Mohammad Amir in PSL 2018

[babajee]

At the moment he is bowling like a slightly upgraded Rahat Ali.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Saw a bit of him. He relies on the natural angle of left-handers. When he misses the mark he gets picked for runs. Pakistan has abundant left arm seamers now. Riaz, Raees, Amir, Junaid. So that novelty factor may not help him much. But still at his very best he will be better than everyone else. World class bowler. But can PCB afford wait for Amir to rise again until the next final? He could be a blocker for upcoming talents. Team management probably knows about his work ethics more than others. So i would leave it upto them.

 

[Bilal7]

I wonder what the people who desperately wanted him back during the 5 year ban from 2010 to 2015 are saying and feeling now. Asif was a much bigger loss than this guy to be honest.

I feel pretty damn good after watching his bowling in the CT final again. Maybe you should stop watching these garbage T20 leagues and stick to real cricket as well?

 

[babajee]

I feel pretty damn good after watching his bowling in the CT final again. Maybe you should stop watching these garbage T20 leagues and stick to real cricket as well?

Garbage T20 league has given us Hasan, Shadab, Fakhar. It is about to give us Talat.

Performances do matter in PSL.

 

[Indiafan]

I feel pretty damn good after watching his bowling in the CT final again. Maybe you should stop watching these garbage T20 leagues and stick to real cricket as well?

We also keep watching Ishant Sharma win us the CT final by defending just 120 in 20 overs, Praveen Kumar win us the CB series in Australia on loop. I mean any bowler defending 340 in a major final by taking 3 wickets, something no team has ever chased in a major final, is just mind blowing, isn't it

 

[backfootpunch]

I have a problem with the defense that his role in the team is to bowl economically. The reason why he has this role in the first place is because he is an impotent bowler who does not know the art of taking wickets regularly. Hasan Ali usurped him as a strike bowler in less than 12 months because he took wickets and did not make excuses.

Secondly, Amir is a big game bowler, but we need to take his so-called big performance into context as well. And no, he does not annihilate Kohli as far as performances in ICC tournaments are concerned. In his quest to make him look like someone who is extremely clutch, people tend to lose perspective.

WT20 2009 - no doubt he was very good. He set the tone for the final when he dismissed the batsman of the tournament Dilshan for a duck.

WT20 2010 - he was as big as culprit as Ajmal for the semifinal defeat. Everyone remembers Ajmal getting tonked by Hussey in the final over, but they conveniently forgotten that Amir went for 15+ runs himself in the penultimate over.

Asia Cup 2016 - that was a quality spell, but it was an extremely seamer friendly wicket and pretty much every bowler from both sides looked unplayable. Any decent pacer would have looked great on that wicket. Amir did not do anything special.

Champions Trophy 2017 - Everyone seems to remember him performing in the final, but they have conveniently forgotten that he was largely carried into the final by his teammates.

After the pasting at the hand of India in the opening game, the SA match was a must win game for us. Amir was the only bowler who went wicket-less that day. Had other bowlers also failed to turn like Amir, Pakistan would have been on the way back home. Clearly, that game also "mattered most", but Amir failed to turn up.

Yes he played a key role vs SL, but he did not even play in the semifinal. Overall, Amir had little influence in Pakistan's road to the final.

Now as far the final itself was concerned, let's not forget that he had the luxury of defending a mammoth total. In the pressure of a tournament final, most teams - even if they are as good as India - would balk under the pressure of chasing such a huge total, and most bowling attacks would be able to defend such a total.

With or without Amir, Pakistan would have defended that total on that day. Amir taking 3 wickets to defend 338 is like Kohli scoring an 80 not out while chasing a meagre total of 200 in a final. It is a great performance, but we cannot say that Amir was the reason Pakistan won. That win was entirely down to our batting.

Now if we look at some of Kohli's big performances in ICC tournaments, they are comfortably better then Amir's. His small cameo in the 2011 World Cup Final to prevent India from collapsing was more important than many half-centuries. Had India lost a third wicket at that point, it could very well have been curtains for them.

