Is Shoaib Malik needed against teams with four pacers?

[mastersaan10]

I am a big fan of Malik but feel that if the opposition doesn't have two spinners then his output for the team is limited. I would rather have Masood come in against the soft ball and attack the pacers. I hope the management give Masood one chance in this series because he looked so good in the test matches. Like we keep changing the bowling order but the batting remains the same but that's where the culprit likes for us.

 

[Markhor]

Malik isn't needed against a team with ANY quality pacer.

 

[mastersaan10]

True without imams inning today we would not have passed 300 which is bad bc most of our batting plans depend on wicket retention and then explosion in the end but if you are depending on someone who can't pull or cut or even hit pacers then that plan becomes faulty

 

[Pete Rose]

He’s going to miss the World Cup bus, I suspect. No place to hide: after South Africa we play Australia (he might get some breathing room, because it’s in UAE) and then England in England.
His position requires a batsman who can strike at 150 to 170 if they have wickets in hand. It doesn’t matter that others are floundering, they are the future wheeareas this is malik for pretty most of his career.
People will talk about how Malik could be required if we lose the top 3 to 4 wickets and he needs to see it out the innings. Well (a) you have Sarfaraz for that and (b) If you lose your top 3 under 50 and Malik comes to bat, you will crawl to a 220 type score which means by modern standards you will lose that fame 9 out 10 times
Honestly, this is an easy decision the only thing holding it back is Mickey/inzi’s collective criticism in the press:
- that they dropped hafeez before
- that they dropped perennially half unit junaid khan
- that Mickey in particular clashed with Azhar/Asad/Sarfaraz

 

[Rayyman]

Malik is doing okay at #5. He's one of the best at rotating the strike.

 

[Pete Rose]

Malik is doing okay at #5. He's one of the best at rotating the strike.

That’s not the only requirement of a number 5

 

[Greenstorm]

He was pathetic today. The sooner we get rid of him the better.

 

[Hawkeye]

Is Shoaib Malik really needed?

Not at all.

All teams have pacers and he struggles against anyone bowling 135kph or above.

His only opportunities of scoring are against the spinners. Probably the most pathetic no. 5/6 in the world right now.

 

[Starky]

I think shoaib malik isnt needed at all. You can play him in the UAE but not in SENA

 

[Starky]

I second that !!

He can score against india though..