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Name your starting ODI XI for Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Saud
Iftikhar
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf
 
I will definitely make changes to the squad

Fakhar out for Saim Ayub as back up opener
Fahim Ashraf out Imad wasim In
Shadab

Abdullah Shafique
Imaam Ul Haq
Babar Azam
Saud Shakeel
Rizwan
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Usama Mir/abrar Ahmed
Shaheen
Arshad Iqbal
Rauf

Zaman Khan
Abrar Ahmed
Nawaz/Shadab
Saim Ayub
Agha Salman


Reserves
muhammed Haris

This is based upon the first game in which Naseem won't recover from his injuries.
 
If haris is batting at 7 who's going to be the 5th bowler.

I want the whole team axed 😂. Fakhar, Imam, rizwan, agha, shadab, faheem, chacha. I want all of them gone.

Only keep babar but remove him from captaincy.

We need Abdullah and saim to open, Babar at 3, saud shakeel at 4, Tayyab at 5, imad waseem at 6, haris at no 7. 8,9,10,11 our bowling trio and abrar. 3 pace, 2 spin . To not injure out trio, Ihsanullah and arshad iqbal rotation needed and usama as backup for abrar.

Everyone else, they need to leave ASAP. But that won't happen.
 
As much as everyone is literally crying for it Babar is not going to give up the captaincy . It’s a shame because he’s a well liked player but the more this goes on the more people will start to despise him.
 
As much as everyone is literally crying for it Babar is not going to give up the captaincy . It’s a shame because he’s a well liked player but the more this goes on the more people will start to despise him.
He is a good batsmen. He's overrated at that non1 spot, but he is still a good batsmen no doubt about that, and it would be dishonest to say that he isn't.

But he's an accumulator who's good at fast, very good against medium, and average against spin. He is not the 2nd coming of kholi like people believe.

However despite being a good batsmen, he's an abysmal captain. He's the type of guy to never change the team because it is the winning 11, and then this winning 11 gets butchered eventually and panic mode sets in because the bench strength didn't get games in and hence is raw and exposed, this is why rotsting bench strength is required.

In 2021 t20 world cup, Babar kept and kept playing hasan Ali, despite hasan Ali being the worst bowler due to drop in form, however because shaheen was holding his hand through the cup, hasan got games in solely cause he's the winning 11 combo. This resulted in Shaheen getting injured against aus which cause chacha to bowl and get tonked as well as hasan coating us the game and dropping a catch.

In terms of bowling, he let's sides recover because even though our bowling trio is ripping apart a team, they must wait and be relegated tonthe side cause their quota is complete and we must allow shadab to bowl and recover opposition.

This guy is a worse captain then misbah, Misbah was nepotistic and loved his buddies over genuine players and adopted a 1990 philosophy. But atleast misbah knew how to rotate bowlers defend Low totals and go in for the kill when the opposition is collapsed.
 
He is a good batsmen. He's overrated at that non1 spot, but he is still a good batsmen no doubt about that, and it would be dishonest to say that he isn't.

But he's an accumulator who's good at fast, very good against medium, and average against spin. He is not the 2nd coming of kholi like people believe.

However despite being a good batsmen, he's an abysmal captain. He's the type of guy to never change the team because it is the winning 11, and then this winning 11 gets butchered eventually and panic mode sets in because the bench strength didn't get games in and hence is raw and exposed, this is why rotsting bench strength is required.

In 2021 t20 world cup, Babar kept and kept playing hasan Ali, despite hasan Ali being the worst bowler due to drop in form, however because shaheen was holding his hand through the cup, hasan got games in solely cause he's the winning 11 combo. This resulted in Shaheen getting injured against aus which cause chacha to bowl and get tonked as well as hasan coating us the game and dropping a catch.

In terms of bowling, he let's sides recover because even though our bowling trio is ripping apart a team, they must wait and be relegated tonthe side cause their quota is complete and we must allow shadab to bowl and recover opposition.

This guy is a worse captain then misbah, Misbah was nepotistic and loved his buddies over genuine players and adopted a 1990 philosophy. But atleast misbah knew how to rotate bowlers defend Low totals and go in for the kill when the opposition is collapsed.

It’s like you read my mind agree with everything you said . With regard to Misbah il cut him a little slack as he took over right after that controversy
 
It’s like you read my mind agree with everything you said . With regard to Misbah il cut him a little slack as he took over right after that controversy
Misbah was nepotistic and selfish but had excellent game awareness and didn't injure anyone

Babar is nepotistic, selfish, clueless and has made it his sole mission to have shaheen, Rauf and naseem die on the battlefield.
 
I keep flip-flopping, but this is where I'm at now:

Saim / Fakhar
Imam / Shafique
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Haris
Usama
Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf

You need one aggressive batter up front alongside the accumulators, and since Fakhar is so out of form and never actually attacks the powerplay, it can only be Saim. It's probably too early for him but Fakhar has forced my hand because he can't hit a barn door right now.

Obviously the biggest issue is that Iftikhar is the 5th bowler. You can put another bowler there in place of Haris (or Rizwan) if you like, but this XI above gives us the best chance of chasing 300+. And I don't care about logic, I believe in Iftimania. The guy can do it all and he outbowled everyone against SL so let me dream.
 
I keep flip-flopping, but this is where I'm at now:

Saim / Fakhar
Imam / Shafique
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Haris
Usama
Shaheen
Naseem
Rauf

You need one aggressive batter up front alongside the accumulators, and since Fakhar is so out of form and never actually attacks the powerplay, it can only be Saim. It's probably too early for him but Fakhar has forced my hand because he can't hit a barn door right now.

Obviously the biggest issue is that Iftikhar is the 5th bowler. You can put another bowler there in place of Haris (or Rizwan) if you like, but this XI above gives us the best chance of chasing 300+. And I don't care about logic, I believe in Iftimania. The guy can do it all and he outbowled everyone against SL so let me dream.
I don't think we should be considering Saim based on his CPL exploits. He's looked pretty ordinary when he has played international cricket and hasn't featured at all in the ODI team. It's not really fair to tell him to open in India on debut in the WC. Hopefully he'll be there for 2027 but for now it's between Fakhar and Abdullah for me for that vacant opening slot.

