Pakistan announce 13-member squad for the 2nd Test match against Zimbabwe

[MenInG]

Babar Azam has announced a 13-man squad for the second Test.

Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, M Rizwan, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Nauman Ali, Tabish Khan, Sajid Khan, Haris Rauf.


==

Babar speaking to the media

"The more time they spend on the crease the better and it sets the tone for the batting order; Both opener made a good stand in the previous game and hopefully they will go into the next game with the same confidence"

"We have tried different combinations on this tour because in the past we have always played with a leg-spinner in the shape of Yasir Shah who has won many games for us; Then we had Shadab who was in and out of Tests; We recently played Sajid Khan who is an off-spinner because it seemed that the wicket would take spin in the first match; Also when we tour West Indies, there will spinning tracks so we wanted to use him there also"

"At this point, Faheem Ashraf is our best all-rounder; You cannot say he is not the best, just because of one or 2 bad performances; He performed against New Zealand and South Africa; He is perfect for us and is well suited to the needs of our team and our combination is well settled due to him"

"We will check the pitch today and if it suits us, we will give Tabish a chance tomorrow"

"This is not true that the management and players are afraid of losing to Zimbabwe; Fact is that we have a settled team in Tests and we are giving them a chance; You do make some changes but you cannot make wholesale changes as we have a good combination already; We want to keep this settle combination and give them a chance as we have a tough tour of West Indies also"

“We will carry the backup [openers] we have right now. If we think we should try him [Imam], then we will do so, as his record with red ball is also really good. We will utilise whoever suits us"

“Our main focus is on the performance rather than having left and right hand opening batsmen pair just for the sake of it. We are keeping an eye on all the openers, including Shan Masood"

“I wanted to play a big innings in the previous Test but was not successful. I will try my best to do better in the second Test match,” said Babar.

“Batsmen and bowlers did really well in the first Test. We will try to remain consistent in our performance and keep the winning momentum going"

 

[Zeshan547]

Babar Azam has announced 13 man squad for the 2nd Test


Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, M Rizwan, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, SSA, Nauman Ali, Tabish Khan, Sajid Khan, Haris Rauf

As expected no Saud, no Dhani plus no rest for Shaheen. Such an inspiring combo and selections by Captain Babar and Legend and savior Misbah.

 

[AnonKB]

Babar Azam has announced 13 man squad for the 2nd Test


Abid Ali, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, M Rizwan, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, SSA, Nauman Ali, Tabish Khan, Sajid Khan, Haris Rauf

As expected. Would’ve given Dahani a go over Tabish just because of age but don’t mind either way. Haris Rauf doesn’t make sense either but it’s Zimbabwe so why not.

They even asked Babar about the scared of losing thing and he said ''Team management isn't scared of losing. We want a settled line-up in Test cricket. We only play few Tests after considerable gaps between them. So we don't want to experiment much in Tests. We only do changes if required'' which is fair enough.

If we played more tests then it would make sense but our test specialists like Azhar and Fawad hardly get to play.

 

[Zeshan547]

As expected. Would’ve given Dahani a go over Tabish just because of age but don’t mind either way. Haris Rauf doesn’t make sense either but it’s Zimbabwe so why not.

They even asked Babar about the scared of losing thing and he said ''Team management isn't scared of losing. We want a settled line-up in Test cricket. We only play few Tests after considerable gaps between them. So we don't want to experiment much in Tests. We only do changes if required'' which is fair enough.

If we played more tests then it would make sense but our test specialists like Azhar and Fawad hardly get to play.

Bhai who is calling for Azhar or fawad to be rested but they can easily have rested atleast Fahim for saud or sajid khan, don't think two spinners are must for this Zim but giving easy debut for Saud was, now he will be thrown into deep end straight away.

 

[Markhor]

Would've preferred Saud Shakeel ahead of Azhar who's frankly continuing way past his sell-by date as a batsman.

Better introducing him here than away in West Indies in the summer.

 

[AnonKB]

Dropping Sajid Khan after 1 test would be criminal.

However I suppose dropping Faheem for Saud isn’t a bad idea.

