Is time up for Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq in Tests?

[Babar_Azam_fan]

Wasim Khan in an interview

We might have to invest in the top 3-4 guys, we'll say to a county that this player will only cost you this much and we'll subsidise the rest. It's an investment for us, you'll get the likes of Imam, Shan, Babar playing County Cricket for 3-4 months. When the England series comes, they'll be ready for it"



This shows Azhar and Asad are not in top 3 players. And, I am sure #4 he’s talking about Haris.

This should be the batting

Shan *
Imam
Haris
Babar
Saad / Saud
Rizwan +

 

[HappyWarsFan]

That would be great news. they need to go, both have done poorly since Misbah and Younis left.

I'd go for this order:

Shan (c)
Imam
Haris
Babar
Fawad Alam
Saad
Rizwan

Fawad should be given a go and we could use his experience.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

That would be great news. they need to go, both have done poorly since Misbah and Younis left.

I'd go for this order:

Shan (c)
Imam
Haris
Babar
Fawad Alam
Saad
Rizwan

Fawad should be given a go and we could use his experience.

It’s unfortunate he missed so many years. But, life IS cruel.

No place for him now, as he’s into his 30s.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

It’s unfortunate he missed so many years. But, life IS cruel.

No place for him now, as he’s into his 30s.

What about Usman Saluhuddin? He also seems quality.

 

[Hasan]

No, both are critical! By dropping them you will significantly weaken our batting lineup.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

No, both are critical! By dropping them you will significantly weaken our batting lineup.

By having them in Xl will do more harm than good

 

[Abdullah719]

I don't know if time is up for them yet or not, but it wouldn't make sense to subsidise County contracts for two cricketers who are at or beyond their best... such investments need to be made in those guys who will be an important part of the team going forward.

Azhar already has a County contract with Somerset and has struggled this season. He may be the first of the two to be dropped.

 

[Energy]

It is sad to read this, a couple of years after they were touted as taking the mantle from Misbah and Younis and become next-gen legends. Shows that it is not an easy task to be the leader of the pack.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

By having them in Xl will do more harm than good

Having them in the squad will shorten their careers, dropping them would let them comeback in for experience when there is few away losses, occupies the places in the squad when there will be home series.

these guys at home will pile all the runs and be useless when the away SENA series comes, again dropped and again brought back in for experience in a home series...cycle will continue..

Albeit, I will have Azhar ali. he deserves a chance as an opener to redeem himself...Shan though had a good to decent enough series in SA, not there yet as an opener...

 

[sindhiboy]

asad shafiq maybe. but azahr ali, definitely not

 

[Rellu_Katta]

Asad shafiq shld have been dropped years ago... the guy cannot score unless he gets 2/3 lifez...
Azhar ali for me should be given a couple of series , else shld go. but now needs to bat at no5... give some stability against the spin

Shan (c)
Imam
Haris
Babar
Azhar
Saud Shakeel - dont like the looks of saad or usman salahuddin, too weak against pace
Rizwan

 

[Mamoon]

Azhar is almost 35 and needs to start thinking about retirement. He is only two months younger than Cook and roughly the same age as Clarke and Graeme Smith when they retired.

However, if you listen to his interviews, you would think that he still has 7-8 years left in him.

This is the mentality that has crept into our system thanks to abnormally long career of Misbah. Every player now thinks that if he can play till 45, so can they.

 

[The Viper]

Azhar has been on a slump. At point he was averaging 47 with the bat in tests. He can’t offer much anymore. He should definitely go. Shafiq just scores meaningless runs. It should be time to move on from these two. The Australia series will expose them both further if the pitches are similar to Aus vs India.

 

[Shafi]

People shouldn't be too excited as long as Misbah is in the system. This guy will never allow a younger player to groom but back his buddies like Shafiq/Azhar to be captain.
Once they made captain they will stay at least 1 year.

 

[ads101]

Don't mind them staying. They're not amazing players, but we have no senior bats apart from them. Asad we should have moved on when we had the chance, but with Azhar's loss of form and Misbah and Younis gone, along with some decent scores of late against NZ and SA, it seems tough to boot him despite being mediocre for 3 or so years.

We have a lot of guys low on experience, and would concentrate on them before trying to try everyone. When some of those guys cement themselves then we can look to get rid of the rest. Imam, Masood, Haris, Rizwan, even Babar all low on test experience.

The first senior I would get rid of before Asad and Azhar is Sarfraz. Get in Rizwan. Since Sarfraz is first on the chopping block, Asad and Azhar earn a series or two before facing pressure again.

I would go with
1. Masood
2. Imam
3. Azhar
4. Haris Sohail
5. Babar Azam
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Rizwan

No need to cull everyone at once. Literally everyone else apart from Asad and Azhar have played just 10 matches except Babar who's played 20 and only recently finding success. It's such a green side already. At the very least maybe guys like Asad and Azhar can use their experience/what they learnt from Misbah and Younis to help the others.

