Is the current lot, the dullest batch of cricketers Pakistan has ever had?

[MenInG]

I mean we have Babar Azam - not know for being too talkative, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Abbas will say standard things; We have Shan Masood - who to me - says a little too much!

Maybe communication skills are a little on the weak side of things but regardless, something not that attractive about the current batch of cricketers!

 

[Saj]

You know things are bad when.......you struggle to name a player you wish to interview.

 

[ManFan]

Because they know they suck!

Ask yourself; if you felt you were one of the best in the world at a particular skill set, would you not naturally want to proclaim it in front of the world every chance you get?

 

[Savak]

This is Misbah ul Haq's legacy for Pakistan Cricket. It reflects in the Broadcast deals being offered to the PCB.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Interesting thread to begin. Basically saying "Who is the dullest cricketer among the current Pakistan lot"

To answer the question, you could potentially pick any you want, let alone on your hand.

 

[Rana]

They’ve been on a downward slope since the demise of Bob Woolmer.

 

[MenInG]

Interesting thread to begin. Basically saying "Who is the dullest cricketer among the current Pakistan lot"

To answer the question, you could potentially pick any you want, let alone on your hand.

Just dont seem to have an aura around them.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Just dont seem to have an aura around them.

Agree to be fair. There's no big characters and the ones we basically just have in Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad, you could find why they are no more characters in the team

 

[Kroll]

Apart from when Babar Azam is on the pitch batting, the cricket lacks any sort of flair, this is reflected in the players personalities. Pakistan cricket on the whole is a very dull brand.

Perhaps on a par with SL cricket and that says a lot.

 

[Extra_Cover]

The new lot might carry a bit more flair if we have some backbone at the top i.e PCB, Coaching team, support team and captain.

The new lot that might carry some sort of flair/confidence can be: Naseem, Shaheen, Haider Ali, Shadab, etc

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Unpopular opinion I guess but I just don't see how any of this matters. I mean they are cricketers not professional wrestlers for whom having flair and personality is necessary. I wouldn't mind if our boys were the dullest lot in the cricketing world as long as they performed consistently.

And I don't agree with your assessment on Shan Masood. If anything, he one of the most articulate cricketers I have heard speak.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Who cares. I prefer a bunch of polite and full cricketers who are controversy free. Would you also describe the New Zealand team as "dull"?

 

[Savak]

Unpopular opinion I guess but I just don't see how any of this matters. I mean they are cricketers not professional wrestlers for whom having flair and personality is necessary. I wouldn't mind if our boys were the dullest lot in the cricketing world as long as they performed consistently.

And I don't agree with your assessment on Shan Masood. If anything, he one of the most articulate cricketers I have heard speak.

Lol, but this is the problem, these dull, boring cricketers don't perform consistently either

 

[Usman]

I mean we have Babar Azam - not know for being too talkative, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Abbas will say standard things; We have Shan Masood - who to me - says a little too much!

Maybe communication skills are a little on the weak side of things but regardless, something not that attractive about the current batch of cricketers!

I would rather a world beating batsman in Barbar who is humble rather than a loud mouth who is either a bits and pieces cricketer or a troublemaker.

Some of the cricketers in the past who have had lively personalities have also got up to no good and generally underachieved. Akther is a prime example who just didn't put in the effort required, committed doping offences, had his captain accusing him of faking injury and generally just underperformed.

Others such as Wasim - well many ex-cricketers have spoken recently and in the past about what they say he got up to.

Not sure a Pakistani fan can ever be satisfied. When there are controversies, they complain. When there are no controversies, they also complain.

 

[Forum363]

The thing is, fans liked having cricketers like Kami and Umar and Shehzad over the likes of Fakhar and Shan Masoods.

They were supposedly ‘dynamic’, ‘exciting’, ‘agressive’ etc. In reality however they were rubbish and I’ll-disciplined children who should never have played as much as they did.

Now, in an attempt to put down the current batch of cricketers who’s skills are clearly better than those lame ones before, I’m seeing a lot of talk about personality and flair etc.

 

[Saj]

Well the superstars of yesteryear are not to be found.

Maybe that's a good thing, less controversies.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Lol, but this is the problem, these dull, boring cricketers don't perform consistently either

Generalized statement. Are you saying Babar Azam or Mohammad Abbas or Shaheen Shah Afridi don't perform consistently?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Well the superstars of yesteryear are not to be found.

Maybe that's a good thing, less controversies.

