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

MenInG said:
Fitness is a BIG IF and in a 50 over format this could be crucial
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India is a short flight away if he gets injured he can be replaced same / next day

Guy of his class is worth the risk IMO esp when you don't have a tried and tested commodity in the #4 spot right now
 
I don't expect major changes. It's too close to the tournament now.

But, I do feel they need to make a few adjustments to the starting XI.

Saim Ayub
Imam Ul Haq
Babar Azam (C)
Saud Shakeel
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Shaheen Afridi
Mohammad Amir/Arshad Iqbal
Haris Rauf
Usama Mir/Abrar Ahmed

They need a specialist spinner and a new ball specialist. The names they choose for those roles is up to them. I feel when comparing options, Amir as the new ball bowler and Usama Mir as the specialist spinner will be good additions assuming everyone is onboard with the decision.

I would also add Saim Ayub at the top. You need an attacking batsman who is in full flow. Ideally, it would be Fakhar but he's out of sorts right now. They can rotate the two during warmups and see which one clicks.

The batting still lacks attacking options but Pakistan doesn't have too many options available right now.

A radical approach would be...

Saim Ayub/Fakhar
Mohammad Haris

But that means Imam is out. I don't think Pakistan will be doing that unless it's desperate.
 
What the hell is taking babar and inzi so long to decide the squad?
 
The squad with their positions should be:

Imam
Fakhar / Saim
Babar
Shafiq / Saud
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Shadab/ Imad
Abrar
Shaheen
Rauf
Amir/ Zaman
 
Rizwan
Saim
Imam
Babar(He should play at 4 to solve the middle order issues)
Ifti/Saud
M haris/Agha
Imad
Abrar
Shaheen
Haris
Arshad/Zaman/Shadab
 
There is a lot of talk / rumours currently going around in association with chopping and changing the squad for world cup. If this is to come true then it would be quite detrimental to the growth of our current cricket team. The management has invested 2+ years with this team with this world cup in vision, if there are to be significant squad changes on the brink of the tournament simply due to one bad Asia Cup then it shows that we do not have much confidence in our own investments / decisions.

PS - We are back to the days where media intrusion in PCB was the norm. Whilst Ehsan Mani and Ramiz were at the helm we seldom saw any news being leaked through media and we were able to see a more friendly and healthy squad environment. Ever since Najam Sethi took over we have now seen increasing encroachment of media in our cricket news and as a result there are quite a few rumours flying around that raises issues or create enmities between players.

On topic, I will not change much in this squad. We have invested 2+ years into making this team for this tournament. If we are to go out early then so be it but atleast back your chosen team. My team would be as follows:

1. Fakhar
2. Imam
3. Babar
4. Rizwan
5. Agha Salman
6. Iftikhar
7. Shadab
8. Nawaz / Faheem / Mohd Wasim
9. Naseem
10. Shaheen
11. Haris Rauf

The confidence needs to be built into this team as they have been our primary picks for over 2 years now and we should continue with them. There can be minor changes like Ihsanullah or Arshad Iqbal for Naseem's injury or Shafique / Fakhar used as a middle order bat to mitigate form concerns.
 
My team under the circumstances plus can't change too much at the end now:

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Imam Ul Haq
3) Babar Azam
4) Muhammad Rizwan (WK)
5) Saud Shakeel
6) Iftikhar Ahmed
7) Shadab Khan
8) Shaheen Shah Afridi
9) Abrar Ahmed
10) Haris Rauf
11) Zaman Khan

12) M. Wasim Jnr
13) Usama Mir
14) Abdullah Shafique
15) Haris or Sarfaraz (WK)
 
ritzy_123 said:
My team under the circumstances plus can't change too much at the end now:

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Imam Ul Haq
3) Babar Azam
4) Muhammad Rizwan (WK)
5) Saud Shakeel
6) Iftikhar Ahmed
7) Shadab Khan
8) Shaheen Shah Afridi
9) Abrar Ahmed
10) Haris Rauf
11) Zaman Khan

12) M. Wasim Jnr
13) Usama Mir
14) Abdullah Shafique
15) Haris or Sarfaraz (WK)
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I don't think Fakhar should be there. He looked lost during the whole Asia cup stint. Maybe we can try Rizwan to open and bring saud in the middle But I Know that it will be happening. Fakhar is a bit of a concern for me here as well as Shadab.
 
hermit said:
  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.
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I think this is a great squad with good options on the bench.
 
mominsaigol said:
What the hell is taking babar and inzi so long to decide the squad?
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Have you seen the names selected in this thread? Nobody is in agreement on what the squad should look like. There are differences all over the shop.

Clearly there is a lot to consider.

