It's time that Pakistan rethink the strategy of opening with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20Is

[fight_club]

Even When they had set the world on fire and broke many records with their steller opening combination many have voiced concern about Pakistan overall batting depth specially a very weak middle order and few hacks for a late order flourish.

Babar and Rizwan none of them being a natural opener were forced to assume the role due to circumstances and constant failures of many batsmen who were tried in the opening slot. The pair revealed in this new role and have played a significant role in many Pakistan wins the real surprise has been Rizwan who managed to outshine even Babar and had an exceptional 18 months.

You might think it's blasmous to even wager a thougt of shuffling them but glass is only half full for Pakistan batting as apart from these two rest of Pakistan T20 batting has been really abysmal with an unsettled and woeful middle and late order.

In Fakhar Pakistan has a proven white ball specialist and he has been opening the innings and should have been doing it otherwise but he has been rotated all over and still not sure whether no.3 is his slot actually
that's where Babar should bat so that he can play risk free cricket and hold one end while rest of the batting revolves around him.

Pakistan Win percentage goes down by a significant margin whenever Babar gets out cheaply. Another issue with this opening combination has been ability to take full advantage of power play as both of them play orthodox cricket so you need one dasher to force the issue.

Given World Cup is in Australia, Babar is the best batsmen to handle pace and will have to hold pakistan batting Fakhar, Iftikhar and Haider also have a decent back foot game which is a must on hard and bouncy Pitchs down under.

Pakistan can only afford to play one of the right and left and hacks it has as they both have been found out have dreadful technique, Two lottary ticket is a "riches of embarrassment".

Pakistan has been stuborn with this opening pair while doing all round musical chairs with every other batting slot now they have hardly a month to test new opening combination or their world cup campaign might end in another heatbreak.

On, the other side of spectrum is a brilliant bowling attack with Naseem already showing omnious signs. Will Pakistan finally experiment with their opening pair remains a mute question however that one experiment might make all the difference

Fight_Club

 

[Savak]

Pakistan needs an opening pair that goes hard at the start in the first six overs. We need a middle and lower order that can go heavy in the middle and end.

International teams have quality death over bowlers with excellent tactics therefore keeping wickets in hand for a late flourish does not come off that easily either.

 

[Rana]

Ive been SCREAMING for this since Rizwan scored that 60 odd against NZ!

It was the most damaging innings in the history of Pakistan T20s!!

 

[Major]

nope, it works.

Its one game you lost, Babar and Rizwan always perform, other players should perform.

Just because some fans decide to watch a match first time out of a while doesnt mean they are right

 

[Major]

Look at the way Rohit sharma and kohli batted, they batted similarly. Pakistan needed its sloggers Fakhar, Asif and Khushdil to perform which they dint

 

[fight_club]

Pakistan needs an opening pair that goes hard at the start in the first six overs. We need a middle and lower order that can go heavy in the middle and end.

International teams have quality death over bowlers with excellent tactics therefore keeping wickets in hand for a late flourish does not come off that easily either.

Agreed, They must try Fakhar and haider, Babar at no.3 followed by rizwan and Ifti at no.5. Rizwan with his atrocious off side game has been found out and looks embarrasing against the new ball. I don't think he has the right techiqe to open down under

 

[fight_club]

nope, it works.

Its one game you lost, Babar and Rizwan always perform, other players should perform.

Just because some fans decide to watch a match first time out of a while doesnt mean they are right

Have you been watching Pakistan T20 batting off late, That's the real problem that apart from Babar and Rizwan the only successful batsmen was Hafeez. Pakistan doesn't have a middle order and like of Asif and Khusdil are not going to do much in Aussies haven't done anything anyway as yet

 

[Nasty Naz]

Wow overreactions after the first match. India top 3 were even worse because it was a tricky pitch.

I don't see how putting Rizwan in the middle order fixes those issues. Pakistan simply lack players who can hold their own if the team is collapsing and having another gear to step up when needed. I think Iftikhar is someone who can do that and batted well today but Khushdil & Asif are extremely unreliable.

Haider Ali needs to play over Khushdil going forward and get a long rope to do so.

 

[Major]

Have you been watching Pakistan T20 batting off late, That's the real problem that apart from Babar and Rizwan the only successful batsmen was Hafeez. Pakistan doesn't have a middle order and like of Asif and Khusdil are not going to do much in Aussies haven't done anything anyway as yet

Fakhar and Iftikhar are there to support them. Iftikhar batted decently today. Issues isn't upper order, its the lower order.

Our middle order problems can be easily be solved by shifting shadab in the middle, like he does in psl or like how rohit did with jadeja.

The lower order batting will stay a problem no matter what. We dont have players like Pandya or Stokes and thus we have to keep the likes of Asif Ali and Khushdil.

Babar
Rizwan
Fakhar
Shadab
Iftikhar

This is a perfect line up. You shift Rizwan and Babar down, you destroy the whole line up.

Issue is lower order power hitting and not fixing the middle order with proper line up

 

[ads101]

Fakhar averages 22 after 66 games mostly opening. That’s the problem he isn’t a reliable player and he is a poor starter even in ODIs. And he’s only 2/3 points higher SR than rizwan and babar at half the average. His stats are actually slightly better at 3; so not sure it makes a difference.

Getting a good start allows players down the order to strike freely. The unfortunate thing is there is no one but these two you can rely on.