Saud is a good batsman but i have real concerns about his power game. He will need to bat extraordinarily well given his lack of six hitting ability. I'm also not sure about his ability to innovate and find gaps.

There really isn't any way Chacha can be guaranteed 10 overs a game. Teams will target him. If Usama is coming in at 8 we don't even have a long batting line up to make up for this shortfall in bowling.
 
I don't think we should be considering Saim based on his CPL exploits. He's looked pretty ordinary when he has played international cricket and hasn't featured at all in the ODI team. It's not really fair to tell him to open in India on debut in the WC. Hopefully he'll be there for 2027 but for now it's between Fakhar and Abdullah for me for that vacant opening slot.

Saud is a good batsman but i have real concerns about his power game. He will need to bat extraordinarily well given his lack of six hitting ability. I'm also not sure about his ability to innovate and find gaps.

There really isn't any way Chacha can be guaranteed 10 overs a game. Teams will target him. If Usama is coming in at 8 we don't even have a long batting line up to make up for this shortfall in bowling.
Saim is a good attacking player so we can afford to keep him up the order because if he stays at the crease for 5 to 6 overs he can certainly change the momentum of the game in no time.

Saud is a batsman who can play run a ball because the position on which he bats doesnt demand hard hitting so he can play his natural game and can play an anchor role in middle.
 
I want the whole team axed 😂. Fakhar, Imam, rizwan, agha, shadab, faheem, chacha. I want all of them gone.

Only keep babar but remove him from captaincy.

We need Abdullah and saim to open, Babar at 3, saud shakeel at 4, Tayyab at 5, imad waseem at 6, haris at no 7. 8,9,10,11 our bowling trio and abrar. 3 pace, 2 spin . To not injure out trio, Ihsanullah and arshad iqbal rotation needed and usama as backup for abrar.

Everyone else, they need to leave ASAP. But that won't happen.
All you have done is shown that you easily fall victim to the myth that all players out of the side would be an improvement to what we have.

If i'm not mistaken this is what you are trying to say:
Abdullah Shafique > Imam
Saim Ayub > Fakhar
Saud Shakeel > Salman Agha
Tayyab Tahir > Chacha
Mohammad Haris > Rizwan
Imad Wasim > Nawaz
Abrar > Shadab

Statistically you are wrong in all departments except possibly Shakeel. But Salman Agha bowls which is why he was groomed for India. Salman has also hit more sixes in international cricket than Saud has hit in his entire List A career.

I understand people are frustrated by the loss to India but this sort of reactionary and emotional thinking does more harm than good.
 
All you have done is shown that you easily fall victim to the myth that all players out of the side would be an improvement to what we have.

If i'm not mistaken this is what you are trying to say:
Abdullah Shafique > Imam
Saim Ayub > Fakhar
Saud Shakeel > Salman Agha
Tayyab Tahir > Chacha
Mohammad Haris > Rizwan
Imad Wasim > Nawaz
Abrar > Shadab

Statistically you are wrong in all departments except possibly Shakeel. But Salman Agha bowls which is why he was groomed for India. Salman has also hit more sixes in international cricket than Saud has hit in his entire List A career.

I understand people are frustrated by the loss to India but this sort of reactionary and emotional thinking does more harm than good.
Bhai I'm tired of these statistical arguments. By this logic imam ul haq is better then inzi will ever be, even though inzi played in conditions and against bowlers that imam could ever dream of playing.

I am not falling victim to anything, stat padding against 2nd string teams on flat wickets means nothing.

Abdullah already performs 10x better then imam in test. Imam can't even make it to the psl due to his lack of 6 hitting abilities. How many games have you given to Golden boy Imam compared t Abdullah? Before these games, they weren't even letting Abdullah open lol.

Saim ayub has scored 3 consequecrove back to back half centuries against good bowlers and has a more compact technique. Your Mr statistics fakhar can't even score against Nepal now adays so don't educate me on who's better atm.

Saud shakeel is infinitely better then Agha, Agha has scammed his way to thay 38/40 average by bullying a 2nd string NZ team something even chacha was doing. Remind me what Agha has done this Asia cup? Saud is better then Agha, he just hasn't been given a golden boy treatment and is forced to play out of position to accommodate rizwan.

Yes tayyab is better then chacha, Chacha ain't doing anything against 2nd string sides, one look at chacha and you know he can't read wrist spin nor handle quality Death bowling like stark or Hazelwood, he had an extremely poor LPL run.

Rizwan > Haris but rizwan is a medicore accumulator, we already have 3 at the top being medicore and a non existent middle order. We need a no 7 finisher unless you want shadab to hog that spot.

Imad waseem stats are inflated because you played him against 2018/2019 England and England tonked him alot, including that 444 game, where everyone got tonked. Batting wise have nawaz go not out and score multiple half centuries against woakes, Wood, Archer, Pnlunket, Rashid and moeen Ali and then we'll talk. Imad dismantled a 2nd string NZ last we played against them, Shadab in the 11 did nothing. Zero impact.

Brother don't advocate shadab in any sentence. Even you know full well you're just being dishonest if you think shadab is > Abrar. Shadab is the worst spinner in international cricket atm barring minnows. Don't show statistics to me or play that statistics game, by this logic babar is the best batsmen of all time and superior to lholi due to statistics.
 
Need middle over bowlers who can actually take wickets otherwise Pakistan will face lot of trouble in the World Cup.

Bowling of Iftikhar is a big plus, now we need at least one front line spinner in the team for that middle over period, as of now best suited might be Abrar/Usama.

Should also bring back Hasan Ali if he recovers before World Cup for Mohammed Wasim Jr who doesn't look like taking wickets now.

