Is Pakistan's 2024 ICC U19 World Cup team the best that the country has produced in the last 20 years?

[Major]

Our U-19 team often has only 1 or 2 players that are good while the rest are just making up the numbers. Which is why we often fail to reach the finals or even win it.

This time around, while the musical chairs were taking place in PCB HQ, one thing that was consistent was that the players that were being tried in the U-19 circuit were given a consistent run for 1 year. The players development took place in u 19 and one set group of players were kept for the whole year.

While the batting may be abit weak, but the bowling unit is one of the best unit in the world. The team management has worked with Ubaid Shah, Amir Hassan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Ahmad Hassan and Ali Raza

This is the pace unit that keeps on saving Pakistan in low scoring thrillers.

 

[ElRaja]

ubaid looks a league above the rest, he has decent pace, seems to be able to bring the ball in, and has ok height from the looks of it, would be very surprised if he doesnt do well in the PSL, looks like a potential for pak squad very soon.

ali raza seems to be able to get seam movement off an awkward length, im not sure how this will translate to t20 cricket or bowling on Pakistani pitches, he seems accurate with ok pace, but south African pitches will suit him a lot more than what he will have to develop a career on.

zeeshan seems a little unfit and his accuracy has been lacking, but the core ingredients are undebyable, his height, and ability to bowl a really awkward ball is good. when on song he gets a little bit of movement too.

unfortunately no modern batsmen, shamyl hussain has been a disappointment, and no good spinners, as much as i like minhas think he has a lot to prove with bat and ball.

 

[Rana]

Big Test coming up against Australia u19s

 

[sweep_shot]

Big Test coming up against Australia u19s

This.

This is the litmus test.

 

[hitthestump]

Our U-19 team often has only 1 or 2 players that are good while the rest are just making up the numbers. Which is why we often fail to reach the finals or even win it.

This time around, while the musical chairs were taking place in PCB HQ, one thing that was consistent was that the players that were being tried in the U-19 circuit were given a consistent run for 1 year. The players development took place in u 19 and one set group of players were kept for the whole year.

While the batting may be abit weak, but the bowling unit is one of the best unit in the world. The team management has worked with Ubaid Shah, Amir Hassan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Ahmad Hassan and Ali Raza

This is the pace unit that keeps on saving Pakistan in low scoring thrillers.

Our pacers are an exciting bunch....but we've also learned not to get too carried away over the years in this department.

Foer the past several years Pakistan have always seemed to have the next best fast bowler about to break through. But in the end when we needed a replacement for Naseem Shah during the WC, we had to settle for Hasan Ali.

Too many names have come and fizzled out.

Previously hyped U-19 bowlers like Jamshed Ahmed and Anwar Ali never made it.

Additionally it's a real shame that we are producing zero batsmen. There is something going seriously wrong in the development programs.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

No decent batsmen and no quality spinners but pacers have been the 2nd best since last 20 years apart from Musa , Iqbal and Shaheen trio

 

[moghul]

Ubaid has lots of potential and in Naseem he has someone to guide and mentor him too. Zeeshan will not go too far , just height is not enough , he has to work hard on his bowling. Ali Raza is very very talented but very raw and very young , hope he will be handled and nurtured properly , which doesn't happen in Pakistan , he has a bright future. Batting is not extraordinary but better than the previous 3-4 under 19 Pakistan teams . Overall yes , a better team than previous 3-4 editions but big test coming ahead .

 

[The Bald Eagle]

I believe this U19s side will produce great stars for PCT in future.

 

[shamaan]

I already said this before the u19s world cup that this team is better than previous u19s world squads.


Ubaid is league above all the others pacers in terms of skill and mentality.

Ali Raza is proberly the quickest out of the seamers and I would like him to put some muscle on.

Zeeshan looks extremely unfit but he has the advantage of his height.

Negatives
Shamyl has been a big let down alongside Minhas.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan will have to be at their very best to beat Australia.

 

[Rana]

Looks like this Saad Baig kid will eventually become Pakistan captain one day

 

[shariqnoor]

Ubaid Shah is another poor bowler. No control whatsoever. Didn't see him bowl 6 good length deliveries in an over even once. Just because the opposition batsmen are bad as well, doesn't mean Ubaid is special. Today was the first time I had a look at Mohammad Zeeshan. I cannot state how bad this guy is. And Rashid Latif advocated for this bowler???

