What's new

Mohammad Hafeez vs Shoaib Malik - Who is better?

Even if I have to compare what they have achieved so far, Malik would score ahead.
Hafeez is the government servant equivalent of a cricketer. He will take all actions that define a cricketer without ever achieving anything of note.

I think the way you go harsh on Hafeez (I do too), it was totally unexpected for me that you'll actually root for Malik.

The reasons we don't rate Hafeez are:
- Inability to perform against quality attacks specially outside Asia/When the ball is moving
- Mentally a bit fragile

Let's honestly assess Malik as well.

He's far worse. Both when it comes to batting and bowling. Always been someone who has occasionally performed on dead tracks against mediocre attacks (in his PRIME). Couldn't do that either for the last 6 years.

On the other hand, Hafeez is by far one of the most FREE-FLOWING batsman in the Pakistani team. When he clicks, he's a beauty to watch. His stroke-making ability is immaculate and timing almost perfect. Can accelerate without taking risks.

Malik don't have the same ability. He can't accelerate straight away, nor is a good stroke-maker like Hafeez. Struggles against pace as well, and obviously a bunny against good quality attacks.

In bowling, again Hafeez is ahead.

We can have only so much of these bits and pieces cricketers. If I had to choose one, I'll blindly go for Hafeez in LOIs. A (relatively) quality utility cricketer for LOIs.
 
Malik started his career in the 90s and played for a prolific team. Even after that he played in Inzi's era and was pretty good back then. What he struggles with is that pressure of being the main middle order batsman and hence he has struggled in the latter part of his career.

Hafeez in terms of wins has not achieved as much as Malik but he is the far superior bowler, especially in ODIs where he manages to keep his economy under 5 on a very consistent basis. As batsmen I would say Hafeez is marginally better but since his comeback has been very good. As most of our batsmen he struggles against the moving ball and against some of the better bowlers in the world but does very well in subcontinent and the UAE and is actually our most valuable player in ODIs. I wish we would use him as a lower order bat but its unlikely.

Malik has a better cricketing brain and fielding skills though/
 
Malik never was a superstar even before 2009. I think Hafeez, with his pre ban bowling action, was a slightly better all round package than Malik. Hafeez's bowling was better than Malik which gives him an edge over Malik especially during pre ban days.
 
Currently if Malik continues his good bowling and batting form then he can beat Hafeez easily.
 
Shobby is way better than hafeez. Malik's Batting and fielding is way better. Bowling is probably at the same level.
 
Yet he complained to the PCB that Umer Akmal has an attitude problem and got him ousted from the team. Same thing he did with Shehzad - he was a rising player who enjoyed the best form in his career under Misbah from 2013-2015 yet he tried to rid of him as well.

Remember the 2013 CT - he played Asad Shafiq, Imran Farhat and Nasir Jamshed in the same lineup :facepalm:

To this day, I have still not understood why Misbah did not advocate for Azhar Ali's selection once Hafeez got injured right before the 2015 WC? Yet he asked for Nasir Jamshed of all people lol! What was the logic behind that??

Misbah may have been a respectable person who presented himself well off the field but was a poor tacticial and strategist and an even worse eye for talent...

He did no such thing. Misbah was present at a Geo Super analysis show, along with Afridi, and he clarified that Akmal and Shehzad are good boys that have done nothing to disrupt the dressing room. They were dropped for their cricketing indiscipline, not their character.

As for all your other points, Misbah is not the only voice in selection matters and his is not the most influential one either. The only players that Misbah has gone out of his way to call up have been Shoaib Malik and Saeed Ajmal. The rest were decisions made by the entire selection panel.

You predicted that he won't be anywhere near the team, but he's back and not going anywhere any time soon. Him returning after the World Cup in a post-Misbah and Afridi would was inevitable, so my assessment was a lot closer than yours. He's not the captain but he's in the team, and not in wilderness like you said.

As far as captaincy is concerned, there is a decent possibility that he will take over in T20s next year.