Playing XI

1) Abdullah Shafique
2) Imam Ul Haq
3) Babar Azam (C)
4) Mohammed Rizwan (Wk)
5) Saud Shakeel
6) Iftikhar Ahmed
7) Imad Wasim
8) Hasan Ali (Until Naseem is injured)
9) Shaheen Afridi
10) Abrar Ahmed
11) Haris Rauf

Subs

12) Fakhar Zaman
13) Shadab Khan
14) Naseem Shah
15) Zaman Khan

Reserves

16) Mohammed Haris
17) Agha Salman
18) Usama Mir
19) Mohammed Wasim Jr
 
“To be prepared is half the victory.”

We need to still believe that we can reach the World Cup semi-finals. Anything less than that will not be acceptable for Pakistan fans.

Bowling
With Naseem Shah out of the World Cup and Shaheen only 60% fit, we absolutely need to bring Imad Wasim & Mohammad Amir in the squad. With Imad you will get 5 tight overs with the new ball with the possibility of one or two wickets. Shaheen cannot bowl more than 3 overs with his current fitness. Amir will be your first change bowler and hopefully will keep things in check with his cutters and 135 kph pace. Haris Rauf will be your second change bowler. Unfortunately we cannot kick out Shadab on the eve of World Cup and so the fifth bowler will be covered by Shadab & Iftikhar.

Batting
There is absolutely no need to panic. I would back the opening combo of Fakhar & Imam, followed by Babar. The team management’s love affair of Rizwan needs to end. I would stick Abdullah Shafique at number 4 with Rizwan at number 5. Iftikhar is your solid number 6.

The bench would be:
Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Agha, Zaman Khan & M Haris
 
So just to summarise the squad looks as follows:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Abdullah Shafique
5. M Rizwan
6. Iftikhar Ahmed
7. Imad Wasim
8. Shadab Khan
9. Shaheen Afridi
10. M Amir
11. Haris Rauf

12. Zaman Khan
13. M Haris
14. Salman Agha
15. M Nawaz
 
With no time left to experiment i'm not going for any left field selections hoping for miracles. The management planned poorly but we are where we are. Assuming Naseem Shah is out then i am picking the following.

Imam
Fakhar (i feel there's no other choice as time has run out)
Babar (c)
Abdullah Shafique
Rizwan (wk)
Chacha
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen
Rauf

I am happy with this team. There is variety in the bowling (off spin, leg spin, left arm orthodox) and Hasan Ali has the experience to do a risible job in replacing Naseem with the new ball. He also makes the tail look longer.

This team isn't winning anything so maybe it's conservative. But i hope we do well enough to stave off humilation.
 
With no time left to experiment i'm not going for any left field selections hoping for miracles. The management planned poorly but we are where we are. Assuming Naseem Shah is out then i am picking the following.

Imam
Fakhar (i feel there's no other choice as time has run out)
Babar (c)
Abdullah Shafique
Rizwan (wk)
Chacha
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen
Rauf

I am happy with this team. There is variety in the bowling (off spin, leg spin, left arm orthodox) and Hasan Ali has the experience to do a risible job in replacing Naseem with the new ball. He also makes the tail look longer.

This team isn't winning anything so maybe it's conservative. But i hope we do well enough to stave off humilation.
I'd be happy with that, except Fakhar and Hasan Ali.

Hasan is just not that guy anymore in white-ball, has not been for a long time. In 27 ODIs since (and including) the Asia Cup 2018, the guy averages 58. With the ball. At this point he can be classified as a TTF. I would rather take a punt on a bowler who actually has potential for the future like Ihsanullah/Zaman Khan. Besides if you're taking Imad, you can give him the new ball, because he can't bowl anywhere else.

And Fakhar is just a walking wicket right now, totally useless. I'd put Saud at 4, push Shafique to open. He may be more limited but he's a proper player of spin, and he won't be getting single figures every single match.
 
Should have the following but will get something else probably,

Abdullah
Fakhar/Imam
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Ifitkhar
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Haris
Zaman Khan

I would take the Aamir but he doesn’t seem like a popular choice. If Hasan Ali fitness is good he could be helpful. Unfortunately too many if and buts, Abrar could add some mystery having got some English batsmen out recently.
That would May be mean drop fakhar and Shadab. Does Babar have the guts?
 
My Playing Xi for WC

1- Fakhar (unfortunately)
2- Imam ul haq
3- Babar Azam
4- Saud Shakeel
5- Chacha Iftikhar
6 - Rizwan (WK)
7 - Imad waseem
8 - Abrar
9 - Shaheen
10- Haris
11 - Ihsanullah / Zaman / Hasnain / Dahani
 
With our first match against the Netherlands, I would vouch for this XI:

1. Mohammad Rizwan (c) (wk)
2. Saim Ayubi (young-star)
3. Mohammad Haris (young-star)
4. Babar Azam (stat-padding)
5. Fakhar Zaman (try-out)
6. Iftikhar Ahmed (uncle)
7. Shadab Khan
8. Abrar Ahmed (wildcard)
9. Zaman Khan (training)
10. Shahnawaz Dahani (backup)
11. Haris Abdul Rauf
 
Fakhar Zaman
Rizwan Ahmed (wk)
Babar Azam
Iftikhar Ahmed (vice captain)
Umar Akmal
Azam Khan
Imad Wasim (captain)
Mohammad Hasan
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Aamir
Abrar Khan


Reserves :-
Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Sarfraz Khan, Shadab Khan
 
Haris
Shafiq
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Ifti
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Rauf
Amir

Saud
Abrar
Zaman
Wasim jr

Pak should go with a solid middle order, which means Imam bats at 3 and everyone moves down one batting position.

Shafiq opens with Haris, both are youngsters and should be backed, if they anyone of them does not perform then swap with Saud and move Imam back to opening.
 
Anyone having Imam and RIZWAN in the batting lineup means they don’t understand what our problems are.

Imam
Rizwan
Fakhar (no form)
Shadab

These players have to go, or we’ll keep wasting time trying to become a formidable side.