In the 2013 Champions Trophy Final, he played a crucial knock in difficult conditions to give India a competitive total to defend.

In the 2015 World Cup, he scored a hundred to set up a win for India against Pakistan.

In the 2014 WT20, he played a brilliant innings to win India the semifinal against South Africa. In the final, he single-handledly dragged India to a competitive total.

In the 2016 WT20, he single-handledly won India the match against Pakistan on a difficult pitch where all other batsmen failed. Against Australia, he played one of the ATG T20 knocks to single-handledly take India into the semifinals. In the semifinal against the WI, he was again the reason why India posted a big total.

In the 2017 Champions Trophy, his fantastic innings in the first game took the match away from Pakistan.

Overall, when you compare their performances in ICC tournaments, Kohli has been comfortably better because he has been more influential in terms of shaping the outcome of the match.

Yes Kohli failed in the World Cup 2015 Semifinal and the 2017 Champions Trophy Final while chasing massive totals, but you cannot compare that to Amir defending a huge total.

Let's see what Amir can do when he has to defend a score of 150 on a flat pitch in a final. I agree that Amir might do well in the World Cup next year. If Pakistan go on another dream on the back of 2-3 players, Amir might turn up in the final and run away with the plaudits after going missing throughout the tournament.

Being a free-rider and turning up when the match is already won or lost seems to be Amir's speciality these days, because he clearly does not seem to have the heart to carry his team on his back.

I'm sorry it is clear as day light that he's been instructed by the management or think tank behind the scenes to bowl defensively and it is also evident that he doesn't have the aggression or the fire in the belly as we say during his pre-ban days where he would at the face of the batsman because PCB have told him to keep a low profile, but because he's an intelligent cricketer he saves it for when the team needs it the most.

As for 2010 CT Afridi was at fault for his ultra-defensive mindset and it give Australia a sniff when he went for 15+ runs in that over. Amir was inexperienced and needed someone with a better cricketing brain as captain like Younis Khan. I should also add you forgot to mention his performances in the 2009 CT.

You make a good point about the difficulty of chasing a big score is far tougher than defending it and yes most teams in a final would crumble in a 300+ high pressure run chase.

Having said all that those batting conditions were perfect and had India gone wicket less in the first 10 overs, I think they would have won the game and weathered the toughest phase of the innings because they would have smashed the spinners for 7.5 - 8 RPO (epitomised by Pandya's hitting) leaving them with 120-135 runs required off last 20 overs with plenty of wickets in hand which would have been an easy task in such conditions. So this argument that Pakistan would have won without Amir is ridiculous. If Pakistan can smash Indian spinners, the Indian batsman would have done even more damage as evident by the ease in which Pandya was smashing Shadab.

I acknowledge all of those performances by Kohli but Amir has been more consistent, whether it be as a wicket taker or expertise in economy. I agree annihilate was an excessive statement to describe the difference between both players however.

I find it encouraging that you agree Amir is a big match player and has potential to deliver in next year's WC but let's not go overboard when it comes to criticising him - it was a cheap shot to say he would have fizzled out like a bowling version of Umar Akmal.

Let's acknowledge what he has achieved in ICC tournaments in still very short career and get behind him and the team. Criticise him when it's due without bringing irrelevant past things like performances in previous editions of PSL or the hype that was made out of him.

 

[barah_admi]

So much negativity for a guy who has picked up a wicket almost every game this PSL, mainly gone at an economy of around 5 and had one really disastrous game, where he wasnt even the worse bowler.

Wow

 

[Syed1]

So much negativity for a guy who has picked up a wicket almost every game this PSL, mainly gone at an economy of around 5 and had one really disastrous game, where he wasnt even the worse bowler.

Wow

Bhai some posters want Amir to pick Kohli, Sharma and Dhawan every match even if he is not playing India.