And when they do announce the squad there will be huge backlash guaranteed. Its probably best to let the emotional fans calm down for a few more days.
 
BouncerGuy said:
I don't think Fakhar should be there. He looked lost during the whole Asia cup stint. Maybe we can try Rizwan to open and bring saud in the middle But I Know that it will be happening. Fakhar is a bit of a concern for me here as well as Shadab.
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yeah i know but we have to be realistic as you said
 
hitthestump said:
Have you seen the names selected in this thread? Nobody is in agreement on what the squad should look like. There are differences all over the shop.

Clearly there is a lot to consider.

And when they do announce the squad there will be huge backlash guaranteed. Its probably best to let the emotional fans calm down for a few more days.
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Bro it's not that difficult of a decision. Analyse all your current players and then make a decision. For example

1) Imam ul Haq = Performed extremely well in the afg series + in Asia cup. So he gets to stay.

2) Fakhar = Did not perform in multiple matches, averages 16 so dropped.

3) babar = Captain so obviously stays.

4) Rizwan = Keeper and has performed here and their so he stays.

5) Agha = Has not performed and injured his eye so shpuld be dropped.

6) Chacha= Did perform so shpuld stay.

7) shadab = Horrible performance so drop

8) Nawaz = Horrible performance so drop

9) Faheem = Horrible performance so drop

10) Naseem= Injured so replacement needed

11) Shaheen = Stated to be fit soon so shpuld stay.

12) Rauf = Stated to be fit soon, so shpuld stay.

13) Abdullah= Untested but performed when needed so shpuld stay.

14) Saud = Best test performer, was untested in the series but based on test merit deserves a place.

15) Tayyab = Was untested so shpuld stay as it'll be unfair to drop him like that.

16) Zaman Khan= Didn't perform to the mark so shpuld get dropped

17) Dhani = Untested but bad domestic track record so shpuld go.

18) Haris = Untested, only got one game, average track record so far so its up in the air.

19) Usama mir= Untested, not enough games has an up and down track record

^^ Based of the afg and Asia cup series we have

Performance players = Imam, Babar, Rizwan, Chacha, Shaheen, Rauf.

^^ even though I don't like imam and rizwan these 6 performed so shpuld be an auto selection for the cup.

Next we have players who didn't perform = fakhar, Agha, Shadab, Nawaz, Faheem

^^ These guys were given enough games, so 6 shpuld be dropped

Then we have one injured player Naseem= So unfortunately need to find a replacement.

Lastly we have untested players in saud, tayyab, Abdullah, Zaman, Dhani, Muhammad haris

^^ These boys either got zero games or simply not enough games to make a call, so you can either go with their domestic stats and performance outside odi International. Abdullah did well in one game he played and has been our 2nd best test bat, saud is our best test bat, so based of that merit they shpuld stay.

Zaman and Dhani are untested but have garbo list a stats so shpuld leave,

Tayyab and haris and usama are untested and have been and up and down so its iffy for these 3. But shpuld be given a go

If you do an analysis like this, it's clear who needs to stay and who needs to go, with only tayyab , usama and haris placements being hard to place due to lack of games and having an up and down track record.

In terms of replacements we have

1) saim= due to track record in cpl
2) Abrar= track record in test
3) arshad iqbal/Abass Afridi/ aamer jamal (psl track record and domestic track record)
4) any other batsmen who has done well recently in domestic like omair bin yousaf etc.

It's that easy to decide. Problem is this isn't a world cup 11, it's more of a friend's 11.

We know shadab ain't going anywhere lol, so analysis and merit are being thrown put the window like they've always have.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Recent match against Srilanka is the latest example of his abilities.
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In that match, whole nation has seen his "ability" of hitting way outside off balls to leg side in death overs for just 1s & 2s. That's his limitation / limited range of strokes. There was no acceleration after Chacha got out.

We don't need such players after 30 overs as Top teams start accelerating after 30 & double their score in next 20 overs.

Rizwan is still useful if he opens the innings in ODIs. He just needs to bat with T20 mindset as his stats as T20 opener are really good. He can be a really good replacement of currently struggling Fakhar.
 
1) Saim
2)Abdullah
3)Imam
4)Babar
5)Saud
6)Rizwan
7)Ifthikhar
8)Imad/Shadab
9)Zaman/Arshad/Wasim Jr/Aamer Jamal
10)Shaheen
11)Rauf
 
Falcon'sParwaz said:
In that match, whole nation has seen his "ability" of hitting way outside off balls to leg side in death overs for just 1s & 2s. That's his limitation / limited range of strokes. There was no acceleration after Chacha got out.