I would also add since rizwan and babar open I have never seen such a strong batting side for Pakistan in LOI in my lifetime. That is because are opens regularly set platforms for the others to build on. Had both rizwan and babar both survived we would have won the match. With only rizwan surviving we still had a close match. With both of them getting out cheaply we might not have even scored 100.

India batted the exact same way, just pandya stepped up.

It would be nice to have openers that can bat more aggressive but their main job is to build an opening platform at a moderate SR. These two do that. People think that these so called aggressive players are far quicker at scoring runs. They are not in Pakistan, Fakhar, Haider Ali, Sharjeel have 1 to 3 SR difference when they don’t even average half of rizwan and Babar. Maybe they look more aggressive on the pitch but in terms of how quick they score runs there isn’t actually much difference.

 

[Major]

Wow overreactions after the first match. India top 3 were even worse because it was a tricky pitch.

I don't see how putting Rizwan in the middle order fixes those issues. Pakistan simply lack players who can hold their own if the team is collapsing and having another gear to step up when needed. I think Iftikhar is someone who can do that and batted well today but Khushdil & Asif are extremely unreliable.

Haider Ali needs to play over Khushdil going forward and get a long rope to do so.

dont worry, its an old issue of our. Blame the person who didnt slog the ball. Our seasonal fans will keep on hating Rizwan even if he scores the most runs.

They dont understand that without the benchmark set, the others cant add anything.

The upper order is not an issue, but we want to convince ourselves that its an issue and fixing something not broken will make us champions.

Pakistan doesnt have an allrounder hitter so we will have to carry around khushdil and asif ali. Haider Ali is yet to prove himself. Maybe we can consider bringing back Malik in the Squad.

 

[Major]

Pakistan can experiment by bringing in Shan masood at one down, shift Fakhar at no.4

Basically

Babar
Rizwan
Shan masood
Fakhar
iftikhar
Shadab
Asif Ali
Nawaz
pacer1
pacer2
pacer3

 

[Rana]

Pakistan can experiment by bringing in Shan masood at one down, shift Fakhar at no.4

Basically

Babar
Rizwan
Shan masood
Fakhar
iftikhar
Shadab
Asif Ali
Nawaz
pacer1
pacer2
pacer3

My God

Misbah has destroyed the whole psyche of our cricket and has left behind some legendary think tanks

 

[Major]

My God

Misbah has destroyed the whole psyche of our cricket and has left behind some legendary think tanks

You think Pakistan needs more sloggers? Even after watching todays batting display? It was the sloggers that failed. SHan Masood is a great limited overs batsmen avg 57 in odis and has done well in t20s.

Anyways, anything i say wont change your opinion and Pakistan team thankfully are not gonna end the opening pair of babar and rizwan

 

[Rana]

You think Pakistan needs more sloggers? Even after watching todays batting display? It was the sloggers that failed. SHan Masood is a great limited overs batsmen avg 57 in odis and has done well in t20s.

Anyways, anything i say wont change your opinion and Pakistan team thankfully are not gonna end the opening pair of babar and rizwan

Pakistan doesn’t need Test batsmen batting for them in the powerplay

This is what this thread is about. The test stars can play in the middle and consolidate

I’ve been saying it again and again. A T20 opener has to be ruthless like a hunter! Stirling is Ruthless. DeQock is ruthless. Roy/Bairstow/Butler are no mercy

Rohit struggled today, but he wanted to be ruthless against Nawaz. He wanted to hit sixes but missed out.

Babar and Rizwan do not have that appetite to be brutal/Ruthless for 36 balls with only 2 fielders out.

Zazai/Gurbaz>>>>>>>Babar/Rizwan

 

[fight_club]

The problem with many posters over here is that they don't quite try to fully comprehend and start answering with the muscle memory rather than logic.

1. Babar, Shifting to no.3 is a must should have been done before that will lead solidity to pakistan middle order and as well provide an aggressive option in the opening.

2. Those expecting likes of Asif, Khusdil etc to delivery should check their record and technique
Pakistan need Babar to hold one end and allow rest to bat around him that's the only way of
holding pakistan innings together. Just check what happens when he gets out cheaply

3. Fakhar is not a slogger and if he is then no slogger bats at no.3 so if he is not fit enough for opening
then how can he be suitable for no.3. Seriously some posters will give any excuse

Rizwan can continue to open for the time being however he has been found out bowlers are targeting his
off side and he has to change his game a little

 

[shamaan]

This is an overreaction.

 

[ahmadharis1]

Open with Babar/Fakhar when batting first and Babar/Rizwan when chasing

 

[Extra_Cover]

One bad match and knives are out. Knee jerk reaction at its best.

 

[Kroll]

This partnership has proved itself. The issue is the dross that comes after it which is more of a priority that needs fixing. A middle order of Iftikhar, Asif and Khushdil is as horrible as it gets and is a proven failure.

Teams like India must be laughing themselves silly when they see our lineups.

 

[Waleed93]

Babar is fine as an opener in T20Is.

I am not a Rizwan hater like [MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] by any means, he has been brilliant for us in this format, but I am afraid his T20I purple patch is not going to last for long.

He was never as talented as Babar despite outscoring him in the last 15-18 months in T20Is, and his limited game may soon catch up with him as teams will start to find out about the weak aspects of his batting such as his struggles with the offside game.

I don't want to see him go the Sarfraz route, I hope he improves and proves everyone wrong.

That being said, the biggest problem of this team is the middle order full of jokers.

Babar and Rizwan are bound to fail both at the same time one day, and if we lose them both inside the powerplay, we are not reaching 100 runs with those talentless hacks.

 

[Rana]

Babar is fine as an opener in T20Is.