Usman Salluhuddin and Saad Ali would be on squad to come in if one of these guys is failing and needs to be replaced.

 

[Barragan]

Definitely time up for asad and should not be part of the next squad.

Azhar
Shan
Haris
Saad
Usman/Fawad
Azam

 

[Pete Rose]

Think both have disappointed in general. Last year's form is going to cost Shafiq the test captaincy as well.
Not easy for them given that they only play tests and we are going to play barely 13 tests over two years. Could be their last season if they dont improve. Minor quibble here is that Shafiq has the capability but not the mental aptitude whereas for Azhar, both skills seem to be fading.

 

[DrSchultz]

The thing about Azhar and Shafiq is that even at their absolute best, they are still quite mediocre by international test standards.

 

[Hasan123]

Azhar Ali seems past his best. His limitations have really caught up with him. We need to be ruthless and move him on.

 

[hitthestump]

Both need to go.

It feels wrong to complain about the lack of talent coming through in Pakistan then allow Shafiq and Azhar to undeservedly block up two spots. For starters Azhar seriously needs to consider international retirement now. He's 35+, wasted his chances lately and is no longer worth investing in.

Shafiq should be replaced by a young batsman. If we try a few youngsters and none can make their mark, then the difference between him and Azhar is that Shafiq can potentially be brought back. The bottom line though is that someone else deserves a shot in his place.

 

[Hayreddin]

what happened to sami aslam?

 

[Junaids]

One of them needs to go at a time, because all series from now on count towards the World Test Championship and bowling open two slots in the batting order will destabilize the team.

In choosing who goes, this needs to be informed by what has happened in the last two years since:

a) Misbah and Younis retired and,
b) Azhar and Shafiq reached the age at which most batsmen retire or are dropped from international cricket.

And here are the numbers for those two years:

AZHAR ALI FROM AGE 32.5 to 34:
Test Batting average was previously 46.86
Test average in the last 12 Tests as a veteran: 28.04

ASAD SHAFIQ FROM AGE 31.7 to 33
Test batting average was previously 39.43
Test average in the last 12 Tests as a veteran: 37.16

In other words,

Azhar Ali's game has collapsed, and his average has dropped by 18.82 runs per innings.
Asad Shafiq's game has deteriorated slightly, with his mediocre average dropping by 2.27 runs per innings.

 

[BakuGM]

Retire Azhar now and give Asad another year before retiring him thus giving our test team some breathing room.

 

[Mercurial]

Both are finished. And investing in Imam and Shan in Tests would be ridiculous.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Wasim Khan in an interview

We might have to invest in the top 3-4 guys, we'll say to a county that this player will only cost you this much and we'll subsidise the rest. It's an investment for us, you'll get the likes of Imam, Shan, Babar playing County Cricket for 3-4 months. When the England series comes, they'll be ready for it"



This shows Azhar and Asad are not in top 3 players. And, I am sure #4 he’s talking about Haris.

This should be the batting

Shan *
Imam
Haris
Babar
Saad / Saud
Rizwan +

I would have Abid Ali in place of Shan Masood.

 

[Junaids]

Both are finished. And investing in Imam and Shan in Tests would be ridiculous.

You know what Imran Khan would have done when he was Pakistan skipper?

He would have decided that Babar Azam was the only batsman worth retaining, given that even Asad Shafiq and Shan Masood will never get their averages up to 40, and he would have promoted the best Under-19 batsmen. But you can only do this if you have an unassailable skipper.

The closest version I can think to what Imran would have done is:

1. Sami Aslam (on the basis that he's like Azhar Ali but 11 years younger).
2. Under-19 batsman
3. Shan Masood or Asad Shafiq (as a stopgap for 2 years before promoting another junior)
4. Babar Azam
5. Under-19 batsman
6. Mohammad Rizwan (as wicketkeeper)
7. All-rounder
8. All-rounder
9. Bowler who can bat
10. Bowler who can bat a bit
11. Specialist bowler

 

[Amjid Javed]

Azhars been poor for 18 months and is not going to get any better, he needs to be dropped now, his county stint also shows how much he is in decline.

Shafiq is just mentally weak and a selfish batsmen and ideally should be dropped but may get a short stay of execution.

 

[Amjid Javed]

No, both are critical! By dropping them you will significantly weaken our batting lineup.

Both are critical if you want a hole in the head or a heart attack.

Niether is contributing any major runs when needed, so i dont exactly get out the batting would be weakened?

 

[Junaids]

Azhars been poor for 18 months and is not going to get any better, he needs to be dropped now, his county stint also shows how much he is in decline.

Shafiq is just mentally weak and a selfish batsmen and ideally should be dropped but may get a short stay of execution.

I agree with every word, but I’d give Shafiq an extra year so they don’t disappear together.