He wasn't in the team post-WC. He got in after the PCB picked the wrong youngsters for the Bangladesh series and decided that going back to TTF's is the right way to proceed. Him getting dropped again has better odds than him being captain at this point.

I doubt the PCB will keep any of the older players in the T20 team, after the next T20 WC.
 
well, really? He has said it a thousand times that his first priority is to play for pak

At that time he had given an interview that I am not enjoying playing for PAK or something along those lines. He has been very determined to get back into the team after the WC, however.
 
I'll say it's per-immature thread at this point. Let not get ahead of ourselves, simply because, Hafeez has just cleared his action and yet to be seen how effective he'll be, going forward. Same goes for Malik, because he needs to prove himself against better sides.

In batting Malik is easily better than him. However, still has to be seen against higher rank oppositions how does he perform.

I reckon if Malik can bowl economically, then it's a simple choice.

Furthermore, if Hammad performs both with bat and ball, then he can be fifth bowling option with Malik. This way also, no need for Professor.
 
I'll say it's per-immature thread at this point. Let not get ahead of ourselves, simply because, Hafeez has just cleared his action and yet to be seen how effective he'll be, going forward. Same goes for Malik, because he needs to prove himself against better sides.

In batting Malik is easily better than him. However, still has to be seen against higher rank oppositions how does he perform.

I reckon if Malik can bowl economically, then it's a simple choice.

Furthermore, if Hammad performs both with bat and ball, then he can be fifth bowling option with Malik. This way also, no need for Professor.

How is Malik easily better than him in batting? There's not a lot of daylight between the two of them right now. Malik is historically even worse against top teams than Hafeez.
 
Rediculous comparison.

What are we going to compare Hafeez and Bradman?

Come to think of it, did Bradman ever score a century against Zimbabwe?
 
Joke thread. Hafeez on song is one of the best sights to watch in cricket. Malik is just plain dreadful to see bat even when he's having one of those field days against the likes of Zimbabwe. Hafeez has been the best batsman in Pakistan since last 5 years. Much better performances than overhyped youngsters like Akmal, Shehzad, Maqsood and Haris.
 
On current form, it's Malik.

By formats, in tests it would always be Hafeez, however in LOIs, I would take the one that is performing best at the moment (which is Malik atm).
 
One century and this is suddenly up for debate.

hafeez played his best cricket of life from 2010-2015 while as malik played his worst in the same period . Now malik has scored one century suddenly he becomes saviour of Pakistan cricket
 
hafeez played his best cricket of life from 2010-2015 while as malik played his worst in the same period . Now malik has scored one century suddenly he becomes saviour of Pakistan cricket

Dude he was arguably the best allrounder in the world in that period, and now this. :facepalm:
 
hafeez played his best cricket of life from 2010-2015 while as malik played his worst in the same period . Now malik has scored one century suddenly he becomes saviour of Pakistan cricket

It's just the Don Malik fan club. They finally have something to cheer about after 6-7 years.

Hafeez scored 3 back to back centuries not long ago against SL, someone like Malik can only dream of doing that.
 
This is a question that needs to be answered.

There is one spot at number 5 (Hafeez should not open long term) and one of them is defo needed as 6th bowling option.

Nobody in their right mind can say that Malik's batting has been better for the last 5 years, and nobody in their right mind can saying Maliks bowling has been better either.
If people here are trying to say that it is pure malik fanboyism and hatred for hafeez.

The only reason this question is even legitimate now is we do not know how Hafeez the bowler will be after action change and Hafeez I think is reluctant to bat at number 5, whereas has somehow become the man in possession
 
It is pointless comparison. As i have always said in the past, Hafeez is in the team because of his bowling, his watta bowling to be precise. Since that is gone, Hafeez has nothing else to offer. He is hardly a batsman, mostly suited for minnow teams to score runs.

On the other hand, Shoaib Malik was a world class batsman amongst Inzimam and Yousuf from 2004-2008. He played a lot of valuable innings against quality teams in the past. Most ppers who have followed since 2008 and above might not be familiar with the past work of Shoaib Malik is understandable. It was a matter of time before Shoaib Malik finds his old-form back; however, how that long that may take, in this case took more than five years.

