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Mohammad Hafeez is a passenger in this World Cup. Time to let him off at the next stop...

mak36

mak36

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Excluding his innings vs England, Hafeez is averaging 24 in six innings this World Cup. More worryingly, the nature of his dismissals have been soft and more often than not have needlessly triggered a collapse. He has repeatedly failed to take any responsibility despite the fact he is a veteran of some 200 ODIs. Given his refusal to bat lower down the order (where he is actually suited) surely it is finally time he was given the “Malik treatment” and shown the door for the game vs Bangladesh?
 
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Agreed.

He runs like a granny in the field. Zero responsibility when batting as well. Even the 80 against England was lucky as he was dropped on 14.
 
No changes now people.
We have to stick with fakhar and hafeez and hope they give us 1 match Winning innings each
 
The replacement is a certain Asif Ali or legendary Malik, so, no thank you!

I will hang on Hafeez for now.
 
Stick with him for now. Deserves the trust after the England innings.

Almost every batsman is a passenger in the team one way or another barring Babar.
 
Either make him open or just throw pathetic Hafeez out, even hack like Asif is better than him.

Found shameful and stupid ways to get out almost lost Pakistan matches the same way he did against Australia and India.
Imam and HAfeez need to be replaced before next match.
 
No, he's just being used wrongly.

Given Fakhar is struggling too, Hafeez needs to go back up to open the batting.

He's a sitting duck at no 4 as all the teams have figured out he's poor against slow bowling.

Give him pace bowling or let him face spin in the powerplay and he will perform better.
 
Abdullah said:
No changes now people.
We have to stick with fakhar and hafeez and hope they give us 1 match Winning innings each
Click to expand...

Also him and Imad will interchange in bowling depending on how many righties/lefties are in opposition
 
We’re gonna have to stick with Hafeez for now.

This isn’t anything new from Hafeez. He always goes missing in the big matches. His record in ICC events is mediocre.
 
Theres no replacement for hafeez or fakhar in the squad!
All you can do is rejig the batting order!

Imam
Babar
Haris
Safi
Hafeez
Fakhar
Imad
Shadab
Wahab
Shaheen shah
Amir
 
Poor post.

"Exclude England". Eh, why? That was a must win, and winning that match is the reason we're even being considered for the semi.

His other dismissals have also been a bit soft, after he has done the hard work of negotiating tough bowling.

This means lack of concentration, which will come back in one of the 3 next matches - don't forget he's one of those people who can win us a match, and has already done it in this WC.

No better player available.
 
It is a travesty Mohammed Rizwan has been in England all this time doing nothing but watching team Pakistan. He should have been in the squad and should have been playing in place of Hafeez.
 
I don't mind Hafeez but he needs to bat lower than Harris. He can be a good lower order hitter.He is a pretty good when the ball is not swinging. He does have the power game for it.
 
BD has a lot of good lefties, we need hafeez just for bowling. If he bats, its a bonus.
 
Usman said:
It is a travesty Mohammed Rizwan has been in England all this time doing nothing but watching team Pakistan. He should have been in the squad and should have been playing in place of Hafeez.
Click to expand...

Suggesting a limited batsman like Rizwan for a dynamic strokemaker like Hafeez shows you have no idea what you're talking about.

Sure, Hafeez is old, and we need to find a replacement for him, but it's not Rizwan.

Hafeez is amazing vs pace and spin both, can play shots all around, accelerate. Rizwan can't do that, has very limited shots, struggles against pace, bounce, spin too.
 
Hafeez should have been booted out after the 2017 CT final.
 
hitthestump said:
No, he's just being used wrongly.

Given Fakhar is struggling too, Hafeez needs to go back up to open the batting.

He's a sitting duck at no 4 as all the teams have figured out he's poor against slow bowling.

Give him pace bowling or let him face spin in the powerplay and he will perform better.
Click to expand...

Well he isn't all that flashy against express pace, or lateral movement, so I'm unsure as to how this will help.

He was a poor opener during his best years, now he's nearing 40. How on earth will he be able to handle the new ball?
 
Hafeez , Sarfraz, and Malik all need moving on. Targeting 1 is letting the other 2 get away with it. Malik is retiring anyway so he will be gone for certain at least.
 
No choice to stick with him during this wc

But yes this wc should be his last few games Age isnt on his side and tbh hes not good enough to hang around The soft nature of his dismissals sums up his career
 
Sirris said:
Stick with him for now. Deserves the trust after the England innings.