We don't need such players after 30 overs as Top teams start accelerating after 30 & double their score in next 20 overs.

Rizwan is still useful if he opens the innings in ODIs. He just needs to bat with T20 mindset as his stats as T20 opener are really good. He can be a really good replacement of currently struggling Fakhar.
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Rizwan cant play swing or seam, he is a bunny
 
Considering conditions in India, we really need batter with skills to tackle spin. So I think we should get Sarfaraz in the team for Haris.Let's use him for T20s for now.

16 member squad should be like this.

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Saud
Abdullah
Rizwan
Sarfaraz
Nawaz
Shadab
Usama
Iftikhar
Shaheen
Haris
Naseem/Arshad
Abrar
Wasim Jnr/Zaman Khan


Our Playing 11 should ideally be:

Imam
Fakhar (Lets check in 1st 2 matches)
Babar
Rizwan
Sarfaraz
Iftikhar
Shadab
Usama/Nawaz
Shaheen
Naseem/Arshad
Rauf
 
CricLegend said:
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
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Both Babar and Saud have a significantly superior game to Rizwan.

Latter is almost always like a headless chicken under lights when good pace is on offer, specially if the ball is moving. Eats up too many balls and is totally one dimensional in range of shots.
 
mominsaigol said:
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.
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It’s almost an OK team except far too many accumulators in the top 5.

I’m glad you kicked out Imam so that is a positive. Rizwan, if we need a good keeper and proper spin player, can be replaced with Sarfraz - provided we don’t trust M Haris enough.

Overall it’s simple.

If we don’t have 2-3 attacking players in the top 5, we’re not going to win any major tournament in this era.
 
Hawkeye said:
It’s almost an OK team except far too many accumulators in the top 5.

I’m glad you kicked out Imam so that is a positive. Rizwan, if we need a good keeper and proper spin player, can be replaced with Sarfraz - provided we don’t trust M Haris enough.

Overall it’s simple.

If we don’t have 2-3 attacking players in the top 5, we’re not going to win any major tournament in this era.
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I'm aware but please give me strikers 😂, so I may place them here.
 
ArabKnight said:
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
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Keep dreaming :)
 
Dr_Bassim said:
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?
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Every team has thier strengths even England do it all the time with the bat as that's thier strength.
 
Falcon'sParwaz said:
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.
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70 strike rate now your talking rubbish.
 
mominsaigol said:
Bro it's not that difficult of a decision. Analyse all your current players and then make a decision. For example

1) Imam ul Haq = Performed extremely well in the afg series + in Asia cup. So he gets to stay.

2) Fakhar = Did not perform in multiple matches, averages 16 so dropped.

3) babar = Captain so obviously stays.

4) Rizwan = Keeper and has performed here and their so he stays.

5) Agha = Has not performed and injured his eye so shpuld be dropped.

6) Chacha= Did perform so shpuld stay.

7) shadab = Horrible performance so drop

8) Nawaz = Horrible performance so drop

9) Faheem = Horrible performance so drop

10) Naseem= Injured so replacement needed

11) Shaheen = Stated to be fit soon so shpuld stay.

12) Rauf = Stated to be fit soon, so shpuld stay.

13) Abdullah= Untested but performed when needed so shpuld stay.

14) Saud = Best test performer, was untested in the series but based on test merit deserves a place.

15) Tayyab = Was untested so shpuld stay as it'll be unfair to drop him like that.

16) Zaman Khan= Didn't perform to the mark so shpuld get dropped

17) Dhani = Untested but bad domestic track record so shpuld go.

18) Haris = Untested, only got one game, average track record so far so its up in the air.

19) Usama mir= Untested, not enough games has an up and down track record

^^ Based of the afg and Asia cup series we have

Performance players = Imam, Babar, Rizwan, Chacha, Shaheen, Rauf.

^^ even though I don't like imam and rizwan these 6 performed so shpuld be an auto selection for the cup.

Next we have players who didn't perform = fakhar, Agha, Shadab, Nawaz, Faheem

^^ These guys were given enough games, so 6 shpuld be dropped

Then we have one injured player Naseem= So unfortunately need to find a replacement.

Lastly we have untested players in saud, tayyab, Abdullah, Zaman, Dhani, Muhammad haris

^^ These boys either got zero games or simply not enough games to make a call, so you can either go with their domestic stats and performance outside odi International. Abdullah did well in one game he played and has been our 2nd best test bat, saud is our best test bat, so based of that merit they shpuld stay.

Zaman and Dhani are untested but have garbo list a stats so shpuld leave,

Tayyab and haris and usama are untested and have been and up and down so its iffy for these 3. But shpuld be given a go

If you do an analysis like this, it's clear who needs to stay and who needs to go, with only tayyab , usama and haris placements being hard to place due to lack of games and having an up and down track record.