 

[ManFan]

We also keep watching Ishant Sharma win us the CT final by defending just 120 in 20 overs, Praveen Kumar win us the CB series in Australia on loop. I mean any bowler defending 340 in a major final by taking 3 wickets, something no team has ever chased in a major final, is just mind blowing, isn't it

Cause one happened 9 months ago and the ones you mentioned many years ago.

 

[Bilal7]

Garbage T20 league has given us Hasan, Shadab, Fakhar. It is about to give us Talat.

Performances do matter in PSL.

Not really, bro. The same system that gave us Asif, Ajmal and Hafeez has given us the new gen. The PSL doesn't develop test and ODI players.

We also keep watching Ishant Sharma win us the CT final by defending just 120 in 20 overs, Praveen Kumar win us the CB series in Australia on loop. I mean any bowler defending 340 in a major final by taking 3 wickets, something no team has ever chased in a major final, is just mind blowing, isn't it

If you believe that Ishant Sharma is as good a bowler as Amir and that he'll be your key player at the next World Cup, just like Amir will be for Pakistan, good for you then. We have nothing to argue about.

 

[New Yorker]

We also keep watching Ishant Sharma win us the CT final by defending just 120 in 20 overs, Praveen Kumar win us the CB series in Australia on loop. I mean any bowler defending 340 in a major final by taking 3 wickets, something no team has ever chased in a major final, is just mind blowing, isn't it

The comparisons are spot on. We may also recall Ashish Nehra in WC 2003. Many otherwise mediocre bowlers have produced spectacular spells. Amir may be more or less mediocre than Sharma and Kumar, but mediocre he is. That is simply a fact. Perhaps he has more potential, but until we see him realize it consistently we should call a spade a spade.

All of which is NOT to say that his spell in the CT final was not great. It was absolutely superb, as anyone who watched it knows, and as was recognized in the Cricinfo awards for 2017 ODI bowling.


India's top three were not out, four times, while desperately hitting out, chasing a tall score.

India's approach in chasing large totals is not to go Afridi from the first ball. They like to play themselves in, and they know there is time to score 340 if they manage to do so.

Rohit and Dhawan came into the match in sublime form.

Rohit fell to a defensive block, Kohli the same. Dhawan was outhought and outbowled, first starved for runs, then surprised by a cross seam delivery that bounced more than he expected.

It was a fabulous spell by an otherwise mediocre bowler.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

I feel pretty damn good after watching his bowling in the CT final again. Maybe you should stop watching these garbage T20 leagues and stick to real cricket as well?

Are test matches also garbage?.
Love Amir as a bowler but he isn't going to become a legendary bowler just by performing in one or two tournament finals,got to do it consistently.
Wasim and waqar are atgs bcoz of their consistency not just because of finals performance.

 

[Rishta Aunty]

If Amir was a footballer, he'd be a scorer of great goals, rather than a great goalscorer.

He has it in him to reach heights no other bowler can dream of on his day, but his average performance is probably worse than all of his major competition. Can't see that changing with his current attitude and bowling style.

 

[barah_admi]

Bhai some posters want Amir to pick Kohli, Sharma and Dhawan every match even if he is not playing India.

Yeah, next year they'll complain he didnt pick up KP.

 

[Bilal7]

Are test matches also garbage?.
Love Amir as a bowler but he isn't going to become a legendary bowler just by performing in one or two tournament finals,got to do it consistently.
Wasim and waqar are atgs bcoz of their consistency not just because of finals performance.

Well, Amir is not Wasim and he is not Waqar. If someone expects him to become as good as those guys, then he is at fault for his unrealistic expectations and not Amir, who never claimed to be as good as them.

Amir is a good bowler and one of the best in the world at present. That is enough for me to consided him undroppable from the Pakistan team.