The runs he had scored against Zimbabwe not because of Zimbabwe, rather due to confident which allowed him to play those shots naturally as he had been playing in those leagues, coming from someone who had been following those leagues very closely. He will play those shots against test-playing nations since he is beginning to regain the confident, and naturally, all the shots will come naturally. He is a not kind of player who feast on minnow team to average 50, and there is the reason why he is not known for minnow teams which his average against minnow teams attest to that.

In the long run, Shoaib Malik will play vital role for Pakistan including ODI WC because he is proven performance in the bigger tournament despite of his recent failure in Champion Trophy, but in most ICC tournaments, he had always been there for Pakistan whereas the world-class batsmen failed due to under pressure.

So, Shoaib Malik over Mohammad Hafeez anyday!
 
At that time he had given an interview that I am not enjoying playing for PAK or something along those lines. He has been very determined to get back into the team after the WC, however.

He established the point before the wc that he wants to play the wc but despite his outstanding performance in the pentangular cup(which was labelled as the road to worldcup) he was not selected.
 
How is Malik easily better than him in batting? There's not a lot of daylight between the two of them right now. Malik is historically even worse against top teams than Hafeez.

I simply went to Cricinfo and compare their record from positions 1-4. You can do the same, and then analyze who's better.

It's no brainer man.
 
You hve your answer tonight,

Malik better as bowler, fielder, captain and a husband.
 
From now on they real competition starts but now Malik have edge as Haffez is banned from bowling. Malik is in good form as is Hafeez now Malik still can bowl few over where as Hafeez can't. So i guess now Malik is marginally ahead.
 
If we want to get objective about the whole thing: malik's batting average is higher than hafeez (this despite hafeez playing non-stop 4 years at the peak of his powers) and hafeez averages better with the ball by virtue of an illegal action.

only one of them will be playing 6 months from now. neither have soft bowling attacks to hide behind.
My personal view is that with hafeez will fold, considering his well documented history of buckling when facing quality opposition.
Its not to say Malik is superb, its just that Hafeez is pretty weak mentally.
 
Its not to say Malik is superb, its just that Hafeez is pretty weak mentally.

Nope, the mentally weak award goes to Malik. Absolutely horrible record in ICC events and World Cups.

You're always defending him no matter what, despite him being a poor performer than Hafeez, who has scored the bulk of our team runs in the last 2 years, whereas Malik had been failing for the last 6 years.
 
Nope, the mentally weak award goes to Malik. Absolutely horrible record in ICC events and World Cups.

You're always defending him no matter what, despite him being a poor performer than Hafeez, who has scored the bulk of our team runs in the last 2 years, whereas Malik had been failing for the last 6 years.

what do you want me to say the numbers show it pretty clearly.
 
Nope, the mentally weak award goes to Malik.

Not true:
Filter both players for their performance in tournaments over their career (> 2countries tournament):
Hafeez batting average: 25.33
Malik Batting average: 35.11
 
Malik definitely has the edge. Hafeez has been selfish and an opportunistic player throughout. He is very aware about his stats and tried his best to preserve and pad them when he was captain. I've seen countless matches where he would bowl opening spells to to lower his economy and then take him self off when batsmen would start accelerating, only then to bring himself back on to once a wicket falls.
Those that think Hafeez is a better bat overlook the fact that he's been batting in the top 3 even though he doesn't deserve to. He as a captain and senior player had the power to move down the order and give better bats a chance but again stats matter to him. Malik on the other hand due to his versatility, since debut has played where and when the team wanted him to hence has never had a stable position.
 
Malik has a terrible average in England in ODIs like 8 or something. Even Kulasekara averages more I think.

Taking him to England for champions trophy and world cup could prove to be a mistake.
 
Malik has a terrible average in England in ODIs like 8 or something. Even Kulasekara averages more I think.