On the other hand, that Ahmed guy who took the new ball today looked much superior to everyone. The guy has skill and swung the ball in and out on demand. His only problem is lack of pace. Right now he's probably only 127-130 at max. If he could at least average 133 kph, he could be a handful in Test cricket.

The batting is totally dud. The openers wouldn't be allowed to bat in the Top 6 in even second XI of Australia state teams. Are these two openers the result of the Junior League that Ramiz put out? If that's the case, then good on Ramiz to showcase to everyone how low the talent stocks are in Pakistan.

 

[shamaan]

Ubaid Shah is another poor bowler. No control whatsoever. Didn't see him bowl 6 good length deliveries in an over even once. Just because the opposition batsmen are bad as well, doesn't mean Ubaid is special. Today was the first time I had a look at Mohammad Zeeshan. I cannot state how bad this guy is. And Rashid Latif advocated for this bowler???

On the other hand, that Ahmed guy who took the new ball today looked much superior to everyone. The guy has skill and swung the ball in and out on demand. His only problem is lack of pace. Right now he's probably only 127-130 at max. If he could at least average 133 kph, he could be a handful in Test cricket.

The batting is totally dud. The openers wouldn't be allowed to bat in the Top 6 in even second XI of Australia state teams. Are these two openers the result of the Junior League that Ramiz put out? If that's the case, then good on Ramiz to showcase to everyone how low the talent stocks are in Pakistan.

Basically all positions that Ubaid have bowl to are all bad.

 

[m.shah]

Mighty impressed with Saad baig captaincy

 

[BouncerGuy]

Saad has definitely impressed everyone with his captaincy in the last game. Kept pressure with fast bowlers and took the game away from Bangladesh. At 1 point it was looking like an easy chase but those catches were too good to be ignored.

 

[BouncerGuy]

That win proves what a good captain can do for his team to lift them up out of nowhere.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1753833225577976074

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Really want to ask M.Yousuf about the aggression talk, the batsmen looks really timid, can’t play short delivery and can’t play is pressure situation and can’t dominate even minnow bowlers in non pressure situations as well so what exactly is this aggression talk?

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Looks like this Saad Baig kid will eventually become Pakistan captain one day

Currently he will struggle to get in to any FC 1st eleven , he is that horrible with the bat but yes very intelligent and probably the best captain we had at U19 level.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

I do think he got nod ahead because of Naseem because there were atleast 10/12 quicker pacers in PJL and he didn’t even got the chance to play in PJL because of lack of pace but he really improved himself in just one year time where he was only bowling 120-125k currently I think he bowls around 125-130k and some of his effort delivery in the early 130s as well which is good enough pace for his age now.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Even M.Wasim was around 127-133k during his U19 days and in two years time he added 15k of pace.

 

[sam_ahm]

It is a good team. I hope the fans won't hype them beyond the moon but as much as I've followed the U19 WC, they appear to be a very good team.

 

[Naveed34]

Absolutely, but unexpected, This U19 team has shown some great talent and made a strong impression. It's exciting for fans, but let's keep in mind they're still young and have a lot to learn and develop. Despite that, they should feel proud of what they've achieved, and we can all be excited to watch them grow in the future.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Pace bowling talent - Yes.

Rest of it I'm not sure.

 

[PakEngFan]

Looks like this Saad Baig kid will eventually become Pakistan captain one day

He's looks an excellent but his batting and keeping us awful. Someone like haseebullah is far better than him in terms of batting and keeping and that says a lot.

 

[Bewal Express]

I do think he got nod ahead because of Naseem because there were atleast 10/12 quicker pacers in PJL and he didn’t even got the chance to play in PJL because of lack of pace but he really improved himself in just one year time where he was only bowling 120-125k currently I think he bowls around 125-130k and some of his effort delivery in the early 130s as well which is good enough pace for his age now.

Much quicker- more in the range of 82 the majority of the time and the quicker ones at around 85-86mph

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Much quicker- more in the range of 82 the majority of the time and the quicker ones at around 85-86mph

I don’t think he can bowl anything above 135k and is mostly late 120ks and early 130k bowler at the moment.

He looks quicker to the naked eye because of seam movement that’s about it

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Remember Khurram Shehzad also looked so quick and some times unplayable due to seam movement during his test debut and we know his bowling speed , Ubaid is not quicker than Khurram Shehzad at the moment.

 

[Major]

Remember Khurram Shehzad also looked so quick and some times unplayable due to seam movement during his test debut and we know his bowling speed , Ubaid is not quicker than Khurram Shehzad at the moment.

