MoJoJoJo
Tape Ball Star
- Joined
- May 12, 2017
- Runs
- 668
Since World cup is around the corner again and in my opinion, we have a much better shot at winning the much coveted trophy this time around. Though Misbah's brainless negative LOI tactics post 2019 world cup crashout gave us a glimpse and indication of us falling back into Azhar's era, but we somehow managed to arrest the decline and unearthed some gems courtesy PSL and some fine youngsters rising through the ranks.
Khair coming back to the topic, let's discuss some positives and negatives of both XIs:
2019 CWC XI:
Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris/Malik
Hafeez
Sarf
Imad
Shadab
Amir
Wahab
Shaheen/Hasan
Positives:
1) Fine batting depth. Prolly all of them could hold a bat back then and our tailenders and lower order came to our rescue for atleast twice in the tourney back then. Against Afg and Aus (even though we lost the game but we had a pretty realistic chance of winning that game had one of the midgets (malik, asif) contributed even 20,30 runs.
2) Plenty of spin options: We had four proper spin options: Shadab, Malik, Hafeez, Imad. Malik and hafeez contributed pretty well back then whenever the bowl was thrown towards them, reffering specifically to the game against Eng where malik took out Morgan and Hafeez removed Stokes in quick successions to halt England's quick scoring.
3) Middle order chipping in: Our middle and lower mid order chipped in quite well in that tournament. Imad's cameo against afg, Hafeez against eng, Haris twice against saf and nz. With fakhar string of failures, imam's inconsistency back then and babar's failure to convert starts and keeping up a healthy strike rate, our middle order stepped up pretty well to cover it up throughout the tourney.
Negatives:
1) Our inability to show up with a balanced eleven untill we were on the edge of elimination and the usual ifs and buts scenarios creeping up coz of losing our crucial games against Aus and Ind. Malik, Asif and Hasan under-performed as expected, neither of em was in good touch before the tournament. Hasan's 80 odd against ind, malik failing to score a run to save his life and Asif's drop catches costed us the whole tourney. You can see how the whole team looked different altogether with Haris and Shaheen coming in.
2) Too much of the usual off the field drama. With last minute out of nowhere inclusion of wahab, shocking exclusion of junaid which didn't end quite well, that leaked audio which gave air to the news of malik forming anti-sarfaraz group, and Shadab almost missing out on wc coz of some illness. Yet again we were more focused and worried about groupings, under-performing at will and stuff rather than winning the whole thing.
3) Embarassing captain: Even though I am a huge supporter of Sarf, but he just wasn't good enough. We were literally one player short in the whole tourney, with Sarf having nothing to show off throughout. No contribution with the bat, plus a couple of spoiled chances behind the stumps didn't help his and team's case either.
Though most of the fans consider us pretty unfortunate to miss out on semis, but IMO that was more of a case of self-infliction and self-destruction rather than luck. That brainfade against Windies early on in the tourney, pathetic team selections (Malik, Hasan, Asif) playing instead of Haris and Shaheen costed us big time. The moment we made the right calls was the moment we looked like a different outfit altogether but sadly that was a lil too late for us.
Now let's discuss our potential XI for 2023 wc:
2023 Potential XI:
Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Haris
Agha
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem
Plenty of old faces are gonna be retained, but the good thing is they all have improved alot. Be it imam's SR, Babar's impact game, Shaheen living upto his potential, shadab with much much improved batting. Haris Sohail is an option i have doubts on, but think he is a fine player of spin so he'll def come good on indian pitches.
Pros:
1) Consistent top order: Pretty similar to what india used to have with Rohit/Dhawan/Kohli combo. One of fakhar/imam/babar always perform to make sure we are always in the game, that's a huge positive for our team. Coz of their consistency, those dark days of 100 odd all out are no longer the case with this team. They always trynna make sure that we atleast have something to bowl to stay in the game.
