were determined by over all attacks in different grounds not just about individuals. You do as a basic rule take your best bowler.

3) faheem? What? Who? His fast balls barely make it to the keeper. Smith and labu will have a nap in between him releasing his knee high pies and it arriving at their end.

Yes pak need a bowling allrounder or two —- doesn’t exist
Yes Pak need a tall line and length bowler who is test ready and can move the ball both ways - doesn’t exist - SSA in any other country would still be a trainee.
Yes Pak need a spinner- there simply isn’t one who can contain and take wickets. (Maybe bilal Asif or Abrar who knows)

Nah this is not a series worth preparing for. I think Pak should take an A team just to give some experience and go visit the beaches. It’ll be a mauling like we haven’t seen.
 
Pakistan tour of Australia is NEVER fun. Yes, we all look forward to it only feeling embarrassed and hoping it could have ended sooner. This time it would not be any different unless there is a change in mindset. From performance or ability perspective I believe we have what it takes to compete and we had ability in yesteryears too. However its our mindset that eliminates us. We are mentally shot when we are in Australia and even our best players of past are simply a shadow of themselves. If we do not change our mindset this time around then we are going to suffer similar consequences.

First and foremost we should avoid repeating issues of previous years. I have identified some concerns that were glaring in prior years yet we did not change them.

1. Going in with only 4 bowlers.
We need to change this approach if we are going to compete in Australia. We all remember Yasir Shah and Kaneria bowling 35+ overs every innings and getting proper spanking whilst at it too. We need a 5th bowler and its debatable whether that be a spinner or a medium pacer.

2. Selecting people based on their positive mindset rather than simple statistics
In past we have taken our statistically better batsmen and as a result we have received hammering of the highest order. Our best bet to compete is to have a team of strong minded individuals.

3. Number 6 should not be a filler
Number 6 is a very vital position in SENA games considering we are likely to have a minor collapse always at the top of the order hence this position becomes very critical. In past we have had Asad Shafiq bat here and it was totally useless as the guy was scared to take responsibility. We need someone here who can actually take responsibility of the team.

4. Pace is better than trundlers in Australia
Australia unlike other SENA regions is not a place where gentle medium pace with swing is effective. Its hard and bouncy here and pace does matter. Therefore we should avoid selection of players who are going to bowl at less than 135kmph.

If I would be a selector for this tour I would pick a team that stands the best chance of competing. We need to have enough players who are mentally strong to compete in Australia. I would be picking the following line-up.

1. Abdullah Shafique
He is not the mentally strongest so far but technically he is better than most Pakistanis. So I expect him to counter the short ball aggression well. Also he has got a pretty solid defence that comes in handy in test matches.

2. Shan Masood

3. Mohammad Hurraira
This is my wildcard pick in this team. Hurraira similar to Abdullah Shafique has already shown at a young age that he belongs in international circuit through domestics. The good thing about Hurraira is that he is very strong through backward point region and cross bat shots that would come in very handy in Australian conditions.

4. Babar Azam
Babar would need to step up and make the bulk of the runs for the team. He now has all the necessary experience and his career will be judged to a slight degree over the performances in this tour. He need to make runs where it matters now i.e. away from home.

5. Saud Shakeel / Kamran Ghulam
If I pick on ability it would be Saud. However if I pick on mental ability its Kamran. At the moment Saud is ahead of Kamran in pecking order but if Saud has a failure we should bring in Kamran. In past we have had strong number 5 batsmen such as Misbah or Inzi who used to safeguard the team from this position. So it would be big shoes to fill for these new players, I hope they dont crumble under Aussie pressure.

6. Mohammad Rizwan (captain)
Rizwan is very critical to our chance of competing in this tour. In past we have not been able to string any meaningful contributions with the bat resulting in our collapse and collapse of our chances of competing with Australia. Rizwan is also mentally the strongest in the lot so I totally expect him to deliver meaningful runs in this tour.

7. Shadab Khan / Aamir Jamal
The only reason I don't have Faheem Ashraf in here is because Faheem is not mentally strong enough to contribute under pressure much like Nawaz. So its better we move on from Faheem and have someone who can perform in crunch situations. I have got Shadab in here simply because of his batting and fielding. Shadab as a bowler will not serve any meaningful purpose given he can't land 6 deliveries in a single area. Aamir Jamal is needed for conditions which suit pacers. He is usually good against left handers and Aus have quite a few in their line-up. Also Aamir has pace that surely helps.

