Muhammad Irfan Khan vs Donovan Ferreira: a case study of two emerging lower order power-hitters

[Rana]

Both have recently started to feature for their countries at the number 6-7 spot with the role of the hitter/finisher. Both good ball strikers. Ferreira able to access more of the ground with a stronger off-side game in comparison to Irfan, whereas Irfan is an absolute gun in the field. 100% he is better than Ferreira in this respect.

Considering both players have to bat in a position where failures are far more likely, which makes their selection very difficult as we have seen in the case of Irfan being discarded by Pakistan….what South Africa are eventually going to get right in the case of Donovan is by increasing his utility in the side as a useful bowling option. Ferreira has been opening the bowling for his SA T20 side at times, and is also trusted with overs through the middle.

For Irfan Niazi, his utility is to cause an impact in the match through a game changing moment in the field if his batting doesn’t come off at the back end. This clearly hasn’t been valued as Pakistan have opted for Khushdil Shah for his role instead (who adds the utility with the ball+left arm option). Maybe Irfan must add a 5-10 over bowling option in order to enhance his career, or he will always have a sword hanging above his head just like Asif Ali and Haider Ali?

 

[jnaveen1980]

England has some lusty hitters down the order.

 

[pratiktc]

Role clarity is important. And it is critical that these players are playing same role in their domestic/league level as well.

The likes of David Miller and Pollard were given clear mandates and expectations on how to go about their roles. Despite hot and cold runs, their teams (intl and franchise) persisted with them and it made those teams all the more stronger.

We see Aus and India now trying to do same with Tim David and Rinku. NZ have also given Philips and Chapman similiar commissions and allowed them high failure rates.

England haven't been able to identify a gun closer since Morgan/Stokes left so they have traded quality for quantity (i.e. having 2-3 multi skilled hitters between #6-#9. It has not worked out well for them in the last 2 years.

The teams that are falling behind in T20Is - Pak, SL and Bangla all have similiar weaknesses in that none of their intl #5-#8 players plays these roles in domestic or league level. You cant pick a franchise #4 and tell him to become a #7 finisher everytime he puts on a green shirt

 

[Nikhil_cric]

England has some lusty hitters down the order.

Donovan Ferreira is a Saffer.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Donovan Ferreira is a Saffer.

I know.. saw SA20. I say most teams have lusty hitters down the order. India is the only one that has been stuck with Jadeja for a decade.

 

[Rana]

For me the biggest disappointment was Irfan Niazi and how he looked absolutely clueless like a number 11. Static feet.

This is the kind of player pro RizBar fans and journalists push and shove down our throats because he comes from the red-ball fc circuit with runs under his belt.

What the bloody hell was he doing last night???? Where are your adaptability skills when you have a red ball fc average of 45???

 

[Mobashir]

For me the biggest disappointment was Irfan Niazi and how he looked absolutely clueless like a number 11. Static feet.

This is the kind of player pro RizBar fans and journalists push and shove down our throats because he comes from the red-ball fc circuit with runs under his belt.

What the bloody hell was he doing last night???? Where are your adaptability skills when you have a red ball fc average of 45???

First class numbers are very important for every batsman.
To be a good T20I batsmen you don't necessarely need to average 45+ in first class but Still you need a decent average (depending on the country).

Then you also need to understand numbers, but given your lack of knowledge regarding a game you love I don't think you will be able to analyse numbers.

In case of Irfan Khan, his first class numbers don't give us enough information weather he can bat or not because he has just 28 innings with 7 not outs in it and Just one hundred. So, even tough the average is very good at 45.57 there is no guarantee yet that he can bat.

 

[Rana]

but given your lack of knowledge regarding a game you love I don't think you will be able to analyse numbers

Oh I can analyse some numbers,

804

1000 years in jail.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Niazi is not a power hitter yet. He's a good middle order batter with high potential. He can turn into power hitter. But right now he needs stable position to get some runs and time so that he can get that confidence going.

 

[Major]

When people with lack of knowledge make threads.

First time ever i am seeing a player being critsized because he has good avg in first class cricket.

Just so you know, irfan niazi is the most trending player currently

 

[Rana]

Just so you know, irfan niazi is the most trending player currently

For what???

 

[mominsaigol]

Niazi is not a power hitter yet. He's a good middle order batter with high potential. He can turn into power hitter. But right now he needs stable position to get some runs and time so that he can get that confidence going.

He's just not a whiteball player.

Typically your stats in domestic do reflect how well you'll do in international. Obviously this is not the case all the time and infact in Pakistan it's likely gonna fall flat 24/7, similar to Usman khan avg 75 in List A but I highly doubt he'll become an international odi legend, but you can somewhat assess.

For example Agha before his international debut was a gun player of Fc and list A with 40+ avg in both and in List A batting at a 95+ SR and it reflects in his international career but he was always rubbish in t20 before his international debut.

Same was the case with haris sohail and others.

Niazi is good in fc and I wouldn't mind him playing FC. Our test is down in the dumps and I'd happily take him in our test squad. Given babar's declining test career, it wouldn't be a bad idea to try niazi for a few games since he typically hats at 4 in FC.

But his List A and t20 career just doesn't paint a bright picture.

 

[Rana]

Just so you know, irfan niazi is the most trending player currently

@topspin

 

[mominsaigol]

When people with lack of knowledge make threads.

First time ever i am seeing a player being critsized because he has good avg in first class cricket.

Just so you know, irfan niazi is the most trending player currently

The most trending news at the moment is Pakistani players going unsold in the 100 and the most trending player atm is ironically rizwan atm since talks are on and about his drop from t20 cricket and whether it was the correct decison or not, followed by babar being 2nd.