I am not a Rizwan hater like [MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] by any means, he has been brilliant for us in this format, but I am afraid his T20I purple patch is not going to last for long.

He was never as talented as Babar despite outscoring him in the last 15-18 months in T20Is, and his limited game may soon catch up with him as teams will start to find out about the weak aspects of his batting such as his struggles with the offside game.

I don't want to see him go the Sarfraz route, I hope he improves and proves everyone wrong.

That being said, the biggest problem of this team is the middle order full of jokers.

Babar and Rizwan are bound to fail both at the same time one day, and if we lose them both inside the powerplay, we are not reaching 100 runs with those talentless hacks.

I am not a Rizwan hater

I am a die hard PAKISTAN fan

Rizwan fans are just Rizwan fans. They don’t care about Pakistan

 

[Wahid1234]

It’s pretty simple open with Sharjeel khan alongside either rizwan or babar and get one of these 2 to drop down a number. They just eat up balls up front which is a travesty in t20 cricket

 

[hitthestump]

One bad match and knives are out. Knee jerk reaction at its best.

Rizwan has silenced his haters about a million times at this point. He'll shut them up again soon in the remainder of the Asia Cup and then once again in the World Cup.

Even today he top scored lol. Without Rizwan anchoring down we'd have been all out by the 15th over. People just don't get how neccesary it is to adjust to the match situation when we are cursed with no middle order players.

 

[hitthestump]

It’s pretty simple open with Sharjeel khan

Stopped reading here

 

[Wahid1234]

Stopped reading here

Well if any Pakistani supporter had half a brain cell they would know sharjeel khan is the best t20 opener we got period. If you think we should stick with the current 2 openers especially when the World Cup is in Australia then good look clearing the inner circle never mind the big boundaries in Australia lol

 

[Ashmal]

The real issue is the middle order and the non-existent finisher.

Babar & Rizwan bat the way they do because they know that they can't trust other batsmen and need to play most of the overs themselves hence they don't play too many expansive shots early-on.

We saw what happened today when Babar fell cheaply.

I think Pakistan needs to try Haider as a finisher and see if he can deliver.

 

[Savak]

Sharjeel would not even make an Indian mohala team with such a lazy pathetic attitude towards fitness. Everyone at the grass roots knows you can't make the national side with such poor fitness levels.

Also Indians will do their homework on Sharjeel and make sure they give him no freebies and will also have the fielders in the right spots.

 

[ElRaja]

babar and rizwan are perfect chasing, however they struggle to determine the tempo batting first, but Pakistan has no skilled hitters anyway, so they will continue to open.

 

[PakEngFan]

I am not a Rizwan hater

I am a die hard PAKISTAN fan

Rizwan fans are just Rizwan fans. They don’t care about Pakistan

Yeah we can see how much you love Pakistan by asking for a fat fixer to be in a team instead of one of the best performer. Let’s not forget rizwan averages double of sharjeel while sr being pretty much the same but now you will run away as usual.

 

[PakEngFan]

Well if any Pakistani supporter had half a brain cell they would know sharjeel khan is the best t20 opener we got period. If you think we should stick with the current 2 openers especially when the World Cup is in Australia then good look clearing the inner circle never mind the big boundaries in Australia lol

The best opening openers was the one of the worst openers in Psl last season. Let’s not talk about his fitness and a proven fixer.

 

[Waleed93]

It’s pretty simple open with Sharjeel khan alongside either rizwan or babar and get one of these 2 to drop down a number. They just eat up balls up front which is a travesty in t20 cricket

Sharjeel's strike rate in T20Is is 133, stop making it sound like he is a Warner/Roy level opener who strikes at 145.

In comparison, Babar strikes at 130 and Rizwan at 128, but both of them average twice that hack will ever manage.

We can't afford to displace our openers for an inconsistent hack who will come off once every 10 innings, while costing 10-15 runs in the field because of his awful fitness.

 

[PakEngFan]

Babar is fine as an opener in T20Is.

I am not a Rizwan hater like [MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] by any means, he has been brilliant for us in this format, but I am afraid his T20I purple patch is not going to last for long.

He was never as talented as Babar despite outscoring him in the last 15-18 months in T20Is, and his limited game may soon catch up with him as teams will start to find out about the weak aspects of his batting such as his struggles with the offside game.

I don't want to see him go the Sarfraz route, I hope he improves and proves everyone wrong.

That being said, the biggest problem of this team is the middle order full of jokers.

Babar and Rizwan are bound to fail both at the same time one day, and if we lose them both inside the powerplay, we are not reaching 100 runs with those talentless hacks.

Well balanced post and agreed about rizwan.

 

[UsmanhailsAfridi]

Lol you have a middle order made up of tooth picks and you want to get rid of the one consistency in the order

You guys want us to return to 25-4 kinda starts?

 

[UsmanhailsAfridi]

I am not a Rizwan hater

I am a die hard PAKISTAN fan

Rizwan fans are just Rizwan fans. They don’t care about Pakistan

You also have no clue about cricket

We have been playing t20 cricket for 15 years we haven’t had an opener with Rizwans consistency ever, not in T20s, heck not in ODIs. This is the most performing white ball pair for us ever. For 2 decades our starts have been 10-2, 50-4 in white ball cricket

 

[Xoib]

We were 87/ 2 after 12 on track to score 165 despite losing Babar which would have won us the game on this pitch its the dross middle order that followed which cost the game, Haider Ali needs to be played over one of Asif/Khushdil

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

There is nothing wrong with the opening pair. It is number 4,5 and 6 were are having problems with.