8. Shaheen Shah Afridi
Our spearhead in pace department. He is slowly but gradually getting to where he was before the injury. I hope his new ball charm is back in time before this tour. Shaheen will be our best bet to bring about wickets at the top.

9. Naseem Shah
Naseem is someone we missed thoroughly in the world cup. Naseem has the ability to bowl tight line and lengths and he will surely be needed to bowl decent channel to keep it tight and not leak runs. If there is any reverse swing on offer then Naseem will be a handy option.

10. Abrar Ahmed
Our leading spinner and should have played this world cup. The good thing about Abrar when compared to Kaneria or Yasir Shah is his ability to keep his economy under check. Abrar bowl nice lengths and his economy usually hovers around 3. Given he would have to bowl bulk of overs if he can keep his economy in check it would be a huge boost for the rest of our bowling line-up

11. Ihsanullah (Hasnain if Ihsanullah is unavailable)
Ihsanullah is our pace weapon. He is required to bowl short spells of outright pace and chin music (he can deliver that if he is accurate enough). He is likely to go for runs but if he is hitting the correct pace levels he is likely to get us some wickets too.

In my humble opinion this team might give us the best chance of competing. To transition from competing to winning we would need to bury our mental ghosts and be clear headed. Its easier said than done and we have seen that from past tours of Australia.
 
A visiting side has nothing to lose by playing more Tests . Test matches are expensive to host and will simply eat into NZC profits .

Also, India and England Test tours generate the most revenue for NZC . If they don't want to play more than 2 Tests against these 2 sides , then there's no hope of playing more Tests against other sides.

Even SA who used to play 3 Test series in NZ are down to 2 and many players are going to prefer SA 20 over this Test series.

Unless it's Big 3 Test series , the format is dead and no amount of administrative intervention is changing that
Thats where the whole commercial model needs to be retweaked for greater good of the game, at least for tests. Make it profit share and non Big 3 countries need to sell their telly rights more commercially and aggressively.

Its doable and the format aint dead. 30 odd years ago with advent of coloured pjamas folks said tests are dead, 30 years on here we are.

Tests will survive, commercial models will evolve, adaption is the key, not extermination.

We can be atg opposite ends of the spectrum and agree to disagree and come back in 5 years.
 
My squad.

Shan Masood
Abdullah
Babar Azam
Saud Shakeel
Kamran Ghullam
Rizwan
Shaheen
Naseem if fit
Arshad Iqbal
Ihsanullah
Abrar Ahmed



Mubasir
Sameen Gull
Hurraira
Jamal
 
People are being very selective when they say "Pakistan never competes in Australia".

They used to compete much more than India did until 2000. So long as they had one top class pace bowler, they were in the series when they could reliably score 600 runs per match.

A number of batsmen who did well elsewhere were poor in Australia - the likes of Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik. While other batsmen like Ijaz Ahmed and Qasim Omar who were mediocre elsewhere were excellent on fast Aussie decks.

What changed around the year 2000 was that the quality of Pakistan batting plummeted, with only 1 or 2 international class batsmen at any given time. Suddenly Pakistan could barely score 400-500 runs per match - and that pushed back much more pressure onto the bowlers.

The only missing player this time is Naseem Shah, unless the selectors do something stupid.

Part of the problem, looking at comments above, is people wanting to select mediocre support bowlers who can't bat.

Let's say that Abdullah Shafique, Rizwan, Agha, Babar and Saud get Pakistan to 280-5 when the second new ball comes due. If you have picked the likes of Abrar and a fourth quick who can't bat, 280-5 is going to turn into 305 all out.

But if you have managed your tail the way that Imran Khan did in 1988 in the West Indies, you can hope for Shadab, Faheem and Hasan Ali to lift that total to 430 all out.

If you are dismissed for 305 in the last over of Day 1 you will probably lose. But if you are dismissed 45 minutes after lunch on Day 2 for 430 you basically cannot lose.

It's actually a case of Pakistan using India's strategy. India win in Australia when they pick the likes of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar to turn 280-5 into 430 all out.

Pakistan has to be realistic about its bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only international class quick for Australian conditions. And there is no international class spinner, especially on Aussie tracks.

They are going to have to rely upon the height of Shaheen and the pace of Haris Rauf in short bursts, and just rotate three other bowlers who can bat - presumably Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim.
 
People are being very selective when they say "Pakistan never competes in Australia".

They used to compete much more than India did until 2000. So long as they had one top class pace bowler, they were in the series when they could reliably score 600 runs per match.