No one is talking about niazi? No one on twitter, Instagram etc is bringing him up, Norway is he viewed as some emerging talent, infact khawaja Nafay due to tiktok antics and saim ayub due to injury are hottest topics atm? If you look up Google news last topic about niazi is from 24 Nov 2024?

Where are you getting this Niazi is most trending from?

 

[Rana]

Where are you getting this Niazi is most trending from?

He thinks Sui Gas is Pakistan

 

[topspin]

@topspin

Major on X "My beloved Misbah would never have picked him because he has a thing for old experienced men"

 

[Rana]

Major on X "My beloved Misbah would never have picked him because he has a thing for old experienced men"

@Mobashir has to come to the aid of a fellow Niazi of his hero Niazi

 

[Xoib]

I like him I think he has good ish talent but will our system is strong enough to develop him well enough I don’t believe so

 

[Mobashir]

@Mobashir has to come to the aid of a fellow Niazi of his hero Niazi

I'm not surprised by your lack of understanding of everything.

I wasn't defending Irfan Khan, I was Just explaining you that his first class numbers are not enough to judge him.

Actually, I don't rate him highly at the moment.
Should be playing domestic cricket for the time being.

 

[Rana]

I'm not surprised by your lack of understanding of everything.

I wasn't defending Irfan Khan, I was Just explaining you that his first class numbers are not enough to judge him.

Actually, I don't rate him highly at the moment.
Should be playing domestic cricket for the time being.

His fc numbers are highly pertinent to the discussion currently. Unfortunately you do not have the intellectual capacity nor wisdom to understand the issue at hand.

If he needs to carry on playing more domestic cricket, then who needs to be playing for Pakistan? I hope I don’t find any post of yours bashing Aqib Javed or Mohsin Naqvi criticising him for not picking Niazi for the CT squad.

Tere jaiso se achi tarha waqif hoon.

 

[Mobashir]

His fc numbers are highly pertinent to the discussion currently. Unfortunately you do not have the intellectual capacity nor wisdom to understand the issue at hand.

If he needs to carry on playing more domestic cricket, then who needs to be playing for Pakistan? I hope I don’t find any post of yours bashing Aqib Javed or Mohsin Naqvi criticising him for not picking Niazi for the CT squad.

Tere jaiso se achi tarha waqif hoon.

Actually I don't post much anymore. But I am baffled by your lack of IQ so sometimes I can't resist and try to explain you the game a little.

 

[Rana]

Actually I don't post much anymore. But I am baffled by your lack of IQ so sometimes I can't resist and try to explain you the game a little.

Don’t worry about me. I can and always will handle myself. Explain the game to yourself or discuss it with your fellow mates here.

 

[Mobashir]

His fc numbers are highly pertinent to the discussion currently. Unfortunately you do not have the intellectual capacity nor wisdom to understand the issue at hand.

If he needs to carry on playing more domestic cricket, then who needs to be playing for Pakistan? I hope I don’t find any post of yours bashing Aqib Javed or Mohsin Naqvi criticising him for not picking Niazi for the CT squad.

Tere jaiso se achi tarha waqif hoon.

Maybe you will understand a one liner better.
Irfan Khan's first class numbers ample size is not enough so we can use them for anything.
For him or against him.

 

[Rana]

Maybe you will understand a one liner better.
Irfan Khan's first class numbers ample size is not enough so we can use them for anything.
For him or against him.

Chal phir give me a one liner

Who plays if he doesn’t?

 

[Major]

There there rana. Your logic failed to day when pakistan was 14 for 4.

Now you are trying to cope with these threads.

 

[Major]

The most trending news at the moment is Pakistani players going unsold in the 100 and the most trending player atm is ironically rizwan atm since talks are on and about his drop from t20 cricket and whether it was the correct decison or not, followed by babar being 2nd.

No one is talking about niazi? No one on twitter, Instagram etc is bringing him up, Norway is he viewed as some emerging talent, infact khawaja Nafay due to tiktok antics and saim ayub due to injury are hottest topics atm? If you look up Google news last topic about niazi is from 24 Nov 2024?

Where are you getting this Niazi is most trending from?

Im not talking about twitter. Im talking about in pakistani cricket cirlces

 

[Asad T]

Both have recently started to feature for their countries at the number 6-7 spot with the role of the hitter/finisher. Both good ball strikers. Ferreira able to access more of the ground with a stronger off-side game in comparison to Irfan, whereas Irfan is an absolute gun in the field. 100% he is better than Ferreira in this respect.

Considering both players have to bat in a position where failures are far more likely, which makes their selection very difficult as we have seen in the case of Irfan being discarded by Pakistan….what South Africa are eventually going to get right in the case of Donovan is by increasing his utility in the side as a useful bowling option. Ferreira has been opening the bowling for his SA T20 side at times, and is also trusted with overs through the middle.

For Irfan Niazi, his utility is to cause an impact in the match through a game changing moment in the field if his batting doesn’t come off at the back end. This clearly hasn’t been valued as Pakistan have opted for Khushdil Shah for his role instead (who adds the utility with the ball+left arm option). Maybe Irfan must add a 5-10 over bowling option in order to enhance his career, or he will always have a sword hanging above his head just like Asif Ali and Haider Ali?

For what it's worth, Ifti had that bowling option and that's probably what kept him in the side longer than he would have otherwise

 

[topspin]

Actually I don't post much anymore. But I am baffled by your lack of IQ so sometimes I can't resist and try to explain you the game a little.

This is rich coming from someone who used to claim Babar > Kohli.