These players are not going to win you matches against good quality opposition. They’re only good for 220-250 totals.

The top 4 should be:

1. Saim Ayub
2. Haris (+)
3. Babar
4. Saud Shakeel/other fluent batter

Quality spinner should play in place of Shadab. Imad Wasim is no solution and needs to be kept out. Nawaz has no place in the team either. Bits and pieces players have haunted us for a long time.
 
There will not be many changes to be honest at best you will see Abdullah in place of Fakhar and Zaman Khan to replace injured Nasim. Faheem will be dropped.
 
Anyone having Imam and RIZWAN in the batting lineup means they don’t understand what our problems are.

Imam
Rizwan
Fakhar (no form)
Shadab

These players have to go, or we’ll keep wasting time trying to become a formidable side.

These players are not going to win you matches against good quality opposition. They’re only good for 220-250 totals.

The top 4 should be:

1. Saim Ayub
2. Haris (+)
3. Babar
4. Saud Shakeel/other fluent batter

Quality spinner should play in place of Shadab. Imad Wasim is no solution and needs to be kept out. Nawaz has no place in the team either. Bits and pieces players have haunted us for a long time.

When did Rizwan become a problem.
He’s the most reliable batter in that time after Big Bobby
 
When did Rizwan become a problem.
He’s the most reliable batter in that time after Big Bobby

He's a problem because he struggles big time vs. any decent bowling.

And a huge liability whenever you want to score or chase over 250 totals.

He eats a huge chunk of balls upfront when he does score anything over 50, and does not have that extra gear to hit when required.

Scores useless, impact-less runs - basically a stat-padder.
 
When did Rizwan become a problem.
He’s the most reliable batter in that time after Big Bobby
In the imaginations, the only player who fights out and accelerates at the end after toughing it out the hard sessions. Has a decent Average and strike rate for ODIs especially for cricketer wise second skill is batting. Likes of Haris will never perform at the same level as Rizwan and we all know how good Sarfraz was in white ball cricket. Anyway his selection will not be an issue for two years atleast, so no point discussing him. Only debate can be had whether he should bat 4 or 5.
 
He's a problem because he struggles big time vs. any decent bowling.

And a huge liability whenever you want to score or chase over 250 totals.

He eats a huge chunk of balls upfront when he does score anything over 50, and does not have that extra gear to hit when required.

Scores useless, impact-less runs - basically a stat-padder.
I’ll take stat padders over non performers. The only non stat padder who actually performs is perhaps Babar in Pakistan. Rizwan also provides additional worth in keeping, especially compared to Sarfraz and Azam.

Haris is extremely raw with a too risky game. His stats in international cricket are looking awful. In domestic he’s not exactly that consistent either. It isn’t good to rack up failure like this when you aren’t ready. In fact his stats are already against him, few batsmen tend to recover after starts like this, often the guys who do cement their place get lucky with good performance at the start. It is much harder to mentally turn things around and way more pressure.

Rizwan is fine now. I am way more worried when Rizwan is too old and retired, what state will Haris be when he has to take over. He might be written off by then based on performances when he was younger and raw. Or we will go for the next 20 year old wicketkeeper who is not ready and fails and circle repeats itself. We mucked up with Kamran, by the time he toiled in domestic and improved and became one of the best batsmen there it was too late and he was written off. Instead he played most of his international games as the inferior batting version of himself.

Haris should be given a consistent position and only play t20s and solidify that place. Once he has done that we move to T20s. He is batting at 3 in t20s and at PSL now (he was moved down from opening In PSL as he was failing and then did better when moved to 3). So let him solely focus on that now. He is close to losing his place in the squads altogether with his record, so I see no reason to try and make it harder for him and give him more than he can handle, just let him concentrate on one thing for now.
 
Rizwan is a problem.

But there are bigger problems in the team at the moment and a batsmen who at least hits a 50 odd every once in a while should be least of our problems.

Imam and Babar dont have any gears besides gear three. This means if Pakistani bowlers have a difficult day and teams are scoring 320 plus, we can essentially kiss the game good bye. Imam has his own problems with gear 3. Babar has a gear 4, but he wont use it till he pads his way to a 100.

Fakhar is looking miserable but if you replace him with Abdullah, you have 3 batters of same gear. Rizwan by himself, might not be a problem but with the top 3 of Abdullah, Imam and Babar, he becomes a liability.

Imagine Pakistan are chasing 350.

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan

Can anyone say with a straight face, that the top 4 will be chasing it down?

You can add Saud Shakeel but he also plays slow for ODI and that makes a top 5 of

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Saud

Next batsmen is Iftikhar who also needs at least 15 minutes to settle down.

Shadab is the worst of the lot.

The top 7 of Pakistan can chase 280 and thats it.

If they go any faster, they will fall like a pack of cards.

In this situation, even if you KICK out Rizwan, you will NOT improve any result.
 
abdullah
imam
babar
saud
rizwan
ifthikhar
imad/nawaz
mir
rauf (if fit)/zaman khan
wasim jr
shaheen (if fit)/dahani

out with fahkar and shadab as both have been disappointing
haris is more of a t20 player but could be a rotation option
bowling unfortunately has been weakened, I think that's the best we can do with our current situation
 
Anyone having Imam and RIZWAN in the batting lineup means they don’t understand what our problems are.

Imam
Rizwan
Fakhar (no form)
Shadab

These players have to go, or we’ll keep wasting time trying to become a formidable side.

These players are not going to win you matches against good quality opposition. They’re only good for 220-250 totals.

The top 4 should be:

1. Saim Ayub
2. Haris (+)
3. Babar
4. Saud Shakeel/other fluent batter

Quality spinner should play in place of Shadab. Imad Wasim is no solution and needs to be kept out. Nawaz has no place in the team either. Bits and pieces players have haunted us for a long time.
You don’t make any sense. You want to remove Imam and Rizwan because they bat too slow but then go on to include Saud at 4. What a joke
 
Rizwan is a problem.