This is a very good point. Even the guys from post-90s era who had 'flair' always attracted controversy: Akhtar, Afridi, Asif, Umar Akmal all come to mind in this regard.

 

[PakPremi]

Unpopular opinion I guess but I just don't see how any of this matters. I mean they are cricketers not professional wrestlers for whom having flair and personality is necessary. I wouldn't mind if our boys were the dullest lot in the cricketing world as long as they performed consistently.

And I don't agree with your assessment on Shan Masood. If anything, he one of the most articulate cricketers I have heard speak.

My sentiments exactly, why does it matter, their job is to entertain with their performances not to showcase their personalities, which have zero impact in the middle of field.. I just hope they improve their mental strength.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The thing is, fans liked having cricketers like Kami and Umar and Shehzad over the likes of Fakhar and Shan Masoods.

They were supposedly ‘dynamic’, ‘exciting’, ‘agressive’ etc. In reality however they were rubbish and I’ll-disciplined children who should never have played as much as they did.

Now, in an attempt to put down the current batch of cricketers who’s skills are clearly better than those lame ones before, I’m seeing a lot of talk about personality and flair etc.

To think we wasted close to a decade on them...

Also, I've never understood the myth of Shehzad being an aggressive player. I don't think he has ever had a SR above 72 or 73. Whereas, in T20Is its just as bad (or arguably worse) at 114.

 

[Savak]

Generalized statement. Are you saying Babar Azam or Mohammad Abbas or Shaheen Shah Afridi don't perform consistently?

I actually have the likes of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq in mind when we talk of a wasted generation. I have high hopes from Shaheen Afridi who improves with every game. Abbas i am afraid is on the downhill now. Having Misbah ul Haq as coach and chief selector doesn't fill me with confidence about us playing a dynamic brand of cricket.

 

[Mute Witness]

Give the lads some time. It's a fairly young lot. Naseem and Shaheen have enough raw talent and fire in their belly to develop into cricketers with a strong pull. They're still in the phase where they thank their coaches and appreciate everything they learn. They will become their own men soon, and with performances under their belts, have their own personalities shine through.

Haris Rauf looks like an interesting character, but whether he's got the game to back it up, only time will tell.

I think Imam's doggedness and feistiness will eventually get him back in the team, the guy has a world cup hundred, and 7 overall in 37 ODIs. So that's a character there.

Also once Rizwan gets Sarfaraz off his back permanently, i have a feeling he'll become more imposing on the field, especially with the younger lot. Also the guy averaged 45 on his first tour to Australia ( has a couple of ODI hundreds against them too)

Dont know where Shadab is headed. The guy's a mystery to me.

 

[Titan24]

I guess it has more to do with how the game has changed and ICC has brought in a lot of regulations, recent one being demerits points.

Other than one or two in any team I cant find many bubbly characters in the cricketing world.

Eng has nobody I can think of aside from Stokes, NZ has nobody I can think of and same is the case with pretty much SA, Srl and BD with probably one or two exceptions.

India has I guess some in Kohli, Pandya and maybe Dhawan. Aussies had Warner, Smith but, I dont think we are gonna more antiques anytime soon. Maybe Starc is there.

Other than that I would love some examples from around the cricketing worlds that we would say are not dull or maybe bubbly. Most of such characters are from teams which have clear power in the cricketing world and thus bit more confidence within them and probably leniency from umpires and match referees.

Even in Pakistan you cant say Hassan Ali or Shadab to be dull characters and same is the case with some of the young guys.

 

[ElRaja]

id say in general cricket personality wise is extremely dull. aussies are all trying to be nice, south africa and west indies have lost a of their aggression, india tries but most of their personality is limited to the ipl, ganguly was the last Indian to have an effortless persona, guys like pandya and rahul are try hards. england post peiterson and flintoff is pretty dire.

the icc is to blame too, far too much control of personalities and people getting in trouble for doing stuff, like rabada getting suspended for his celebrations.

also society in general is very sensitive to hard compeition these days it seems, when i was younger u always had tape ball matches with all kinda ma behn and trash talk goin on, now it seems a cricketer swears or shouts at someone and everyone complains "kya samajhta hai apnai aap ko, etc, etc".

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

I think we, the Pakistani cricket fans, are spoiled as we have always had super stars.

Afridi was the last real star.