 

[Rayyman]

Brilliant bowling today

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

not even hit for a boundary

 

[CricFan2012]

like ive said on match thread.

bowled his two overs up front mostly to a struggling fletcher.

didn't bring himself in when kamran was destroying everybody

timid cricketer

 

[The_Odd_One]

I knew a lot of people here will look stupid today. Aamir is Pakistan's best bowler. Period.

 

[Mamoon]

I don't see why some people are doing bhangra. He has always been an excellent defensive bowler.

In games like these, you would hardly find a better contemporary bowler. However, his problem lies in the fact that he has zero wicket-taking ability unless the pitch is green or when he has the luxury of scoreboard pressure.

 

[waleed88]

So much negativity for a guy who has picked up a wicket almost every game this PSL, mainly gone at an economy of around 5 and had one really disastrous game, where he wasnt even the worse bowler.

Wow

Yes and Fahim Ashraf is the top wicket taker this tournament, with 7 more wickets than him. This guy manages to go wicketless when inferior bowlers always perform better than him

 

[Deewana]

Yes and Fahim Ashraf is the top wicket taker this tournament, with 7 more wickets than him. This guy manages to go wicketless when inferior bowlers always perform better than him

if you think wickets mean something in t20s then stop fooling your self..shinwari added one wicket to his column but gave away 48 runs wickets don't matter would take 4 overs for 16 runs every day long.

 

[Deewana]

like ive said on match thread.

bowled his two overs up front mostly to a struggling fletcher.

didn't bring himself in when kamran was destroying everybody

timid cricketer

lol
hitting amir is beyond akmals level he was lucky he was at non striking end probably would have been lbw as he faced a single ball that too he was opened up..

 

[Rayyman]

if you think wickets mean something in t20s then stop fooling your self..shinwari added one wicket to his column but gave away 48 runs wickets don't matter would take 4 overs for 16 runs every day long.

Very true. Wahab and Faheem get a lot of wickets against tailenders slogging at the death.

Also Gul got a fluke 6-fer.

 

[backfootpunch]

No wickets but excellent spell from 4 overs on a 200-220 surface (assuming 20 overs bowled) with perfect batting conditions.

 

[backfootpunch]

I don't see why some people are doing bhangra. He has always been an excellent defensive bowler.

In games like these, you would hardly find a better contemporary bowler. However, his problem lies in the fact that he has zero wicket-taking ability unless the pitch is green or when he has the luxury of scoreboard pressure.

I accept the criticism that generally he hasn't taken enough wickets but today the batting conditions were perfect.

Also he didn't get many balls to bowl to Kamran who does have obvious vulnerabilities known in the professional cricketing world especially among the better bowlers in Pakistan for e.g. the ball that dips in to him and that short ball around 5th/6th stump line where he always seems to find a way to find point/backward point fielder.

Good performance nonetheless. Was let down by his other bowlers and that Shinwari over during the powerplay where he conceded 24 to Kamran Akmal (who hit him for pure boundaries in that over) was the turning point in the match.

 

[Deewana]

I accept the criticism that generally he hasn't taken enough wickets but today the batting conditions were perfect.

Also he didn't get many balls to bowl to Kamran who does have obvious vulnerabilities known in the professional cricketing world especially among the better bowlers in Pakistan for e.g. the ball that dips in to him and that short ball around 5th/6th stump line where he always seems to find a way to find point/backward point fielder.

Good performance nonetheless. Was let down by his other bowlers and that Shinwari over during the powerplay where he conceded 24 to Kamran Akmal (who hit him for pure boundaries in that over) was the turning point in the match.

Shinwari is rubbish looks a choker should be kept away from the side..choked twice in this tournament gave 16 runs vs lahore in last over and bowled a noball and today completely bottled it after being hit for couple of 4s..the look on his face completely summed up what he was upto he had no idea what was going on

 

[backfootpunch]

Shinwari is rubbish looks a choker should be kept away from the side..choked twice in this tournament gave 16 runs vs lahore in last over and bowled a noball and today completely bottled it after being hit for couple of 4s..the look on his face completely summed up what he was upto he had no idea what was going on

Agreed. Amir attracts a lot of criticism for his performances in low key games but his track record in ICC events and particularly knockout games is impressive but when Shinwari was running through Sri Lanka in the UAE series there were some PPers suggesting Amir to be dropped for him with either Raees/Junaid at the other end.

