Mohammad Hafeez added to the Pakistan Test squad for the 2-match series against Australia

[MenInG]

The National Selection Committee and Team Management has decided to include Mohammad Hafeez for two-match Test series against Australia.Mohammad Hafeez will travel to Dubai on the first available flight

 

[Minnowbasher]

RIP Pakistan cricket

 

[j_kazmi]

Wonderful

Steve Rixon was right. These people are incompetent and unprofessional.

 

[Hawkeye]

Should have been in LOIs instead.

In Tests it doesn't make a lot of sense, but since they didn't have any proper spinner they're calling him to likely fill that gap.

He should not open - as long as he comes at any spot after 3, he can make double and triple hundreds.

 

[Xoib]

Mickey possibly did not like what he saw from Bilal.

hafeez will play and open Pakistan will go with 3 seamers and Yasir with hafeez as the fifth bowling option.

 

[Hawkeye]

Mickey possibly did not like what he saw from Bilal.

hafeez will play and open Pakistan will go with 3 seamers and Yasir with hafeez as the fifth bowling option.

Yeah, Bilal is nothing special .

If Hafeez does not open we have a very capable batsman who can score daddy hundreds.

 

[Asif321]

lol . didnt include in asia cup now they need him for test
wow im amazed

 

[Shafi]

Incompetent selector like Inzi needs to be booted out as soon as possible. This guy doesn't have any brain to select players by merit

 

[Ellipsism]

Mickey possibly did not like what he saw from Bilal.

hafeez will play and open Pakistan will go with 3 seamers and Yasir with hafeez as the fifth bowling option.

This isn't the first time Bilal has been picked under Mickey's tenure. He was picked when SL toured the UAE last.

 

[wrongun]

Weird move...

Did they select the squad without thinking it through and suddenly just realise they don't want to play 2 leg spinners so need an off spinning allrounder now?

Why pick Bilal initially at all if they never intend to play him and fly in Hafeez to play the same exact role?

It's either initial incompetence or some kind of behind the scenes deal has gone on. Either way, new chairman but business as usual...

 

[Something]

Really shocked at this. Shows Inzi has no idea what he's doing. Should be removed ASAP

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Can be very potent as a batsman if he is made to bat in the middle order to face the spinners. Don't know about his bowling but as he is an option 3 seamers will probably be played. Don't mind seeing him being played as the second spinner as long as his bowling is decent so that he can play the role of taking care of the left-handers. But on the other hand; how long till we find a genuine second spinner?

 

[JibranAnsari]

Wow , again a step backwards.

He will score a few here and then will book his place for south africa tour.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Can be very potent as a batsman if he is made to bat in the middle order to face the spinners. Don't know about his bowling but as he is an option 3 seamers will probably be played. Don't mind seeing him being played as the second spinner as long as his bowling is decent so that he can play the role of taking care of the left-handers. But on the other hand; how long till we find a genuine second spinner?

Thats not futuristic approach at all , our next test tour is to south africa and dont we remember how he does against seaming and especially against dale steyn?

 

[Fahdi]

Hafeez in Tests

Will probably score here and then get exposed overseas again and the cycle will continue for God knows how long.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

So line up would be

Azhar
Imam
Haris
Asad
Babar
Hafeez
Sarfraz + *
Shadab
Hassan
Yasir
Abbas


Bowling attack would be

Abbas
Hassan
Shadab
Hafeez
Yasir

 

[hussain.r97]

Looks like Mickey was unhappy with what he saw of Bilal Asif.

 

[Mirpur express]

oh no!! I suppose he is gona be a daddy on UAE pitches but please just UAE .. such a shame that we are not able to trust a young offie from the domestic circuit !! don’t mind Hafeez competing with Asif Ali for the no6 spot in LOI’s but we really need to blood young offie in test cricket

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Wow , again a step backwards.

He will score a few here and then will book his place for south africa tour.

Steyn may be back after recovering from his injury.

 

[j_kazmi]

On the bright side, if he scores here then Dale Steyn will probably have a successful comeback to test cricket.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Bilal's stats pretty much show what he really is and it was strange to have even been given a central contract and then added for this series.