U 19 players dont end up bowling 145+.

To bowl those speeds they need further development and training

 

[Muhammad Saad]

U 19 players dont end up bowling 145+.

To bowl those speeds they need further development and training

Used the word mostly because some U19 bowlers do bowl at 145k+ but they are very rare

 

[Bewal Express]

I don’t think he can bowl anything above 135k and is mostly late 120ks and early 130k bowler at the moment.

He looks quicker to the naked eye because of seam movement that’s about it

Let's see. Those bowls don't carry like his did at 80mph. They carry like that when they are closer to 85.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Let's see. Those bowls don't carry like his did at 80mph. They carry like that when they are closer to 85.

In Saf bouncy pitches even 80-82mph carries like 85/86mph on subcontinental pitches

 

[Muhammad Saad]

And I think Ubaid pace is very up and down , some of his delivery looks extremely slow like 125K and some of his delivery looks about 135k , I think he bowls between that pace with his effort delivery sometimes hitting 135k but not frequently.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

On the other hand Ali Raza is very consistent with his pace bowls 135k+ consistently with his effort delivery touching 140k easily.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

It is always stupid to see Pak commentator knows nothing about players and they pretend they know everything, Marina was saying that Ali Raza hasn’t got the pace of Ubaid so he should be concentrating on his line and length.

Even a person with very low IQ can see that who is quicker between the two without the need of speed gun.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Ali was rightly praised by that West Indian commentator for his deceptive pace and even compared his physique with M.Zahid

May be Marina was watching a different match than him. Or she just thought that since Ubaid is bowling with the new ball and getting wickets so he must be quicker between the two

 

[Bewal Express]

In Saf bouncy pitches even 80-82mph carries like 85/86mph on subcontinental pitches

But not as he was getting it through.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

But not as he was getting it through.

It will be great if he can clock at 85/86 in PSL

 

[Bewal Express]

It will be great if he can clock at 85/86 in PSL

If he can, he will be an absolute handful because of his skill levels. I was skeptical but having seen his skill levels, I am more than warming to him

 

[Muhammad Saad]

If he can, he will be an absolute handful because of his skill levels. I was skeptical but having seen his skill levels, I am more than warming to him

His both skill level and mental level is very high for his age and he if he gets the stamina and pace in next 2 seasons he can easily walk in to our ODI for sure or may be even T20.

 

[Slim]

Best U-19 squad Pakistan probably ever had. I hope these young lads flourish into becoming the back bone of Pakistan cricket for the next decade.

 

[Bewal Express]

Best U-19 squad Pakistan probably ever had. I hope these young lads flourish into becoming the back bone of Pakistan cricket for the next decade.

Not so sure but certainly one of the better ones.

 

[Bewal Express]

His both skill level and mental level is very high for his age and he if he gets the stamina and pace in next 2 seasons he can easily walk in to our ODI for sure or may be even T20.

The only thing that worries me is the lack of height. Unless you are very quick and amazingly skilful, it's a short career as a short fast bowler

 

[gazza619]

Credit to Imran Khan for setting a solid base during his leadership. The fruits are now coming through.

 

[Major]

Credit to Imran Khan for setting a solid base during his leadership. The fruits are now coming through.

Imran dd nothing, this team was created 12 months ago. Nice try in giving credit to someone who deosnt deserve it.

 

[gazza619]

Imran dd nothing, this team was created 12 months ago. Nice try in giving credit to someone who deosnt deserve it.

Yeah 12 months ago these players were born.

 

[Major]

Yeah 12 months ago these players were born.

U 19 players are scouted each year.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

To be honest the batting is as bad as we are producing in the last 2 worldcups , or may be even worse because atleast we always had one standout and pleasing to the eye batsmen with a potential to become good international level batsmen, this squad doesn’t have a single good batsmen with high potential like Haseeb , Haris , Haider Ali

 

[sweep_shot]

To be honest the batting is as bad as we are producing in the last 2 worldcups , or may be even worse because atleast we always had one standout and pleasing to the eye batsmen with a potential to become good international level batsmen, this squad doesn’t have a single good batsmen with high potential like Haseeb , Haris , Haider Ali

This squad has great pacers.

Batting seems raw.

 

[moghul]

Imran dd nothing, this team was created 12 months ago. Nice try in giving credit to someone who deosnt deserve it.

Lets give credit to Misbah , make one guy happy.

 

[Savak]

Players should not be subject to wholehearted judgment solely on the basis of U19 cricket.