 

[Justcrazy]

I think if you put Rizwan down , it would be worse .

Pakistan need to have big heart and promote Asif Ali at 4 , he needs to score a quick 25 , that is what is required in the short format.

 

[Farabi]

Pakistan can experiment by bringing in Shan masood at one down, shift Fakhar at no.4

Basically

Babar
Rizwan
Shan masood
Fakhar
iftikhar
Shadab
Asif Ali
Nawaz
pacer1
pacer2
pacer3

Pak need proper batsmen with proper technique in top 4. Great offense game is always built around solid basics. Tullay never work in pressure games. Recent Aus side that won the T20 World Cup brought Labu, Steven Smith for a reason.

Babar
Rizwan
Abdullah Shafique / Shan Masood
Kamran Ghulam
Fakhar Zaman / Agha Salman
Asif Ali / Iftikhar
Shadab
Nawaz
Pacer
Pacer
Pacer

Can take a gamble on 1 slot but not both. Either Agha and Asif, or Fakhar and Ifto.

 

[MenInG]

All in all, it does work.

Problem is the later batters doing their headless chicken dance

 

[khan-92]

Setting a target is becoming a problem for Pakistan.
This should be the team for remaining matches.

1. Babar Azam
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Haider Ali
4. Rizwan
5. Shadab
6. Ifhi/ Asif
7. Nawaz
8. Hasnain/ Hassan
9. Rauf
10. Naseem
11. Dahani

 

[fight_club]

If I summarize inputs on this thread then few things are very clear

1. Pakistan has a serious middle order Problem: Hafeez has left a huge void in what was a fledgling middle order. So, Who can fill the void?? Is Fakhar really a natural No.3 batsmen who can rotate the strike and hold the inning together? The answer is a unanimous "NO"

Pakistan best Middle order batsmen are Babar and Rizwan and both have been promoted as opener which is creating a batting crises plus They are not fully able to exploit the power play which leads to compounded pressure on this fragile batting line up

2. Benefit of pushing one of them at no.3 and it must be Babar:

Now Bobby has a game cut out for no.3. He can play both spin and pace well keep the scoreboard ticking
while punishing loose delivery. He can comfortably hold one end and allow rest of the batters to play around him which is Pakistan best bet given the batsmen at disposal.

Exploiting Power play, Even India has changed their approach in PP now post World cup defeat. Every teams are ready to sacrifice least one batter who has Predefined role to go and whack it. Pakistan can't afford it with these two premier batsmen opening the batting. If a guy like Fakhar opens the inning you get a right and left hand combination plus an enforcer.

Fakhar also has great back foot game other option is Haider ali

It's outrageous when you have best middle order batsmen opening the inning and Pakistan cricket is searching for a decent middle order batsmen, It can happen only in Pakistan cricket.

 

[Ashmal]

If I summarize inputs on this thread then few things are very clear

1. Pakistan has a serious middle order Problem: Hafeez has left a huge void in what was a fledgling middle order. So, Who can fill the void?? Is Fakhar really a natural No.3 batsmen who can rotate the strike and hold the inning together? The answer is a unanimous "NO"

Pakistan best Middle order batsmen are Babar and Rizwan and both have been promoted as opener which is creating a batting crises plus They are not fully able to exploit the power play which leads to compounded pressure on this fragile batting line up

2. Benefit of pushing one of them at no.3 and it must be Babar:

Now Bobby has a game cut out for no.3. He can play both spin and pace well keep the scoreboard ticking
while punishing loose delivery. He can comfortably hold one end and allow rest of the batters to play around him which is Pakistan best bet given the batsmen at disposal.

Exploiting Power play, Even India has changed their approach in PP now post World cup defeat. Every teams are ready to sacrifice least one batter who has Predefined role to go and whack it. Pakistan can't afford it with these two premier batsmen opening the batting. If a guy like Fakhar opens the inning you get a right and left hand combination plus an enforcer.

Fakhar also has great back foot game other option is Haider ali

It's outrageous when you have best middle order batsmen opening the inning and Pakistan cricket is searching for a decent middle order batsmen, It can happen only in Pakistan cricket.

The thing is Pakistan only have 3 batsmen Babar, Rizwan and Fakhar.

They can't afford to sacrifice 1 of them in quest for quick runs in PP, hence they play conservatively in the first half of the inngs.

Other teams can go for all-out attack in PP as their middle-order isn't as hopeless, they know that even if they lose couple of early wkts, the lower order can still win it.

As we saw with India y'day, their top order flopped but still others contributed to win the game.

While Pakistan's middle order ensured that Pakistan went from 87/2 in 12 overs to 114/7 in 17 overs.

With this middle-order, top 3 can't go all guns blazing and risk their wickets in PP.....if they do then be ready for some 30/3 starts.

And it's not like there's some extraordinary opener sitting on the bench who can strike it at 170-200 SR consistently.....likes of Fakhar & Sharjeel are not exactly Butler, McCullum types

 

[Fenrir]

Pakistan’s T20 team batting order should be
Fakhar
Rizwan
Haider
Babar
Kamran Ghulam
Shadab
Nawaz
Waseem Jnr
Naseem
Rauf
Dahani/Hasnain

 

[fight_club]

The thing is Pakistan only have 3 batsmen Babar, Rizwan and Fakhar.

They can't afford to sacrifice 1 of them in quest for quick runs in PP, hence they play conservatively in the first half of the inngs.