A number of batsmen who did well elsewhere were poor in Australia - the likes of Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik. While other batsmen like Ijaz Ahmed and Qasim Omar who were mediocre elsewhere were excellent on fast Aussie decks.

What changed around the year 2000 was that the quality of Pakistan batting plummeted, with only 1 or 2 international class batsmen at any given time. Suddenly Pakistan could barely score 400-500 runs per match - and that pushed back much more pressure onto the bowlers.

The only missing player this time is Naseem Shah, unless the selectors do something stupid.

Part of the problem, looking at comments above, is people wanting to select mediocre support bowlers who can't bat.

Let's say that Abdullah Shafique, Rizwan, Agha, Babar and Saud get Pakistan to 280-5 when the second new ball comes due. If you have picked the likes of Abrar and a fourth quick who can't bat, 280-5 is going to turn into 305 all out.

But if you have managed your tail the way that Imran Khan did in 1988 in the West Indies, you can hope for Shadab, Faheem and Hasan Ali to lift that total to 430 all out.

If you are dismissed for 305 in the last over of Day 1 you will probably lose. But if you are dismissed 45 minutes after lunch on Day 2 for 430 you basically cannot lose.

It's actually a case of Pakistan using India's strategy. India win in Australia when they pick the likes of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar to turn 280-5 into 430 all out.

Pakistan has to be realistic about its bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only international class quick for Australian conditions. And there is no international class spinner, especially on Aussie tracks.

They are going to have to rely upon the height of Shaheen and the pace of Haris Rauf in short bursts, and just rotate three other bowlers who can bat - presumably Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim.

It would be nice if we could enjoy this kind analysis in white ball cricket as well especially during this World Cup. Why do you dislike white ball cricket so much?
 
Let's put a few red lines in here:

1. Shaheen must play, but cannot bat above Number 10.
2. Only Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have a history of outstanding Test batting in Australia.
3. No current Pakistan spinner has a history of Test success in Australia or South Africa, and the one with the best Test record in SENA is actually Shadab Khan.

Now look at the required specifications for your bowling in Australia:

1. Someone has to be able to consistently bowl faster than 140K - only Haris Rauf qualifies, now that Naseem Shah is injured.
2. Someone needs to be able to bat at Number 9 (meaning averaging at least 20 with the bat) and also bowl quick, EITHER
a) Minimum height of 6'0 combined with pace over 135K, OR
b) Minimum height 6'3 combined with pace over 130K.


I can only see Mohammad Wasim who can qualify, and his batting is dubious.

3. Someone needs to be able to bat at Number 7 and average a minimum of 35 with the bat, while bowling 10-15 overs per day. Only Shadab Khan has that Test record (if you exclude his debut Test as a Teenager). Arguably, Mohammad Nawaz could possibly also fit the bill, and maybe Mubasir Khan.

4. A fourth quick needs to be able to bat at Number 8 and average at least 25 with the bat, while bowling 15 economical overs per day. Only Faheem Ashraf has that record in the Pakistan team.

Put it all together and your bottom five looks like this:

7. Shadab Khan: must average 35 with the bat and bowl 10-15 overs each day.
8. Faheem Ashraf: must average 25 with the bat and bowl 15 overs per day.
9. Mohammad Wasim: must average 20 with the bat and bowl 15 overs per day.
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi: must bowl a 5-6 over spell each session at above 138K.
11. Haris Rauf: must bowl a 4 or 5 over spell each session at above 140K.

That's going to require Agha Salman to also bowl 4 overs per session too.

Doing it this way should get more wickets out of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf because they can bowl shorter, more hostile spells.
 
It would be nice if we could enjoy this kind analysis in white ball cricket as well especially during this World Cup. Why do you dislike white ball cricket so much?
Because the bowlers have been completely neutralised by the playing conditions.

I just find it quite boring.
 
People are being very selective when they say "Pakistan never competes in Australia".

They used to compete much more than India did until 2000. So long as they had one top class pace bowler, they were in the series when they could reliably score 600 runs per match.

A number of batsmen who did well elsewhere were poor in Australia - the likes of Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik. While other batsmen like Ijaz Ahmed and Qasim Omar who were mediocre elsewhere were excellent on fast Aussie decks.

What changed around the year 2000 was that the quality of Pakistan batting plummeted, with only 1 or 2 international class batsmen at any given time. Suddenly Pakistan could barely score 400-500 runs per match - and that pushed back much more pressure onto the bowlers.

The only missing player this time is Naseem Shah, unless the selectors do something stupid.

Part of the problem, looking at comments above, is people wanting to select mediocre support bowlers who can't bat.