 

[Deewana]

Agreed. Amir attracts a lot of criticism for his performances in low key games but his track record in ICC events and particularly knockout games is impressive but when Shinwari was running through Sri Lanka in the UAE series there were some PPers suggesting Amir to be dropped for him with either Raees/Junaid at the other end.

Don't take these PP wannabe experts seriously they regarded Sohaib Maqsood as next Inzi Bilawal bhatti as malcom marshall umer akmal as better than kohli and the list goes on and on.
Coming on to Amir don't even mention the name Shinwari next to Amir. Shinwari is an inferior version of Junaid, Rumaan and co. Amir is a world class bowler you need to stop checking scores on cricbuzz and start watching cricket to realize that. A certain guy named kohli who played all the tough bowlers including boult, rabada,starc, steyn etc called Amir as the toughest Bowler he faced ! must be a reason? and surely he knows more than wannabe experts.

 

[blackanhyellow]

He bowls so well but isnt picking up wickets.

Yes he should bowl fuller and attack the stumps more, but I think it may also be a case of batsmen playing him out because they know he is KK's best bowler. They would rather not lose wickets to him, and then capitalize on some of the other guys.

He is opening the bowling in the PP and bowling at the death, yet still barely going for runs. That is impressive by any margin.

 

[giri26]

He bowls so well but isnt picking up wickets.

Yes he should bowl fuller and attack the stumps more, but I think it may also be a case of batsmen playing him out because they know he is KK's best bowler. They would rather not lose wickets to him, and then capitalize on some of the other guys.

He is opening the bowling in the PP and bowling at the death, yet still barely going for runs. That is impressive by any margin.

You actually believe that the opponents are just wasting 4 overs of a bowler and that too in T20? Amir mostly bowls defensive lines in most of the games. Wicket taking is not his priority, keeping runs down is. The only time he attacks and looks for wickets is when his team has scored a big total or when there is nothing to lose. Rest of the times he is just ordinary. What was the point of 4-0-16-0 when the opponent ended up scoring 11 runs an over?

 

[Savak]

The fast bowling Zulfiqar Babar

 

[backfootpunch]

Don't take these PP wannabe experts seriously they regarded Sohaib Maqsood as next Inzi Bilawal bhatti as malcom marshall umer akmal as better than kohli and the list goes on and on.
Coming on to Amir don't even mention the name Shinwari next to Amir. Shinwari is an inferior version of Junaid, Rumaan and co. Amir is a world class bowler you need to stop checking scores on cricbuzz and start watching cricket to realize that. A certain guy named kohli who played all the tough bowlers including boult, rabada,starc, steyn etc called Amir as the toughest Bowler he faced ! must be a reason? and surely he knows more than wannabe experts.

And if you look above he's being criticised for conceding just 16 runs @ 4 rpo when the team average was going @ 10.5 rpo+.

Yes he didn't take wickets but even when Karachi was batting, it's not like Zalmis were able to run through Karachi (although Babar + Denly were playing selfishly at time). His figures were just exceptional in perfect bowling conditions.

It is beyond me that he is being criticised for such a good performance. His team was unlucky to be without Imad and Afridi who have both been excellent in restricting the batting opposition.

 

[barah_admi]

Yes and Fahim Ashraf is the top wicket taker this tournament, with 7 more wickets than him. This guy manages to go wicketless when inferior bowlers always perform better than him

Like I said, he has picked up wickets in about 5 or 6 straight games. Yes he's gone wicketless a couple times but has largely been very economical. Only 3 bowlers with more overs than him have a better economy and only 1 has more wickets. That's not bad going at all. Yes he isnt setting the world on fire but he is far from as bad as you lot make out.