Taking him to England for champions trophy and world cup could prove to be a mistake.

If he keeps playing like he is right now, then considering the type of pitches in England these days, I think he'll be successful
 
If he keeps playing like he is right now, then considering the type of pitches in England these days, I think he'll be successful
Maybe.

But i would rather have him than Hafeez who goes limp at the first sight of Steyn or pressure.

Malik, for all his issues, batted very well in the Lankan series and is doing the job of the finisher well. Let's see if he keeps it up.
 
Malik has done it against India. In the 2004 series I believe he scored 3 ODI centuries dont know whether they were back to back.
 
There's no denying Hafeez has been far better over the last 5 years. Now with Hafeez banned for a year, his competition is stiffer.
 
Shoaib malik a former captain a superstar before 2009 was thought to be the next big thing but unfortunately he lost that touch which he had in his early career
Mohammd hafeez a late bloomer who secured his place in team at the age of 30 a former t20 captain a good off spin bowler n batsman just like malik
now my question whos better in odis malik has scored 5490 runs at an average of 32.67 at a s/r of 78 in 193 innings with 7 centuries and 31 fifties. while in bowling he averages 36 with 141 wickets.
Now coming to Mohammad hafeez he averages close to 31 and has scored 4338 runs at a s/r of 72 with 9 centuries and 21 fifites. While in bowling he has taken 122 wickets at an average of 35.
So who's the better all rounder ??

Hafeez was the better Allrounder, He is now banned for year from bowling and will always be a target for Umpires. Malik's bowling is now pretty useless. Azhar Ali and Harris Sohail are better Part time Spinners than Shoaib Malik.
 
Malik definitely has the edge. Hafeez has been selfish and an opportunistic player throughout. He is very aware about his stats and tried his best to preserve and pad them when he was captain. I've seen countless matches where he would bowl opening spells to to lower his economy and then take him self off when batsmen would start accelerating, only then to bring himself back on to once a wicket falls.
Those that think Hafeez is a better bat overlook the fact that he's been batting in the top 3 even though he doesn't deserve to. He as a captain and senior player had the power to move down the order and give better bats a chance but again stats matter to him. Malik on the other hand due to his versatility, since debut has played where and when the team wanted him to hence has never had a stable position.

Regarding Hafeez, It is harder to bat up the order than down the order. And it is also hard for a spinner to bowl with the new ball. It takes a very skill full spinner to open the bowling. He has been very successful against left handers and is mostly bought into attack when a left hander comes to bat. Malik the bowler is rubbish he gets no respect from opposition. He gets no wickets and bowls half trackers. Malik was good once, when he used to bowl doosras before ICC declared them Illegal.
 
In batting: Shoaib Malik averages 177 in the current series while Hafeez averages 59.

In bowling: Shoaib Malik can bowl. :jf
 
Both had different peaks but were match winners on their best days

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
 
In batting: Shoaib Malik averages 177 in the current series while Hafeez averages 59.

In bowling: Shoaib Malik can bowl. :jf

Don't be too harsh on him.

The average will be back up to 200 as soon as we play Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England.
 
In batting: Shoaib Malik averages 177 in the current series while Hafeez averages 59.

In bowling: Shoaib Malik can bowl. :jf

Hafeez has scored MORE RUNS than Shoaib Tendulkar in the SAME number of matches.

Give a read on how averages are calculated - not outs are not counted, hence the inflated average. Hafeez did better than Malik.
 
Hafeez does not have a good average against a single strong bowling team - 18 vs Oz, 26 vs NZ, 19 vs SA. Malik is significantly better - 23 vs Oz, 25 vs NZ, 37 vs SA inspite of playing more in the previous decade when it was decidedly harder to score compared to the present. Both are bullies of weak teams, but Malik has scored tough runs in the past. Malik also has a significantly higher strike rate, especially against strong teams. Hafeez is a better bowler though.
 
To think at Pakpassion's inception the debates used to be about Imran Vs Miandad and Waim Vs Waqar.
 