 

[PakPremi]

Bhai who is calling for Azhar or fawad to be rested but they can easily have rested atleast Fahim for saud or sajid khan, don't think two spinners are must for this Zim but giving easy debut for Saud was, now he will be thrown into deep end straight away.

Agree with you Sajid was not much use in last match and could have easily been ommited for Saud. They need to use Fawad as part time spinner and not waste a space on second spinner.
Leh Ahi kahan peh qismat humein kahan seh.
Yeh tu wohi jaga hai guzrey the gum jahan seh.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Haris Rauf is gonna be garbage so I’m not gonna pick him rather I’d go with Tabish

 

[Zaz]

As expected no Saud, no Dhani plus no rest for Shaheen. Such an inspiring combo and selections by Captain Babar and Legend and savior Misbah.

Honestly this is so frustrating

Why couldnt they rest a couple of players n give these guys a go? What are they so scared of?

How are we going to move forward for the better if we dont give new guys a chance particularly in low profile series like these

They couldnt easily gave shaheen or hasan a rest n played dhani and azhar or faheem a rest for saud

 

[Shoaibbtt]

My guess is Shaheen and Faheem might be rested for Haris Rauf and Tabish.

 

[Sir-fraz]

This honestly jokes, i had already seen this coming. Pakiatan doesnt know the meaning of rebuilding. Dont get your hopes up in the future people just enjoy the small wins.

The big win will be another 20 years and a fluke apart...

 

[Yasir_ch]

I don't understand the selection of 40 year old buzurg trundler tabish.As usual that misbah is ruining Pakistan cricket.

 

[Titan24]

Would've preferred Saud Shakeel ahead of Azhar who's frankly continuing way past his sell-by date as a batsman.

Better introducing him here than away in West Indies in the summer.

Agreed. Though I doubt lineup would be changed much in WI as well. Azhar, Babar, Fawad, Riz and Faheem are pretty much settled for now so Saud will have to wait for the opportunity I guess unless there is some combination changed based upon team requirements or conditions in WI.

However, definitely Saud could have been debuted over Azhar who has a lot of experience. Other than that unless for workload management I personally am not too inclined towards a lot of changes in the test lineup even for 2nd test as rest of our players are pretty inexperienced and need games under their belt.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I don't understand the selection of 40 year old buzurg trundler tabish.As usual that misbah is ruining Pakistan cricket.

In my view he could be quite useful in West Indies

 

[Ahmed216]

Guess Azhar Ali will start crying if he's rested being a senior and saud gets introduced to international cricket. They're all very insecure. Babar may say whatever he wants but he is timid.

 

[Titan24]

My guess is Shaheen and Faheem might be rested for Haris Rauf and Tabish.

That would be too thin of a batting lineup I think. If anything an extra batsman who can bowl a bit like Saud or Agha could have been brought in to rest Faheem or maybe a spin bowling all rounder in Nawaz. Hasan at 7 and Nauman at 8 would be pretty thing for a test lineup in my opinion.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

That would be too thin of a batting lineup I think. If anything an extra batsman who can bowl a bit like Saud or Agha could have been brought in to rest Faheem or maybe a spin bowling all rounder in Nawaz. Hasan at 7 and Nauman at 8 would be pretty thing for a test lineup in my opinion.

Hmmm could be lad could be. I still rate Hassan Ali to bat a little and the middle order will stand up if need be.

 

[Titan24]

I would have loved to see a debutant or two but I think what many are not taking into account is that the whole Pak squad has no player with 50+ tests other than Azhar so even the main XI or regulars are an inexperienced bunch who need tests under their belt to develop (Yes not the greatest oppositions but still test cricket).

Pak team is the most inexperienced one out of the top 5 teams and even SA’s current team as well. That clearly shows its time to develop the current players first than thinking about experimenting at test level. Yes Azhar is a veteran and could have been rested.

 

[b.lesner]

Babar opening statement was that he was rearing to go with winning combination.
Will only make 1 change according to pitch if required otherwise same team.

 

[MenInG]

Some quotes from Babar in the OP

 

[Firebat]

Judging from that 13-man squad, they're just going with the same team.