Yes you can show some potential at this level but the real deal is first class cricket, emerging and A team's.

A lot of U19 superstars have withered away over time and similarly a lot of players who looked very poor, ordinary at the U19 level improved dramatically in their 20's onwards

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Players should not be subject to wholehearted judgment solely on the basis of U19 cricket.

Yes you can show some potential at this level but the real deal is first class cricket, emerging and A team's.

A lot of U19 superstars have withered away over time and similarly a lot of players who looked very poor, ordinary at the U19 level improved dramatically in their 20's onwards

Exactly , U19 cricket is just a launchpad to see if you have one or two upcoming prodigy who may or may not transform in to real talent in future years.

In the last decade or so only Imam , Babar and Shaheen has managed to do well in International cricket for us. Rest of them frizzled out.

 

[jnaveen1980]

This.

This is the litmus test.

Bangladesh must be kicking themselves not to knock Pakistan out. Simple dropped chance cost them the game. Also they literally gifted wickets by chasing wide deliveries. Borson is a better bowler than any pak bowler from what i saw. Has bright future

 

[FearlessRoar]

Australia U19 has a combination of lethal fast bowlers and a solid batting lineup. They are strong contenders to win the ICC U19 World Cup 2024. They are dominating Pakistan 19 in the second Semi-Final. None of our batters could handle short deliveries and yorkers.

 

[Mamoon]

Another bunch of mentally weak and timid cricketers lining up to shame Pakistan for years to come.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Another bunch of mentally weak and timid cricketers lining up to shame Pakistan for years to come.

The worst batting lot since last decade of U19 teams , not a single strike player or a player with some flair and attitude we always used to have one or two such type of players at this level even if they don’t end up transforming in to something substantial but this time just timid stats padders who ended up being chocked 3 times in a row.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Happy with the bowling though , probably the 2nd best bowling talent in last 20 years.

 

[shaz619]

They were whiskers away from a final so have to be good, who says Pakistan has a shortage of talent; their development is vital and they need a system in place from which they can thrive; and also, a proper world class organisation such as the PCB for example.

 

[Major]

what a performance. They lost only by 1 wicket.

Great captaincy and what a bowling attack

 

[Major]

Another bunch of mentally weak and timid cricketers lining up to shame Pakistan for years to come.

Calm down. They are just kids.

And to call them mentally weak is very poor.

They did not bat well, that is true, but the bowling line up was defending low scores in every game and defended well. To defend low scores you need to be strong mentally to deal with the pressure.

The bowling was great and this captain is someone we need to look after. A gem of a captain this kid is and i hope he performs well with the bat

 

[MenInG]

Main concern is for us not to sweep the shortcomings under the they are just kids brush

These guys need coaching for specific areas of weakness

 

[Mamoon]

Calm down. They are just kids.

And to call them mentally weak is very poor.

They did not bat well, that is true, but the bowling line up was defending low scores in every game and defended well. To defend low scores you need to be strong mentally to deal with the pressure.

The bowling was great and this captain is someone we need to look after. A gem of a captain this kid is and i hope he performs well with the bat

I don’t see any reason to be excited. These same kids will be average seniors of the future, helping Pakistan to mid-table rankings in all formats.

We are just not good enough and neither is this bunch. It is time accept it.

 

[Major]

I don’t see any reason to be excited. These same kids will be average seniors of the future, helping Pakistan to mid-table rankings in all formats.

We are just not good enough and neither is this bunch. It is time accept it.

what they did is still an achievement, and while not all u19 cricketers end up getting into the international side, still that doesnt take away there achievement.

The best thing about this team was that Pakistan went with a line up of bowler whom they gave a very long extended rope and i hope we get 3-4 bowlers from this lot

 

[PakEngFan]

Another bunch of mentally weak and timid cricketers lining up to shame Pakistan for years to come.

Very rich coming from a guy who supports the biggest mentality weak players in India.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

We badly need aggressive modern batters who can consistently score runs at a high strike rate which we are lacking for a long time now and sadly this bunch didn't possess a single such type of player.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan got bowled out for 176 in the semi final 4 years back in the same country in the U19 semi final. India chased with 10 wickets in hand Jaiswal making 100. Fast forward. They got bowled out for 179 in semi final. Almost defended. Definitely pakistan has improved in one area.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

The pacers are all impressive.

But if and ONLY if they are all legitimately under 19 kids.

Back in 2018 , PCB put Musa Khan as a "17" year old in the U-19 World AFTER he had spent 5 years as a domestic under 19 cricketer.