All is not lost. Give these players and especially Babar Azam some time. Let this team play in Pakistan regularly, they will have better stats and more confident.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I actually have the likes of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq in mind when we talk of a wasted generation. I have high hopes from Shaheen Afridi who improves with every game. Abbas i am afraid is on the downhill now. Having Misbah ul Haq as coach and chief selector doesn't fill me with confidence about us playing a dynamic brand of cricket.

Azhar Ali was outstanding for a number of years. I don't think of him as wasted in any way. Let's not forget he is the fifth highest run-scorer for Pakistan in Tests ever, behind only the likes of greats like Younis, Miandad, Inzi and Yousuf. He has a triple century to his name, a double century in Australia. Played an instrumental role in Pakistan's biggest ODI trophy win since 1992. He has accomplished a great many things in his career and its disingenuous to say he is a wasted talent because it means you are turning a blind eye to what he has achieved.

Asad Shafiq though can certainly be talked about in such a light. Because unlike Azhar who learned to play well as an opener too, Shafiq never moved out of the No. 6 position and it continues to dog him to this day.

As for Abbas, I think you're very much off-base. I just don't see how a head coach or selector can ruin a bowler. It defies logic. Besides Abbas takes his guidance from Waqar Younis seeing how he's the bowling coach. Abbas had a couple of bad series because he was not 100% after injury. But as the saying goes: you can't keep a good man down. And I'm sure he'll be back to his best soon enough

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Give the lads some time. It's a fairly young lot. Naseem and Shaheen have enough raw talent and fire in their belly to develop into cricketers with a strong pull. They're still in the phase where they thank their coaches and appreciate everything they learn. They will become their own men soon, and with performances under their belts, have their own personalities shine through.

Haris Rauf looks like an interesting character, but whether he's got the game to back it up, only time will tell.

I think Imam's doggedness and feistiness will eventually get him back in the team, the guy has a world cup hundred, and 7 overall in 37 ODIs. So that's a character there.

Also once Rizwan gets Sarfaraz off his back permanently, i have a feeling he'll become more imposing on the field, especially with the younger lot. Also the guy averaged 45 on his first tour to Australia ( has a couple of ODI hundreds against them too)

Dont know where Shadab is headed. The guy's a mystery to me.

Agree with almost all of what you said right upto the last line. But I just don't see how Shadab is a mystery. The guy has all the tools to be one of the best all-rounders in the world. He is already a world-class fielder and easily the best in the side. He has genuine talent as a leg-spinner even if he doesn't always deliver and his batting has started showing many promising signs aswell. He is only 21 and already an estd member of the side. It would take something special for this guy to not be one of the biggest names in world cricket over the next decade.

 

[ads101]

Less superstars in modern cricket. Look at Sri Lanka, West Indies people will struggle to name one or two cricketers in their side. It's the theme with most teams. People just aren't holding down long terms spots right now.

We only have one player right now who has been a consistent feature in all teams for a while who currently plays in Babar. But because he doesn't speak english, he's less approachable by foreign media to interview.

Cricket is losing popularity. People didn't even know when the Ashes are going on in UK anymore, there was such little hype around it. When England won the Ashes in 2005, everyone could name a cricketer like Pietersen, Flintoff etc. Now most non cricket fans in uk will struggle to name one player in the English team. Media focuses more on other sports for their superstars these days. India is the only country left which really heralds their cricketers as superstars and has the media engine in order to do that.

 

[Savak]

Azhar Ali was outstanding for a number of years. I don't think of him as wasted in any way. Let's not forget he is the fifth highest run-scorer for Pakistan in Tests ever, behind only the likes of greats like Younis, Miandad, Inzi and Yousuf. He has a triple century to his name, a double century in Australia. Played an instrumental role in Pakistan's biggest ODI trophy win since 1992. He has accomplished a great many things in his career and its disingenuous to say he is a wasted talent because it means you are turning a blind eye to what he has achieved.

Asad Shafiq though can certainly be talked about in such a light. Because unlike Azhar who learned to play well as an opener too, Shafiq never moved out of the No. 6 position and it continues to dog him to this day.

As for Abbas, I think you're very much off-base. I just don't see how a head coach or selector can ruin a bowler. It defies logic. Besides Abbas takes his guidance from Waqar Younis seeing how he's the bowling coach. Abbas had a couple of bad series because he was not 100% after injury. But as the saying goes: you can't keep a good man down. And I'm sure he'll be back to his best soon enough

Azhar Ali's average in test cricket (the only format he plays in) has dropped from 48 to 42. That is very alarming and he failed badly in South Africa as the team's senior most batsman in tough batting conditions which is shameful for a veteran of almost 10 years. In my opinion he like Asad Shafiq benefited massively from the non stop cricket we played in the UAE.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Well, due to social media everyone is a little bit more trained and reserved. You also don't want to be a clown like Shehzad and Akmal who were in constant news.