Almost every batsman is a passenger in the team one way or another barring Babar.
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This mentality has really hampered Pakistan cricket. You have guys who perform every 10th game and ypu keep them in the side. Imran Farhat, Nazir, Afridi, Hafeez, Malik and few more have done more harm than good to Pak cricket. They have kepr deserving youngsters out of the team.

In this WC Hafeez has let the team down many times. The shots he has has got out to, you don’t expect those from a batsman who has played international cricket for over 15 years!
 
Let see we have a legendary player(Malik) in our squad with an average of about 15 in last 20 years in England plus we have another hack who can't feild as well plus he is still probably suffering from her daughter death. So we should stick with hafeez & fakhar for the rest of tournament because both of these players are match winner on their day which neither malik nor asif ali is.
 
It seems ppl will not press the trigger until one of his soft dismissals costs us a game
 
Hawkeye said:
Suggesting a limited batsman like Rizwan for a dynamic strokemaker like Hafeez shows you have no idea what you're talking about.

Sure, Hafeez is old, and we need to find a replacement for him, but it's not Rizwan.

Hafeez is amazing vs pace and spin both, can play shots all around, accelerate. Rizwan can't do that, has very limited shots, struggles against pace, bounce, spin too.
Click to expand...

First of all, thank you for your condescending taunt in telling me I don't know what I'm talking about. Appreciate it very much.

Secondly, to suggest that a batsman who averages 30 across a long career is 'amazing' at anything other than mediocrity is in itself deluded. Hafeez's struggles against pace are well known (Steyn says hi) and his dismissals against Finch, Kane Williamson and Markram say a lot about his recent performances against spin. Today when we required simple strike rotation, Hafeez got bogged down putting pressure on himself and on Harris, before being giving his wicket away. This was yet another failure in a long run of failures.

Even on the one occasion Hafeez performed in the World Cup, against England, it came after a shocker from Jason Roy when he dropped an absolute sitter which Hafeez had skied.

So please, Rohit Sharma he is not.

Contrast this with Rizwaan. Coming into the World Cup, Rizwaan, like Harris, scored multiple hundreds against Australia and showed great skill and technique. I accept that Rizwaan doesn't necessarily have the power game but his strike rate of 89.09 at an average of 49 is 2019 is a country mile ahead of the so called professor. In a batting line up that can struggle to chase 228 against Afghanistan, the decision to play Hafeez in place of Rizwaan is just as bonkers as the decision to play Malik in place of Harris.
 
What's been annoying is he's actually been decent enough against the better bowlers...

As has been raised already...his dismissals have been cheap ones for the most part...ppl mention England but he looked relatively comfortable against Australia too...

Of what we have he is our best option...but as with most on here we would be better served replacing him after this WC...
 
He should thank his friend Inzi for not even picking another middle order batsman in the squad. We have to play either him or Malik. If the choice is between these two then Hafeez is the obvious pick. I would bring in Rizwan as a middle order option going forward I hear he is in UK as backup.
 
Usman said:
It is a travesty Mohammed Rizwan has been in England all this time doing nothing but watching team Pakistan. He should have been in the squad and should have been playing in place of Hafeez.
Click to expand...
Riizwan is a very poor cricketer!
Set your standards higher!!!
 
Syed1 said:
He should thank his friend Inzi for not even picking another middle order batsman in the squad. We have to play either him or Malik. If the choice is between these two then Hafeez is the obvious pick. I would bring in Rizwan as a middle order option going forward I hear he is in UK as backup.
Click to expand...
Suggest a name.
 
shaykh said:
What's been annoying is he's actually been decent enough against the better bowlers...

As has been raised already...his dismissals have been cheap ones for the most part...ppl mention England but he looked relatively comfortable against Australia too...

Of what we have he is our best option...but as with most on here we would be better served replacing him after this WC...
Click to expand...
What people fail to understand is hafeez and fakhar are expected to score quick, so that imam, babar and haris can bat at their 85 sr!
 
Sadly we don't have a suitable replacement In the squad so got no choice to play him. Batting position is way to high for him needs to be batting at 6 or 7
 
Hawkeye said:
Suggesting a limited batsman like Rizwan for a dynamic strokemaker like Hafeez shows you have no idea what you're talking about.

Sure, Hafeez is old, and we need to find a replacement for him, but it's not Rizwan.

