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Is Fakhar Zaman now the first choice opener for Pakistan in T20Is?

Is Fakhar Zaman now the first choice opener for Pakistan in T20Is?

  • Yes, he should open indefinitely

    Votes: 58 96.7%

  • No, he should bat lower

    Votes: 2 3.3%
  • Total voters
    60
Rayyman

Rayyman

Test Debutant
Joined
May 5, 2014
Runs
15,182
Looking back to the last series, Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad were opening. :murali

Now there is a series in Lahore against World XI.

Kakmal has been rightfully dropped, but Shehzad scored a fifty in the last match and is in the squad.

Fakhar Zaman is also in the squad. Should he be the first choice opener?
 
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Also because Sharjeel and Latif are gone and Babar usually plays at 3 and Sarfraz doesn't open anymore and neither does Malik and Hafeez is dropped
 
No of course not. Why should the guy who scored consistently throughout the champions trophy and won us the final of the tournament by playing an unbelievable knock against our arch rivals, be our first choice opener over someone like Ahmed Shehzad?
 
aliasad1998 said:
No of course not. Why should the guy who scored consistently throughout the champions trophy and won us the final of the tournament by playing an unbelievable knock against our arch rivals, be our first choice opener over someone like Ahmed Shehzad?
Click to expand...

Because he is a leg-side hack. :asghar
 
Yes open with Fakhar and Babar. No place for a tuk tuk like Shehzad. Even Hafeez would have been a better choice.
 
Yes. Have to pick the only hard hitting opener in our squad for a T20.
 
Not sure what OP is trying to get at with this thread. Surely the answer is obvious.
 
Rayyman said:
Because he is a leg-side hack. :asghar
Click to expand...

Are you saying that Zaman is a leg side hack???

What games were you watching?
If anything India's ploy was to bowl tight on his legs as he scored freely through the offside in the other games he played in.
 
Expecting this for the first game

1) Shehzad
2) Fakhar
3) Babar
4) Malik
5) Sarfraz
6) Imad
7) Faheem
8) Shadab
9) Rumman
10) Shinwari
11) Amir - if he doesn't show then Yamin or Sohail Khan could take that spot
 
Fakhar is 100% our opener, I think he can help A Shehzad as he helped Azhar Ali. Azhar played slow at the start of the tournament but became aggressively with Fakhar in the semis and finals.
 
IMMY69 said:
Are you saying that Zaman is a leg side hack???

What games were you watching?
If anything India's ploy was to bowl tight on his legs as he scored freely through the offside in the other games he played in.
Click to expand...

backfootpunch said:
Zaman's strength is offside and that's common knowledge.
Click to expand...

That's what people called him after his T20I matches.

Hopefully he proves them wrong.
 
No competition really for Fakhar is there at the moment.

Ahmed Shehzad is struggling. Kamran Akmal is out of favour. Sharjeel and Khalid Latif off the scene.

A real shortage of top order big-hitters in Pakistan.
 
aloo paratha said:
Only an idiot would say no.
Click to expand...

I would assume people want him to open in T20Is because of his performances in ODIs. Not sure if that will translate but it probably will.

It's funny how he has never opened before in T20Is and yet he is the unanimous first choice now.

Saj makes a good point that there is a lack of depth at the opening position for Pakistan in T20s especially.
 
Rayyman said:
I would assume people want him to open in T20Is because of his performances in ODIs. Not sure if that will translate but it probably will.

It's funny how he has never opened before in T20Is and yet he is the unanimous first choice now.

Saj makes a good point that there is a lack of depth at the opening position for Pakistan in T20s especially.
Click to expand...

Who else would you rather have to open? Shehzad?? No please.
 
I think this will probably be the playing 11:

Fakhar
Shehzad
Babar
Amin
Malik
Sarfraz
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Rumman
Amir/Shinwari/Sohail
 
Anis10 said:
I think this will probably be the playing 11:

Fakhar
Shehzad
Babar
Amin
Malik
Sarfraz
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Rumman
Amir/Shinwari/Sohail
Click to expand...

Yea I think you are right. Looks pretty beastly on paper to me.
:akhtar

Only I would go with Nawaz over Rumman if the pitch supports spinners.
 
For others to replace him >>>> do exceptionally well in domestic
and for him>>>>> do exceptionally bad performance in quick succession.

Otherwise no chance of replacement.
 
There is no doubt about that. I just hope he doesn't feel that his place is guaranteed though and subsequently his performance drops. But I expect him to give his best every game. That century against India already means he will be remembered for many years down the line.
 
there is even a doubt that he should?

He should be playing all three formats as first choice.
 
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coy0607 said:
what is the point of this thread?

is there any doubt to the response?
Click to expand...

I mean he has never opened before in a T20I so would he be considered over Shehzad who just scored a fifty in the last game.
 
ODI/T20s without any doubt give him 3-4 complete series. I really want to see what he does next game when he fails. So far he been scoring runs. Pak have produced batsmen for a series or two and then we discard them if they fail couple of games. I hope that's not the case with him. Give him time even if he fails couple of games.
 
The OP is just asking whether he should be used as an first choice opener....
no need to bash him
 
aliasad1998 said:
No of course not. Why should the guy who scored consistently throughout the champions trophy and won us the final of the tournament by playing an unbelievable knock against our arch rivals, be our first choice opener over someone like Ahmed Shehzad?
Click to expand...