But there are bigger problems in the team at the moment and a batsmen who at least hits a 50 odd every once in a while should be least of our problems.

Imam and Babar dont have any gears besides gear three. This means if Pakistani bowlers have a difficult day and teams are scoring 320 plus, we can essentially kiss the game good bye. Imam has his own problems with gear 3. Babar has a gear 4, but he wont use it till he pads his way to a 100.

Fakhar is looking miserable but if you replace him with Abdullah, you have 3 batters of same gear. Rizwan by himself, might not be a problem but with the top 3 of Abdullah, Imam and Babar, he becomes a liability.

Imagine Pakistan are chasing 350.

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan

Can anyone say with a straight face, that the top 4 will be chasing it down?

You can add Saud Shakeel but he also plays slow for ODI and that makes a top 5 of

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Saud

Next batsmen is Iftikhar who also needs at least 15 minutes to settle down.

Shadab is the worst of the lot.

The top 7 of Pakistan can chase 280 and thats it.

If they go any faster, they will fall like a pack of cards.

In this situation, even if you KICK out Rizwan, you will NOT improve any result.
If you let opposition score 350, even if you are England you will lose 90 percentage of times. It makes no sense. PCT should play as per their strength which is to restrict teams to around 270 with a buffer of 30 runs which batsman might have to chase or make in an odd game.
 
No point debating about changes that will not happen, the settle and performing team players will not be changed even if they are slower than their counterparts in some of other international teams. Those teams have players who not only can play fast but also score regularly, our so called fast players have not been groomed properly and are too inexperienced to be tried in the world cup. An odd player can be tried like Siam for Fakhar in batting and Zaman/Abbas Afridi/Arshad for bowling especially with Naseem injured. Otherwise I see no changes in the team, as Babar is too stubborn not to include Nawaz or Shadab when Pakistan can replace either with Abrar or Usama.
 
If you let opposition score 350, even if you are England you will lose 90 percentage of times. It makes no sense. PCT should play as per their strength which is to restrict teams to around 270 with a buffer of 30 runs which batsman might have to chase or make in an odd game.

So the bowlers have to do it every time then.

The batsmen play in their comfort and enjoy their ride in the middle.

Do you see inherent flaw in this reasoning?
 
So the bowlers have to do it every time then.

The batsmen play in their comfort and enjoy their ride in the middle.

Do you see inherent flaw in this reasoning?
Bowling is our strength. You pick any tournament We win , it's always the bowling momentum with batting putting a big score in an odd game. We are not a team like England who I see opposite of Pak.
 
Bowling is our strength. You pick any tournament We win , it's always the bowling momentum with batting putting a big score in an odd game. We are not a team like England who I see opposite of Pak.
I back us to smash England and nz anytime anyday in KOs. Everytime.

It's aus and India I fear. India if we can get them 2 or 3 down then our chances of winning increases exponentially.

They have a weak tail.
 
Pakistan remind me a bit of Chelsea FC at the moment.

New coach, a few big names, a few youngsters, tactically all over the place and don't know their best XI.
 
If you let opposition score 350, even if you are England you will lose 90 percentage of times. It makes no sense. PCT should play as per their strength which is to restrict teams to around 270 with a buffer of 30 runs which batsman might have to chase or make in an odd game.
Lol this is very true. Give me a reliable batting team than can reliable get 270 or so and we will be able to work with it with our bowling.

What’s the point of selecting a batting team that plays at higher SR but unreliable with low averages on the ofshot they might score 350 now and again but will fail to post or chase 270 scores or under regularly.
 
When did Rizwan become a problem.
He’s the most reliable batter in that time after Big Bobby
In the imaginations, the only player who fights out and accelerates at the end after toughing it out the hard sessions. Has a decent Average and strike rate for ODIs especially for cricketer wise second skill is batting.

Ans:-
He eats a huge chunk of balls upfront when he does score anything over 50, and does not have that extra gear to hit when required.
This.
In our virtual semi final against SL, he was hitting balls that were way outside off to leg side for just 1s 2s. His hitting range is limited. He doesn't have 4th gear in reality. We shouldn't have batters of these types in fag end of innings.
He can be tried as an opener. He has around 50 avg with 130 SR in T20Is. If he opens with this mindset in ODIs, he can be really valuable replacement of Fakhar.

Haris should be given a consistent position and only play t20s and solidify that place. Once he has done that we move to T20s. He is batting at 3 in t20s and at PSL now (he was moved down from opening In PSL as he was failing and then did better when moved to 3)
It's plain wrong.
Babar wanted his favorite opening spot. That's why Haris was pushed down to 3. Saim batted at 3/4 in some matches, failed, & then got the chance to open. Saim & Haris could have been most dashing opening combo for PZ but Babar ruined the party. There's a reason KK released Babar.
 
So the bowlers have to do it every time then.

The batsmen play in their comfort and enjoy their ride in the middle.

Do you see inherent flaw in this reasoning?
This.
We should be dynamic, not overly reliant on 1 department.
Bowling is our strength. You pick any tournament We win , it's always the bowling momentum with batting putting a big score in an odd game. We are not a team like England who I see opposite of Pak.
World is progressing. India landed at moon. PRC, independence 1949, left us far behind. While we are still struck with old hypothesis.
It's true bowling is our strength, but we lack middle overs penetration & now we are without Naseem and Rauf*.
We need modern batters too.
Our strong bowling conceded 350+ & then backed it up by not defending 252. Against SL, our top 3 combined scored 85 runs @ SR of well under 80. We can't chase even 320 against decent bowling sides if we have all of Babar, Imam, A.Shafique, Rizwan & Saud etc in same XI. *We don't need bits & pieces players like Agha, but he played spin well in SL tests so he has some leeway alongside Saud.

Most indian grounds have flat pitches esp A'bad where we are playing India. Bangalore also has small ground. Then there's dew factor too at night. So we need batters who can post at-least 320+ consistently batting first.
 
