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Is Yasir Shah's selection part of a bigger plan?

Titan24

Senior Test Player
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If we can get one really good spinner with Shadab than our spin bowling department will also become really strong like our pace reserves at the moment. Yasir's inclusion in ODI isnt a bad move as he was pretty impressive in PSL. Imad also does a reasonable job though very limited as a spinner but adds a lot with batting as well.

I was expecting Usama Mir, Zafar Gohar or Asghar to be part of the ODI squad and to play against teams poor against spin or spin friendly tracks.

The way Indian spinners have bowled against two non subcontinental teams it definitely can be a good strategy against SA, Aus, NZ and Eng.

Shadab/Imad (When Shadab rested)
Faheem/Imad (Depending upon conditions)
Amir
Hassan
Junaid/Shinwari/Shaheen/Raees/Yasir/Mir/Asghar/Gohar/Imad (Depending upon conditions)
 
I know that Mir and Zafar were not given many opportunities but definitely there is potential.
 
I know that Mir and Zafar were not given many opportunities but definitely there is potential.

Absolutely there's potential in fact I would take Zafar as the second spinner in our team. Mir is solid as well but we a leggie in our team. Maybe both of them could join the team, if Shadab is given a rest.
 
Not wise to invest in the limited overs Shah .

Does not have an impact in the field

Does not bat that well in limited overs

Also goes for runs once he gets too experimental after one bad delivery.

In short: unless it's Lanka, Bangla he would disturb Pakistan's ODI set up.

Even though Nawaz and Imad were mediocre they did add something in every department of the game improving Pak's balance just like Mickey had hoped. Obviously we need to look for better alternatives and look into Gohar, Mir etc.
 
I think Yasir was selected so he could get overs under his belt before the winter Tests, and so the management could keep an eye on his fitness.

For the World Cup, I would like to see a specialist spinner in the squad like Raza Hasan or Zafar Gohar, especially as Australia, England and South Africa play spin very poorly.

We need to stop wasting time on bits and pieces players like Nawaz.
 
Not wise to invest in the limited overs Shah .

Does not have an impact in the field

Does not bat that well in limited overs

Also goes for runs once he gets too experimental after one bad delivery.

In short: unless it's Lanka, Bangla he would disturb Pakistan's ODI set up.

Even though Nawaz and Imad were mediocre they did add something in every department of the game improving Pak's balance just like Mickey had hoped. Obviously we need to look for better alternatives and look into Gohar, Mir etc.

Yasir is a gun fielder, dont fall for his physique. If you have seen him fielding his really good in point as well.
 
Not wise to invest in the limited overs Shah .

Does not have an impact in the field

Does not bat that well in limited overs

Also goes for runs once he gets too experimental after one bad delivery.

In short: unless it's Lanka, Bangla he would disturb Pakistan's ODI set up.

Even though Nawaz and Imad were mediocre they did add something in every department of the game improving Pak's balance just like Mickey had hoped. Obviously we need to look for better alternatives and look into Gohar, Mir etc.

Impact in the field ? He is a gunner at point. Have you seen him field?
 
Yasir is a gun fielder, dont fall for his physique. If you have seen him fielding his really good in point as well.

There are many Pakistani cricketers who where not quick but had a good throw. There is more to fielding. Yes Yasir has improved but not too sure if he would meet all demands especially with his fitness issues.
 
Id rather have an alternative to shadab and thats someone who turns the ball in or someone who can add value with the bat too like nawaz

Selecting two leggies isnt ideal esp when yasir cant bat
 
We definitely need a quality second spinner in XI or at least in the squad. Even if the Yasir experiment doesn't work, the idea is right and should be welcomed. We need to develop bench strength- another legspinner and a SLAO like Zafar Gohar would be ideal.

As I have written previously:

Imad has fallen out of favour with the management for a reason. He's overweight, has failed with the bat pretty much every time it's required and has refused to improve his bowling. In short, he's lazy. Check his bowling average in recent times and you might be surprised; teams have worked out you just play him as a medium pacer. Nawaz is a better bowler and fielder but doesn't add anything with the bat. Only SLAO who should be considered at the moment is Zafar Gohar, but he has only just returned from injury.

So the question is who should be the second spinner? Playing two wrist spinners in the shorter format is a good strategy, especially if conditions suit/playing against sides weak against spin. Yasir and Shadab are very different legspinners and could complement one another. Yasir can keep it tight with his world class control when required (i.e. the role Imad is supposed to play) but he can also attack when required. Based on PSL/CPL/Big Bash he has improved his variations so this outing should be more successful. Shadab can then take advantage of the pressure that is built by Yasir.

The other factor is the captain. Under an aggressive captain like McCullum, Yasir has shown he can succeed in the shorter format. Likewise, Sarfaraz will utilise him better than Misbah/Azhar ever did.