Hafeez is not a bad option in the UAE especially with now that he can bowl and also bats well there.

Him along with Yasir will be the spin options going into the series.

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

I won't mind him in UAE but he should not be selected for any overseas tour.He is really bad overseas.Bilal asif might not be good enough that's why they asked for him.

 

[topspin]

Hafeez is a good player of spin and his right arm finger spin will come in handy no doubt but there is no long term vision with his selection. Look the guy is almost 40 and holds one of the worst records for a batsman from Asia batting outside the SC. Pakistan needs to move on from him but it doesn't surprise me when you have an incompetent selector in Inzy who has always favoured seniors ever since he was made captain of the team 15 years ago.

Shoaib Malik is one of the best if not the best player of spin in the country, you could pick him in the test squad and if we remember his bowling in the 2015 UAE series against England he took some important wickets, but that doesn't warrant his selection because like Hafeez he is getting on a bit and purely a short term selection stunting the aim of building a team for the future.

On merit Hafeez and Malik make the XI for tests and ODIs in UAE (and possibly Asia) given how the others are so inept against spin and the dearth of right arm finger spinners, but in the long run it will cost Pakistan.

 

[szundercover]

Hafeez is a good player of spin and his right arm finger spin will come in handy no doubt but there is no long term vision with his selection. Look the guy is almost 40 and holds one of the worst records for a batsman from Asia batting outside the SC. Pakistan needs to move on from him but it doesn't surprise me when you have an incompetent selector in Inzy who has always favoured seniors ever since he was made captain of the team 15 years ago.

Shoaib Malik is one of the best if not the best player of spin in the country, you could pick him in the test squad and if we remember his bowling in the 2015 UAE series against England he took some important wickets, but that doesn't warrant his selection because like Hafeez he is getting on a bit and purely a short term selection stunting the aim of building a team for the future.

On merit Hafeez and Malik make the XI for tests and ODIs in UAE (and possibly Asia) given how the others are so inept against spin and the dearth of right arm finger spinners, but in the long run it will cost Pakistan.

Shoaib malik has retired in tests.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Could have selected Kashif Bhatti but I think Hafeez was picked because of 'experience' and that 213 he scored against Peshawar in the QEA Trophy.

18 man squad for a 2 test series

 

[Abdullah]

Hafeez is a good player of spin and his right arm finger spin will come in handy no doubt but there is no long term vision with his selection. Look the guy is almost 40 and holds one of the worst records for a batsman from Asia batting outside the SC. Pakistan needs to move on from him but it doesn't surprise me when you have an incompetent selector in Inzy who has always favoured seniors ever since he was made captain of the team 15 years ago.

Shoaib Malik is one of the best if not the best player of spin in the country, you could pick him in the test squad and if we remember his bowling in the 2015 UAE series against England he took some important wickets, but that doesn't warrant his selection because like Hafeez he is getting on a bit and purely a short term selection stunting the aim of building a team for the future.

On merit Hafeez and Malik make the XI for tests and ODIs in UAE (and possibly Asia) given how the others are so inept against spin and the dearth of right arm finger spinners, but in the long run it will cost Pakistan.

Well nobody here is willing to wait as we saw with the ridicule after the SL tests. We Need to win the 5 tests coming up and I think we have a great chance with hafeez in the side.
Unfortunately performing well will mean he gets selected for SA

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Here we go again.

 

[Sunny786]

Seems like a knee-jerk reaction. He could have been useful in the Asia Cup with the middle overs and contributions with the bat but not in tests

 

[shariqnoor]

Hafeez has been wonderful for Pakistan in UAE tests. If I'm not wrong he has a 50+ average at a SR of 60 which is world class. However this inclusion is nothing but a panic selection. Inzi has probably realized that this team is going to be sitting ducks against Lyon and has looked to bridge that by including Hafeez.

The selection panel should've known about the frailties of our batsmen against quality spin and if they thought Hafeez was the answer, then he should've gotten match practice ahead of the series. Right now Hafeez will struggle having played so little cricket. Another panic selection. Inzi has no clue what he is doing.

