"No reason to be worried as these players have performed in PSL and domestic cricket" : Babar Azam

[MenInG]

"No reason to be worried as these players have performed in PSL and domestic cricket" : Babar Azam

Babar Azam speaking ahead of the series opener of the 4-match series against West Indies (28th July)


Are Babar's personal performances being effected by captaincy role?

"Firstly, people need to understand what it means to be a captain. Basically, a captain's role is to give clarity to the players on the field and to back-up the bowlers when they are being hit around and to support the batsmen when they are not performing well; I understand that the margin of error is a bit small since becoming a captain and expectations are higher; So I try to perform the best I can in every match and since becoming captain, I feel that I am performing better as a captain which makes me happy, and I am taking this role of captain as a challenge; Thanks to the Almighty, there is no pressure on me and I am striving to improve my performances and to continue doing well"


Concerns about the performance of middle-order, especially since according to Misbah, 8-9 places are decided for the World Cup side?

"There is no reason to be worried about this as these players have performed in PSL and domestic cricket. Yes, the T20 World Cup is close by and in this series we will look to go in with a different combination and check our bench strength; England did the same where the captain sat out one of the games, and also West Indies tried out some more players so we will also do the same in this series"

"As far as our middle-order is concerned, well these are our players who have performed well before and we will back them"

"Azam Khan played in two innings but he didnt get a proper chance in that series; We will give everyone a proper chance in this series and we will try and play with a different combination"


Difficult to control a hard hitting West Indies side who are looking very strong

"No it wont be difficult for us as our record against the West Indies is very good and we have played good cricket against them in the past. We are very confident of performing well and we expect good cricket to be played in this series. We played good cricket in England where we hit 200+ and so we will look to play fearless cricket. In the West Indies, conditions will be different from those we saw in England but hope that people will get to see some good and competitive cricket in this series"


Importance of this series as preparation for the T20 World Cup

"This series is very important for us and we will go in with a different combination - we didn't get a chance to do this in England but we have enough matches here to try out different players in these games"


What different things will Pakistan do in this series?

"We have worked a bit on our fielding which was lagging a bit, apart from bowling and fielding which we always do. So we will try and play good cricket"


Where does Sharjeel Khan fit in the scheme of things?

"Sharjeel plays in the top-order and if he does play in the side, we will use him in the top-order; We have almost decided on this and you will see this tomorrow"


Haris Rauf

"Haris has performed well in the past but in cricket you get ups and downs but we are working with him to help him understand where he is lagging. He is a match-winning bowler for us and I have a lot of confidence in him and God Willing, we will see a different version of him in this series"


Issues with our pace-battery and how they will perform on slow pitches in the West Indies

"Pitches will be slow in general but in Barbados, we expect the fast-bowlers to get some bounce; So our bowlers will need to bowl with variation about which we have spoken to them and also done practice as well. Hopefully we wont make the same mistakes that we made in the past as we have experienced bowlers like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hassan Ali and our fast-bowlers will make a comeback in this series. Hassan Ali is in good form and his experience is there for all to see, and we will use that to our advantage. We have played CPL here, so we do know a bit about the conditions here"


Will Usman Qadir get more chances in the West Indies as wickets offer more turn?

"Spinners do get help from turning wickets here - we will look to give proper amount of matches to spinners with the T20 World Cup in mind"

 

[shamaan]

Looks like sharjeel will be opening come the first t20

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Sharjeel to play for Fakhar in the first game, gets out early and dropped for the entire tour. So predictable. If they wanted to give Sharjeel an opportunity they could’ve played him in the last T20 vs England to get him into the groove ahead of the West Indies tour.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Sharjeel to play for Fakhar in the first game, gets out early and dropped for the entire tour. So predictable. If they wanted to give Sharjeel an opportunity they could’ve played him in the last T20 vs England to get him into the groove ahead of the West Indies tour.

Sharjeel hasn't even failed yet and you are already making excuses for him.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Nothing would make me happier than to see Sharjeel and Azam Khan exposed for the hacks and frauds that they are. I hope they play all 4 games. I don't even care if we lose the series. It will be a small price to pay to finally expose Sharjeel and Azam and keep them out of World Cup contention.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Thats the biggest worry. None of them are good enough and yet they dominate domestic, which tells you about the quality of them

 

[Ami]

Personally...I dont know where we can fit Sharjeel?

Babar
Riz
Fakhar
Hafeez
Max/Azam
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Usman
Hasnain/Haris
Afridi

This is in my opinion the best combination we have so far...
Fakhar had to play high up.
We've struggled so much in middle order we cant afford to carry 2; so one of them is fine.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Sharjeel hasn't even failed yet and you are already making excuses for him.

Not making excuses for him, just know that the conditions aren’t suited to him. He would’ve done much better than the like of Maqsood, Azam Khan, Hafeez and Fakhar in England. Those players won’t get dropped after 1-2 games but Sharjeel will. I’ve seen it all before, they done the exact same thing with Umar Akmal.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Not making excuses for him, just know that the conditions aren’t suited to him. He would’ve done much better than the like of Maqsood, Azam Khan, Hafeez and Fakhar in England. Those players won’t get dropped after 1-2 games but Sharjeel will. I’ve seen it all before, they done the exact same thing with Umar Akmal.