I understand keeping a winning combination, but you're playing Zimbabwe, who you just beat by an innings inside 3 days. When would be a better chance to give Dhani a debut? Seems like a disconnect between Wasim and Misbah.

 

[PakLFC]

I would welcome a second string team even if our first team is average. Only way to progress is to give new players a chance.

 

[Firebat]

I would have loved to see a debutant or two but I think what many are not taking into account is that the whole Pak squad has no player with 50+ tests other than Azhar so even the main XI or regulars are an inexperienced bunch who need tests under their belt to develop (Yes not the greatest oppositions but still test cricket).

Pak team is the most inexperienced one out of the top 5 teams and even SA’s current team as well. That clearly shows its time to develop the current players first than thinking about experimenting at test level. Yes Azhar is a veteran and could have been rested.

That is a fair point. Pakistan do not play as many Tests as the top side, so we should not rotate too much and should give as much match experience as possible to our Test players, regardless of opposition. We benefit from our main players (Babar, Fawad, Riz, Hassan, SSA etc) getting as much game time as possible.

However, the problem is that there are holes and weak links in this side, most importantly the top 3. Azhar Ali is past his sell-by date and Abid Ali is clearly technically deficient. These weak links have been exploited badly over the last 20 months or so by the top sides. We already know these players are not good enough and get exposed against good opposition, so what is the benefit of selecting them here?

Abid scoring scratchy 50s against a poor Zimbabwe is not beneficial to the side in the long term, unlike Hassan and Fawad getting valuable time on the pitch to continue bedding back into Test cricket, or Babar trying to rediscover his form.

There is not short-term drawback to giving a debut either, we won the first Test by an innings inside 3 days. We should use any chance we have to find new players, like Saud Shakeel, to plug those gaps. Even if its one game, this was one of those chances.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I am mean there should only be one or two changes for me and that's just based on rest. If we look at the number of test matches played then all of them in a way are new.

However for me i go with the following based on that 13:

Abid Ali
Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam (c)
Fawad Alam
Muhammad Rizwan (wk)
Faheem Ashraf
Hassan Ali
Nuaman Ali
Sajid Khan
Tabish Khan

Haris Rauf is a bad selection in my book and really doesn't merit a test spot.

 

[TheNightWatchman]

Can't wait to see Abid raise his bat for his legacy defining 50 vs the mighty Zimbabwe

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

They should go with the same team. Which is fine because deserves to be there and the guys on the bench don't exactly inspire much confidence.

Saud Shakeel should be given a debut at some point but not at the expense of Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam or Faheem Ashraf.

 

[silentkiller187]

i understand the need for a settled team but the problem is too many of these players perform against minnows but when it comes to England, australia etc, this same settled squad gets rolled over way too easily. We need to blood some youngsters and give them some game time in these types of matches so at least we have a few options when it comes to the harder games.

Competition for places also means players work harder to cement their spots, too many of our players are relaxed and just do the bare minimum knowing they will always be in or around the squad.

 

[shamaan]

Tabish will make his debut I am disappointed that saud isn't given ago but I am not suprised.

 

[Sunzi]

Disappointed that Dhani isn't in the frame.

Going in with our "strongest" guys for a minnow game. Blood others.

 

[hitthestump]

If you aren't going to use Zimbabwe as a testing ground for at least some of your best domestic perfomers then the whole series is a pointless exercise. Winning is a foregone conclusion (or should be) and there are no test championship points at stake.

There's no real point watching the game tomorrow. It's come down to a bunch of 35+ year olds stat padding against a borderline associate test side.

 

[hitthestump]

Judging from that 13-man squad, they're just going with the same team.

I understand keeping a winning combination, but you're playing Zimbabwe, who you just beat by an innings inside 3 days. When would be a better chance to give Dhani a debut? Seems like a disconnect between Wasim and Misbah.

Aziz was thrown in against SA, Musa against Aus, Haider against England.

But we're holding back Saud and Dhani against Zimbabwe.

It makes no sense and highlights that there was no forward planning coming into this series to expose the domestic performers to international cricket. Misbah is making it up as he goes along.