 

[Bilal7]

This performance changes nothing and if he gets smashed in the next game, that will change nothing either. He's a very fine bowler and the best from Asia currently, alongside Hasan Ali. Expecting him to set the World Cup on fire.

 

[Abid Z]

Amir is now mediocre. He is simply in any international team due to his promise and potential not for his effectiveness on the day. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have another bowling partner at the other end which gives a lift to average bowlers. But nevertheless I would say the new ball needs to be taken from him in coming matches.

Southee was very average for the earlier part of his career but with boult at the other end he looks deadly. chaminda vaas seemed unplayable with murali alongside him.

However I have to say amir’s back of a length and wide outside off deliveries are symptomatic of a bowler who no longer believes in himself and neither should we. He needs to go back to his original coaches and learn to swing the ball back in to right handers. Looking at his loss of swing I’m wondering if he’s been spending time with aqib javed.

 

[waleed88]

Like I said, he has picked up wickets in about 5 or 6 straight games. Yes he's gone wicketless a couple times but has largely been very economical. Only 3 bowlers with more overs than him have a better economy and only 1 has more wickets. That's not bad going at all. Yes he isnt setting the world on fire but he is far from as bad as you lot make out.

Karachi hasn't won a tournament in 3 years, and it has largely been due to his impotency. If he hadn't seem that interested and appearing to be going through the motions, Karachi might have done much better than they did. Especially in the knockouts he looked to be out of it completely.

Poor attitude comparing him to someone like Hassan Ali...

Shinwari has pplayed lesser games, and has looked off alot fo times, but even he managed more wickets than Amir.

Rahat Ali actually stood up in knockouts and bowled better than him.

 

[barah_admi]

Karachi hasn't won a tournament in 3 years, and it has largely been due to his impotency. If he hadn't seem that interested and appearing to be going through the motions, Karachi might have done much better than they did. Especially in the knockouts he looked to be out of it completely.

Poor attitude comparing him to someone like Hassan Ali...

Shinwari has pplayed lesser games, and has looked off alot fo times, but even he managed more wickets than Amir.

Rahat Ali actually stood up in knockouts and bowled better than him.

So, is it Babar who loses Karachi games or Amir? Or is it both of them and the other 9 players just sit around putting mehndi on and having manicures?

 

[blackanhyellow]

You actually believe that the opponents are just wasting 4 overs of a bowler and that too in T20? Amir mostly bowls defensive lines in most of the games. Wicket taking is not his priority, keeping runs down is. The only time he attacks and looks for wickets is when his team has scored a big total or when there is nothing to lose. Rest of the times he is just ordinary. What was the point of 4-0-16-0 when the opponent ended up scoring 11 runs an over?

Ofcourse they are wasting 4 overs. If he goes at an economy rate of 4 in a high scoring match, what does that tell you? Yes he bowls defensive lines, but the batsmen dont try to go after him regardless. Otherwise he would either go for runs or get wickets. But the batsmen are more than happy to see off his 4 overs and attack others.

Not saying this is the best approach for the spear head of a bowling attack. I also think he should attack the stumps more.

 

[waleed88]

So, is it Babar who loses Karachi games or Amir? Or is it both of them and the other 9 players just sit around putting mehndi on and having manicures?

Well Babar's 50s are in match losing causes. Amir's wickets.... well how many wickets did Amir take to win matches. Any man of the match? 40 year old Afridi and Shinwari is two MOMs I can remember. How many can you recall these two getting?

 

[IndianFan2018]

So, is it Babar who loses Karachi games or Amir? Or is it both of them and the other 9 players just sit around putting mehndi on and having manicures?

Usually premier batsman babar) and bowler amir) make big difference in winning and losing a match .

Cricket is team game still best batsman and bowler of the team are the one who win you matches more than remaining players who do supporting role

 

[Sayed]

Amir is a good defensive bowler, and very lethal when the conditions suit him or in a big match.
Still Him along with Hasan should be the first two names on the team list as far as bowling is concerned.