Let's say that Abdullah Shafique, Rizwan, Agha, Babar and Saud get Pakistan to 280-5 when the second new ball comes due. If you have picked the likes of Abrar and a fourth quick who can't bat, 280-5 is going to turn into 305 all out.

But if you have managed your tail the way that Imran Khan did in 1988 in the West Indies, you can hope for Shadab, Faheem and Hasan Ali to lift that total to 430 all out.

If you are dismissed for 305 in the last over of Day 1 you will probably lose. But if you are dismissed 45 minutes after lunch on Day 2 for 430 you basically cannot lose.

It's actually a case of Pakistan using India's strategy. India win in Australia when they pick the likes of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar to turn 280-5 into 430 all out.

Pakistan has to be realistic about its bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only international class quick for Australian conditions. And there is no international class spinner, especially on Aussie tracks.

They are going to have to rely upon the height of Shaheen and the pace of Haris Rauf in short bursts, and just rotate three other bowlers who can bat - presumably Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim.
Welcome back - trust me, not even ICC WCs could do something that you did - you brought me back in PP.

I couldn’t resist this famous post - grew up few years in Australia in childhood, first memories of those wonderful WSC games with PAK & WIN, Imran’s heroics of saving that MCG Test ..….. faded away everything as I was just a kid then, but still …. the formula that you are giving here Boss, Aussies will need to bat three times, max four. That too sometimes Josh & Lyon might not even come to bat at all - Trust Me.

Just one question - by any chance, do really you think that Australia is something like Babar’s model PAK? That is they get Gazar Ka Halwa (something like carrot pudding - a famous south Asian desert) bowling and score at 2.75 rate for three days?

I’ll write something definitely, just not finding enough time to put a constructive analysis.
 
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People are being very selective when they say "Pakistan never competes in Australia".

They used to compete much more than India did until 2000. So long as they had one top class pace bowler, they were in the series when they could reliably score 600 runs per match.

A number of batsmen who did well elsewhere were poor in Australia - the likes of Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik. While other batsmen like Ijaz Ahmed and Qasim Omar who were mediocre elsewhere were excellent on fast Aussie decks.

What changed around the year 2000 was that the quality of Pakistan batting plummeted, with only 1 or 2 international class batsmen at any given time. Suddenly Pakistan could barely score 400-500 runs per match - and that pushed back much more pressure onto the bowlers.

The only missing player this time is Naseem Shah, unless the selectors do something stupid.

Part of the problem, looking at comments above, is people wanting to select mediocre support bowlers who can't bat.

Let's say that Abdullah Shafique, Rizwan, Agha, Babar and Saud get Pakistan to 280-5 when the second new ball comes due. If you have picked the likes of Abrar and a fourth quick who can't bat, 280-5 is going to turn into 305 all out.

But if you have managed your tail the way that Imran Khan did in 1988 in the West Indies, you can hope for Shadab, Faheem and Hasan Ali to lift that total to 430 all out.

If you are dismissed for 305 in the last over of Day 1 you will probably lose. But if you are dismissed 45 minutes after lunch on Day 2 for 430 you basically cannot lose.

It's actually a case of Pakistan using India's strategy. India win in Australia when they pick the likes of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar to turn 280-5 into 430 all out.

Pakistan has to be realistic about its bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only international class quick for Australian conditions. And there is no international class spinner, especially on Aussie tracks.

They are going to have to rely upon the height of Shaheen and the pace of Haris Rauf in short bursts, and just rotate three other bowlers who can bat - presumably Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim.

You can win in Australia with C, D level bowlers as long as you follow Bharat Arun's off middle stump ruthless non stop line of attach and keep a stacked leg side field including leg slip. Restrict the Australian scoring rate to 1-2 runs per over and eventually the wickets will come. Eliminate the cuts and the pulls.
 
Welcome back - trust me, not even ICC WCs could do something that you did - you brought me back in PP.

I couldn’t resist this famous post - grew up few years in Australia in childhood, first memories of those wonderful WSC games with PAK & WIN, Imran’s heroics of saving that MCG Test ..….. faded away everything as I was just a kid then, but still …. the formula that you are giving here Boss, Aussies will need to bat three times, max four. That too sometimes Josh & Lyon might not even come to bat at all - Trust Me.

Just one question - by any chance, do really you think that Australia is something like Babar’s model PAK? That is they get Gazar Ka Halwa (something like carrot pudding - a famous south Asian desert) bowling and score at 2.75 rate for three days?