It's probably a good thing for Pakistan to have some non-controversial players as they have had in the past and still continue to do so with old fools making their nonsensical opinions known and being given a platform to do so. Staying away from the limelight will let them focus on their game more and they can just let their game do the talking.

 

[Forum363]

To think we wasted close to a decade on them...

Also, I've never understood the myth of Shehzad being an aggressive player. I don't think he has ever had a SR above 72 or 73. Whereas, in T20Is its just as bad (or arguably worse) at 114.

Check Kamis strike rate in ODIs. You would think he was the next Gilchrist but let down by his keeping... i couldn’t believe when I first saw that he averages in the 20s at a 83 strike rate.

The point is, fans’ perception of ‘flair’ or ‘aggression’ is often just based on preferences and biases.

This team may be dull to some people but that’s because of the crap we’ve had to put up with before which people in Pakistan for some reason, specifically like. No other team idolises mediocrity like we do.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Check Kamis strike rate in ODIs. You would think he was the next Gilchrist but let down by his keeping... i couldn’t believe when I first saw that he averages in the 20s at a 83 strike rate.

The point is, fans’ perception of ‘flair’ or ‘aggression’ is often just based on preferences and biases.

This team may be dull to some people but that’s because of the crap we’ve had to put up with before which people in Pakistan for some reason, specifically like. No other team idolises mediocrity like we do.

Absolutely. I don't know if our fans just have really high standards or a short memory but I remember our batting line-up being one of the absolute worst in ODI cricket post-Inzamam. It was barely held together by Misbah himself who would often be left batting alone with the tail and you would see the same guys fail over and over again only to find their way back into the side.

Compared to that, the current line-up has an abundance exciting talent. But 'lack of flair' is somehow the problem now.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Azhar Ali's average in test cricket (the only format he plays in) has dropped from 48 to 42. That is very alarming and he failed badly in South Africa as the team's senior most batsman in tough batting conditions which is shameful for a veteran of almost 10 years. In my opinion he like Asad Shafiq benefited massively from the non stop cricket we played in the UAE.

Having this kind of a narrow view of a player that is based only on the recent past is problematic because it means you are willing to forget everything that player has accomplished over the course of his career. Azhar Ali's test career includes 78 tests not 5 or 10. Many players go through rough patches during the later stages of their careers, doesn't always result in the end of their career. And at any rate, Azhar Ali will eventually be remembered for all the matches he played, rather than a select few.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Agree with almost all of what you said right upto the last line. But I just don't see how Shadab is a mystery. The guy has all the tools to be one of the best all-rounders in the world. He is already a world-class fielder and easily the best in the side. He has genuine talent as a leg-spinner even if he doesn't always deliver and his batting has started showing many promising signs aswell. He is only 21 and already an estd member of the side. It would take something special for this guy to not be one of the biggest names in world cricket over the next decade.

Agreed. He has a personality too. Sense of humor. And don’t forget his captaincy potential. Captaining a franchise team at the age of 21. Already won the Champions Trophy. If he can get his spin mojo back, he will have a big tournament in India in 2023.

What impressed me most was that just as everyone was starting to write him off and his performances had begun declining, he took responsibility and supercharged his game with fantastic performances in the PSL. Don’t ignore this, very few cricketers have that mental strength let alone as a 21 year old.

Shadab is one of the most exciting cricketers I have seen in a while. Mark this post.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Agreed. He has a personality too. Sense of humor. And don’t forget his captaincy potential. Captaining a franchise team at the age of 21. Already won the Champions Trophy. If he can get his spin mojo back, he will have a big tournament in India in 2023.

What impressed me most was that just as everyone was starting to write him off and his performances had begun declining, he took responsibility and supercharged his game with fantastic performances in the PSL. Don’t ignore this, very few cricketers have that mental strength let alone as a 21 year old.

Shadab is one of the most exciting cricketers I have seen in a while. Mark this post.

Including myself.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

We are definitely spoiled fans, time to sit in for a calm phase that would come eventually.

 

[MenInG]

Guess a lot to do with how much control PCB have on the current lot of players - they arent allowed to say much so end up making banal observations.