 

[barah_admi]

Usually premier batsman babar) and bowler amir) make big difference in winning and losing a match .

Cricket is team game still best batsman and bowler of the team are the one who win you matches more than remaining players who do supporting role

That's a ridiculous statement. If the premier batsman is chipping in with runs (Babar is 2nd or 3rd highest run scorer) and the premier bowler is chipping in with wickets, plus a low economy by t20 standards and the team is still losing matches, then surely the other 9 players must do something.

Next time India lose I'll just blame Kohli then

 

[barah_admi]

Well Babar's 50s are in match losing causes. Amir's wickets.... well how many wickets did Amir take to win matches. Any man of the match? 40 year old Afridi and Shinwari is two MOMs I can remember. How many can you recall these two getting?

Babar has a 50 in a win too and a 50 in a match that got to a super over. Without Babar's runs, KK wouldn't have made it this far anyway.

Back to Amir, so now only MOM awards mean anything? Make up your mind and have some integrity, you're starting to sound weaker and weaker.

 

[waleed88]

Babar has a 50 in a win too and a 50 in a match that got to a super over. Without Babar's runs, KK wouldn't have made it this far anyway.

Back to Amir, so now only MOM awards mean anything? Make up your mind and have some integrity, you're starting to sound weaker and weaker.

On that note please have a run look at his semi-run a ball 50s vs Islamabad, Multan and then the one in the semis vs Peshawar.... This guy hardly plays for the team. Not only that he consistently played at run a ball for Karacih last season which is why he shouldn't even be blessing us with his presence this season, but ofcourse nepotism and biasedness. An Akmal should play in every team regardless of what he does.

That match Lahore took to the super over is now a win for Karachi? I didnt know that... I didn't see that add anything to the points tally or maybe the PSL should just give points to karachi because Azam scored a 50 in that game? Fact is 4/5 of his 50s are in losing causes. That is an 80% loss ratio. His efforts actually did not benefit to Karachi, and only helped him benefit as one of PSL's top scorers

 

[barah_admi]

On that note please have a run look at his semi-run a ball 50s vs Islamabad, Multan and then the one in the semis vs Peshawar.... This guy hardly plays for the team. Not only that he consistently played at run a ball for Karacih last season which is why he shouldn't even be blessing us with his presence this season, but ofcourse nepotism and biasedness. An Akmal should play in every team regardless of what he does.

That match Lahore took to the super over is now a win for Karachi? I didnt know that... I didn't see that add anything to the points tally or maybe the PSL should just give points to karachi because Azam scored a 50 in that game? Fact is 4/5 of his 50s are in losing causes. That is an 80% loss ratio. His efforts actually did not benefit to Karachi, and only helped him benefit as one of PSL's top scorers

I didn't say the super over was a win but he got KK a total tha twas competitive. Babar literally did not have a hand in losing that match, there were numerous other factors. It's ridiculous to do that.

Oh and on the topic of not selecting him in this PSL, you have clearly lost your mind. Tell me 10 better batsmen in Pakistan now with runs in international t20s and as much of an impact ,for example, sr of 150 or more against the world XI and an average of almost 60. I'll be waiting.

 

[waleed88]

I didn't say the super over was a win but he got KK a total tha twas competitive. Babar literally did not have a hand in losing that match, there were numerous other factors. It's ridiculous to do that.

Oh and on the topic of not selecting him in this PSL, you have clearly lost your mind. Tell me 10 better batsmen in Pakistan now with runs in international t20s and as much of an impact ,for example, sr of 150 or more against the world XI and an average of almost 60. I'll be waiting.

Because Babar is performing in t20s now his fans are shifting goal posts because he has been abysmal in ODIs recently and test matches for a very long time. Babar might 'appear' to perform well in one format, but he has been trash in the other two for a llong time. THe guy who gets the most exposure to playing conditions gets the most chances, and he is smart enough to cash in on the number of chances he gets because he knows others won't do as good as him. So he just does enough, since one performance from him will merit a place in the side in all 3 formats.