In terms of replacements we have

1) saim= due to track record in cpl
2) Abrar= track record in test
3) arshad iqbal/Abass Afridi/ aamer jamal (psl track record and domestic track record)
4) any other batsmen who has done well recently in domestic like omair bin yousaf etc.

It's that easy to decide. Problem is this isn't a world cup 11, it's more of a friend's 11.

We know shadab ain't going anywhere lol, so analysis and merit are being thrown put the window like they've always have.
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This is just your detailed opinion on the squad you'd choose.

Plenty of yours are contentious choices, for example Abrar, Saim and Tayyab Tahir have 0 ODI's between them and you've included all of them. The chances of us taking three rookies to a WC is zero.

Anyway, the point is that picking the squad for India is really not easy at all. It's completely impossible in fact as there's a 0% chance that Babar and Inzi will be percieved to have gotten it 'right'.

I already dread the outrage on the day the squad is finally announced and how this or that player should have been picked.
 
shamaan said:
Every team has thier strengths even England do it all the time with the bat as that's thier strength.
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But they dont ask their bowlers to just bowl however they want and we will take care of the rest.

Our batsmen are being pampered and told to just block everything and hope for the best.

Big difference.
 
shamaan said:
70 strike rate now your talking rubbish.
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@Falcon'sParwaz is absolutely right.

Imam ul Haq is almost in the 70s strike rate range. Barely 82!!

His average means zilch if he cannot score meaningful runs specially as an opener in today’s era.

RIZWAN is again 88 and Babar 89.

Against the good sides, it’ll drop even further.

These accumulators specially Imam and Rizwan at the top means we’re guaranteed to NOT win any major tournament.

Sure there’ll be flashes of brilliance specially against the weaker sides.
 
Hawkeye said:
@Falcon'sParwaz is absolutely right.

Imam ul Haq is almost in the 70s strike rate range. Barely 82!!

His average means zilch if he cannot score meaningful runs specially as an opener in today’s era.

RIZWAN is again 88 and Babar 89.

Against the good sides, it’ll drop even further.

These accumulators specially Imam and Rizwan at the top means we’re guaranteed to NOT win any major tournament.

Sure there’ll be flashes of brilliance specially against the weaker sides.
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Rizwan has the capability to elevate his strike rate whenever team requires it.

Honestly your top four batsmen can't play with a strike rate exceeding 100 all the time.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Rizwan has the capability to elevate his strike rate whenever team requires it.

Honestly your top four batsmen can't play with a strike rate exceeding 100 all the time.
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The top five, actually, all bat in 70-80 strike rate range. There’s not even one who can look to score beyond 90-100 strike rate. That is the problem. We need at least a couple.

Only Fakhar used to do it until 2019.

Good for 80s and 90s era, not gonna win you matches specially tournaments in 2023.

It’s good that a long tournament like the World Cup filters out all the mediocre teams. Round robin format is even better at removing the poor sides.

This issue can’t be solved in a week or a few months time. Major shift in thinking is needed in how we produce and select players for today.

Have to follow Aus, Eng and IND - they all have capable primary batters who look to score and accelerate, not go in their shells and be content with 70-80-90 strike rates.

Just having a decent bowling unit alone isn’t enough. Arguably both Aus and Ind have better bowling units than Pak, yet their batting is light years ahead of us.
 
1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Imam ul Haq
3) Babar Azam (c)
4) Saud Shakeel
5) Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
6) Iftikhar Ahmed
7) Shadab Khan
8) Mohammad Nawaz
9) Shaheen Afridi
10) Mohammad Amir
11) Haris Rauf

- Fakhar needs to be backed at least until the first couple of World Cul matches. Hopefully, he finds his form and is then able to boss the other teams but if he doesn't, the other batters should be able to bail us out against Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

- Mohammad Amir is the best replacement we have for Naseem Shah. Someone who can be deadly with the new ball, miserly during the middle phase and with his CPL experience, should do well at the death too.
 
hitthestump said:
This is just your detailed opinion on the squad you'd choose.

Plenty of yours are contentious choices, for example Abrar, Saim and Tayyab Tahir have 0 ODI's between them and you've included all of them. The chances of us taking three rookies to a WC is zero.

Anyway, the point is that picking the squad for India is really not easy at all. It's completely impossible in fact as there's a 0% chance that Babar and Inzi will be percieved to have gotten it 'right'.