I’ll write something definitely, just not finding enough time to put a constructive analysis.


And, please next time don’t name Imran Khan to push your agenda along with Shadab or Fahim or Hasan - reading that, left me with a disgusting feeling … both in mouth & stomach.
Honestly, I'm not sure why you think that Imran wouldn't pick Shadab Khan.

Of course, when he had an Abdul Qadir he selected him. But there is no equivalent now.

But consider two key Imran Khan Test selections: Ijaz Faqih and Mudassar Nazar.

Mudassar played for Imran until he was 33. He was a very average opening batsman but he was a useful medium-fast swing bowler who could be a fourth quick in SENA conditions. Imran always viewed all-rounders as being an "extra" player in the team, even mediocre ones.

When Pakistan played the de facto World Test Championship in the West Indies in 1987-88, he picked the off-spinning all-rounder Ijaz Faqih to be his fourth bowler even though there were far better bowlers in the squad. Ijaz Faqih was not even the best off-spinner in the squad - he was vastly inferior to Tauseef Ahmed, and really was like a very poor man's Iftikhar Ahmed with both bat and ball, and certainly inferior to Shadab Khan in every domain.

But Imran knew that if he picked his fourth best bowler - Saleem Jaffer or Tauseef Ahmed - he would be barely better with the ball and would score no runs.

In 1 Test, Jaffer had figures of 12-1-60-1.
In 2 Tests, Faqih had figures of 36-4-133-2.

Pakistan won the First Test, but with 45 minutes to go in the Second Test were 311-8 chasing 372 to win, with 12 overs remaining. Ijaz Faqih came in at Number 10, and saved the Test, scoring 10 not out from 44 balls.

And that is my point about Shadab Khan. Pakistan hasn't got any spin bowlers worth picking, but they need some variety in the attack and they need a spinner who can bowl on the fifth afternoon on a crumbling wicket.

But at least Shadab is a competent Test batsman. His Test record as a batsman in England, Ireland and South Africa is:

55 and 4*
52 and dnb
56 and 4
5 and 47*
45 and 15

Abdul Qadir, Danesh Kaneria and Yasir Shah have all had terrible records in Australia. It's pointless to pick Abrar Ahmed for his bowling and to expect him to thrive in Australia - he just won't.

Much better to do it the Imran Khan way. Pick your international class bowlers, sure. But don't pick mediocre specialist bowlers when you have all-rounders who might save you a Test with the bat.
 
Pakistan test bowling is bare to none, Eng humiliated and annihilated and harsh to say but buried our pride on the docile track of Pindi , no point picking rookies like Muhammad Ali et,al. and yes experience does matter in Australia if PCB is serious in saving our Test cricket then arrange warm up games before the tour.

Shafiq
Shan
Babar
Saud
Haris Sohail
Rizwan
Faheem
HassanAli
SSA
Naseem
Abrar
 
Pakistan test bowling is bare to none, Eng humiliated and annihilated and harsh to say but buried our pride on the docile track of Pindi , no point picking rookies like Muhammad Ali et,al. and yes experience does matter in Australia if PCB is serious in saving our Test cricket then arrange warm up games before the tour.

Shafiq
Shan
Babar
Saud
Haris Sohail
Rizwan
Faheem
HassanAli
SSA
Naseem
Abrar
Hassan ali trundling at 125 on Australian pitches ? 🤣🤣🤣 great job. And faheem seriously? And naseem just had shoulder injury he won't comeback until next year
 
Hassan ali trundling at 125 on Australian pitches ? 🤣🤣🤣 great job. And faheem seriously? And naseem just had shoulder injury he won't comeback until next year
Show me the Garners and Crofts who are toiling in domestics
 
Show me the Garners and Crofts who are toiling in domestics
Any half decent bowler will be better than hassan and faheem. First see if ihsaullah gets fit. Next try arshad iqbal.and if you really want a hassan ali speed type of bowler better go with mir hamza who is toiling in domestic circuit for years and not getting his chance.
 
I don’t wish to sound rude, but I am baffled at the absolute obsession with the 50 over World Cup when Pakistan has a Blue Riband Test Tour to Australia that starts almost immediately afterwards.

Blue Riband ehhh ? Looks like you havent come to terms yet with the massive success of last 2 India tours to OZ ? Let me assure you the current priorities of Pakistan team are (in order of importance ) to "somehow" qualify for the WC S/F and if that does not happen hope/pray that India does not win it.