Hafeez is amazing vs pace and spin both, can play shots all around, accelerate. Rizwan can't do that, has very limited shots, struggles against pace, bounce, spin too.
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You are 100% correct sir!
Why do so many of our fans not see this?!!
I think alot of pak fans are quite ignorant about the sport or live in a fantasy world!
At this moment in time, the only middle order batsman in the whole of pakistan, who should have been selected was umar akmal, but not for hafeez, for malik!
The likes of saud shakeel and other youngsters, were not ready for this wc. After this wc, we can try these new kids out , to see if they are any good.
Hafeez should do the decent thing and retire after this wc, hopefully as a world champion, inshaAllah!
 
This has been the story of his career - performs in one game then goes missing for next 6. He should bat at 6 and after the wc - bye bye.
 
He can still deliver. We have to hope Fakhar and Hafeez fire as we asking too much of Babar and Harris.
 
He has performed appealingly. When the team needed him, he has failed barring the England game. The only problem is that Asif Ali is similarly inconsistent.
 
The Viper said:
He has performed appealingly. When the team needed him, he has failed barring the England game. The only problem is that Asif Ali is similarly inconsistent.
Click to expand...
Comparing asif ali to hafeez is like comparing ford fiesta to a ferrari!
(Hafeez being the ferrari, obviously!)
 
The other options are Asif Ali and Sohaib Malik, Asif Ali is average while Malik has been poor. However Hafeez should be batting 6, he is a much better batsman in the death overs.

My lineup with Hafeez at 6:

1. Imam Ul-Haq
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed
6. Mohammed Hafeez
7. Imad Wasim
8. Shadab Khan
9. Wahab Riaz
10. Mohammad Amir
11. Shaheen Shah Afridi
 
THe way i see it, Hafeez thinks of himself as ABDV in peak form lol SO he thinks whatever he does with bat will come off.
 
He can't be dropped at this stage. But the team management should ask him to bat at 6. That's the only place he can be utilised.
 
Bits and pieces cricketer

I'm 100% sure we will improve once Hafeez goes from our team after the WC. He has been such bad influnce, he represents lack of ambition and mediocrity.
 
He is awful and I would roll the dice and replace him with Asif , but that won’t happen cause EXPERIENCEEEEEEEEE

So instead I would slap the ego out of the Professor and drop him to 6 move Haris to 4 , Sarfraz at 5.

The Professor does best when he doesn’t have to think and can just slog
 
IAJ said:
This mentality has really hampered Pakistan cricket. You have guys who perform every 10th game and ypu keep them in the side. Imran Farhat, Nazir, Afridi, Hafeez, Malik and few more have done more harm than good to Pak cricket. They have kepr deserving youngsters out of the team.

In this WC Hafeez has let the team down many times. The shots he has has got out to, you don’t expect those from a batsman who has played international cricket for over 15 years!
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It's a bandaid solution bro.

I was against Hafeez and Malik being even selected fir the world cup. Niw that find ourself in this mess I don't thunk there is a better alternative than Hafeez. Malik has failed throughout out.
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
He is awful and I would roll the dice and replace him with Asif , but that won’t happen cause EXPERIENCEEEEEEEEE

So instead I would slap the ego out of the Professor and drop him to 6 move Haris to 4 , Sarfraz at 5.

The Professor does best when he doesn’t have to think and can just slog
Click to expand...

Asif will hit a six and then get out. At least Hafeez can bowl
 
Can't kick him out at this stage as the replacements are just as poor if not worse. The best solution is that Hafeez and Sarfraz swap positions. What's the point of Sarfraz coming down when we require a hitter, and when Hafeez comes into bat we're almost always required an accumulator. Such an easy solution to two problems: Hafeez and Sarfraz.
 
Usman said:
First of all, thank you for your condescending taunt in telling me I don't know what I'm talking about. Appreciate it very much.

Secondly, to suggest that a batsman who averages 30 across a long career is 'amazing' at anything other than mediocrity is in itself deluded. Hafeez's struggles against pace are well known (Steyn says hi) and his dismissals against Finch, Kane Williamson and Markram say a lot about his recent performances against spin. Today when we required simple strike rotation, Hafeez got bogged down putting pressure on himself and on Harris, before being giving his wicket away. This was yet another failure in a long run of failures.

Even on the one occasion Hafeez performed in the World Cup, against England, it came after a shocker from Jason Roy when he dropped an absolute sitter which Hafeez had skied.

So please, Rohit Sharma he is not.

Contrast this with Rizwaan. Coming into the World Cup, Rizwaan, like Harris, scored multiple hundreds against Australia and showed great skill and technique. I accept that Rizwaan doesn't necessarily have the power game but his strike rate of 89.09 at an average of 49 is 2019 is a country mile ahead of the so called professor. In a batting line up that can struggle to chase 228 against Afghanistan, the decision to play Hafeez in place of Rizwaan is just as bonkers as the decision to play Malik in place of Harris.
Click to expand...