I already dread the outrage on the day the squad is finally announced and how this or that player should have been picked.
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I already said abrar, Saim and Tayyab are in the untested category. But should likely be chosen due to current performances. Plus we need replacements for fakhar, Shadab and these types of players anyway.
 
Playing XI:
Fakhar+Imam+Babar
Rizwan
Ifti+Salman
Shadab
Shaheen+Haris
Amir
Abrar

Squad members:
Haris
Nawaz
Wasim Jr
Abdullah Shafique

16th man living rent free in mind of entire Pak squad:
Virat Kohli
 
Abdullah
Imam
Babar
Iftikhar
Rizwan
Agha
Imad
Usama
Hasan Ali
Shaheen
Rauf

Bench
Shadab
Saud
Saim
Zaman/Hasnain
 
1. Abdullah Shafique
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Mohammad Rizwan
6. Iftikhar Ahmed
7. Shadab Khan
8. Shaheen Afridi
9. Haris Rauf
10.Abrar Ahmed
11.Zaman Khan
 
shahidbhai said:
1. Abdullah Shafique
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Mohammad Rizwan
6. Iftikhar Ahmed
7. Shadab Khan
8. Shaheen Afridi
9. Haris Rauf
10.Abrar Ahmed
11.Zaman Khan
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This is 1990 era style batting line up right here.
 
Ok so if rumours are correct than this is what I'd go with
1. Abdullah
2. Imam
3. Saud
4. Babar
5. Sarfraz (C)
6. Iftikhar
7. Nawaz
8. Usama
9. Shaheen
10. Haris
11. Hasan
Still an unideal squad but if Sarfraz is given the helm then maybe a playoff spot can be pulled off
 
Muhammad Rizwan
Imam Ul Haq
Babar Azam
Abdullah Shafique
Saud Shakeel
Iftikhar Ahmad
Hassan Ali
Abrar Ahmed
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Naseem Shah
Haris Rauf
 
I'm flip flopping on this but I think the squad should look like this:

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Haris Rauf
Abdullah Shafique
Wasim Jr
Haris
Faheem Ashraf

New inclusions:
Hasan Ali
Abrar Ahmed

Out of that, the opening XI for the first game against the Netherlands:
1. Haris (a shot above Fakhar for now and he likes the new ball rather than soft and old)
2. Imam
3. Babar c
4. Rizwan wk
5. Iftikhar
6. Tahir
7. Shadab
8. Ashraf/Nawaz (depends on pitch conditions and what they want to do in terms of the toss as conditions changes d/n)
9. Shaheen
10. Wasim Jr
11. Rauf

But its obvious Fakhar will start, Shafique as back up. Haris might not be in the actual squad and I fear Zaman will be included at the expense of Wasim Jr.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
But they dont ask their bowlers to just bowl however they want and we will take care of the rest.

Our batsmen are being pampered and told to just block everything and hope for the best.

Big difference.
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Told by who please have some evidence to prove this.
 
Hawkeye said:
@Falcon'sParwaz is absolutely right.

Imam ul Haq is almost in the 70s strike rate range. Barely 82!!

His average means zilch if he cannot score meaningful runs specially as an opener in today’s era.

RIZWAN is again 88 and Babar 89.

Against the good sides, it’ll drop even further.

These accumulators specially Imam and Rizwan at the top means we’re guaranteed to NOT win any major tournament.

Sure there’ll be flashes of brilliance specially against the weaker sides.
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Again please provide stats.
 
If I had to predict what the XI is most likely gonna be:

1. Imam
2. Fakhar
3. Babar
4. Rizwan
5. Iftikhar
6. Agha
7. Shadab
8. Nawaz
9. Wasim Jr
10. Shaheen
11. Rauf

If there is any sort of 'out-of-box' thinking/decisions to the XI, I'd probably say Abdullah at #5 with Iftikhar at #6. I say #5 because I highly doubt Rizwan will bat at #5 (which he still should imo). If he's in the XI and he's not opening, then Abdullah should bat at #4, with Rizwan at #5 and Iftikhar at #6 (which would mean Agha getting axed).

Honestly at this point, more than forming any sort of semblance of a strong XI, Pakistan need an overall mental/morale boost so they can go through this WC not being afraid and showing perserverance, regardless of the results.
 