Please look into the whole context. Babar's presence in all 3 formats is poisonous as he is detroying merit culture. He was being 'developed' for so long. He lost his mojo in ODIs since the team isn't west Indies or srlanka he is playing. So he had to cash in the t20s as he had no option left. Pakistan's great bowling attack makes his selfish 50s look good in t20s otherwise his batting has no pace, no aggression and timid attitude..

In any big grounds of the world he will always struggled and has struggled. So try as you want Babar is still a failure in my book. Not all places in the world will have 60m boundaries to suit his strength. The only change is he consistently fails to perform in two formats and uses 1 format to book his place in the side for all 3 of them.

 

[ads101]

Wasnt amazing but was still probably the best bowler in the PSL. Hasan was pretty mediocre this PSL, and hasnt really stepped it up in t20s.

This is the problem with Amir. Even him bowling at half potential hes better. than the rest bar hasan in odis. Our pacer pool to choose from isnt wide atm.Hopefully the younger guys like afridi will develop into something special. Because atm our third pacer standard is really poor and a weakness for us. They all look like mid 30 average bowlers.Pretty much every top team can field a 3rd pacer better than ours (and their’s often can bat too)

Wonder if its even worth playing a 3rd pacer might be best to play a spinner instead.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Because Babar is performing in t20s now his fans are shifting goal posts because he has been abysmal in ODIs recently and test matches for a very long time. Babar might 'appear' to perform well in one format, but he has been trash in the other two for a llong time. THe guy who gets the most exposure to playing conditions gets the most chances, and he is smart enough to cash in on the number of chances he gets because he knows others won't do as good as him. So he just does enough, since one performance from him will merit a place in the side in all 3 formats.

Please look into the whole context. Babar's presence in all 3 formats is poisonous as he is detroying merit culture. He was being 'developed' for so long. He lost his mojo in ODIs since the team isn't west Indies or srlanka he is playing. So he had to cash in the t20s as he had no option left. Pakistan's great bowling attack makes his selfish 50s look good in t20s otherwise his batting has no pace, no aggression and timid attitude..

In any big grounds of the world he will always struggled and has struggled. So try as you want Babar is still a failure in my book. Not all places in the world will have 60m boundaries to suit his strength. The only change is he consistently fails to perform in two formats and uses 1 format to book his place in the side for all 3 of them.

What do you people want him to do? When he performs against minnows, people say these runs don't matter as he's just minnow bashing. When he performs against bigger teams, people claim that it was a fluke and he got lucky. What merit culture has he destroyed? We clearly don't have world class batting stocks available as seen in the PSL. Apart from one or two players, no one merits a call up to the national team.


Babar is human after all and will go through dips in forms. He has issues with his power game and he will get rid of them eventually. He hasn't proven himself as a test player but he will eventually come good in that format because of his temperament. As for his record in LOIs, he has done enough to have cemented his spot in the side for a long time.

 

[IndianFan2018]

That's a ridiculous statement. If the premier batsman is chipping in with runs (Babar is 2nd or 3rd highest run scorer) and the premier bowler is chipping in with wickets, plus a low economy by t20 standards and the team is still losing matches, then surely the other 9 players must do something.

Next time India lose I'll just blame Kohli then

Bro, exactly that is what happening already, whenver Ind loses most of the blame goes to Premier Batsaman Kohli
2

Before it use to be Sachin

 

[Concerned]

Hmm guess there's not been much improvement. Disgarded players like Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Sami taking more wickets.

 

[ataullah]

In the pre match interview sarfraz was asked regarding amir and sarfraz said we sat aamir down and explained to him he has to be a match winner like before otherwise he will loose his place in team. Lets see how amir reacts knowing that he no longer is guaranteed a place in team. How will amir react?