Nobody other than die-hard cricket fans care about Test Cricket in Pakistan ( Which is people in this forum basically ). Need evidence ? Find footage of Aus and Eng test tours to Pakistan .... there are more people in popular Indian restaurants in the Western world than you could find in the stadiums when Eng wiped the floor last Dec/Jan.
 
Pakistan tour of Australia is NEVER fun. Yes, we all look forward to it only feeling embarrassed and hoping it could have ended sooner. This time it would not be any different unless there is a change in mindset. From performance or ability perspective I believe we have what it takes to compete and we had ability in yesteryears too. However its our mindset that eliminates us. We are mentally shot when we are in Australia and even our best players of past are simply a shadow of themselves. If we do not change our mindset this time around then we are going to suffer similar consequences.

First and foremost we should avoid repeating issues of previous years. I have identified some concerns that were glaring in prior years yet we did not change them.

1. Going in with only 4 bowlers.
We need to change this approach if we are going to compete in Australia. We all remember Yasir Shah and Kaneria bowling 35+ overs every innings and getting proper spanking whilst at it too. We need a 5th bowler and its debatable whether that be a spinner or a medium pacer.

2. Selecting people based on their positive mindset rather than simple statistics
In past we have taken our statistically better batsmen and as a result we have received hammering of the highest order. Our best bet to compete is to have a team of strong minded individuals.

3. Number 6 should not be a filler
Number 6 is a very vital position in SENA games considering we are likely to have a minor collapse always at the top of the order hence this position becomes very critical. In past we have had Asad Shafiq bat here and it was totally useless as the guy was scared to take responsibility. We need someone here who can actually take responsibility of the team.

4. Pace is better than trundlers in Australia
Australia unlike other SENA regions is not a place where gentle medium pace with swing is effective. Its hard and bouncy here and pace does matter. Therefore we should avoid selection of players who are going to bowl at less than 135kmph.

If I would be a selector for this tour I would pick a team that stands the best chance of competing. We need to have enough players who are mentally strong to compete in Australia. I would be picking the following line-up.

1. Abdullah Shafique
He is not the mentally strongest so far but technically he is better than most Pakistanis. So I expect him to counter the short ball aggression well. Also he has got a pretty solid defence that comes in handy in test matches.

2. Shan Masood

3. Mohammad Hurraira
This is my wildcard pick in this team. Hurraira similar to Abdullah Shafique has already shown at a young age that he belongs in international circuit through domestics. The good thing about Hurraira is that he is very strong through backward point region and cross bat shots that would come in very handy in Australian conditions.

4. Babar Azam
Babar would need to step up and make the bulk of the runs for the team. He now has all the necessary experience and his career will be judged to a slight degree over the performances in this tour. He need to make runs where it matters now i.e. away from home.

5. Saud Shakeel / Kamran Ghulam
If I pick on ability it would be Saud. However if I pick on mental ability its Kamran. At the moment Saud is ahead of Kamran in pecking order but if Saud has a failure we should bring in Kamran. In past we have had strong number 5 batsmen such as Misbah or Inzi who used to safeguard the team from this position. So it would be big shoes to fill for these new players, I hope they dont crumble under Aussie pressure.

6. Mohammad Rizwan (captain)
Rizwan is very critical to our chance of competing in this tour. In past we have not been able to string any meaningful contributions with the bat resulting in our collapse and collapse of our chances of competing with Australia. Rizwan is also mentally the strongest in the lot so I totally expect him to deliver meaningful runs in this tour.

7. Shadab Khan / Aamir Jamal
The only reason I don't have Faheem Ashraf in here is because Faheem is not mentally strong enough to contribute under pressure much like Nawaz. So its better we move on from Faheem and have someone who can perform in crunch situations. I have got Shadab in here simply because of his batting and fielding. Shadab as a bowler will not serve any meaningful purpose given he can't land 6 deliveries in a single area. Aamir Jamal is needed for conditions which suit pacers. He is usually good against left handers and Aus have quite a few in their line-up. Also Aamir has pace that surely helps.

8. Shaheen Shah Afridi
Our spearhead in pace department. He is slowly but gradually getting to where he was before the injury. I hope his new ball charm is back in time before this tour. Shaheen will be our best bet to bring about wickets at the top.

9. Naseem Shah
Naseem is someone we missed thoroughly in the world cup. Naseem has the ability to bowl tight line and lengths and he will surely be needed to bowl decent channel to keep it tight and not leak runs. If there is any reverse swing on offer then Naseem will be a handy option.