Ans:-

This.
In our virtual semi final against SL, he was hitting balls that were way outside off to leg side for just 1s 2s. His hitting range is limited. He doesn't have 4th gear in reality. We shouldn't have batters of these types in fag end of innings.
He can be tried as an opener. He has around 50 avg with 130 SR in T20Is. If he opens with this mindset in ODIs, he can be really valuable replacement of Fakhar.


It's plain wrong.
Babar wanted his favorite opening spot. That's why Haris was pushed down to 3. Saim batted at 3/4 in some matches, failed, & then got the chance to open. Saim & Haris could have been most dashing opening combo for PZ but Babar ruined the party. There's a reason KK released Babar.
Haris was opening with Babar. Babar wanted to open of course but he chose Haris instead of Saim. Saim didn’t do that great at 3, Haris wasn’t great opening. Mid way in the tournament, Saim and Haris positions were switched, Saim opened instead of haris. Both did better after that.

It is likely next PSL that that continues.

Haris won’t be opening even in PSL as a result. Saim and Babar will. He won’t be opening in internationals either given Rizwan and Babar. Even at no.3 he has some performances in internationals. So he might as well just focus on accepting that no.3 position. He won’t get it in ODIs either with Abdullah now there.

It’s best for Haris to try and make no.3 his own, it’s an available position. He missed his opportunity to take the opening slot against Afghanistan. It was a difficult chance too, but I doubt he will get an opportunity to open again any time soon.
 
Haris was opening with Babar. Babar wanted to open of course but he chose Haris instead of Saim. Saim didn’t do that great at 3, Haris wasn’t great opening. Mid way in the tournament, Saim and Haris positions were switched, Saim opened instead of haris. Both did better after that.

It is likely next PSL that that continues.

Haris won’t be opening even in PSL as a result. Saim and Babar will. He won’t be opening in internationals either given Rizwan and Babar. Even at no.3 he has some performances in internationals. So he might as well just focus on accepting that no.3 position. He won’t get it in ODIs either with Abdullah now there.

It’s best for Haris to try and make no.3 his own, it’s an available position. He missed his opportunity to take the opening slot against Afghanistan. It was a difficult chance too, but I doubt he will get an opportunity to open again any time soon.
Means you r replacing Babar with haris for the 1 down position?

What are the achievements of haris to make such move?
 
Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Salman
Nawaz/shadab
Afridi
Rauf
Abrar
Zaman
 
So he might as well just focus on accepting that no.3 position. He won’t get it in ODIs either with Abdullah now there.
Abdullah, Imam, Babar, Rizwan & Saud/Agha will not be there for long. All our Top 5 have 70---90 SR range.

If Haris plays and scores some runs in domestic List A cup as an opener & in PSL as an opener (obv. in another team), PCB will be forced to insert him as an opener.

It's clear from early signs that he is much better against pace and poor against spin. So, he should be played as an opener or as no.6 finisher. He can't be thrusted in MO against spin.
 
Means you r replacing Babar with haris for the 1 down position?

What are the achievements of haris to make such move?
No I said he should only play no.3 in t20s. He shouldn’t play ODIs. Even in PSL if Babar wants to open he opens, it’s not wrong at all that Haris or Saim has to drop from opening spot.
 
ABDULLAH SHAFIQUE (NO FAKHAR WE NEED PLAYERS WITH FRESH MIND)
IMAM UL HAQ
BABAR AZAM
SAUD SHAKEEL
MUHAMMAD RIZWAN
IFTIKHAR AHMED
SHADAB
USAMA MIR
ARHSAD IQBAL (WE WILL BALL WICKET TO WICKET ON GOOD LENGTH. STOP BOWLER) LACKING GOOD LENGHTH BOWLER FROM LAST 3 YEARS
SHAHEEN SHAH AFRIDI
HARIS RAUF
 
WC XI based on Asia Cup squad
  1. Imam / Abdullah
  2. Fakhar / Rizwan
  3. Babar
  4. Saud
  5. Chacha (6)
  6. Haris
  7. Shadab (5)
  8. Wasim jnr (2)
  9. Shaheen (1)
  10. Abrar (4)
  11. HarisR / Arshad Iqbal / Zaman K (3)

Rizwan has no game to play at 5.
His opening stats in T20Is are really good for ODIs 50avg 120SR, he should open with T20 mindset. He is ideal candidate to replace Fakhar if TM has enough of Fakhar. In ideal world Rizwan/Fakhar & Saim would be a better opening combo.

Wasim jnr has good nip-baker & he is skiddy. SC pitches demand skiddy pacers. He also has reverse swing. He will also elongate batting marginally. He can be a good replacement of Naseem.

Abrar or any other specialist spinner is a must.
Stats of Usama Mir & Shadab K are just similar in ODIs/ListA. Mir bowled worse than Shadab vs Afg. He is a strict No for me. Abrar's stats are much better.



If Eng selectors get the chance to select our WC XI, they would surely select something like this:-

Saim Ayub
Haris
Babar
Tayyab Tahir / Kamaran G
Qasim Akram (5.1)
Chacha (6)
Shadab (5.2)
Wasim jnr (2)
Shaheen (1)
Abrar (4)
HarisR / Arshad Iqbal (3)
 
I hope I'm wrong but I get the feeling like this may go the same way as 2007 World Cup... Asif and Akhtar getting banned and going into the tournament with a very weak bowling line up
 
You don’t make any sense. You want to remove Imam and Rizwan because they bat too slow but then go on to include Saud at 4. What a joke
Rizwan is a much bigger problem. He does not have the range of shots and fluency in batting the likes of Saud, Babar and Kohli do. Natural technique!
They can accelerate or do good placement once they’re set. RIZWAN cannot.
 
Rizwan is a problem.

But there are bigger problems in the team at the moment and a batsmen who at least hits a 50 odd every once in a while should be least of our problems.

Imam and Babar dont have any gears besides gear three. This means if Pakistani bowlers have a difficult day and teams are scoring 320 plus, we can essentially kiss the game good bye. Imam has his own problems with gear 3. Babar has a gear 4, but he wont use it till he pads his way to a 100.