 

[letme alone]

inzi ia a champion

 

[sam_ahm]

This is a bigger disaster for Pak than the Asia Cup debacle.

 

[Boi]

Mickeys infatuation with bits and pieces cricketers continues...

 

[Markhor]

Just keep him for the UAE Tests. Don't take him to SAF.

 

[topspin]

Well nobody here is willing to wait as we saw with the ridicule after the SL tests. We Need to win the 5 tests coming up and I think we have a great chance with hafeez in the side.
Unfortunately performing well will mean he gets selected for SA

That is the problem unfortunately and because PCB, selectors and captain are all incompetent they won't be able to grasp the fact that the UAE flat track bully with his handy right arm finger spin will become a tail ender in SA against the likes of Rabada, Steyn and etc. His bowling on those wickets won't have much use.

I appreciate Pakistan needs results and we can't keep waiting for the team to gel together and reach their potential however the impact on the development of the other new/less experienced players can at least be minimised if say we pick him as a second spinner who can bat lower down the order at 7/8 because if he opens or bats in the middle order, how do we expect to develop the likes of Imam and etc when they have been deprived of the opportunity to spend valuable time at the crease? (before they go to bat in SA).

Knowing of Hafeez's ego, he will insist that he bats in the top 3/4 and unfortunately he will get what he wants because of Pakistan's seniority culture.

If his bowling was legal I would have no issues with his selection as the second spinner batting lower down the order but everyone knows his bowling with the legal action is ineffective, so he will revert back to chucking and get called up on it again. The vicious cycle continues with him...

 

[MMHS]

As expected......

This time it might be a bit more shameful for PAK then losing a Test series at home. What might happen is PAK will go with 2 pacers & 2 “Aall-rounders” in MoHa & Shadab - then within few overs against Aussie lefties, Shadab is going to be “rested” and saviour MoHa comes for a long spell to dart around. Problem is, with legal action he is inferior to Mahmudullah - he’ll also go for plenty, unless he “changes” his bowling action ........ 4th time passionate posters might have to cry kanspiracy theory thereafter.

 

[topspin]

One should also not forget he struggled against Starc and Johnson in the last series in UAE 4 years ago, so if he opens or bats in top 4 for that matter I doubt he isn't going to get past the new ball against Starc and Siddle.

I really hope MA is clued on about this and bats him lower down at say 7 or 8.

 

[moghul]

That's what you call hitting the panic button. Inzi is calling back all his friends, who is next Mushy, why not we need "experience".

 

[arehaan]

I think it’s a very good move as long as he is playing at 5 or 6. The likely team will be

1. Azhar
2. Imam
3. Harris S
4. Asad S.
5. M Hafeez
6. Babar A.
7. Sarfraz
8. Shadab/Faheem (in Dubai go with Faheem)
9. Yasir S
10. Wahab / Hamza ( don’t think Hassan Ali should play tests)
11. M Abbas

We have good balance of spin with Hafeez and Yasir. Moreover Harris S can also be used for few overs

 

[moghul]

This is a bigger disaster for Pak than the Asia Cup debacle.

Agree 100%

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

disgusting surrender

 

[Shafi]

Inzi turned out to be most corrupt and shrewd selector we ever had.

 

[Muhammad8279]

dair aye drust aye....

 

[Nikhil_cric]

So, Mickey wants Hafeez's chucking to win them the series. No faith in whatever other options i suppose. Speaks volumes.

 

[JibranAnsari]

I think they should ask guys like zafar gohar , mohammad asghar , saud shakeel etc to look for an alternative career as they should have done with fawad alam years ago.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

The Professor returns.

When all was dead and done, he was adamant that he will continue fighting.

And with a knockout punch, he has made himself in the history books with a return.

The epic finale will be completed in South Africa when Dale Styen will take off his cap on seeing him open again in respect of the maestro who made a fantastic career out of him.

 

[aloo paratha]

... Terrible news...

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Jesus all the moaning. Truth is we need him. Play him at 6 instead of Usman.

We missed him at the Asia cup. Hate for no reason sometimes.

 

[JattMaula]

Must salute the Professor!!