I dont know if I posted my team here before, but I am going to post my latest "wish list" here.. lol

1. Imam
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Babar
4. Rizwan
5. Iftikhar
6. Sarfaraz
7. Shadab
8. Faheem/Wasim/Nawaz/Agha Salman/amir/imad (this is where i dont care who plays, all options are abyssmal)
9. Shaheen
10. Rauf
11. Abrar
 
Stewie said:
I dont know if I posted my team here before, but I am going to post my latest "wish list" here.. lol

1. Imam
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Babar
4. Rizwan
5. Iftikhar
6. Sarfaraz
7. Shadab
8. Faheem/Wasim/Nawaz/Agha Salman/amir/imad (this is where i dont care who plays, all options are abyssmal)
9. Shaheen
10. Rauf
11. Abrar
Click to expand...
Sarfaraz isn't in the squad and Abrar is in reserves so you should make at least couple of changes in this XI :)
 
Based on the squad the starting xi is likely to be:

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Salman
Ifthi
Shadab
Nawaz
Hassan
Shaheen
Rauf

If it's a rank turner then a spinner comes in for Hassan.

It's a steady rather than spectacular side.
 
I guess my team will change again soon. im going to need to review the announced squad first. I have high hopes for this team.
 
Aren't you playing a side outside top 6 first? You should play based on warm ups but should be something like this

Abdullah
Imam
Bobs
Saud(I dont rate him but whatever)
Rizwan
Agha
Iftikhar
Nawaz
Md. Wasim
Shaheen
Rauf.
 
shamaan said:
70 strike rate now your talking rubbish.
Click to expand...
I said SR of our potential Top 5 is in 70---90 range.

A.Shafique : 72 (70 in List A)
Imam : 82
Babar : 89 , 87 in last 2y
Rizwan : 88
Saud : 71
&&&
Fakhar : 88 (in this WC cycle / last 4y), 85 in last 2y !!!

See for yourself standings of our Batsmen among contemporaries in last 2y where we batted mostly against minnows or B teams. Babar is at 41st in world. Gill avgs 60+ with SR 100+, & indians don't call him King Gill yet. We say King Babar bcz we are insecure.
stats.espncricinfo.com

Batting records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com

stats.espncricinfo.com stats.espncricinfo.com

@Hawkeye
 
Falcon'sParwaz said:
I said SR of our potential Top 5 is in 70---90 range.

A.Shafique : 72 (70 in List A)
Imam : 82
Babar : 89 , 87 in last 2y
Rizwan : 88
Saud : 71
&&&
Fakhar : 88 (in this WC cycle / last 4y), 85 in last 2y !!!

See for yourself standings of our Batsmen among contemporaries in last 2y where we batted mostly against minnows or B teams. Babar is at 41st in world. Gill avgs 60+ with SR 100+, & indians don't call him King Gill yet. We say King Babar bcz we are insecure.
stats.espncricinfo.com

Batting records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com

stats.espncricinfo.com stats.espncricinfo.com

@Hawkeye
Click to expand...
Not really no, The king Babar thing was highlighted by the media. Foreign commentators have called Babar King and literally have stated the iconic phrase " The king stands tall yet again" anytime he hits a milestone.

If anything most pakistani's bash the Living crap out of Babar. So it isn't from our end, or even if it is, we only have a very very small part to play.
 
mominsaigol said:
Not really no, The king Babar thing was highlighted by the media. Foreign commentators have called Babar King and literally have stated the iconic phrase " The king stands tall yet again" anytime he hits a milestone.

If anything most pakistani's bash the Living crap out of Babar. So it isn't from our end, or even if it is, we only have a very very small part to play.
Click to expand...
Have you opened your SM after Babar's 100 against Nepal?

You are right foreign commentators also call him as King Babar but they are not alone.

I think it was first started by his PR & then everyone picked it. Even ESPNcricinfo labelled his innings against Nepal as 'masterpiece' in batting.
 
Falcon'sParwaz said:
Have you opened your SM after Babar's 100 against Nepal?

You are right foreign commentators also call him as King Babar but they are not alone.

I think it was first started by his PR & then everyone picked it. Even ESPNcricinfo labelled his innings against Nepal as 'masterpiece' in batting.
Click to expand...
It's common now for pakistani's to address him as King Babar. But I'm saying the moniker was not started by pakistani's.

Babar had genuine records, Fastest to 5000 runs, first player to score 3 consequential centuries 2x, 10 t20 centuries surpassing kohli's who despite playing 100 more t20 games still has less then babar, Highest ever odi average of 60(Dropped to 58 now), babar was breaking record after record, hence the moniker given to him.

Ofcourse we now know all this was achieved via 2nd string sides and minnow bashing and purely stat padding.
 
Falcon'sParwaz said:
I said SR of our potential Top 5 is in 70---90 range.

A.Shafique : 72 (70 in List A)
Imam : 82
Babar : 89 , 87 in last 2y
Rizwan : 88
Saud : 71
&&&
Fakhar : 88 (in this WC cycle / last 4y), 85 in last 2y !!!