Other teams can go for all-out attack in PP as their middle-order isn't as hopeless, they know that even if they lose couple of early wkts, the lower order can still win it.

As we saw with India y'day, their top order flopped but still others contributed to win the game.

While Pakistan's middle order ensured that Pakistan went from 87/2 in 12 overs to 114/7 in 17 overs.

With this middle-order, top 3 can't go all guns blazing and risk their wickets in PP.....if they do then be ready for some 30/3 starts.

And it's not like there's some extraordinary opener sitting on the bench who can strike it at 170-200 SR consistently.....likes of Fakhar & Sharjeel are not exactly Butler, McCullum types

Please read you own post once and see the obvious contradictions. Right now It doesn't matter what sort of opener Pakistan choose and they have a world class proven opener is Fakhar who has been destroyed by constantly moving him all over.

Pakistan batting is in a crises which is self inflicted, They have world best middle order batsmen in the form of Babar and Rizwan both have best game for middle order where you need risk free consolidation. You are not going to find a good middle order bat with hardly a month remaining for the world cup

 

[MenInG]

Mickey making a similar point :

"I think they should [separate Babar and Rizwan]. Fakhar hits the ball in different areas, it frustrates the bowlers a little bit,"

"It is the different angles, you've got a left-hand and a right-hand. So, spread Babar and Rizwan and you put Fakhar Zaman back at the top."

 

[Nasty Naz]

Fakhar's SR in the powerplay hasn't been all that great and it's why he hasn't been an opener for a while.

If there is a change worth thinking about, it's this lineup Pakistan used in the tour of WI:

Sharjeel
Rizwan
Babar
Fakhar

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...s-vs-pakistan-2nd-t20i-1263165/full-scorecard

lefty-righty combo for the first 4 batsmen and could be pretty good batting lineup if Iftikhar & Haider follow as 5/6 batsmen. Sharjeel would make sense in Australian condition too.

I don't however think it makes sense to break up Babar to open Fakhar though.

 

[Jazx]

Just shuffling the openers will not impact anything. Pak needs 2 more decent batsman in the lineup or atleast need 1. If one of the openers are brought down right now than top order will also get weekend. And just reversing the order of babar and fakhar will also not make any difference as the middle order still remains week. Khushdil, shadab, asif, iftikhar are no better than a number 7-8.

 

[Justcrazy]

Haider Ali , Asif Ali both need to up there game and become more consistent , this will change the whole impact for Pakistan team.

 

[chinaman00]

The top 3 is fine and there’s no need to change the order unless someone is hallucinating. Notion of including Shan Masood in the T20 lineup is laughable and not a serious proposition.

Pakistan’s problem is fake allrounders and lack of a genuine middle order batsmen. Stats of Asif Ali, Iftikhar and Khushdil are horrendous and they deserve no place in an international match. Asif Ali has played 40 T20 matches and averages 17.07. Pakistan can do better and should!

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Pakistan lacks a fast bowling all rounder that all the other asian teams have right now.

India has Pandya
SL has Karunaratne
Afg has Janat and Amarzai
Ban has Saifuddin

Pakistan just had 1 which was Wasim jr even though he hasn't proved himself yet but was the only fast bowling all rounder Pak had in the side but got injured.

Some say that Faheem Ashraf should have been there but he hasn't been consistent either even though his bowling avg of near 26 at 7.53 is not too shabby but his batting is to say the least.

The time and investment in Faheem hasn't paid off which is why Pak now moved on to Wasim but has not given him enough time to show his worth and now we are in a position with a WC just a month away and we do not have a fast bowling all rounder in the side.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

I would have Babar and Fakhar open, with Riz at 3 and Haider 4, Shadab 5, Ifti 6, Khushdil 7.

Shan Masood should have been with the squad instead of Asif Ali who is another one who has had too many chances but has not delivered.

Pakistan lacks a fast bowling all rounder that all the other Asian teams have right now.

Ind - Hardik Pandya
SL - Karunaratne
Afg - Janat and Amarzai
Ban - Saifuddin

Pakistan just had 1 which was Wasim jr even though he hasn't proved himself yet but was the only fast bowling all rounder Pak had in the side but got injured.

Some say that Faheem Ashraf should have been there but he hasn't been consistent either even though his bowling avg of near 26 at 7.53 is not too shabby but his batting is to say the least.

The time and investment in Faheem hasn't paid off which is why Pak now moved on to Wasim but has not given him enough time to show his worth and now we are in a position with a WC just a month away and we do not have a fast bowling all rounder in the side.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Why fix something that isn’t broken? Rizwan and Babar have done very well at the top of the order, against good teams too. I wasn’t a fan of this initially myself, but there is no doubt this is one of the best T20 opening partnerships going round.

End of the day, its the results that matter and Rizwan-Babar combo has delivered more often than not. Fakhar should focus on improving his game for the number three spot, the top three is not the issue for Pakistan.

Our middle order is complete trash and cannot take advantage of any sort of base whatsoever.

 

[Rana]

Why fix something that isn’t broken? Rizwan and Babar have done very well at the top of the order, against good teams too. I wasn’t a fan of this initially myself, but there is no doubt this is one of the best T20 opening partnerships going round.

End of the day, its the results that matter and Rizwan-Babar combo has delivered more often than not. Fakhar should focus on improving his game for the number three spot, the top three is not the issue for Pakistan.

Our middle order is complete trash and cannot take advantage of any sort of base whatsoever.

Yes let’s not fix what isn’t broken but is causing everything else to be broken beyond repair!