Conditions aren't suited to him? Remind me again, is he supposed to be an international cricketer or a penguin? I mean if that isn't an excuse, I don't know what is.

Also, please don't float this narrative that Umar Akmal was somehow unfairly treated because not only has it gotten old but no one believes it either. The fact that Umar Akmal has 121 ODI caps is a big enough travesty as it is.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Conditions aren't suited to him? Remind me again, is he supposed to be an international cricketer or a penguin? I mean if that isn't an excuse, I don't know what is.

Also, please don't float this narrative that Umar Akmal was somehow unfairly treated because not only has it gotten old but no one believes it either. The fact that Umar Akmal has 121 ODI caps is a big enough travesty as it is.

They’ve got team analysts for a reason, play the best players based on the conditions. Look at what NZ did in WC15, IIRC they dropped Southee and Boult in a couple of matches not because of performances but because of the conditions. Sharjeel Khan should’ve played in England, they chose not to because if he done well then Babar’s role in the team would be questioned. Softie Babar knows that Sharjeel is more likely to fail on slow pitches where the ball keeps low.

Hopefully Sharjeel does well so we can get rid of softie Babar from T20’s.

Misbah brought Umar Akmal back for the SL series in the UAE, then dropped him after 2 failures. Why would you bring back a player who’s under pressure, playing for a spot and then to drop him after 2 failures?

 

[Extra_Cover]

The sheer volume of posts I have come across in the past couple of months asking for Sharjeel's inclusion in the team begs belief. How can pure cricket lovers on a cricket forum be so oblivious to the fact that Rizwan/Babar is infinitely better than any combination which includes Sharjeel.

On top of that what is the value add of Sharjeel? He is one of the guys you look to hide on the field. He will never run that extra 3 run or quick doubles for the team or partner. He has never been a player so good that we are begging for his inclusion yet here we are where demanding for his inclusion.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

They’ve got team analysts for a reason, play the best players based on the conditions. Look at what NZ did in WC15, IIRC they dropped Southee and Boult in a couple of matches not because of performances but because of the conditions. Sharjeel Khan should’ve played in England, they chose not to because if he done well then Babar’s role in the team would be questioned. Softie Babar knows that Sharjeel is more likely to fail on slow pitches where the ball keeps low.

Hopefully Sharjeel does well so we can get rid of softie Babar from T20’s.

Misbah brought Umar Akmal back for the SL series in the UAE, then dropped him after 2 failures. Why would you bring back a player who’s under pressure, playing for a spot and then to drop him after 2 failures?

Dude are you trolling or being serious? How are even comparing Sharjeel, who has done nothing as an international cricketer and does not even look like a professional athlete, to one of the best T20 batsmen in the world? Its inconceivable to me how you would even make that comparison.

You are also completely wrong when you say NZ dropped Boult and Southee for a couple of games in the 2015 World Cup. They played every game in that tournament. So I don't know where you got that from.

One of the biggest mistakes that Misbah made was bringing Umar Akmal back for even two games when he should have known Umar Akmal's career was a case-study in mediocrity and failure. For one thing, Umar Akmal does not have the capability to keep up with the modern standards of the game. His career strike-rate of 122 simply doesn't cut it at this level anymore. Maybe it did in 2014, but it isn't 2014 anymore. The last time he featured prominently in the T20 team was the year 2016 and even in that year he averaged 29 with a SR of 123. Abysmal numbers that shouldn't put you anywhere near the T20 team. And I haven't even started talking about his ODI career yet, a format in which he last scored a half-century in 2014.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The sheer volume of posts I have come across in the past couple of months asking for Sharjeel's inclusion in the team begs belief. How can pure cricket lovers on a cricket forum be so oblivious to the fact that Rizwan/Babar is infinitely better than any combination which includes Sharjeel.

On top of that what is the value add of Sharjeel? He is one of the guys you look to hide on the field. He will never run that extra 3 run or quick doubles for the team or partner. He has never been a player so good that we are begging for his inclusion yet here we are where demanding for his inclusion.

Goes back to the same perception of Imran Nazir being a 'dashing opening batsman' and Afridi being a 'hard-hitting finisher'. You'd think people who were such big fans of these guys would actually bother to look up their batting averages.

Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that many people are simply out of touch. And there's nothing you can do to bring them back to reality. Even if Sharjeel plays 10 games and fails in 7 of them they will find a way to paint him as a victim. Why? Because they saw him hit a couple of sixes in the PSL and that really caught their attention.

 

[cricketjoshila]

The sheer amount of posts on Sharjeel tells me about the damage "shahid afridi syndrome" has done to Pakistan cricket.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Dude are you trolling or being serious? How are even comparing Sharjeel, who has done nothing as an international cricketer and does not even look like a professional athlete, to one of the best T20 batsmen in the world? Its inconceivable to me how you would even make that comparison.