This is Lala level of perseverance.

 

[gazza619]

Good selection. We need his offspin against Aussie left handers.

 

[Plumb]

Great professionalism from Mickey, 400+ runs scored by Aus in side game and now they think they need some spinner. Mickey really doesn’t understand subcontinent cricket. Now its becoming more evident that Aus ‘ll thrash Pakistan.

 

[Hasan123]

Awful and depressing news. If he returns to chuck I will be furious. Why can't our cricket move on ? I'm sure we wi be told that he is the best opition in the country but how will we know that when you can keep on selecting the same player ?

I just about stomach this selection if it's only for this series but if he tours South Africa and gets back in the LO team, I'll be livid.

 

[sindhiboy]

Nice work of picking a limited overs player in the test side. How clueless are the selectors of not picking mohammad asghar, zafar gohar, who have proven themselves in first class cricket. Their debuts are overdue in both tests and odis, especially asghar's, who I think deserves to be in the test side more than shadab.

If you want to pick a spinning all rounder, why not consider imad wasim? he averages 40 with the bat and is a very useful bowler.

How does the pcb expect they will prepare for south africa by picking one of the worst players of seam bowling currently, Hafeez is a good player of spin, but is a tail ender against good seam bowling, especially in tests.

 

[AFM]

Aussies quavering now as Hafeez comes on for one final chuck

 

[shokz1408]

Good decision, he will probably be of use if he comes in around 6, I hope.

 

[babajee]

Alhamdullilah, the saviour of Pakistan cricket is back.

 

[the_outsider]

Chose him for the wrong format. He should have been playing the Asia Cup instead of Asif Ali.

 

[Adijazz1706]

Would've been useful in the Asia cup instead of Nawaz. Good option to try in UAE, forget SA, the challenge right now is not to have a repeat of the SL series. Mickey and Sarfaraz may be sacked if that happens

 

[Ned Flanders]

Chose him for the wrong format. He should have been playing the Asia Cup instead of Asif Ali.

This,

Hafeez at 6.

 

[Rayyman]

I agree with this decision.

Hafeez is an excellent all-rounder in Tests.

It's good to have at least one senior player in the team.

Pak. have Malik in LOIs and Hafeez in Tests.

Good decision as long as Hafeez plays at #6/#7.

 

[Snowflake]

Wrong format.

 

[Savak]

Can Hafeez bowl 15-20 overs a day with a clean action in a test match? Can he be effective with a clean action?

 

[mak36]

I think it’s a very good move as long as he is playing at 5 or 6. The likely team will be

1. Azhar
2. Imam
3. Harris S
4. Asad S.
5. M Hafeez
6. Babar A.
7. Sarfraz
8. Shadab/Faheem (in Dubai go with Faheem)
9. Yasir S
10. Wahab / Hamza ( don’t think Hassan Ali should play tests)
11. M Abbas

We have good balance of spin with Hafeez and Yasir. Moreover Harris S can also be used for few overs

Hafeez will almost definitely play given the nature of his call up. I really hope this doesn't mean Bilal misses out.

Re your line up: instead of Shadab, one of Bilal/Faheem should play according to conditions.

 

[alized]

I wake up to this wonderful news!! Yes!! Im so glad. He is so much better than Asad, Harris

 

[SARJ_BD]

Excellant move! For people who are unhappy with Hafeez, I suggest them to consider Hafeez as a bowling allrounder in UAE.
IMO he is a better bowler than Nawaz/BillalAsif and a better batsman than Sarfraz
1. Imam
2. Azhar
3. Haris Sohail
4. Asad Shafiq
5. Babar Azam
6. Hafeez
7. Sarfraz
8. Shadab
9. Yasir Shah
10. Wahab/Hasan Ali
11. Abbas

 

[AliMurtaza]

As long as he is only selected for UAE tests against Aus and NZ, I am happy with his selection. We cannot afford to go with 5 batsmen and Shadab/Faheem at 7/8 in UAE as both are not skillful enough for UAE tracks. We cannot afford to go a batsman short with Sarfaraz’s current form. Inclusion of Hafeez allows the management to play 6 batsmen as Hafeez can bowl 15-20 overs in a day.