Rizwan and Babar can bat 3 and 4 if they are that good. That should sort out the issue?

 

[Usman Chadda]

Yes let’s not fix what isn’t broken but is causing everything else to be broken beyond repair!

Rizwan and Babar can bat 3 and 4 if they are that good. That should sort out the issue?

Why the need to fit in Sharjeel and Fakhar, when the issue is there is no decent T20 middle-order batsmen in the whole of Pakistan?

 

[Rana]

Why the need to fit in Sharjeel and Fakhar, when the issue is there is no decent T20 middle-order batsmen in the whole of Pakistan?

Because the decent middle order batsman Babar Azam is hiding in the powerplay overs.

Let the naturally aggressive players go out and do their job without worrying if they will be successful or not and let the more technical players bat in the middle overs. Do you see Kohli running away from his problems at number 3 by demanding to open the innings and playing himself in?

Babar should be at 3 and Rizwan should not really be in the side if he can’t do what Sarfaraz could at number 4/5.

 

[PakEngFan]

Because the decent middle order batsman Babar Azam is hiding in the powerplay overs.

Let the naturally aggressive players go out and do their job without worrying if they will be successful or not and let the more technical players bat in the middle overs. Do you see Kohli running away from his problems at number 3 by demanding to open the innings and playing himself in?

Babar should be at 3 and Rizwan should not really be in the side if he can’t do what Sarfaraz could at number 4/5.

Rizwan averages 66 as an opener with a sr of 133. Sharjeel averages 22 with sr of 133 and fakhar averages 22 with sr of 136. Now go and hide in a corner. You clearly hate rizwan. It’s got nothing to do with cricket.

 

[Markhor]

It's a polarising topic amongst PAK fans. When Rizwan was made opener by Misbah in that NZL series in 2020, I was opposed due to Rizwan's poor international LOI record. However he succeeded mine and everyone's expectations to a point. The Babar-Rizwan pairing has won us many games and their individual statistics are good reading them in isolation. However T20 batting is about maximising your available resources for the benefit of the team - and are we really doing that currently ?

I saw a good Twitter thread by an analyst who works in the PSL who stated from all nations - our top 3 consume the most deliveries - and by some distance. Since the 2021 WC, our top 3 consume 72% of our deliveries. Fans will argue that's due to Babar and Rizwan being so prolific, or from having to protect their middle order, or overcaution.

I won't get drawn into that debate, but we DO know Babar-Rizwan's SR and boundary % in the PP is relatively low. It bit us on the backside vs Australia in the SF. That means our middle-order is forced to play high risk cricket and slog from ball one. Now when your middle order is already weak, low on confidence and fail, it perpetuates this vicious cycle.

So what's the solution ? You could:

A) Reshuffle the top 3 so one of Babar or Rizwan can bolster the middle order.

B) Keep experimenting with domestic middle order batsmen.

C) Ask Babar and Rizwan to go harder in the PP so that our middle order can play themselves in and not have to take on so much risk so early in their innings.

Option A is unlikely with our team management, and given we've invested 18 months in the Babar-Rizwan pairing rightly or wrongly, I don't see us breaking that up so close to a World Cup.

I don't even see them pursuing Option C. I've said many times - Pakistani coaches are highly reluctant to push senior players out of their comfort zones. Which means carrying on with the merrygoround.

 

[Rana]

Rizwan averages 66 as an opener with a sr of 133. Sharjeel averages 22 with sr of 133 and fakhar averages 22 with sr of 136. Now go and hide in a corner. You clearly hate rizwan. It’s got nothing to do with cricket.

Keep using numbers without context to suit your agenda. Rizwan’s incompetence as a proper T20 opener is now being exposed in front of the world. Soon he will be booted out just like his fans hounded out Sarfaraz

 

[Rana]

It's a polarising topic amongst PAK fans. When Rizwan was made opener by Misbah in that NZL series in 2020, I was opposed due to Rizwan's poor international LOI record. However he succeeded mine and everyone's expectations to a point. The Babar-Rizwan pairing has won us many games and their individual statistics are good reading them in isolation. However T20 batting is about maximising your available resources for the benefit of the team - and are we really doing that currently ?

I saw a good Twitter thread by an analyst who works in the PSL who stated from all nations - our top 3 consume the most deliveries - and by some distance. Since the 2021 WC, our top 3 consume 72% of our deliveries. Fans will argue that's due to Babar and Rizwan being so prolific, or from having to protect their middle order, or overcaution.

I won't get drawn into that debate, but we DO know Babar-Rizwan's SR and boundary % in the PP is relatively low. It bit us on the backside vs Australia in the SF. That means our middle-order is forced to play high risk cricket and slog from ball one. Now when your middle order is already weak, low on confidence and fail, it perpetuates this vicious cycle.

So what's the solution ? You could:

A) Reshuffle the top 3 so one of Babar or Rizwan can bolster the middle order.

B) Keep experimenting with domestic middle order batsmen.

C) Ask Babar and Rizwan to go harder in the PP so that our middle order can play themselves in and not have to take on so much risk so early in their innings.

Option A is unlikely with our team management, and given we've invested 18 months in the Babar-Rizwan pairing rightly or wrongly, I don't see us breaking that up so close to a World Cup.

I don't even see them pursuing Option C. I've said many times - Pakistani coaches are highly reluctant to push senior players out of their comfort zones. Which means carrying on with the merrygoround.