You are also completely wrong when you say NZ dropped Boult and Southee for a couple of games in the 2015 World Cup. They played every game in that tournament. So I don't know where you got that from.

One of the biggest mistakes that Misbah made was bringing Umar Akmal back for even two games when he should have known Umar Akmal's career was a case-study in mediocrity and failure. For one thing, Umar Akmal does not have the capability to keep up with the modern standards of the game. His career strike-rate of 122 simply doesn't cut it at this level anymore. Maybe it did in 2014, but it isn't 2014 anymore. The last time he featured prominently in the T20 team was the year 2016 and even in that year he averaged 29 with a SR of 123. Abysmal numbers that shouldn't put you anywhere near the T20 team. And I haven't even started talking about his ODI career yet, a format in which he last scored a half-century in 2014.

We can compare the FC stats and you’ll find that both have similar averages but one has a far greater strike rate, no need to guess who that is and that also tells me that people who call Sharjeel a hack have never watched him play in domestic cricket.

Does Rohit Sharma look like an athlete, what’s his BMI?

Also, what about Rishabh Pant? Please note, before people start crying about why I’m comparing Sharma to Sharjeel (@mamoon) we’re not talking about performances, but do these two look like athletes?

Is Babar really one of the best T20 batsmen? Or is it because he’s one of Pakistan’s best batsman and so that makes him one of the best in the world? Babar is Pakistan’s Joe Root in T20’s, sooner or later he’ll be dropped and we’ll be able to enjoy some proper slogging.


2018/19 PSL - “One of the best T20 batsmen in the world”, according to some - Average 30 @ 115 that’s much lower than 123 but this guy is called one of the best and let’s not forget that’s the same year he was ranked number 1 in T20’s, correct me if I’m wrong?

Also Umar Akmal in the same PSL - Average 34 @ 137, I’ll just leave it there.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

We can compare the FC stats and you’ll find that both have similar averages but one has a far greater strike rate, no need to guess who that is and that also tells me that people who call Sharjeel a hack have never watched him play in domestic cricket.

Does Rohit Sharma look like an athlete, what’s his BMI?

Also, what about Rishabh Pant? Please note, before people start crying about why I’m comparing Sharma to Sharjeel (@mamoon) we’re not talking about performances, but do these two look like athletes?

Is Babar really one of the best T20 batsmen? Or is it because he’s one of Pakistan’s best batsman and so that makes him one of the best in the world? Babar is Pakistan’s Joe Root in T20’s, sooner or later he’ll be dropped and we’ll be able to enjoy some proper slogging.


2018/19 PSL - “One of the best T20 batsmen in the world”, according to some - Average 30 @ 115 that’s much lower than 123 but this guy is called one of the best and let’s not forget that’s the same year he was ranked number 1 in T20’s, correct me if I’m wrong?

Also Umar Akmal in the same PSL - Average 34 @ 137, I’ll just leave it there.

Why are you bringing up FC stats here? I thought we were talking about T20 cricket. And funny how you've completely glossed over one point --- that Sharjeel has done absolutely nothing in international cricket--- and made another---that he doesn't look anything like an athlete---the main focus of his argument. But hey, I'll indulge, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are no physical specimens, but it doesn't take a genius to deduce the fact that they look like Olympic athletes infront of Sharjeel. That's how badly out of shape he is. Its frankly shameful and shows you how seriously he takes his cricket.

Nah, its because he IS one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. And it would take someone who is really out of touch with modern cricket to make the assumption that he is soft just because he doesn't close his eyes and slog like every hack who ever played for Pakistan. His T20 SR has consistently been on the uptick and he has evolved as a batsman to keep up with the modern standards of the game, unlike a certain cousin of his who has only regressed since they debuted in 2009. There's a reason why he's the No.2 T20 batsman in the world, while Umar Akmal is little more than a punch-line.


LMAO are you seriously picking his SR from one season and using it to make your point? What about his SR for the rest of his international T20 career?

And even if he had a combined SR of 160 in his entire PSL career, it would mean nothing because PSL stats mean absolutely nothing. Performing on the international stage is the only thing that matters. If anything PSL is an incredibly misleading indicator for the form of a batsman, as it has proven time and time again with players like Asif Ali, Husain Talat, Khushdil, and now: Sohaib Maqsood and Sharjeel who have thus far proven to be complete failures. I doubt you could even name 5 batsmen it has unearthed that have gone on to play for Pakistan and become stars. And that's even not a fault of yours because there aren't 5 world-class batsmen that PSL has unearthed.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The sheer amount of posts on Sharjeel tells me about the damage "shahid afridi syndrome" has done to Pakistan cricket.

Agree completely. But at the end of the day you have to question the collective intellect of the fans and the selectors aswell. Because at the end of the day they are the ones ignoring rationality, common sense and numbers by selecting him and cheering him on.