10. Abrar Ahmed
Our leading spinner and should have played this world cup. The good thing about Abrar when compared to Kaneria or Yasir Shah is his ability to keep his economy under check. Abrar bowl nice lengths and his economy usually hovers around 3. Given he would have to bowl bulk of overs if he can keep his economy in check it would be a huge boost for the rest of our bowling line-up

11. Ihsanullah (Hasnain if Ihsanullah is unavailable)
Ihsanullah is our pace weapon. He is required to bowl short spells of outright pace and chin music (he can deliver that if he is accurate enough). He is likely to go for runs but if he is hitting the correct pace levels he is likely to get us some wickets too.

In my humble opinion this team might give us the best chance of competing. To transition from competing to winning we would need to bury our mental ghosts and be clear headed. Its easier said than done and we have seen that from past tours of Australia.
I wonder if anyone is watching the on going Pakistan Cup and the recently concluded Quaid e azam trophy


i saw hurrairas batting and I must confess the boy does not look like someone who is gonna succeed at the international level awful technique
 
PCB please please ensure Shaheen is fully rested before this tour..... please.

No more NOCs for random new format mixed-doubles beach cricket being played in Honolulu!

Let him rest, recuperate, focus on his fitness and regain his swing and pace before the team flies out to Australia.

Infact if it's nigh on impossible to make it to the semis let him sit out against England, ask him to fly back to Pakistan immediately. If we wait for a few more days the team management will ensure he downs half a dozen slices of cake before they take off from India.
 
This is going to be a mauling.

Pakistan doesn't have the pieces to win a Test series in Australia right now. I can't think of a single combination that will make even a dent against the Aussies.

Pakistani bowlers are either 70% fit (Shaheen), injured (Naseem) or inexperienced.
 
I would laugh if Babar is captaining Pakistan in this series.
 
Here is a suggestion, Rishabh Pant is recovering from his accident and cannot make it back to the India test team. He is probably piling on weight right now eating away biriyani for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You folks are tech savvy. Make him an online mentor for your tour. He knows how to win against Australia.
 
Looks like from one humiliation (WC) to another down under on the cards. Who will score the runs for Pakistan and who will stop the destructive Aussie batsmen from scoring on those quick bouncy wickets?

A team with no plan, players with no technique, stamina and attitude, a board with no plans, no proper system or facilities in place at grassroot level, well the list goes on and on.

Anyways our prayers are with the players, who ever are selected, wish them all the best.
 
In the last WTC cycle, I watched all of our matches. We had an unfair advantage by playing the 3 hard teams at home and the 3 easy teams away. Never again will a team get such an easy schedule.

So didnt want to miss out on even a single match in our first WTC win.

What happened? Only finished above West Indies and Bangladesh 😡

Our test team is hopeless and pathetic. Might be good on paper with inflated averages but is just no match for India, Australia, England.

Expecting nothing from this tour. But I still feel we could win atleast ONE test if we have fully fit Shaheen, Naseem and Ihsanullah.
But Shaheen is not fit and the other two are long injured and will come back in the PSL- not before that.
 
Here is a suggestion, Rishabh Pant is recovering from his accident and cannot make it back to the India test team. He is probably piling on weight right now eating away biriyani for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You folks are tech savvy. Make him an online mentor for your tour. He knows how to win against Australia.
He can play instead of Rizwan as match practice
 
Some folks were suggesting that Haris Rauf should start in the Test series. I'm not sure what options PAK have in terms of pace attack after Shaheen. Plethora of options for T20 but for longer formats, it seems to be Shaheen and nothing(Naseem being unavailable) . Spinners are also awful.

Just checked the schedule and 1st Test is at Perth? Yeah this is going to be a brutal thrashing. Worse than previous tours.

Only hope for PAK is that Khwaja, Warner, Starc, Smith suddenly go into serious age-related decline . If they are all in half-decent form, it's going to be an absolute massacre.
 
I would laugh if Babar is captaining Pakistan in this series.
I think bringing in a new captain for this series will be very unfair on him, after Babar enjoyed test series wins against easy teams. This is Babar's squad, his legacy, his thought process embedded in the team, he shouldn't be given an escape route. New skipper can start with easier assignments.
 
T20 merchants like Shadab, Nawaz, Rauf are unable to cope with 50 overs cricket. I don't think Shadab has played red ball cricket in domestics for many years. No wonder he starts bowling full tosses and half trackers in longer spells.

To even entertain the idea of taking these guys to Aus is an assault on one's intelligence. Unless the motive is to watch Australia pile up 1000 runs per day.
 