Hafeez does not have a good average against a single strong bowling team - 18 vs Oz, 26 vs NZ, 19 vs SA. Malik is significantly better - 23 vs Oz, 25 vs NZ, 37 vs SA inspite of playing more in the previous decade when it was decidedly harder to score compared to the present. Both are bullies of weak teams, but Malik has scored tough runs in the past. Malik also has a significantly higher strike rate, especially against strong teams. Hafeez is a better bowler though.

This will give you a better picture of who is mentally + technically weaker:

Malik averages:
- 8 in England
- 3 in New Zealand
- 48 in SA
- 24 in Aus

Hafeez averages:
- 24 in England
- 36 in New Zealand
- 16 in SA
- 24 in Aus

What this shows:

- Both are poor against quality bowling and the moving ball
- Shoaib Malik is absolutely woeful.
- Hafeez isn't as bad - does not average in single digits anywhere! :D


Hafeez's initial years were quite bad, but for the last 2 years, he has been averaging around 44-45 and consistently scoring runs for us. Of course, both are liabilities overseas or against the moving ball.
 
This will give you a better picture of who is mentally + technically weaker:

Malik averages:
- 8 in England
- 3 in New Zealand
- 48 in SA
- 24 in Aus

Hafeez averages:
- 24 in England
- 36 in New Zealand
- 16 in SA
- 24 in Aus

What this shows:

- Both are poor against quality bowling and the moving ball
- Shoaib Malik is absolutely woeful.
- Hafeez isn't as bad - does not average in single digits anywhere! :D


Hafeez's initial years were quite bad, but for the last 2 years, he has been averaging around 44-45 and consistently scoring runs for us. Of course, both are liabilities overseas or against the moving ball.
Malik Hafeez
Australia 25.08 17.75
South Africa 36.94 18.88
England 14.3 24.68
New Zealand 25.18 26.31
West Indies 38.5 34.16
India 49.51 44
Sri Lanka 35.15 41.41
Zimbabwe 36.66 73.77
Bangladesh 25.08 25.07

Looks like Malik for the most part. But hafeez does counter with a strong performance against the mighty Zimbabweans
 
This will give you a better picture of who is mentally + technically weaker:

Malik averages:
- 8 in England
- 3 in New Zealand
- 48 in SA
- 24 in Aus

Hafeez averages:
- 24 in England
- 36 in New Zealand
- 16 in SA
- 24 in Aus

What this shows:

- Both are poor against quality bowling and the moving ball
- Shoaib Malik is absolutely woeful.
- Hafeez isn't as bad - does not average in single digits anywhere! :D


Hafeez's initial years were quite bad, but for the last 2 years, he has been averaging around 44-45 and consistently scoring runs for us. Of course, both are liabilities overseas or against the moving ball.

In ODIs, overseas performances are not as scrutinized as they are in tests. Average of 48 in SA is damn impressive.
 
In ODIs, overseas performances are not as scrutinized as they are in tests. Average of 48 in SA is damn impressive.

Ask this from these two, specially Malik. He was like a headless chicken under lights in the England Champions Trophy.

48 is indeed good, but then Hafeez has tons in New Zealand too. Average of 8 and 3 is horrible though - simply unacceptable.
 
Looks like Malik for the most part. But hafeez does counter with a strong performance against the mighty Zimbabweans

Hafeez has been dominating Sri Lanka, India and Zimbabwe.

Malik has dominated none, was good against India early in his career.

Malik averages 8 and 3 in Eng, NZ - Hafeez hasn't been this mediocre anywhere.

Be objective, who'd you pick?
- A batsman who totally dominates a few teams and is average against the others.
OR
- A batsman who is horrible against most of the teams and is good against a few, dominates none?

This is how their careers have been till this point. Malik seems to have turned a corner and is starting to perform against the teams Hafeez has been bullying for years.
 
Hafeez has been dominating Sri Lanka, India and Zimbabwe.

Malik has dominated none, was good against India early in his career.

Malik averages 8 and 3 in Eng, NZ - Hafeez hasn't been this mediocre anywhere.