 

[OMB]

Why are you bringing up FC stats here? I thought we were talking about T20 cricket. And funny how you've completely glossed over one point --- that Sharjeel has done absolutely nothing in international cricket--- and made another---that he doesn't look anything like an athlete---the main focus of his argument. But hey, I'll indulge, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are no physical specimens, but it doesn't take a genius to deduce the fact that they look like Olympic athletes infront of Sharjeel. That's how badly out of shape he is. Its frankly shameful and shows you how seriously he takes his cricket.

Nah, its because he IS one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. And it would take someone who is really out of touch with modern cricket to make the assumption that he is soft just because he doesn't close his eyes and slog like every hack who ever played for Pakistan. His T20 SR has consistently been on the uptick and he has evolved as a batsman to keep up with the modern standards of the game, unlike a certain cousin of his who has only regressed since they debuted in 2009. There's a reason why he's the No.2 T20 batsman in the world, while Umar Akmal is little more than a punch-line.


LMAO are you seriously picking his SR from one season and using it to make your point? What about his SR for the rest of his international T20 career?

And even if he had a combined SR of 160 in his entire PSL career, it would mean nothing because PSL stats mean absolutely nothing. Performing on the international stage is the only thing that matters. If anything PSL is an incredibly misleading indicator for the form of a batsman, as it has proven time and time again with players like Asif Ali, Husain Talat, Khushdil, and now: Sohaib Maqsood and Sharjeel who have thus far proven to be complete failures. I doubt you could even name 5 batsmen it has unearthed that have gone on to play for Pakistan and become stars. And that's even not a fault of yours because there aren't 5 world-class batsmen that PSL has unearthed.

Extremely athletic though. Cannot be compared to Sharjeel in looks

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Why are you bringing up FC stats here? I thought we were talking about T20 cricket. And funny how you've completely glossed over one point --- that Sharjeel has done absolutely nothing in international cricket--- and made another---that he doesn't look anything like an athlete---the main focus of his argument. But hey, I'll indulge, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are no physical specimens, but it doesn't take a genius to deduce the fact that they look like Olympic athletes infront of Sharjeel. That's how badly out of shape he is. Its frankly shameful and shows you how seriously he takes his cricket.

Nah, its because he IS one of the best T20 batsmen in the world. And it would take someone who is really out of touch with modern cricket to make the assumption that he is soft just because he doesn't close his eyes and slog like every hack who ever played for Pakistan. His T20 SR has consistently been on the uptick and he has evolved as a batsman to keep up with the modern standards of the game, unlike a certain cousin of his who has only regressed since they debuted in 2009. There's a reason why he's the No.2 T20 batsman in the world, while Umar Akmal is little more than a punch-line.


LMAO are you seriously picking his SR from one season and using it to make your point? What about his SR for the rest of his international T20 career?

And even if he had a combined SR of 160 in his entire PSL career, it would mean nothing because PSL stats mean absolutely nothing. Performing on the international stage is the only thing that matters. If anything PSL is an incredibly misleading indicator for the form of a batsman, as it has proven time and time again with players like Asif Ali, Husain Talat, Khushdil, and now: Sohaib Maqsood and Sharjeel who have thus far proven to be complete failures. I doubt you could even name 5 batsmen it has unearthed that have gone on to play for Pakistan and become stars. And that's even not a fault of yours because there aren't 5 world-class batsmen that PSL has unearthed.

I thought we were comparing Babar to Sharjeel, and I’m sure you’re one of the posters who thinks Sharjeel is a “hack” so I thought i’d share the FC stats where both Softie Babar and Sharjeel have similar stats. Give Sharjeel the same amount of games as Babar and we’ll see who has a better international career in LOI.

You don’t need to look like an athlete to play cricket. And, if fitness is the reason that keeps Sharjeel out of the team then I better get myself to specsavers cuz I swear I saw Rakishi playing in England for us.

One of the best batsmen in the world but he won’t even be the second choice opener in T20’s for the top 4 teams.
It’s easy to increase your SR when it’s so low, nothing special. It’s like a bowler averaging 40 with the ball and then calling him a goat cuz he now averages 30.

Umar Akmal has regressed yet he was one of the best batsmen in both FC and List A tournaments prior to his ban

You mean the SR in his international career where he’s been stat padding against teams like Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka? Not my goat, I couldn’t imagine Morgan, Kohli, Finch, Williamson playing against minnows in bilateral games. Stat padding softies like Imam and Babar will never be my goats.

PSL stats mean nothing yet players are getting picked for Pakistan based on PSL performances*

Yes, PSL stats are misleading but not stats at international level especially since we play top teams like Zimbabwe quite a lot.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Nothing would make me happier than to see Sharjeel and Azam Khan exposed for the hacks and frauds that they are. I hope they play all 4 games. I don't even care if we lose the series. It will be a small price to pay to finally expose Sharjeel and Azam and keep them out of World Cup contention.

I agree with this statement 100%.

People are rating Sharjeel as if he taught Virender Sehwag how to hold a bat. They act as if Azam Khan is Andre Russell's idol. Complete nonsense.