Fakhar is looking miserable but if you replace him with Abdullah, you have 3 batters of same gear. Rizwan by himself, might not be a problem but with the top 3 of Abdullah, Imam and Babar, he becomes a liability.

Imagine Pakistan are chasing 350.

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan

Can anyone say with a straight face, that the top 4 will be chasing it down?

You can add Saud Shakeel but he also plays slow for ODI and that makes a top 5 of

Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Saud

Next batsmen is Iftikhar who also needs at least 15 minutes to settle down.

Shadab is the worst of the lot.

The top 7 of Pakistan can chase 280 and thats it.

If they go any faster, they will fall like a pack of cards.

In this situation, even if you KICK out Rizwan, you will NOT improve any result.
Dr Saab we’re mostly talking about the same problem.

That is of 90s era accumulators playing T20/ODI cricket in 2023.

I disagree that there are bigger problems than Rizwan. Perhaps only Imam because both Imam and RIZWAN are super limited and cannot score freely at all, specially against half decent bowling.

Babar cannot be compared to Rizwan. He relies on timing and good placement thanks to a good technique. Can handle good bowlers and high pace. Can accelerate when needed though not always.

Rizwan and Imam just can’t accelerate, they do not have the ability and technique to begin with.

I’ll take stat padders over non performers. The only non stat padder who actually performs is perhaps Babar in Pakistan. Rizwan also provides additional worth in keeping, especially compared to Sarfraz and Azam.

Haris is extremely raw with a too risky game. His stats in international cricket are looking awful. In domestic he’s not exactly that consistent either. It isn’t good to rack up failure like this when you aren’t ready. In fact his stats are already against him, few batsmen tend to recover after starts like this, often the guys who do cement their place get lucky with good performance at the start. It is much harder to mentally turn things around and way more pressure.

Rizwan is fine now. I am way more worried when Rizwan is too old and retired, what state will Haris be when he has to take over. He might be written off by then based on performances when he was younger and raw. Or we will go for the next 20 year old wicketkeeper who is not ready and fails and circle repeats itself. We mucked up with Kamran, by the time he toiled in domestic and improved and became one of the best batsmen there it was too late and he was written off. Instead he played most of his international games as the inferior batting version of himself.

Haris should be given a consistent position and only play t20s and solidify that place. Once he has done that we move to T20s. He is batting at 3 in t20s and at PSL now (he was moved down from opening In PSL as he was failing and then did better when moved to 3). So let him solely focus on that now. He is close to losing his place in the squads altogether with his record, so I see no reason to try and make it harder for him and give him more than he can handle, just let him concentrate on one thing for now.

Perhaps one stats padder makes sense in todays era. Max two.

But not the whole batting lineup.

Babar is our stats padder and he’s a good one at that, can at least play attacking shots and handle hostile bowling.

Unfortunately both Rizwan and Imam can’t do that.

I want a stats padder who can accelerate when needed and handle hostile fast bowling.
 
Rizwan is a much bigger problem. He does not have the range of shots and fluency in batting the likes of Saud, Babar and Kohli do. Natural technique!
They can accelerate or do good placement once they’re set. RIZWAN cannot.
What babar has achieved in this Asia cup if has range of shots and fluency in his batting?

Rizwan has all the shots in his books and certainly he can go in any gear whenever team wants him to do so.

Recent match against Srilanka is the latest example of his abilities.
 
What babar has achieved in this Asia cup if has range of shots and fluency in his batting?

Rizwan has all the shots in his books and certainly he can go in any gear whenever team wants him to do so.

Recent match against Srilanka is the latest example of his abilities.
Just have rizwan open ig. But then either Abdullah or Imam, both can't play.
 
1. Abdullah (Has a solid technique and a high ceiling. I'd prefer him over Imam as he has more shots and gears than Imam who will always struggle in big chases)

2. Saim (I rank him very highly. It will be a huge loss to Pakistan cricket if he is wasted like Haider. Fakhar has been a clutch player for us but it would be unwise to take him in a WC given his present form and confidence. Saim may not have experience but he has the talent and flair to come good, especially on flat Indian pitches and can mitigate our perennial problem of slow starts)

3. Babar

4. Saud (middle order glue - for rearguards in case of top order failures and consolidation of good starts)

5. Rizwan (not an ideal no 5 but unfortunately there is no better option. Keeping is as important in big tournaments as batting and bowling and he is our best keeper by a fair distance. Haris' batting is too unreliable for ODIs and Sarfraz's keeping too shoddy)

6. Iftikhar (finisher, power hitter and sixth bowler)

7. Imad (I have my doubts about his fitness but he is a way better bat than Shadab, Faheem and Nawaz and therefore crucial for a team with a long tail. Also with Naseem's injury, if required, he can be used as a new ball option as none of our other pacers are as effective with the new ball as Naseem)

8. Shaheen

9. Rauf

10. Abrar (seems to be the only viable specialist spin option at the moment. His variations make him more appealing than Usama whose bowling seems to be quite one dimensional. If he doesn't work, Shadab could be played instead)

11. Zaman

Backup:
12. Shadab (not in the best of form but perhaps still a more potent option than Nawaz. Also having Imad eliminates Nawaz)
13. Imam
14. Agha Salman
15. Wasim Jr.

Yes there are number of issues in this team. The openers are inexperienced, the tail is long and the fielding pretty weak due to the inclusion of Imad, Abrar and Zaman but I would still take specialists over bits and pieces players and in form players over out of form stalwarts. Pakistani rookies have always done well in big tournaments and the team itself has benefited on those occasions. On the contrary, whenever we have gone with big name out of form players, hoping for them to come good, it has almost always backfired.

But I have very little hope of Saud, Saim and Abrar being included in the final squad. Instead we are likely to have Fakhar, Usama, Nawaz and/or Haris.
 
