mango_bite77
Local Club Regular
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2017
- Runs
- 1,487
It’s becoming a real problem that Pakistan still don’t have a proper wicketkeeper-batsman for white-ball cricket.
Mohammad Haris was hyped as the next big thing, but in 35 T20Is he’s only managed 1 fifty and 1 hundred – and those came against Oman and Bangladesh. His overall record is avg 17.9, SR 137, which looks flashy, but it shows he can’t score consistently against quality opposition. Most of the time he throws his wicket away trying to slog.
Mohammad Rizwan is reliable option numbers-wise (avg 47.4, SR 125), Strike rate is too low for a modern day opener and this gets even bad against top 4 teams. Even if we ignore SR issue, still he’s effective only at the top. He can’t bat at 4-7 – his whole game is built around opening or anchoring. If the top order is already settled with Farhan scoring runs and expecting Ayub to regain form, Rizwan doesn’t add much value down the order.
So who else is there?
Haseebullah Khan – looks tidy, but plays too slow. With his tempo he won’t survive at 5 or 7 where you need instant acceleration.
Khawaja Nafay – some promise in PSL, but very limited exposure to top-level cricket. Could be a big risk if thrown in too early.
Azam Khan – the power is there, but fitness and consistency always let him down. Given few chances not only failed to impress but left himself in embarrassing situations
Rohail Nazir – was rated highly as a junior but has completely stagnated. Don't know if he stills plays cricket ?
Saad Baig - Under 19 captain, looked good in U-19 WCs , but not sure if PCB can groom him for national side. They have been horrible in grooming cricketers especially batters.
I have also, Irfan Niazi keeps wickets, not sure if this is true, then he can be better option than all those names barring Nafay.
In nutshell, at the moment it feels like we either have keepers who can’t bat at the required modern tempo, or batters who aren’t reliable keepers.
What’s the way forward? Do we just stick with Rizwan at the top and forget about grooming a middle-order keeper, or gamble on someone like Nafay?
Mohammad Haris was hyped as the next big thing, but in 35 T20Is he’s only managed 1 fifty and 1 hundred – and those came against Oman and Bangladesh. His overall record is avg 17.9, SR 137, which looks flashy, but it shows he can’t score consistently against quality opposition. Most of the time he throws his wicket away trying to slog.
Mohammad Rizwan is reliable option numbers-wise (avg 47.4, SR 125), Strike rate is too low for a modern day opener and this gets even bad against top 4 teams. Even if we ignore SR issue, still he’s effective only at the top. He can’t bat at 4-7 – his whole game is built around opening or anchoring. If the top order is already settled with Farhan scoring runs and expecting Ayub to regain form, Rizwan doesn’t add much value down the order.
So who else is there?
Haseebullah Khan – looks tidy, but plays too slow. With his tempo he won’t survive at 5 or 7 where you need instant acceleration.
Khawaja Nafay – some promise in PSL, but very limited exposure to top-level cricket. Could be a big risk if thrown in too early.
Azam Khan – the power is there, but fitness and consistency always let him down. Given few chances not only failed to impress but left himself in embarrassing situations
Rohail Nazir – was rated highly as a junior but has completely stagnated. Don't know if he stills plays cricket ?
Saad Baig - Under 19 captain, looked good in U-19 WCs , but not sure if PCB can groom him for national side. They have been horrible in grooming cricketers especially batters.
I have also, Irfan Niazi keeps wickets, not sure if this is true, then he can be better option than all those names barring Nafay.
In nutshell, at the moment it feels like we either have keepers who can’t bat at the required modern tempo, or batters who aren’t reliable keepers.
What’s the way forward? Do we just stick with Rizwan at the top and forget about grooming a middle-order keeper, or gamble on someone like Nafay?
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