100% correct

Nothing will change

Nothing will improve

This is bound to happen when you have a captain like Babar who wouldn’t change his side even against Namibia and Scotland. And it took him ages to drop Hassan Ali. Until Babar goes, a tough authoritarian coach comes in, nothing will improve

 

[PakEngFan]

Keep using numbers without context to suit your agenda. Rizwan’s incompetence as a proper T20 opener is now being exposed in front of the world. Soon he will be booted out just like his fans hounded out Sarfaraz

You don’t have an answer as usual and doing a runner as expected. Sarfraz was kicked out because he was averaging around 15 odd and playing as a specialist captain. What context? They have all opened and Rizwan averages 44 more with similar strike rate. I am not a rizwan fan btw. He doesn’t perform kick him out. You won’t see me defending him or anyone.

 

[Forum363]

I think the clearest solution is simple:

When setting a total, Fakhar should definitely open with Babar/Rizwan moving down into the middle order.

When chasing, Babar and Rizwan should continue opening so they can take the chase deep.

 

[sweep_shot]

I do not think Rizwan should open. He is an accumulator. You don't need two accumulators for opening.

Rizwan should play in lower middle order.

Babar and Fakhar should open (left and right combination).

 

[ezhil]

Pak has become India team of cric world cup 2019....top 3 batting collapses then soft middle order will be exposed and match will be lost

 

[shariqnoor]

We cannot go back to the "thrashing" duo of Sharjeel and Fakhar who never survived more than 6 overs in T20 at the start of the innings.

There's no need to change Babar and Rizwan at all. Neither Babar nor Rizwan have the ability to come in the middle order and tee off so you are not maximizing their output. If they are not opening, then they should not even be in the team.

 

[Vorador]

I really don't understand the point of having Khushdil over Haidar. Never seen Khushdil perform in an international match like ever. The guy is the walking picture of a hack. Do we seriously have no one to replace this guy?

 

[TeymurBlake]

Against India, Pakistan badly exposed there brittle middle order after Babar-Rizwan opening combo failed.

Asif Ali has been poor for sometime. Khushdil Shah is following in his foot steps. Iftikhar Ahmed after some tremendous form from National T20 Cup has failed to transform that form into internationals.

I think its now obvious for what must be done. Bring in Shan Masood and Kamran Ghulam into the XI. Break the opening of Babar-Rizwan, keep one to open and the other at No.4. Move Shadab Khan to No.6 cause clearly the other hitters have been absymal and Mohammad Nawaz to No.7 and please work on his power hitting. Pakistan also need a another left arm quick in the Pakistan setup either injury prone Wahab Riaz NOPE, Usman Khan Shinwari based on his previous BBL stint or Mir Hamza Not bad, but heavily reliant on swing. But as long as he is utilised well, then he could be useful.

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
3. Shan Masood
4. Babar Azam (C)
5. Kamran Ghulam
6. Shadab Khan
7. Mohammad Nawaz
8. Shaheen Shah Afridi
9. Naseem Shah
10. Mir Hamza
11. Haris Rauf

12. Tayyab Tahir
13. Usman Qadir
14. Mohammad Hasain
15. Agha Ali Salman.

Not the best team I could pick out but since the T20 WC is in Australia, Pakistan will need to pick a team of players that could do a job and enough of the big hitters tried before.

 

[Rana]

We cannot go back to the "thrashing" duo of Sharjeel and Fakhar who never survived more than 6 overs in T20 at the start of the innings.

There's no need to change Babar and Rizwan at all. Neither Babar nor Rizwan have the ability to come in the middle order and tee off so you are not maximizing their output. If they are not opening, then they should not even be in the team.

We cannot go back?

We never did have that combo…they played one or two games together and genius Misbah never opened with the two! Your point is baseless because these two never ever batted together as openers

 

[shariqnoor]

We cannot go back?

We never did have that combo…they played one or two games together and genius Misbah never opened with the two! Your point is baseless because these two never ever batted together as openers

I was talking individually. Fakhar as an opener has played 36 innings. 67% of the time Fakhar has played less than 20 balls. 24 innings out of 36. That is beyond pathetic for a player who is supposed to be a frontline batsman. I dont even need to talk about Sharjeel.

 

[Rana]

I was talking individually. Fakhar as an opener has played 36 innings. 67% of the time Fakhar has played less than 20 balls. 24 innings out of 36. That is beyond pathetic for a player who is supposed to be a frontline batsman. I dont even need to talk about Sharjeel.

Let the two play together and let’s see what happens

Before then, it is unfair to speculate that they will not succeed

Two naturally aggressive, left handed openers. Play to your strengths and see the best results InshaAllah

 

[PakEngFan]

Let the two play together and let’s see what happens

Before then, it is unfair to speculate that they will not succeed

Two naturally aggressive, left handed openers. Play to your strengths and see the best results InshaAllah

You are crying rizwan for 3 chances as an opener and here you are saying 36 is unfair. Get a grip.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Last year, I passionately argued (primarily with [MENTION=3187]fight_club[/MENTION]) that Pakistan should maintain the Rizwan-Babar opening combo. But now after seeing them bat together for a year, I have no issues admitting that I was wrong and that Pakistan needs to bring Fakhar to the top and one of these two down to No.3.

The problem is not the numbers of runs that these two score...which is alot. The problem is that they are far too similar as batters. And while that works in our favor in run-chases where are able to time a chase to perfection, there have been numerous occasions while batting first when Babar and/or Rizwan have left alot of runs in the middle. The biggest example being the World Cup semi-final against Australia where we lost NOT because of Hasan Ali's dropped catch, but because of the fact that we were a good 15-20 runs short and that Babar didn't accelerate in the powerplay the way he should have.