Rizwan is a much bigger problem. He does not have the range of shots and fluency in batting the likes of Saud, Babar and Kohli do. Natural technique!
They can accelerate or do good placement once they’re set. RIZWAN cannot.
Kohli is on another level, please don’t mention him in the same bracket as Saud or Babar. I have yet to see Saud have any power game. They guy can’t get a game in PSL, so he can’t be that good or better than Rizwan.

I don’t mind Saud given an opportunity based on his test exploits but please don’t be a hypocrite in your criticism of Rizwan, when Saud and Babar both play a similar game
 
Kohli is on another level, please don’t mention him in the same bracket as Saud or Babar. I have yet to see Saud have any power game. They guy can’t get a game in PSL, so he can’t be that good or better than Rizwan.

I don’t mind Saud given an opportunity based on his test exploits but please don’t be a hypocrite in your criticism of Rizwan, when Saud and Babar both play a similar game
Kohli is on another level yes but even he's struggled with that outswing early on. Even his technique isn't perfect.

It's just his technique is a million times superior to babar who looks like no one ever gave the guy lessons on how to play spin. Same with saud, Saud isn't bad but his class is more suited to spin then fast.
 
Honestly the best team right now would be

1) Rizwan
2) Saim Ayub
3) Babar
4) Saud Shakeel
5) Tayyab Tahir
6) Chacha
7) Imad Waseem
8) Usama Mir
9) Naseem/ Ihsanullah
10) Rauf
11) Shaheen

Back up options in the squad include

1) Abrar( 2nd spinner)
2) Abdullah (Backup opener)
3) Haris ( Backup wicketkeeper)
4) Arshad Iqbal/Abass Afridi/ any upcoming and rising fast bowler.

That's the best options I can see. If the eizwan experiment doesn't work obviously Abdullah will need to be slotted in and chacha will need to make way for Haris as keeping.
 
i will go with this combination

Imam
Abdullah
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Imad
Shadab
Shaheen
Haris
Abrar Ahmed / Arshad Iqbal (Depends on pitch condition)
 
1. Abdullah
2. Imam
3. Babar
4. Saud
5. Rizwan
6. Iftikhar
7. Imad
8. Shadab
9. Shaheen
10. Haris
11. Naseem

Abdullah deserves a shot at opening now that he was given last match. Would have preferred Rizwan but they chose Abdullah so leave him there, and in addition hard to think of another middle order batsman to come in.

Saim‘s doing well in CPL. But as I said, Abdullah got his chance first. Saim‘s very young and will probably get his chance at some point or if Abdullah fails.
 
1) Imam (Average of 50 after 65 innings, he is a must have)
2) Saim Ayub / Haris (you need a power player in the top 3, Abdullah is good, but too slow. And Fakhar is out of form)
3) Babar
4) Saud Shakeel
5) Rizwan
6) Ifti Mania
7) Imad Waseem (We cannot afford not to have him at this stage)
8) Shadab / Mir / Abrar (try Mir out against the minnows and if he does ok, then play him ahead of Shadab)
9) Shaheen
10) Amir (Out of all the options to replace Naseem, he is the least worse)
11) Rauf

If it it a fast wicket, they can bring in Wasim Jr for #7 or #8
 
1. Abdullah
2. Imam
3. Babar
4. Saud
5. Rizwan
6. Iftikhar
7. Imad
8. Shadab
9. Shaheen
10. Haris
11. Naseem

Abdullah deserves a shot at opening now that he was given last match. Would have preferred Rizwan but they chose Abdullah so leave him there, and in addition hard to think of another middle order batsman to come in.

Saim‘s doing well in CPL. But as I said, Abdullah got his chance first. Saim‘s very young and will probably get his chance at some point or if Abdullah fails.
Imam, Abdullah, Babar, saud and rizwan make fir a very 1990 era style batting lol, in chases we'll likely lose against sena and India.
 
No point in making wholesale changes. If we are not winning with this nucleus, then it's even more unlikely that we can win with a number of new faces. Obviously we need to plug the spin bowling hole but other changes can wait after the World Cup. I will go with the following squad:

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Agha
Iftikhar
Shadab
Faheem
Shaheen
Abrar
Rauf
---------------
Nawaz
Zaman Khan / Hassan Ali
Wasim Jnr
Abdullah/Saud/Shan

I think we definitely need batting ability at 8 and if we want to play a specialist spinner in Abrar, then Faheem is the only option. Hassan Ali can be the backup for that position but not sure about his current form. The batting is a bit hit or miss as well.

The reserve batter is the most tricky. I don't see how you can have 2 reserve batters in the squad, so it will have to come down to either Abdullah or Saud. Shan Masood can also be an outside chance given that he is left handed and can bat at the top and in the middle.
 
Imam
Abdullah
Babar
Riz / Salman / Tayyab
Ifi
Imad / Haris / Asif Ali
Shadab / Mir
Mir / Abrar
Shaheen
Haris
Hassan / Wasim Jr / Zaman
 
Sarfraz, Imad, Amir, Arshad and Hassan are names in contention for

Naseem, Faheem, Nawaz, Usama Mir.

Let’s see, thoughts are Babar sticking with same team. Zaman and Imad with best chances to make Final Cut.

Should be announced by Friday latest.
 
  1. Imam
  2. Abdullah
  3. Babar
  4. Saud
  5. Rizwan
  6. Iftikhar
  7. Shadab
  8. Shaheen
  9. Abrar / Faheem (Based on pitch and conditions)
  10. Rauf
  11. Zaman Khan (considering Naseem misses the WC)

I would take Faheem, Fakhar, Muhammad Wasim Jr, and Imad as my bench 4. Haris looked completely lost batting and does not have the List A experience to back selection.
 
He never participates in domestic matches neither his fitness is up to the mark, so how could he possibly be selected for the World Cup squad solely based on his previous good innings?
Do we know why he isn't playing in domestic right now ? He did last year and played some good innings

He played earlier this year against NZ and looked decent before shadab collided with him

The reason I prefer him over saud is that he can change gears - don't think saud has the ability - just like Imam doesn't
 
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