In my opinion, there are quite a few players on our team who don't merit a spot, and I shall list them below:
1) Sharjeel Khan
2) Azam Khan
3) Haris Rauf
4) Usman Qadir
5) Fakhar Zaman

Almost all of them are on the team without any performances to take note of.

Usman being on the list is probably shocking, but considering that the guy didn't even want to play for our country, and the fact that he can't handle bowling when he's being targetted, means that I will always prefer Nawaz over him. Nawaz did nothing which one can say that he deserved to be dropped for, he bowled well in South Africa, and he is also very economical.

Hopefully Arshad Iqbal and Mohammad Wasim can get some games to see what they can produce on slow wickets. I think Mohammad Wasim, if he does well, will finally get rid of Faheem Ashraf who has been riding his career on the fact that he is a pace-bowling all-rounder without giving many notable performances.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I thought we were comparing Babar to Sharjeel, and I’m sure you’re one of the posters who thinks Sharjeel is a “hack” so I thought i’d share the FC stats where both Softie Babar and Sharjeel have similar stats. Give Sharjeel the same amount of games as Babar and we’ll see who has a better international career in LOI.

You don’t need to look like an athlete to play cricket. And, if fitness is the reason that keeps Sharjeel out of the team then I better get myself to specsavers cuz I swear I saw Rakishi playing in England for us.

One of the best batsmen in the world but he won’t even be the second choice opener in T20’s for the top 4 teams.
It’s easy to increase your SR when it’s so low, nothing special. It’s like a bowler averaging 40 with the ball and then calling him a goat cuz he now averages 30.

Umar Akmal has regressed yet he was one of the best batsmen in both FC and List A tournaments prior to his ban

You mean the SR in his international career where he’s been stat padding against teams like Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka? Not my goat, I couldn’t imagine Morgan, Kohli, Finch, Williamson playing against minnows in bilateral games. Stat padding softies like Imam and Babar will never be my goats.

PSL stats mean nothing yet players are getting picked for Pakistan based on PSL performances*

Yes, PSL stats are misleading but not stats at international level especially since we play top teams like Zimbabwe quite a lot.

Your arguments have zero coherence and are almost completely shrouded in whataboutery. Not only do you selectively pick and choose whatever you can to justify your likes and dislikes, but you also seem to prioritize PSL and domestic stats over international stats which is beyond laughable to me.

I'll say two things from what I've been able to comprehend. One, Sharjeel will never play as many games as Babar because he's an unfit hack with zero ability who wasted whatever chance he had of being something by getting involved in match-fixing. And even if he somehow did play as many games as Babar (hypothetically) he would struggle to average above 24 because frankly that's the level he's at. Even mentioning him in the same breath as a modern-day great as Babar cannot be taken as anything more than a joke.

Two, you really need to reassess your views on cricket. And I mean that in the positive sense. If you really believe that Sharjeel and Umar Akmal are anything less than utterly mediocre failures than clearly you are deliberately choosing to ignore anything and everything they have done in a Pakistan shirt.

 

[UzmanBeast]

I thought we were comparing Babar to Sharjeel, and I’m sure you’re one of the posters who thinks Sharjeel is a “hack” so I thought i’d share the FC stats where both Softie Babar and Sharjeel have similar stats. Give Sharjeel the same amount of games as Babar and we’ll see who has a better international career in LOI.

You don’t need to look like an athlete to play cricket. And, if fitness is the reason that keeps Sharjeel out of the team then I better get myself to specsavers cuz I swear I saw Rakishi playing in England for us.

One of the best batsmen in the world but he won’t even be the second choice opener in T20’s for the top 4 teams.
It’s easy to increase your SR when it’s so low, nothing special. It’s like a bowler averaging 40 with the ball and then calling him a goat cuz he now averages 30.

Umar Akmal has regressed yet he was one of the best batsmen in both FC and List A tournaments prior to his ban��

You mean the SR in his international career where he’s been stat padding against teams like Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka? Not my goat, I couldn’t imagine Morgan, Kohli, Finch, Williamson playing against minnows in bilateral games. Stat padding softies like Imam and Babar will never be my goats.

PSL stats mean nothing yet players are getting picked for Pakistan based on PSL performances����*

Yes, PSL stats are misleading but not stats at international level especially since we play top teams like Zimbabwe quite a lot.

Mentioning Sharjeel in the same sentence as Babar is insulting.

Sharjeel huffs and puffs when he has to run a single, the only thing is, he can't blow away a single opposition unless the bowlers are brainlessly bowling in his arc.

Babar is one of the best T20 batsmen going around, and that is there for everyone to see. There's a reason respectable international players don't praise Sharjeel, because he simply isn't good enough.

You can talk about Babar improving his SR, but the fact is that the only thing Sharjeel has improved is his weight, only marginally though, and that's not a good sign. His batting average is slipping, his fielding is sloppy, and he can't rotate strike at all. He's not fit for international cricket, and the same goes with Azam Khan, both are too unfit for the team and should not play at all.