We have to win at least one of the two home series if not both. We can’t afford to lose these home series with the excuse that we were playing and preparing players for SA. So, a great decision in my opinion.

With that being said, hopefully he is not selected for SA series.

 

[A-1]

Oh dang !!!

The prof is back, if he can chuck a few in between his spells (without getting caught) and bat at No.8 then its ok but selecting him now makes no sense what so ever. Hopefully, he proves me wrong and score a couple of tons.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

'The Panic button' has officially been pressed. They should have played Hafeez in the Asia Cup but instead they played "Asif Ali" as a full time Batsman, when even in Domestic Asif Ali only plays as an allrounder. His domestic batting average is in low 20s.
But this could also mean that somebody is not fully fit. could be Azhar Ali, Harris Sohail or Shahdab. And Hafeez is a cover for that.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Biggest Danger with such a move is Hafeez getting reported Again for his bowling action.

 

[Ned Flanders]

Biggest Danger with such a move is Hafeez getting reported Again for his bowling action.

I'd rather have him not bowl until the World Cup.

He can chuck a few balls here and there and help us win.

 

[Justcrazy]

Considering the number of Left handers in Aussies team , hafeez bowling would be useful.

 

[Abid Z]

This is a good decision as long he is batting down the order. I don’t know how useful his bowling is with a corrected action but he’s a useful batsman and important voice in ear of captain. Sarfraz often looks bereft of ideas

 

[ManFan]

Can’t keep a good man down.

 

[arehaan]

Hafeez will almost definitely play given the nature of his call up. I really hope this doesn't mean Bilal misses out.

Re your line up: instead of Shadab, one of Bilal/Faheem should play according to conditions.

Well given the huge amount of left handers in Aus team I won’t mind Bilal Asif playing but the sudden call up of Hafeez indicates that team management is not very confident with him. Let’s see what happens

 

[ads101]

Doesn't build for the future so wrong decision. And he can't really play top order anymore, he doesn't have the reflexes. Only spot I could see him playing is 6, and he might do well there, but Asad would have to be dropped, which isn't happening.

I see more worth in playing Haris Sohail, and giving Fakhar or one of the young upcoming batsmen like Saad Ali or Usman.

With Hafeez in the side, it makes little sense to pick Bilal too. Would have made more sense to pick another spinner like Zafar or Ashgar.

If by simply picking Hafeez, we think it's alright to go with 3 pacers again, that'll be a bad decision IMO. You need two proper spinners in UAE.

The only way I could see this as being the right selection if he was brought in because Mickey didn't have faith in Bilal and wasn't planning to play Bilal. Even then though, it would have been made more sense to draft in another spinner too, and have Hafeez there as cover if we really needed the offspinner he can come off the bench.

 

[Fineline]

If Hafeez plays well here,he might get considered for the world cup.Haters gonna hate!

 

[Majid Khan]

Okay game on then, gives me a reason to watch this test series after all

Starc , now we will see how good you are , try bowling quick at our living legend.

 

[shaaik]

1 step forward 10 steps backwards, the circus that's pcb at it again.

 

[kingusama92]

This decision makes sense if Hafeez starts chucking again.

 

[shaaik]

If Hafeez plays well here,he might get considered for the world cup.Haters gonna hate!

There's a South African tour in December which is 5 months before the world cup, Hafeez would have to see that off first then we can talk about his prospects in world cup squad. South African tour would probably be a final nail to his international career ..

 

[Hawkeye]

Jesus all the moaning. Truth is we need him. Play him at 6 instead of Usman.

We missed him at the Asia cup. Hate for no reason sometimes.

Good selection. We need his offspin against Aussie left handers.

That's true.

People moan and complain without thinking why a particular decision was made, what choices we had, and how strong Aussies have been in the practice match.

Mickey went for it to save his face - high chance Aus would have beaten us.

Can Hafeez bowl 15-20 overs a day with a clean action in a test match? Can he be effective with a clean action?

Remains to be seen, but I'm hopeful. Besides - what other good quality offie do we have in Pak?