The numbers have shown that the middle-order is not the problem. Despite all the constant chopping and changing, Pakistan's batting from No.4 or No.8 boasts a combined strike-rate of 152.8 since the last World Cup...the highest in the world. So calling them headless chickens or what not won't change that very basic fact.

The problem is the Babar-Rizwan combo, which needs to be separated because it could end up being a far bigger detriment for us in the long-rub than it is a positive.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I was talking individually. Fakhar as an opener has played 36 innings. 67% of the time Fakhar has played less than 20 balls. 24 innings out of 36. That is beyond pathetic for a player who is supposed to be a frontline batsman. I dont even need to talk about Sharjeel.

There is absolutely nothing pathetic about that. If anything this is a completely meaningless stat on your part because you have left out his strike rate in these innings. Playing a certain number of balls is completely irrelevant in T20s. What matters is how quickly you score off them. Fakhar has a specific role, which is to go out there and play attacking cricket. Playing that kind of way always comes with a heavy risk factor, which means in all probability you will fail far more than you will succeed. But you pay that price because in most cases a 20 off 9 or a 32 off 16 is far more valuable than a 50 off 42 balls.

 

[shariqnoor]

There is absolutely nothing pathetic about that. If anything this is a completely meaningless stat on your part because you have left out his strike rate in these innings. Playing a certain number of balls is completely irrelevant in T20s. What matters is how quickly you score off them. Fakhar has a specific role, which is to go out there and play attacking cricket. Playing that kind of way always comes with a heavy risk factor, which means in all probability you will fail far more than you will succeed. But you pay that price because in most cases a 20 off 9 or a 32 off 16 is far more valuable than a 50 off 42 balls.

So allow me to bust this myth of "Fakhar plays quickly" as well even if he gets out early. Fans have this delusion that if Fakhar gets out early, he is scoring a 20 off 9 balls or a 32 off 16 balls. No he is not.

In those 24 innings out of 36 where he got out playing less than 20 balls, Fakhar's SR is a paltry 117. So out of every 3 innings, he is getting out 2 times facing less than 20 balls at a SR of 117.

Excellent going, right!!!

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Last year, I passionately argued (primarily with [MENTION=3187]fight_club[/MENTION]) that Pakistan should maintain the Rizwan-Babar opening combo. But now after seeing them bat together for a year, I have no issues admitting that I was wrong and that Pakistan needs to bring Fakhar to the top and one of these two down to No.3.

The problem is not the numbers of runs that these two score...which is alot. The problem is that they are far too similar as batters. And while that works in our favor in run-chases where are able to time a chase to perfection, there have been numerous occasions while batting first when Babar and/or Rizwan have left alot of runs in the middle. The biggest example being the World Cup semi-final against Australia where we lost NOT because of Hasan Ali's dropped catch, but because of the fact that we were a good 15-20 runs short and that Babar didn't accelerate in the powerplay the way he should have.

The numbers have shown that the middle-order is not the problem. Despite all the constant chopping and changing, Pakistan's batting from No.4 or No.8 boasts a combined strike-rate of 152.8 since the last World Cup...the highest in the world. So calling them headless chickens or what not won't change that very basic fact.

The problem is the Babar-Rizwan combo, which needs to be separated because it could end up being a far bigger detriment for us in the long-rub than it is a positive.

Or we could just ask one of them to play faster?

I think Rizwan can be given the option to be pinch hitter while Babar builds the innings.

The problem I see is, even if you are right, it will take a failed World Cup with terrible scores in the 1st innings, for all the fans to see that they were wrong.

As long as we keep winning or getting close to winning, Babar and Rizwan won't be touched.

 

[shamaan]

So allow me to bust this myth of "Fakhar plays quickly" as well even if he gets out early. Fans have this delusion that if Fakhar gets out early, he is scoring a 20 off 9 balls or a 32 off 16 balls. No he is not.

In those 24 innings out of 36 where he got out playing less than 20 balls, Fakhar's SR is a paltry 117. So out of every 3 innings, he is getting out 2 times facing less than 20 balls at a SR of 117.

Excellent going, right!!!

Finally someone with some decent knowledge.

 

[arif_2021]

Babar and Rizwan need to play a little fast, thats all. They need to be at 80/0 after 10 overs, which should be very doable. Not 60/0

If they are 80/0 with 10 wickets in hand, Pakistan can score even 230 if they go crazy. Thats what they did against SA in chasing 220 plus. That was the template.

If they are going 60/0, and try to accelerate, and get out then a collapse would happen.

Going from 60/0 to 80/0 after 10 overs just means 5 boundaries or 3 sixes. Thats the only difference.

 

[arif_2021]

And also, if anyone has seen fakhar open - you would know that the opposition has figured out his weakness. His weakness is finger spin with the ball coming in and skidding on either to his stumps or LBW.

In addition, fakhar is a good hitter but he does not know how to rotate strike which is what babar and rizwan specialize on. Fakhar has played some good innings in crucial matches, but he has also played quite a few forgettable and horrible innings that have resulted in such a mediocre average.

 

[PakLFC]

Fakhar may mostly miss then his however we need an impact player like him to open the innings with Rizwan. I much prefer Babar came in at 3 or four instead of opener. If Fakhar is omitted from the team then we have to find someone who has a similar batting approach. It is so important to get a fast start at the start of the innings.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Need to send in Asia Ali at No.3 to play the pinch-hitter role.