Even if conditions mean there is only room for one legspinner in the playing XI, what's the harm in having Yasir in the squad? Yasir Shah is a world class bowler and given Shadab still has a lot to learn about legspin it would probably be useful to him to have Yasir around the squad. The other thing is what happens if Shadab gets injured? It's always worth having someone ready to go.

I do have reservations about his fitness/batting ability but the same is true of Imad, and Imad/Nawaz barely contribute in recent times. Plus, with the induction of Shadab, Faheem, Hasan etc. there is plenty of lower order.

Like I said, worse case he might not even play and they have simply selected him just so Mickey can keep an eye on him to make sure he is on the right track for the test series.

I appreciate his selection might seem odd but there is a logic to his selection. For me, a lot depends on the playing XI and getting the combination right. This is as good a series as any to experiment, and if it doesn't work, move on. You are of course entitled to disagree with his selection, but that doesn't mean his selection makes zero sense. It just means you disagree with it.
 
The thought process is quite clear. You can't play four pacers in spin friendly conditions (mostly UAE). So he will fill the specialist bowler role at no.11 in spin friendly conditions.

I think our bowling unit will look like this till WC 2019:

Shadab
Faheem
Hasan
Amir
Usman ( or any other fast bowler on flat or swinging pitches)/Yasir (or any other spin bowler on spin friendly pitches)
 
Id rather have an alternative to shadab and thats someone who turns the ball in or someone who can add value with the bat too like nawaz

Selecting two leggies isnt ideal esp when yasir cant bat

Please no Nawaz, we saw how mediocre he was against the Aussies.
 
The thought process is quite clear. You can't play four pacers in spin friendly conditions (mostly UAE). So he will fill the specialist bowler role at no.11 in spin friendly conditions.

I think our bowling unit will look like this till WC 2019:

Shadab
Faheem
Hasan
Amir
Usman ( or any other fast bowler on flat or swinging pitches)/Yasir (or any other spin bowler on spin friendly pitches)

Abbas could also play next year considering the tournament will start in early May and he has also some good experience on the English pitches.
 
our bowling working fine no need to think so much about bowling we should think about our batting because WC2019 in England and we just need 4 top class pacers and a specialist spinner and better strike rate batsmens also we need technically sound players in England our all focus should be WC2019
 
Yasir's shown variation of late and has had success in T20 leagues thus the selection. The thought process to me seems that if he can click on the international stage then Pakistan have a ready-made replacement or partner for Shadab if need be.
 
Inclusion of Yasir Shah, is part of getting him ready for the upcoming series, and to address MA concerns that whenever they leave players on their own , they come back in bad shape. MA was furious when Yasir was injured before series to UK.

Including him, MA can monitor his physical training etc, and might give him 1/2 games to get used to cricket
 
Yasir's shown variation of late and has had success in T20 leagues thus the selection. The thought process to me seems that if he can click on the international stage then Pakistan have a ready-made replacement or partner for Shadab if need be.

I thought he was a useless selection? :p
 
None. Zafar is the best prospect.

Zafar is quality. His injury came at a bad time but since he came back he made the most of the chances he got in the PSL and also ended up as the top wicket taker in the Ramadan Cup. It's a shame there isn't any cricket on for him at the moment.
 
Zafar is quality. His injury came at a bad time but since he came back he made the most of the chances he got in the PSL and also ended up as the top wicket taker in the Ramadan Cup. It's a shame there isn't any cricket on for him at the moment.

It's a shame Mickey hasn't identified his potential because our dunce selectors sure aren't going to.
 
It's a shame Mickey hasn't identified his potential because our dunce selectors sure aren't going to.

He's not even part of the emerging players camp which is shocking.

Maybe it is because he has just returned from injury. Also I can't imagine him missing his test debut put him in anyone's good books.

I was hoping IU would give him plenty of game time but they unfortunately preferred the likes of Samit Patel lol. I am sure Mickey has been his spell against Peshawar Zalmi.
 
Lol, forget 'big' or 'poor', we are overestimating PCB's capacity here. This seems like a random selection at best!

With almost a year to go for the World cup, Pakistan has enough time to identify and upskill the potential candidates. PCB needs to invest in young guns. Yasir is prone to injury and doesn't look fit (when I saw him last). There are high chances that Yasir might pull out of the tournament at the 11th hour.
 
He doesn't bring anything.Very poor selection. He should be no where near the team.
 
Looks fitter.

He took a good diving catch and is now bowling.
 
He might end up injured before test series.Let same players play all formats will cost us big matches in near future. Inzi has no future planning and choose players whom he wishes with full support from puppet selection members.
 
He might end up injured before test series.Let same players play all formats will cost us big matches in near future. Inzi has no future planning and choose players whom he wishes with full support from puppet selection members.

No future planning? Who selected all these youngsters?
 
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