Almost all the top 4 teams in the world would keep Babar on their team, maybe not as an opener, but a player of that class would definitely slot in somewhere in those teams. On the other hand, I can't see Sharjeel playing for any team on this planet except Pakistan given our poor standards.

Sharjeel's hundred in the PSL was a fluke, he was operating at a SR below 50 being unable to rotate strike before Shadab bowled every single ball in his arc.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Mentioning Sharjeel in the same sentence as Babar is insulting.

Sharjeel huffs and puffs when he has to run a single, the only thing is, he can't blow away a single opposition unless the bowlers are brainlessly bowling in his arc.

Babar is one of the best T20 batsmen going around, and that is there for everyone to see. There's a reason respectable international players don't praise Sharjeel, because he simply isn't good enough.

You can talk about Babar improving his SR, but the fact is that the only thing Sharjeel has improved is his weight, only marginally though, and that's not a good sign. His batting average is slipping, his fielding is sloppy, and he can't rotate strike at all. He's not fit for international cricket, and the same goes with Azam Khan, both are too unfit for the team and should not play at all.

Almost all the top 4 teams in the world would keep Babar on their team, maybe not as an opener, but a player of that class would definitely slot in somewhere in those teams. On the other hand, I can't see Sharjeel playing for any team on this planet except Pakistan given our poor standards.

Sharjeel's hundred in the PSL was a fluke, he was operating at a SR below 50 being unable to rotate strike before Shadab bowled every single ball in his arc.

Sharjeel has more chances of getting into the England team then Babar. The only thing that would stop Sharjeel from being picked is his fitness. The way ECB operates is completely different to how PCB operates. If they see someone with potential but lacks fitness then they’ll make sure he gets fit for selection. With PCB it’s completely different, Sharjeel is sitting on the bench in England thinking why should I lose weight when players like Azam Khan who weigh twice as much as I do get picked.

Averaging 50+ doesn’t mean you’ll get into most teams, Jason Roy and Alex Hales average high 30’s yet they were England’s first choice openers (prior to Hales’ ban). Sharjeel has similar stats to both of these players, Babar doesn’t. Babar has a SR of less than 90 in ODI’s vs the top 5 teams.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Sharjeel has more chances of getting into the England team then Babar. The only thing that would stop Sharjeel from being picked is his fitness. The way ECB operates is completely different to how PCB operates. If they see someone with potential but lacks fitness then they’ll make sure he gets fit for selection. With PCB it’s completely different, Sharjeel is sitting on the bench in England thinking why should I lose weight when players like Azam Khan who weigh twice as much as I do get picked.

Averaging 50+ doesn’t mean you’ll get into most teams, Jason Roy and Alex Hales average high 30’s yet they were England’s first choice openers (prior to Hales’ ban). Sharjeel has similar stats to both of these players, Babar doesn’t. Babar has a SR of less than 90 in ODI’s vs the top 5 teams.

This has to be the most utterly outrageous thing I have read in a long time. Sharjeel would be beyond lucky to even play club cricket in England, let alone play for the English team

Also, name one cricketer who has played for England in the last decade who looks like Sharjeel? Go on, I'll wait.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

The sheer volume of posts I have come across in the past couple of months asking for Sharjeel's inclusion in the team begs belief. How can pure cricket lovers on a cricket forum be so oblivious to the fact that Rizwan/Babar is infinitely better than any combination which includes Sharjeel.

On top of that what is the value add of Sharjeel? He is one of the guys you look to hide on the field. He will never run that extra 3 run or quick doubles for the team or partner. He has never been a player so good that we are begging for his inclusion yet here we are where demanding for his inclusion.

T20 isn't a pure form of cricket, it demands players who can score at a far higher R/R than other forms. Pakistan has a dearth of those at the moment, and the preferred middle order options such as Haider Ali and Asif Ali have flopped badly. Maqsood also failed recently, and Azam Khan inclusion was a joke too far. That is why we are coming back round to Sharjeel. No one is grasping the opportunities when they come.

 

[PakPremi]

Thats the biggest worry. None of them are good enough and yet they dominate domestic, which tells you about the quality of them

But real fact is hardly any of them dominate domestic or PSL. Most batsmen just had two or three good matches and they got selected,even their technique looked suspect in domestic and PSL likes of Maqsood and Azim Khan always look rubbish, even if they manage to hit some 6s like Asif Ali or Khushdil.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Your arguments have zero coherence and are almost completely shrouded in whataboutery. Not only do you selectively pick and choose whatever you can to justify your likes and dislikes, but you also seem to prioritize PSL and domestic stats over international stats which is beyond laughable to me.

I'll say two things from what I've been able to comprehend. One, Sharjeel will never play as many games as Babar because he's an unfit hack with zero ability who wasted whatever chance he had of being something by getting involved in match-fixing. And even if he somehow did play as many games as Babar (hypothetically) he would struggle to average above 24 because frankly that's the level he's at. Even mentioning him in the same breath as a modern-day great as Babar cannot be taken as anything more than a joke.