2) World Class Pace Bowling attack: Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Ihsanullah, Hasnain and Zaman. The versatility of this attack is unmatched, and this attack is probabaly the best we've had in a while and arguably one of the best in the world. They all complement each other pretty well. Well a massive upgrade over Rahat Ali, Wahab, Irfan and Ehsan Adil forming our pace quartet back in 2015.
3) In form Spin ALRs: Shadab and Nawaz, both improved massively over the last couple of years. Shadab improved his batting alot, and nawaz is probably the most impactful player for us since the early 2022. Both are gun fielders, economical bowlers and pretty handy and impactful with the bat as well. As india pitches are expected to be dry, they both will def come good on such surfaces.
4) Professionalism, Self belief and Unity: Well that's not something which is usually associated with PCT over the past years but that's something which is injected into this Pak team by our core unit (Mainly Rizwan, babar, shaheen and shadab). We never looked like beating india back then, with just embarassing off the field antics (india is afraid of playing us, I'll take 10 wickets of india, wagha border stuff to name a few). This team is something else, they are level-headed, humble yet always on the top of their game to ensure that they aint gonna get lost into that usual jazba junoon again, by taking it in as just a game like other well groomed professionals do. This team is united, and whenever even slightest of doubts show up, they always trynna back each other publicly to ensure there is no in-fighting and groupings in the team.
Cons:
1) Untested middle order: The biggest fear I have rn is that untested middle order. I can imagine the likes of starc, hazelwood and cummings leaving us reeling at 50 odd for 3, and can we expect the likes of Haris, riz, agha, shadab and nawaz to take us to a safe total? Probably not. Haris is back after quite a long time, agha is untested. Riz's case is pretty similar to SKY, coz of his inability to crack the ODI code. We just have 10,11 odis before the world cup, the clock is ticking but our middle order has that crack asking to be exploited by the top teams.
2) No pace bowling ALR: Well, even though a pace bowling ALR isn't quite a necessity in indian conditions given it's gonna suit spin a lil more. But having a fine pace bowling ALR can actually give you plenty of depth. You can play an extra bat by excluding one of the pacers, and by including a pace ALR instead. Likes of Aamer Jamal, Faheem and Muhammad wasim jr can be considered for this role but i really doubt if either of them is gonna make the cut, and neither of em is reliable enough to contribute well with the bat as of now.
3) No specialist spinner: With shadab and nawaz, we just have two spin options and both of em can go for plenty. Almost every team has a genuine spin option in their team. Ind has Kuldeep, Eng has Rashid, Aus has Zampa, NZ has Sodhi/Santner. But our tendency to rely too much on bits and pieces players rather than opting for specialists can hurt us too. Though the likes of Usama Mir and Abrar ahmed are pretty raw to be considered for wc, but they atleast need to be given some game time before the wc to ensure we atleast have some backup options ready for nawaz and shadab.
One thing I admire the most about current PCT is that this team is level-headed and professional. We don't have Wahab "Inzi selecting him for WC in his dream" riaz and Hassan "10 Indian wickets" Ali and glorified trundler Amir anymore. We finally have a world-class and an in-form captain at the helm, who is getting better and better with time. Heck one can say he is even yet to hit his peak. We have arguably the best white ball bowler in the world rn, 3 supporting pacers who can walk into any LOI team rn, (except Ozes or prolly NZ one can say even though shaheen and to some extent an in-form rauf can walk into any team) prolly one of the best WKB going around, and one of our finest ever and most importantly well-settled and consistent LOI opening pair. Though the doubts over our batting depth remains, but these can definitely be sorted if our management trynna focus on selecting some specialist middle order bats rather than injecting and trynna fit-in 4,5 openers in a team.
The current PCT is different. Though the skillset and other performance related stuff can be discussed and debated upon, but their professionalism and dedication and "niyat" is something we cannot really doubt. They have that positive mindset and self-belief of overcoming the mental barriers, unlike PCT of the past. That's something which I've never seen in our team.