Different format? :danish
 
Saj said:
No competition really for Fakhar is there at the moment.

Ahmed Shehzad is struggling. Kamran Akmal is out of favour. Sharjeel and Khalid Latif off the scene.

A real shortage of top order big-hitters in Pakistan.
Click to expand...

How is Shehzad struggling when he scored a fifty in his last T20 game? :13:
 
Shehzad should be dumped for good.He is good for nothing.Most selfish and horrible player in the team.Enough of this garbage now
 
I guess he's figured out for T20s. In ODIs he can punish over poor balls and can nudge around in tighter ones, but in t20 he seemed poorly exposed now. People have figured him out. Unless he improves his game I cant see him lasting long in T20s.
 
maxamax said:
I guess he's figured out for T20s. In ODIs he can punish over poor balls and can nudge around in tighter ones, but in t20 he seemed poorly exposed now. People have figured him out. Unless he improves his game I cant see him lasting long in T20s.
Click to expand...

Figured out? Come on, this was his first cricket since the CT which was a few months ago. He is an aggressive player and he is going to fail some times and come off some times, that's what players like him are like. He definitely has not been figured out though. Keep an eye on his performance in the next few series and then if he fails, you can say he has been figured out but that's very premature to say now after 3 average scores.
 
I can see majority of opening fast bowlers coming around the wicket to him, cramping him up on the off side channel, angling the ball in to the top of off-stump. He cant seem to do anything with that line. Morne Morkel did it firt, and Ben Cutting found success doing the same. The problem is, most fast bowlers in international cricket are better than these two
 
hadi123 said:
Figured out? Come on, this was his first cricket since the CT which was a few months ago. He is an aggressive player and he is going to fail some times and come off some times, that's what players like him are like. He definitely has not been figured out though. Keep an eye on his performance in the next few series and then if he fails, you can say he has been figured out but that's very premature to say now after 3 average scores.
Click to expand...


Yes, couple of games can answer this.
 
I just don't think he will make a very good T20 player. He is more suited to ODIs. In T20 he can get shut down and resort to slogging. In ODIs he can be patient when the boundaries don't come. Sadly he is just not as fluent a strokemaker as Sharjeel was. Pakistan will be better served investing in more fluent strokemakers though I am not sure if we have too many of those. Hussain Talat is one option, Umar Amin another, both can be tested.
 
Fakhar's place in t20 as an opener cannot be questioned by default as long as Shehzad is his opening partner.

First find replace Shehzad before replacing Fakhar who just made international debut 3 months ago. Can't we just be patient?
 
Fahdi said:
I just don't think he will make a very good T20 player. He is more suited to ODIs. In T20 he can get shut down and resort to slogging. In ODIs he can be patient when the boundaries don't come. Sadly he is just not as fluent a strokemaker as Sharjeel was. Pakistan will be better served investing in more fluent strokemakers though I am not sure if we have too many of those. Hussain Talat is one option, Umar Amin another, both can be tested.
Click to expand...

We can test alternatives but wouldn't it be wiser to test them by replacing Shehzad first?
 
babajee said:
His selection has been on merit. He played some fantastic innings in the PSL like against Karachi Kings.
Click to expand...

Sirris said:
Fakhar's place in t20 as an opener cannot be questioned by default as long as Shehzad is his opening partner.

First find replace Shehzad before replacing Fakhar who just made international debut 3 months ago. Can't we just be patient?
Click to expand...

I am speaking of international performances.
 
Rayyman said:
I am speaking of international performances.
Click to expand...

How can he justify his selection for T20I without having played a couple of them consistently?

I question your judgments since you believe Shehzad's place in T20I is justified since he scored some 50odd runs against some world XI.
 
Yes fakhar is still first choice people.
Until we find somebody who is capable of playing innings like he did in the ct
 
Sirris said:
How can he justify his selection for T20I without having played a couple of them consistently?

I question your judgments since you believe Shehzad's place in T20I is justified since he scored some 50odd runs against some world XI.
Click to expand...

He has played 6 innings and only scored 88 runs. I'm not saying I want Fakhar dropped and Shehzad to stay. Am just stating facts.
 
He has been exposed badly, batting like a tail ender.

Don't see a long future for him. I rather see Umar Akmal open.
 
Seems to have struggled this series except for the first game. Still Pakistan needs to stick with him as he is talented and will definitely improve with more exposure.
 
I have maintained for a while now that his game doesn't suite T20s. He is good in ODIs but in T20s where he feels the pressure hit out even when he isn't comfortable he won't do well. He isn't someone who has a large range of shots but in ODIs he makes the most of what he has thanks to good intent.
 
Not sure who told him that he is a hitter .
He is a terrible hitter of the ball .
. Loses his shape and weight when slogging . Stick to strokeplay .
 
He should bat at 4 and take on the spinners in the middle overs which is his strength.
 
I still think as soon as he hits a bad patch for 3/4 inngs, selectors and team management will be ready to capitalise on it and reunite the wonderful opening batting pair of Ahmad Shezad and Mohammed Hafeez.. especially for the World Cup.
 
Great innings by him! He's here to stay, we need Babar Azam back soon
 
He has performed well beyond my expectations in T20s. Funny thing is I still stick to my reasoning but it seems I underestimated his ability to find a way to make things work for him.
 
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