Well said Usman. Shocked to read Hawkeye an amazing shot maker. LOL. He performs once every 5matches and somehow he is automatic selection. At #4, a busy player like Rizwan is a good option. Agreed that he can't bat at #6(like Hafeez can, but doesn't want to), but in middle overs he can go run a ball w excellence in the field
 
Shaddy86 said:
Can't kick him out at this stage as the replacements are just as poor if not worse. The best solution is that Hafeez and Sarfraz swap positions. What's the point of Sarfraz coming down when we require a hitter, and when Hafeez comes into bat we're almost always required an accumulator. Such an easy solution to two problems: Hafeez and Sarfraz.
Click to expand...

Agree! I often wonder about them stepping in wrong roles. Don't know why Sarfraz thinks that he can slog it every time he step in while Hafeez can score 30+ for all games.
 
He’s a mediocre player and I’ve been saying that for many years, we knew exactly what comes with this ‘superstar’ at least 2 World Cups ago - simply not good enough to perform with the bat against quality bowling attacks and time and again he’s shown he does not perform in pressure situations - so what’s he good for, other then bowling a few economical overs here and there with the ball, just to get runs against teams with lesser bowlers on flat batting wickets?

Nothing new - he’s been a passenger all along.
 
The Professor's main skills are to time the ball extremely well directly into the fielder's hands. He will always give you a chance. The team management should tell him to go and get an attractive 40 and he would have done his job. The others around him (Babar, Imam, Haris etc) can do bulk of the scoring. I seriously hope no one is expecting the Prof. to rack up a 100! Oh, and changing the line up now will be too risky.....it's not like some amazing options are sitting on the bench - Shoaib Malik was barely able to buy a run....
 
I am annoyed by his failure to take responsibility and overall inconsistency, but I feel he cannot be dropped.
He is the best all rounder in the team at the moment.
You don't expect him to produce a good knock, so when he makes a 50 at a decent SR it is very beneficial to the team.
It seems so far you are either seeing tracks which guarantee a score of 300+ in this WC or those tracks which are favouring spin, so either way Hafeez is useful. If the ball is gripping he will be useful against left handers.

He is not performing with the bat because he is not playing his natural game. He needs to be told that he can play freely without taking pressure.
 
mak36 said:
Excluding his innings vs England, Hafeez is averaging 24 in six innings this World Cup. More worryingly, the nature of his dismissals have been soft and more often than not have needlessly triggered a collapse. He has repeatedly failed to take any responsibility despite the fact he is a veteran of some 200 ODIs. Given his refusal to bat lower down the order (where he is actually suited) surely it is finally time he was given the “Malik treatment” and shown the door for the game vs Bangladesh?
Click to expand...

remember .. even vs england ... he was dropped at 14 ... so that could have been a failure story
 
we are stuck with him as replacement of him (Asif Ali) is even more useless as Asif is a liability in the field, cant bat and also haffez has 6/7 overs in him ... so ...
after world cup, following people should be fired to earn a spot
1) Umar Amin
2) Khushdil Shah
3) Ifthikhar Ahmad
4) Saud Shakeel
5) Ahsan Ali ( Quetta Gladiators)
6) Umair Saddiq (Multan Sultan)
 
pakistanigoneaussie said:
His quota can easily be covered by Haris
Click to expand...

Harris doesn’t seem to be bowling much. Maybe knew I don’t know. But an off spinning all rounder is a must in the team. Until one turns up we will always keep going back to hafeez no matter how much the fans want us to move in from him. I expect we will be adding to this thread in the 2023 World Cup.
 
The only way Hafeez will be dropped from the team is when he retires which will hopefully be after the tournament. Hafeez for know could only play is maybe as an opener instead of Fakhar with Asif coming in for Fakhar.
 
I would stick with Hafeez.
Yes he’s got out to bad shots but has contributed in a couple of crucial partnerships in small but tricky run chases...

If we get a decent track we may get one of his crucial free flowing knocks that takes our score from competitive to outright dominant..

His bowling is also crucial and I would have bowled him more yesterday with the older ball..
 
Usman said:
First of all, thank you for your condescending taunt in telling me I don't know what I'm talking about. Appreciate it very much.

Secondly, to suggest that a batsman who averages 30 across a long career is 'amazing' at anything other than mediocrity is in itself deluded. Hafeez's struggles against pace are well known (Steyn says hi) and his dismissals against Finch, Kane Williamson and Markram say a lot about his recent performances against spin. Today when we required simple strike rotation, Hafeez got bogged down putting pressure on himself and on Harris, before being giving his wicket away. This was yet another failure in a long run of failures.