Two, you really need to reassess your views on cricket. And I mean that in the positive sense. If you really believe that Sharjeel and Umar Akmal are anything less than utterly mediocre failures than clearly you are deliberately choosing to ignore anything and everything they have done in a Pakistan shirt.

My views on Sharjeel are no different to Dean Jones’, a legend of the game. I’ll trust his words more than some posters.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

This has to be the most utterly outrageous thing I have read in a long time. Sharjeel would be beyond lucky to even play club cricket in England, let alone play for the English team

Also, name one cricketer who has played for England in the last decade who looks like Sharjeel? Go on, I'll wait.

Bairstow.

 

[Titan24]

But real fact is hardly any of them dominate domestic or PSL. Most batsmen just had two or three good matches and they got selected,even their technique looked suspect in domestic and PSL likes of Maqsood and Azim Khan always look rubbish, even if they manage to hit some 6s like Asif Ali or Khushdil.

True. Pak team has been desperate to find batsmen and that's why there has been such kind of fast tracking of youngsters and even older players after few good performances. Teams like Eng, Ind and NZ with ample players available rarely select a player after just one good season let alone one good tournament.

When you select a player after after at least two good seasons in a format (Ideally along with success with A team), the probability of him succeeding at international level definitely increases. None of the guys recently tried have dominated any format consistently in the last two years however, due to lack of options they were brought into the team after just one good tournament or max a good season in a format which was always going to be a gamble. Difficult to blame selectors here as well because, our whiteball middle order is non existent so they are trying to make a quick fix or two before the two World T20s.

 

[Mesozoic]

Bairstow.

You need to go see an optician. :

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I agree with this statement 100%.

People are rating Sharjeel as if he taught Virender Sehwag how to hold a bat. They act as if Azam Khan is Andre Russell's idol. Complete nonsense.

In my opinion, there are quite a few players on our team who don't merit a spot, and I shall list them below:
1) Sharjeel Khan
2) Azam Khan
3) Haris Rauf
4) Usman Qadir
5) Fakhar Zaman

Almost all of them are on the team without any performances to take note of.

Usman being on the list is probably shocking, but considering that the guy didn't even want to play for our country, and the fact that he can't handle bowling when he's being targetted, means that I will always prefer Nawaz over him. Nawaz did nothing which one can say that he deserved to be dropped for, he bowled well in South Africa, and he is also very economical.

Hopefully Arshad Iqbal and Mohammad Wasim can get some games to see what they can produce on slow wickets. I think Mohammad Wasim, if he does well, will finally get rid of Faheem Ashraf who has been riding his career on the fact that he is a pace-bowling all-rounder without giving many notable performances.

Some people would consider a number of these names shocking, but not me. From a logical point of view all these names make complete sense. That said, I believe there are varying degrees to how badly a particular player doesn't deserve a spot. And given the utter lack of quality players in the Pakistan set-up I feel there are some names that Pakistan will have to retain. Just because there are no alternatives.

Right off the bat, Sharjeel and Azam Khan are obviously two names that should not be anywhere near the team.

Haris Rauf is someone I would not mind being dropped. His numbers in the first 16 overs are utterly atrocious and among the worst in the world. And unless they plan on playing him as a specialist death bowler (which is the only area where he seems to succeed) selecting him will be far more damaging than it will be productive.

Usman Qadir is another one who is vastly overrated. Even if he might become someone one day, its patently obvious that he is not there yet. He bowls a remarkable amount of rubbish in a given over and tends to be all over the place with his line and length. Which is why I question if its worth it to have someone who is likely going to be very expensive against most teams with even a bare minimum ability of playing spin. The only reason to have him in the squad is to have an extra leg-spinner. But then again, why not just go with the far better bowler Nawaz? Instead of clinging onto this notion that you need as many leg-spinners as possible in modern-day limited overs cricket. You do, but they actually have to be good aswell.

Fakhar though is someone I would retain. And though I understand why you have him on that list---and certainly his numbers would back you on this---I still feel he is one of the few mentally strong players that we have who can just flip the switch and turn it on when he's on-song. That and his history of delivering under pressure on numerous occasions are what always make me make look the other way with him. Eventhough he is remarkably inconsistent in this format.

Arshad Iqbal is not someone I have been especially impressed by. Mohammad Wasim on the other hand has impressed me. But since PSL form is so misleading we'll have to wait and see. Faheem for me still has alot of potential as a Test seam-bowling all-rounder, but in limited-overs I think it might be time to end the experiment.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Bairstow.

Okay now I know you're trolling. Because if you can type this than surely you can Google a picture of Bairstow.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

My views on Sharjeel are no different to Dean Jones’, a legend of the game. I’ll trust his words more than some posters.