See for yourself standings of our Batsmen among contemporaries in last 2y where we batted mostly against minnows or B teams. Babar is at 41st in world. Gill avgs 60+ with SR 100+, & indians don't call him King Gill yet. We say King Babar bcz we are insecure.
stats.espncricinfo.com

Batting records | One-Day Internationals | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPNcricinfo.com

stats.espncricinfo.com stats.espncricinfo.com

@Hawkeye
Click to expand...
They don't call Gill King because he hasn't done it in the test arena.
 
Can we get M Wasim Jnr & M Nawaz injured so that we can select half decent Zaman Khan & Abrar in the squad?

The bowling attack looks toothless.
 
This Hyderabad wicket is a road. Have to hope Fakhar comes good here. In the next warmup, I will go with the following batting lineup:

Fakhar
Imam
Abdullah
Saud
Iftikhar
Salman
Shadab
 
Based on the 1st warmup, I would think this is the general foundation for the XI.

Fakhar Zaman
Imam Ul Haq
Babar Azam (C)
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Saud Shakeel
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali/Mohammad Wasim
Shaheen Afridi
Haris Rauf
Usama Mir

I think they have to stick with Fakhar just for the attacking component. He's out of form but there's no one else to play that aggressive role. Shafique and Imam don't mesh as both want to play the same role causing everything to come to a standstill.

A specialist spinner like Usama Mir is a must for India and the only other question mark is going to be the new ball bowler. I would lean towards Hasan Ali due to his experience but it's a major weak spot regardless of the selection.
 
kingusama92 said:
Based on the 1st warmup, I would think this is the general foundation for the XI.

Fakhar Zaman
Imam Ul Haq
Babar Azam (C)
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Saud Shakeel
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali/Mohammad Wasim
Shaheen Afridi
Haris Rauf
Usama Mir

I think they have to stick with Fakhar just for the attacking component. He's out of form but there's no one else to play that aggressive role. Shafique and Imam don't mesh as both want to play the same role causing everything to come to a standstill.

A specialist spinner like Usama Mir is a must for India and the only other question mark is going to be the new ball bowler. I would lean towards Hasan Ali due to his experience but it's a major weak spot regardless of the selection.
Click to expand...
If only Imad Wasim was selected, if only!
 
Really impressed by Saud!

I think he’s a must play, and ideally I’d have him at #4, but Rizwan has been performing so I don’t think you can move him.

I like Agha Salman as well. He strikes at 96 in ODI. But I’m not so sure if he fits the squad right now.

1) Shafique/Zaman
2) Imam
3) Babar
4) Rizwan
5) Saud
6) Agha
7) Iftikhar
8) Shadab/Nawaz
9) Mohammad Wasim/Hasan
10) Shaheen
11) Rauf

Can’t say enough how much Naseem being injured hurts the team combo.
 
160KPH said:
Really impressed by Saud!

I think he’s a must play, and ideally I’d have him at #4, but Rizwan has been performing so I don’t think you can move him.

I like Agha Salman as well. He strikes at 96 in ODI. But I’m not so sure if he fits the squad right now.

1) Shafique/Zaman
2) Imam
3) Babar
4) Rizwan
5) Saud
6) Agha
7) Iftikhar
8) Shadab/Nawaz
9) Mohammad Wasim/Hasan
10) Shaheen
11) Rauf

Can’t say enough how much Naseem being injured hurts the team combo.
Click to expand...
Imad Wasim over Agha would have made so much sense for this combination.

It is criminal that he didn’t even get a chance to show what he can do while we stuck with mediocre Nawaz who might not even play now.
 
Relieved to see that Saud is not as one dimensional as I had thought.

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Saud
Iftikhar
Haris
Shadab
Hasan
Shaheen
Haris

I would probably trade in Iftikhar or Shadab for Nawaz depending on how they’re going. I still remember Nawaz’s half century vs India in the T20 WC which completely turned the game around.
 
ExpressPacer said:
Relieved to see that Saud is not as one dimensional as I had thought.

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Rizwan
Saud
Iftikhar
Haris
Shadab
Hasan
Shaheen
Haris

I would probably trade in Iftikhar or Shadab for Nawaz depending on how they’re going. I still remember Nawaz’s half century vs India in the T20 WC which completely turned the game around.
Click to expand...
Maybe you should listen to me next time then outright judging me and placing me in a bracket 👀.
 
Ali Active said:
with this lineup Pak will barely score 250
Click to expand...
I don't think so. You are saying as if ifti and agha are the main scorers for them from last many series. They have hardly any contributions except agianst teams like Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.
 
Jazx said:
I don't think so. You are saying as if ifti and agha are the main scorers for them from last many series. They have hardly any contributions except agianst teams like Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.
Click to expand...
Dont know about agha but Ifti is a must otherwise it looks one dimensional team.
 