Be objective, who'd you pick?
- A batsman who totally dominates a few teams and is average against the others.
OR
- A batsman who is horrible against most of the teams and is good against a few, dominates none?

This is how their careers have been till this point. Malik seems to have turned a corner and is starting to perform against the teams Hafeez has been bullying for years.

So what you are saying is that Hafeez spent the last 4 years doing the admirable work of getting to Malik's level against the weaker attacks. Meaning he, after 4 years is where malik was 4 years ago.

And during this 'golden phase of hafeez", in which Malik has played decidedly lesser odi's (his own fault), he has been unable to beat Malik's average vs. south africa, west indies, australia, and India.

That makes for pretty sad reading for a guy who has played almost consecutively for 4 or more years.

So yeah, how is he better than Malik again?
 
Hafeez vs. Malik: The better batsman?

Hafeez was obviously the better bowler, but when it comes to batting, the choice is again quite easy for me.

He has been one of our top scorers in the last 5 years, and has done really well in both ODIs + Tests since the last year, scoring against all good attacks.

Taking into account opening is much harder, he must be applauded.

Malik, for the last 19 years, has struggled to impress with his batting and it remains to be seen if his resurgence in ODIs is a false dawn or not, like his Test come back.

Take your pick!
 
Will never be satisfied with either. But Malik has had too many chances. His successes against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe were no surprise. That's how these guys make comebacks. They score against small teams on docile tracks and end up stuck in the team for the next 2 years. Rinse and repeat :farhat
 
I will take Malik over in ODIs Hafeez under pressure, especially if I am chasing a total.

In Tests, they play at different positions, so a comparison cannot be established.
 
Not only mentally stronger but also far more skilled. Root is a joke of a batsman compared to these two legends.
 
I will take Malik over in ODIs Hafeez under pressure, especially if I am chasing a total.

In Tests, they play at different positions, so a comparison cannot be established.

Really? Hafeez has an absolutely terrific record at #3 in ODIs - scores big, bats till the end, has made us win more times in the last 4 years than Malik in the last 19.

Still, it's your choice and if you want Malik, you're welcome, good for me that I'll get to pick Hafeez. ;-)

He scored 3 tons in just one series against SL. Got many more where he won it for us.
 
Really? Hafeez has an absolutely terrific record at #3 in ODIs - scores big, bats till the end, has made us win more times in the last 4 years than Malik in the last 19.

Still, it's your choice and if you want Malik, you're welcome, good for me that I'll get to pick Hafeez. ;-)

He scored 3 tons in just one series against SL. Got many more where he won it for us.

Good for you. I like Hafeez but he's the last player in the team I will back under pressure.
 
Good for you. I like Hafeez but he's the last player in the team I will back under pressure.

The first one to fall under pressure will be Malik, lol. He has an atrocious record for big matches, specially ICC events.

The ranking of bottlers is as follows:
- Malik
- Ahmed Shehzad (bottled only 2 WCs so far, couldn't beat 19 years of bottling by Malik)
- Hafeez
 
Good for you. I like Hafeez but he's the last player in the team I will back under pressure.

In all honesty, they're both pretty similar under pressure. Hafeez isn't exactly a pushover once the spinners start bowling and he's already set. But, Hafeez is more likely to survive pace bowling early on in his innings than Malik
 
^^ Malik is a better chaser than Hafeez. That for me is the biggest test for an ODI batsman, and what brings out the best/worst in you.
 
In Test matches, none to be honest. When a player is in form, can do miracles like Malik's 245 or 148*; but neither is good Test player.

In ODI, I 'll ick Malik any day over MoHa. Malik is going through a bad patch for last few years while MoHa was in high, therefore the comparison looks balanced, but 2003-2009, both stat comparison was almost opposite to what is between 2011 to 2015. If I take best 5 years of both, Malik actually stands far ahead.
[MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION] - I explained once why Malik is not a minnow basher & he doesn't bolt under pressure; still waiting for your response.
 
Back
Top