Ofcourse you would. Because you only choose to believe whatever validates your biases.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Some people would consider a number of these names shocking, but not me. From a logical point of view all these names make complete sense. That said, I believe there are varying degrees to how badly a particular player doesn't deserve a spot. And given the utter lack of quality players in the Pakistan set-up I feel there are some names that Pakistan will have to retain. Just because there are no alternatives.

Right off the bat, Sharjeel and Azam Khan are obviously two names that should not be anywhere near the team.

Haris Rauf is someone I would not mind being dropped. His numbers in the first 16 overs are utterly atrocious and among the worst in the world. And unless they plan on playing him as a specialist death bowler (which is the only area where he seems to succeed) selecting him will be far more damaging than it will be productive.

Usman Qadir is another one who is vastly overrated. Even if he might become someone one day, its patently obvious that he is not there yet. He bowls a remarkable amount of rubbish in a given over and tends to be all over the place with his line and length. Which is why I question if its worth it to have someone who is likely going to be very expensive against most teams with even a bare minimum ability of playing spin. The only reason to have him in the squad is to have an extra leg-spinner. But then again, why not just go with the far better bowler Nawaz? Instead of clinging onto this notion that you need as many leg-spinners as possible in modern-day limited overs cricket. You do, but they actually have to be good aswell.

Fakhar though is someone I would retain. And though I understand why you have him on that list---and certainly his numbers would back you on this---I still feel he is one of the few mentally strong players that we have who can just flip the switch and turn it on when he's on-song. That and his history of delivering under pressure on numerous occasions are what always make me make look the other way with him. Eventhough he is remarkably inconsistent in this format.

Arshad Iqbal is not someone I have been especially impressed by. Mohammad Wasim on the other hand has impressed me. But since PSL form is so misleading we'll have to wait and see. Faheem for me still has alot of potential as a Test seam-bowling all-rounder, but in limited-overs I think it might be time to end the experiment.

The reason I don't trust Fakhar anymore is that he finds ways to get himself out. Rarely does he get outdone by the bowling, but much more often, he tries shots that aren't there.

And the issue is, once he lacks confidence, he goes into a shell. We need him to just charge at the ball, arms swinging and all, if we want the best out of him. The management wants him to play down the order without any fear, but he still isn't doing what he should.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Sharjeel has more chances of getting into the England team then Babar. The only thing that would stop Sharjeel from being picked is his fitness. The way ECB operates is completely different to how PCB operates. If they see someone with potential but lacks fitness then they’ll make sure he gets fit for selection. With PCB it’s completely different, Sharjeel is sitting on the bench in England thinking why should I lose weight when players like Azam Khan who weigh twice as much as I do get picked.

Averaging 50+ doesn’t mean you’ll get into most teams, Jason Roy and Alex Hales average high 30’s yet they were England’s first choice openers (prior to Hales’ ban). Sharjeel has similar stats to both of these players, Babar doesn’t. Babar has a SR of less than 90 in ODI’s vs the top 5 teams.

Yet Babar is ranked #1 in the world in ODI cricket.

You mentioned England because their approach is vastly different, however, teams like New Zealand, Australia, and even India would look at someone like Babar in ODI cricket and grab him with open arms.

None of those teams would pay a sliver of attention to someone as mediocre as Sharjeel Khan. If you seriously think that even England would consider Sharjeel Khan, I think you are mistaken. Firstly, he's a fixer, he would never make their team. Given how they treated Alex Hales for smoking a bit of pot, what do you think they'd do with someone proven of match-fixing?

You point at Babar's SR not being high enough in ODIs but have you taken a look at his average?

Whether you like it or not, Sharjeel Khan is eons behind Babar Azam. You cannot compare both of them in any way, shape, or form.

An out of form Babar is still miles ahead of an in-form Sharjeel.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Babar Azam is miles better than Sharjeel, this comparison is only wasting everyone's time as far as the discussion goes.

What we should be talking about is why Sharjeel is being considered, and who are the alternatives, whether opening or down the order.

 

[MenInG]

Think the Mohammad Wasim selection was a good one and Babar needs to be credited for it today.

 

[Saj]

The dreaded "but they've performed in the PSL" line.

 

[shamaan]

Sharjeel has more chances of getting into the England team then Babar. The only thing that would stop Sharjeel from being picked is his fitness. The way ECB operates is completely different to how PCB operates. If they see someone with potential but lacks fitness then they’ll make sure he gets fit for selection. With PCB it’s completely different, Sharjeel is sitting on the bench in England thinking why should I lose weight when players like Azam Khan who weigh twice as much as I do get picked.

Averaging 50+ doesn’t mean you’ll get into most teams, Jason Roy and Alex Hales average high 30’s yet they were England’s first choice openers (prior to Hales’ ban). Sharjeel has similar stats to both of these players, Babar doesn’t. Babar has a SR of less than 90 in ODI’s vs the top 5 teams.

Yes because England will allow match fixers to get into England squad.
What about Jimmy Anderson compliment on Babar azam and Mickey Arthur.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

You need to go see an optician. :

Okay now I know you're trolling. Because if you can type this than surely you can Google a picture of Bairstow.

Samit Patel.