And folks thought he was great and said he was legitimately 17.


These boys could end up like that if they aren't legit. teenagers.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Pak U19 lads were simply phenomenal but just could not get over the line.

 

[Slim]

The pacers are all impressive.

But if and ONLY if they are all legitimately under 19 kids.

Back in 2018 , PCB put Musa Khan as a "17" year old in the U-19 World AFTER he had spent 5 years as a domestic under 19 cricketer.

And folks thought he was great and said he was legitimately 17.


These boys could end up like that if they aren't legit. teenagers.

Except Zeeshan none of the players look out of place.

The Afghans, and that sardar from Australia on the other hand..

 

[Mamoon]

what they did is still an achievement, and while not all u19 cricketers end up getting into the international side, still that doesnt take away there achievement.

The best thing about this team was that Pakistan went with a line up of bowler whom they gave a very long extended rope and i hope we get 3-4 bowlers from this lot

Making the semifinals of an U-19 World Cup is not an achievement.

Pakistan has won the competition twice and finished runners up thrice. Hence, this team is not even among the top five in Pakistan U-19 history.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Making the semifinals of an U-19 World Cup is not an achievement.

Pakistan has won the competition twice and finished runners up thrice. Hence, this team is not even among the top five in Pakistan U-19 history.

Definitely not the best side in last twenty years as per the opening post but definitely not a bad side either if you compare overall performance but batting was crap and bowling was gold so overall it’s a decent side

 

[greatest]

I'm not sure of other teams but Australian U-19 teams comprise of players who haven't even played first-class cricket or any high level cricket. Compared to them Pakistan U-19 always has players with more experience, plus no one knows their exact age.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

I'm not sure of other teams but Australian U-19 teams comprise of players who haven't even played first-class cricket or any high level cricket. Compared to them Pakistan U-19 always has players with more experience, plus no one knows their exact age.

We have players like Haroon Arshad who probably never faced anything above 70mph in his life

 

[greatest]

We have players like Haroon Arshad who probably never faced anything above 70mph in his life

I'm only aware of Australian cricket. For them U-19 is more about grooming youngsters and educating them. I don't think they have ever picked an U-19 guy straight into their national team.

But yes Pakistani youngsters are more talented but they lack the infrastructure to polish them to the next level. This is where Australia has the edge.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

I'm only aware of Australian cricket. For them U-19 is more about grooming youngsters and educating them. I don't think they have ever picked an U-19 guy straight into their national team.

But yes Pakistani youngsters are more talented but they lack the infrastructure to polish them to the next level. This is where Australia has the edge.

Ofcourse, Pak U19 gets improved by 20 to 30% after U19 while Aus players improves almost 100% , it’s an very old fact

 

[jnaveen1980]

I'm not sure of other teams but Australian U-19 teams comprise of players who haven't even played first-class cricket or any high level cricket. Compared to them Pakistan U-19 always has players with more experience, plus no one knows their exact age.

Every team has some exceptions. Steve smith played List A in 2007, Early jan 2008 first class. But played under-19 in Feb 2008. Hazlewood/Faulkner/Pattinson all played for the same batch. But they made debut in the same year in first class. Kohli, Prithvi shaw are few more examples who were identified as talents and had to represent domestic teams little early. Not like they had vast experience. May be 2 or 3 matches.

 

[BouncerGuy]

This team has achieved something that is fabulous to hear. not letting the opposing teams to score 200 runs against them during the whole event. Bowling was fantastic and many stars are in making out of this lot, Battting has been disappointing. apart from Azan Awais, Arafat minhas and saad baig, i see no other talented guy. Shamyl was disappointment again.

 

[Asad T]

Yes bowling was great, although I expected more from Zeehan.
Shahzaib may have been our highest scorer, but seems like a big statspadder to me

 

[Bewal Express]

Batting was pretty awful against the decent attacks. As I have warned on here, one of the problems is the stance where feet are too far apart and players struggling to transfer their weight. Babar Azam and Saud are 2 guys with the same issues in the National team.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Except Zeeshan none of the players look out of place.

The Afghans, and that sardar from Australia on the other hand..

They may not look out of place but I still think Ali Raza is around 4 years older than his official age and Zeeshan around 3.

 

[Bewal Express]

They may not look out of place but I still think Ali Raza is around 4 years older than his official age and Zeeshan around 3.

Ali Raza doesn't look much older but definitely eligible to play. What has Zeeshan stated as his age?