Anything less than semis is gonna be a disappointment given the conditions are gonna suit us more than the SENA teams, but if we strike a right balance and combination, you can fancy this team to fight against all the odds and go all the way as well!
Khair coming back to the topic, let's discuss some positives and negatives of both XIs:
2019 CWC XI:
Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris/Malik
Hafeez
Sarf
Imad
Shadab
Amir
Wahab
Shaheen/Hasan
Positives:
1) Fine batting depth. Prolly all of them could hold a bat back then and our tailenders and lower order came to our rescue for atleast twice in the tourney back then. Against Afg and Aus (even though we lost the game but we had a pretty realistic chance of winning that game had one of the midgets (malik, asif) contributed even 20,30 runs.
2) Plenty of spin options: We had four proper spin options: Shadab, Malik, Hafeez, Imad. Malik and hafeez contributed pretty well back then whenever the bowl was thrown towards them, reffering specifically to the game against Eng where malik took out Morgan and Hafeez removed Stokes in quick successions to halt England's quick scoring.
3) Middle order chipping in: Our middle and lower mid order chipped in quite well in that tournament. Imad's cameo against afg, Hafeez against eng, Haris twice against saf and nz. With fakhar string of failures, imam's inconsistency back then and babar's failure to convert starts and keeping up a healthy strike rate, our middle order stepped up pretty well to cover it up throughout the tourney.
Negatives:
1) Our inability to show up with a balanced eleven untill we were on the edge of elimination and the usual ifs and buts scenarios creeping up coz of losing our crucial games against Aus and Ind. Malik, Asif and Hasan under-performed as expected, neither of em was in good touch before the tournament. Hasan's 80 odd against ind, malik failing to score a run to save his life and Asif's drop catches costed us the whole tourney. You can see how the whole team looked different altogether with Haris and Shaheen coming in.
2) Too much of the usual off the field drama. With last minute out of nowhere inclusion of wahab, shocking exclusion of junaid which didn't end quite well, that leaked audio which gave air to the news of malik forming anti-sarfaraz group, and Shadab almost missing out on wc coz of some illness. Yet again we were more focused and worried about groupings, under-performing at will and stuff rather than winning the whole thing.
3) Embarassing captain: Even though I am a huge supporter of Sarf, but he just wasn't good enough. We were literally one player short in the whole tourney, with Sarf having nothing to show off throughout. No contribution with the bat, plus a couple of spoiled chances behind the stumps didn't help his and team's case either.
Though most of the fans consider us pretty unfortunate to miss out on semis, but IMO that was more of a case of self-infliction and self-destruction rather than luck. That brainfade against Windies early on in the tourney, pathetic team selections (Malik, Hasan, Asif) playing instead of Haris and Shaheen costed us big time. The moment we made the right calls was the moment we looked like a different outfit altogether but sadly that was a lil too late for us.
Now let's discuss our potential XI for 2023 wc:
2023 Potential XI:
Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Rizwan
Haris
Agha
Shadab
Nawaz
Shaheen
Rauf
Naseem
Plenty of old faces are gonna be retained, but the good thing is they all have improved alot. Be it imam's SR, Babar's impact game, Shaheen living upto his potential, shadab with much much improved batting. Haris Sohail is an option i have doubts on, but think he is a fine player of spin so he'll def come good on indian pitches.
Pros:
1) Consistent top order: Pretty similar to what india used to have with Rohit/Dhawan/Kohli combo. One of fakhar/imam/babar always perform to make sure we are always in the game, that's a huge positive for our team. Coz of their consistency, those dark days of 100 odd all out are no longer the case with this team. They always trynna make sure that we atleast have something to bowl to stay in the game.
2) World Class Pace Bowling attack: Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Ihsanullah, Hasnain and Zaman. The versatility of this attack is unmatched, and this attack is probabaly the best we've had in a while and arguably one of the best in the world. They all complement each other pretty well. Well a massive upgrade over Rahat Ali, Wahab, Irfan and Ehsan Adil forming our pace quartet back in 2015.