Imagine thinking that Rauf can do anything of worth in test cricket in Australia and then being proud of your cricket knowledge.

They are gonna smash him, pla don’t play him for test cricket’s sake.

Hasan Ali is better than him but obviously he will also be smashed.

Shaheen is their best bet but still he hasn’t performed at that level against big teams and is probably not gonna make that much of an impact with zero support from other end.


This is gonna be a proper thrashing, ideally Pakistan should just pick Shaheen along with their two best , tall, matured domestic bowlers who atleast can hold one end
 
Also Warner is gonna retire after this series, so expect him to demolish this Pakistani bowling attack for one last time.

Not Smith and Labuachagne, but Warner ,Head and Marsh(if he plays) are the biggest threats
 
Wish red ball only players could (have been) be send there earlier than others with some support staff to get acclimated to the weather etc.

Let's see what pacers our think tank end up sending there. Shaheen is the only automatic pick. Think Arshad Iqbal should get a nod. Ali Shafiq and Ahmed Bashir have been in good form recently (but don't know what kind of bowlers they are). Sameen Gul has been very consistent in FC for last few years but think his lack of pace will work against him. Don't want to see Dhani play in Aus (but seems like he might).
 
This is going to be a mauling.

Pakistan doesn't have the pieces to win a Test series in Australia right now. I can't think of a single combination that will make even a dent against the Aussies.

Pakistani bowlers are either 70% fit (Shaheen), injured (Naseem) or inexperienced.
Has been the case for us in Aus for over 25 years.
 
This is going to be a mauling.

Pakistan doesn't have the pieces to win a Test series in Australia right now. I can't think of a single combination that will make even a dent against the Aussies.

Pakistani bowlers are either 70% fit (Shaheen), injured (Naseem) or inexperienced.
A year ago. I was thinking that maybe if board can manage Naseem, Shaheen and Hasan well (I didn't know Hasan's pace has regressed this much). Fully fit and firing these followed by Wasim Jr, Jamal or Faheem can string together a performance or two in the series.

But alas, that is not possible anymore.
 
T20 merchants like Shadab, Nawaz, Rauf are unable to cope with 50 overs cricket. I don't think Shadab has played red ball cricket in domestics for many years. No wonder he starts bowling full tosses and half trackers in longer spells.

To even entertain the idea of taking these guys to Aus is an assault on one's intelligence. Unless the motive is to watch Australia pile up 1000 runs per day.
Realistically at the moment. Only fully fit Naseem and Shaheen are two pacers that can bowl in Test Cricket in any condition/s. Naseem is down and out and we didn't prepare any other pacer.
 
This series after the WC will be a disaster for Pakistan.

Best they can do is to back the best domestic performers because we clearly don't have any bowlers ready for Test cricket.

Mir Hamza, Sameen Gul, Arshad Iqbal all should board the plane to Australia along with Shaheen

Aamer Jamal and Faheem can be your so called ARs. I would prefer Faheem because Aamer is a proper spray gun at present.

Ali Shafiq seems to have decent stats, but hes a trundler from what I remember.

Abdullah Shafiq
Imam
Shan Masood (c)
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Agha
Faheem
Sameen/Mir Hamza/ Abrar (Abrar should play in Sydney only)
Shaheen
Arshad
 
Best they can do is to back the best domestic performers because we clearly don't have any bowlers ready for Test cricket.

Mir Hamza, Sameen Gul, Arshad Iqbal all should board the plane to Australia along with Shaheen

Aamer Jamal and Faheem can be your so called ARs. I would prefer Faheem because Aamer is a proper spray gun at present.

Ali Shafiq seems to have decent stats, but hes a trundler from what I remember.

Abdullah Shafiq
Imam
Shan Masood (c)
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Agha
Faheem
Sameen/Mir Hamza/ Abrar (Abrar should play in Sydney only)
Shaheen
Arshad
I like your squad but we need 5 proper bowlers in the XI. I don’t like Shan but I guess he is a better option than Babar, Rizwan or Sarfaraz.

I think our cricket bosses will give the captaincy to Sarfaraz though
 
If you guys think your misery is over, Pakistan's tour to Australia begins in a month.
 
Sources told Geo Super on Sunday that the PCB has decided to set up a camp for the three-match Test series against Australia, which begins in December 2023.
 
This test will be a huge test for Pakistan. Their gonna get mauled, remember what happened last time they played t20 Cup in Australia?
 
Shaheen desperately needs rest and recovery. He was looking very jaded and ineffective in the WC and his pace was down to 129-132 km/hr.
 
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