Even on the one occasion Hafeez performed in the World Cup, against England, it came after a shocker from Jason Roy when he dropped an absolute sitter which Hafeez had skied.

So please, Rohit Sharma he is not.

Contrast this with Rizwaan. Coming into the World Cup, Rizwaan, like Harris, scored multiple hundreds against Australia and showed great skill and technique. I accept that Rizwaan doesn't necessarily have the power game but his strike rate of 89.09 at an average of 49 is 2019 is a country mile ahead of the so called professor. In a batting line up that can struggle to chase 228 against Afghanistan, the decision to play Hafeez in place of Rizwaan is just as bonkers as the decision to play Malik in place of Harris.
Click to expand...

Rizwan scored 2 hundreds against Aus and was not selected for the WC tells you a story, those hundreds are meaningless. Rizwan is a walking wicket once the ball goes past 85mph in England, also terrible player of spin. Zero balance when playing strokes should go back to tapeball cricket where it doesn't matter!
 
He's on his last legs in this world cup, but at this stage we have to go with him. After it's over obviously he, and the other old timer Malik need to make way. Both still look physically fit, but neither of them have the reflexes they once had against the quick bowlers, or even to react against sharp spin.
 
IMMY69 said:
I would stick with Hafeez.
Yes he’s got out to bad shots but has contributed in a couple of crucial partnerships in small but tricky run chases...

If we get a decent track we may get one of his crucial free flowing knocks that takes our score from competitive to outright dominant..

His bowling is also crucial and I would have bowled him more yesterday with the older ball..
Click to expand...

This

Also he’s batting too high up the batting order
He’s the only middle order batsmen we have that can pinch hit
 
Should have been dropped in 2011 after his appalling shot in the SF and 8 years on,this perennial failure is still here. Him and Malik are dreadful players who have been given long ropes with little or no evidence to justify their selection. No other country would have picked these losers for so long.
 
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chacha kashmiri said:
This

Also he’s batting too high up the batting order
He’s the only middle order batsmen we have that can pinch hit
Click to expand...

Said this before in the match threads, but Haris is far better suited to coming in at 4, Hafeez should be coming in at 5 or 6.
 
chacha kashmiri said:
This

Also he’s batting too high up the batting order
He’s the only middle order batsmen we have that can pinch hit
Click to expand...

I’ve said it before in other threads, ideally you want him coming in after 30 overs..
Suhail could come in ahead of him but not sure you want to mess with his position, he seems best at number 5 so maybe Safaraz comes at 4 if we’re 2 down in the first 30 odd overs.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Said this before in the match threads, but Haris is far better suited to coming in at 4, Hafeez should be coming in at 5 or 6.
Click to expand...

Hafeez can in theory hit spinners but as with with many theories practicals from Finch, Markram etc have got in the way.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Said this before in the match threads, but Haris is far better suited to coming in at 4, Hafeez should be coming in at 5 or 6.
Click to expand...


I think Suhail has found his right place at number 5...
Though I think 4,5 & 6 should be flexible
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Said this before in the match threads, but Haris is far better suited to coming in at 4, Hafeez should be coming in at 5 or 6.
Click to expand...

I reckon haris should bat as high up the order as he can
Same with sarfraz, we don’t score enough singles in the first 25 overs especially in the power plays
 
IMMY69 said:
I’ve said it before in other threads, ideally you want him coming in after 30 overs..
Suhail could come in ahead of him but not sure you want to mess with his position, he seems best at number 5 so maybe Safaraz comes at 4 if we’re 2 down in the first 30 odd overs.
Click to expand...


Hafeez should come on when the slog is on
Whether that’s after 30 or 40 overs

We keep putting him as a consolidator and that’s obviously not his natural game which is why he’s always in two minds when he gets out on a ridiculous shot
 
chacha kashmiri said:
Hafeez should come on when the slog is on
Whether that’s after 30 or 40 overs

We keep putting him as a consolidator and that’s obviously not his natural game which is why he’s always in two minds when he gets out on a ridiculous shot
Click to expand...

Yes so 4,5 & 6 should be flexible..
 
IMMY69 said:
Yes so 4,5 & 6 should be flexible..
Click to expand...

I don’t think we have an actual game plan at the minute once fakhar gets out
We wing it as much as possible and don’t know whether to retreat or hit out
Flexibility is good as long as there’s a current plan and an end goal
 
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