Imam and Wasim are terrible selections. We are essentially playing with a 12 man squad as Nawaz is mentally done aswell.
 
1. Mohammad Rizwan / Fakhar Zaman
2. Imam Ul Haq
3. Shadab Khan / Mohammad Nawaz
4. Babar Azam
5. Fakhar Zaman / Mohammad Rizwan
6. Salman Agha / Saud Shakeel
7. Ifthikar Ahamed
8. Mohammad Nawaz / Shadab Khan
9. Mohammad Wasim (but I would ideally play Zaman Khan)
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Harris Rauff

I prefer to have Rizwan opening the innings. Especially given that Fakhar is in bad shape. We can at least make most of the fielding restrictions upfront. Rizwan has been there, done it.

Imam Ul Haq can and will play the anchor role. If he fails, it will be Abdullah Shafique replacing him.

I am inclined to use a pinch hitter here, a bit like what Klusener or Razzaq would do. But these beggars are not even half of that caliber. Still..I feel this would be a better ploy, instead of sending Babar Azam. Both of them are low value wickets, and both can do the same thing lower down the order.

Babar needs to step up and do what Aravinda De Silva did for Sri Lanka.

Again, Fakhar and Rizwan can swap places. Fakhar is usually good with spin, so he wouldn't mind warming the bench until the middle overs.

Well they are in the squad, so they have to be slotted in, thus, one of Saud or Salman should play and try to capitalize on what has been built, or should do a Roshan Mahanama.

Ifthikar needs to be given the license to go berserk. However, based on his recent performances, it looks like he performs better when he gets his eye in. So, I wouldn't mind promoting him up the order..but then we don't have Saim Ayyub to finish the innings, and Saud or Salman don't look like an Ijaz Ahamed or an Inzamam, who could simply bludgeon the ball out of the ground.

Nawaz or Shadab to support Ifthikar in finishing the innings.

I don't like Mohammad Wasim. He's not here or there. I sincerely hope he's replaced by Zaman Khan, at least then Pakistan might have the opportunity of stemming the flow of runs in the death over, at the cost of losing an abler lower order batsman.

Nothing much to say about the other two, but Rauff and Shaheen will definitely need back up. Pakistan better be ready with 2,3 more fast bowlers. These two are definitely going to break down. I would rather draft in another fast bowler instead of Salman or Saud, just as back up. I sincerely hope, Hasnain or Ihsanullah could play a few games to fill in the gaps.

This combo will have 3 pacers (one tried and tested death bowler), two average spinners and two fill in the gap spinners to hopefully keep things tight.
 
Fakhar
Imaam
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Iftikhar
Shadab
Hassan Ali
Usama Mir
Shaheen
Rauf
 
Not enough bowling strength to be playing a bowling-heavy combination. From what I've seen

4. Saud
5. Rizwan
6. Agha
7. Iftikhar
8. Nawaz

3 bowlers depending on pitch to bowl 30 overs and then 20 from Agha, Ifti and Nawaz. If Usama bowling really well, drop Nawaz and play 3 quicks + Usama
 
Honestly, Rizwan probably shpuld open the innings. I have changed my mind about rizwan over the past few weeks.

He can go at an SR of 100+ when he gets going. He lacks the X factor of Falhar aka outbatting your opposition but he's a million times superior to imam or Abdullah at opening. You'll get 90 ball 100's from him which is good enough.

Saud needs to be at 4. Abdullah and imam, only one of these lads must open, not both.
 
mominsaigol said:
Honestly, Rizwan probably shpuld open the innings. I have changed my mind about rizwan over the past few weeks.

He can go at an SR of 100+ when he gets going. He lacks the X factor of Falhar aka outbatting your opposition but he's a million times superior to imam or Abdullah at opening. You'll get 90 ball 100's from him which is good enough.

Saud needs to be at 4. Abdullah and imam, only one of these lads must open, not both.
Click to expand...

Yes, especially on flattish wickets, Rizwan would do ok. But I doubt we would experiment too much at this stage. We are not like the Aussies who took a chance with Steve Smith opening today
 
If Fakhar and Imam find form in the next warmup, the XI is pretty much known.

However, if these two keep failing, we should bite the bullet and move Rizwan up to open. This would mean that his workload would have to be managed and he would need to be rested in a couple of the latter games.

1) Rizwan (wk)
2) Imam/Fakhar
3) Babar
4) Saud
5) Agha
6) Iftikhar
7) Shadab
8) Nawaz
9) Shaheen
10) Hasan
11) Haris
 
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