3) In form Spin ALRs: Shadab and Nawaz, both improved massively over the last couple of years. Shadab improved his batting alot, and nawaz is probably the most impactful player for us since the early 2022. Both are gun fielders, economical bowlers and pretty handy and impactful with the bat as well. As india pitches are expected to be dry, they both will def come good on such surfaces.
4) Professionalism, Self belief and Unity: Well that's not something which is usually associated with PCT over the past years but that's something which is injected into this Pak team by our core unit (Mainly Rizwan, babar, shaheen and shadab). We never looked like beating india back then, with just embarassing off the field antics (india is afraid of playing us, I'll take 10 wickets of india, wagha border stuff to name a few). This team is something else, they are level-headed, humble yet always on the top of their game to ensure that they aint gonna get lost into that usual jazba junoon again, by taking it in as just a game like other well groomed professionals do. This team is united, and whenever even slightest of doubts show up, they always trynna back each other publicly to ensure there is no in-fighting and groupings in the team.
Cons:
1) Untested middle order: The biggest fear I have rn is that untested middle order. I can imagine the likes of starc, hazelwood and cummings leaving us reeling at 50 odd for 3, and can we expect the likes of Haris, riz, agha, shadab and nawaz to take us to a safe total? Probably not. Haris is back after quite a long time, agha is untested. Riz's case is pretty similar to SKY, coz of his inability to crack the ODI code. We just have 10,11 odis before the world cup, the clock is ticking but our middle order has that crack asking to be exploited by the top teams.
2) No pace bowling ALR: Well, even though a pace bowling ALR isn't quite a necessity in indian conditions given it's gonna suit spin a lil more. But having a fine pace bowling ALR can actually give you plenty of depth. You can play an extra bat by excluding one of the pacers, and by including a pace ALR instead. Likes of Aamer Jamal, Faheem and Muhammad wasim jr can be considered for this role but i really doubt if either of them is gonna make the cut, and neither of em is reliable enough to contribute well with the bat as of now.
3) No specialist spinner: With shadab and nawaz, we just have two spin options and both of em can go for plenty. Almost every team has a genuine spin option in their team. Ind has Kuldeep, Eng has Rashid, Aus has Zampa, NZ has Sodhi/Santner. But our tendency to rely too much on bits and pieces players rather than opting for specialists can hurt us too. Though the likes of Usama Mir and Abrar ahmed are pretty raw to be considered for wc, but they atleast need to be given some game time before the wc to ensure we atleast have some backup options ready for nawaz and shadab.
One thing I admire the most about current PCT is that this team is level-headed and professional. We don't have Wahab "Inzi selecting him for WC in his dream" riaz and Hassan "10 Indian wickets" Ali and glorified trundler Amir anymore. We finally have a world-class and an in-form captain at the helm, who is getting better and better with time. Heck one can say he is even yet to hit his peak. We have arguably the best white ball bowler in the world rn, 3 supporting pacers who can walk into any LOI team rn, (except Ozes or prolly NZ one can say even though shaheen and to some extent an in-form rauf can walk into any team) prolly one of the best WKB going around, and one of our finest ever and most importantly well-settled and consistent LOI opening pair. Though the doubts over our batting depth remains, but these can definitely be sorted if our management trynna focus on selecting some specialist middle order bats rather than injecting and trynna fit-in 4,5 openers in a team.
The current PCT is different. Though the skillset and other performance related stuff can be discussed and debated upon, but their professionalism and dedication and "niyat" is something we cannot really doubt. They have that positive mindset and self-belief of overcoming the mental barriers, unlike PCT of the past. That's something which I've never seen in our team.
Anything less than semis is gonna be a disappointment given the conditions are gonna suit us more than the SENA teams, but if we strike a right balance and combination, you can fancy this team to fight against all the odds and go all the way as well!