 

[sabre1486]

Dhani should have had a chance, they should definitely have debuted Saud. Reflective of a rather timid mindset i am afraid after all the talk of brave aggressive cricket.

Tabish will definitely get a go.

We will watch that abid ali take his helmet off and do a sajda for another 50 of 250 deliveries.

 

[Zaz]

Competition for places also means players work harder to cement their spots, too many of our players are relaxed and just do the bare minimum knowing they will always be in or around the squad.

Look at shafiq He wasnt dropped or put under any pressure for years by the management They simply didnt try anyone out in place of him even in dead rubber matches Competition wouldve been healthy for him

He steadily got lazy with no pressure whatsoever and we all saw what happened to his performances Fawad shouldve been selected and pushing him for his place years back instead nobody gave him the chance

Competition is healthy and pushes players to work harder and not take their place for granted

Give players a test here n there against these sort of teams to get a feel of the game and keep the competition healthy n the bench strong

Instead what we get is a weak bench strength with no experience and the first team players padding their stats and getting found out against the better teams

These tests are a worthless exercise if your not going to try a couple of players

 

[m.shah]

Babar is a terrible captain. He has absolutely no vision for future. He is as defensive as Misbah.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Dhani should have had a chance, they should definitely have debuted Saud. Reflective of a rather timid mindset i am afraid after all the talk of brave aggressive cricket.

Tabish will definitely get a go.

We will watch that abid ali take his helmet off and do a sajda for another 50 of 250 deliveries.

Better than Asif Ali who takes his helmet off after a single and then retire himself out lol.

 

[Titan24]

That is a fair point. Pakistan do not play as many Tests as the top side, so we should not rotate too much and should give as much match experience as possible to our Test players, regardless of opposition. We benefit from our main players (Babar, Fawad, Riz, Hassan, SSA etc) getting as much game time as possible.

However, the problem is that there are holes and weak links in this side, most importantly the top 3. Azhar Ali is past his sell-by date and Abid Ali is clearly technically deficient. These weak links have been exploited badly over the last 20 months or so by the top sides. We already know these players are not good enough and get exposed against good opposition, so what is the benefit of selecting them here?

Abid scoring scratchy 50s against a poor Zimbabwe is not beneficial to the side in the long term, unlike Hassan and Fawad getting valuable time on the pitch to continue bedding back into Test cricket, or Babar trying to rediscover his form.

There is not short-term drawback to giving a debut either, we won the first Test by an innings inside 3 days. We should use any chance we have to find new players, like Saud Shakeel, to plug those gaps. Even if its one game, this was one of those chances.

Well presented argument. I completely agree and myself have questioned in other threads carrying Abid for even Zimbabwe and not resting Azhar even here. I am not even fond of carrying Tabish at this stage of his career to Zimbabwe.

None of them are going to develop, learn and more importantly prove by playing or performing against Zimbabwe. Youngsters could have been placed in the playing XI/squad instead of these three.

 

[wajid]

What is this obsession of misbah and co with Haris Rauf? How come he is a test player? And this 13 member squad with 2 backup fast bowlers?

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Misbah will not give chances to youngsters which is a known fact.
And Babar who himself says that he is a dummy captain.
No surprises for me.

 

[sabre1486]

Better than Asif Ali who takes his helmet off after a single and then retire himself out lol.

lol they should select him in tests as well wo to misbah ka bas nai chalta

 

[Shoaibbtt]

lol they should select him in tests as well wo to misbah ka bas nai chalta

I'd pay to just see him take strike and just before the bowler is about to bowl he walks off raising his bat in the air lol. The commentators will sounds more perplexed than when they first saw Fawad's stance lol.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

As expected no Saud, no Dhani plus no rest for Shaheen. Such an inspiring combo and selections by Captain Babar and Legend and savior Misbah.

Looks like Babar was not happy about the surprise selection of Shahnawaz Dhani. By putting 36 yr old Tabish Khan ahead of Dhani, Babar is making a statement that he is not ready to try players with little experience, even if that experience is of first class cricket.

I heard Babar is very concerned about his record as a batsman and as a captain. So he is not a fan of taking chances.
Unlike Imran Khan who would absolutely play someone with zero experience if he thinks that he has talent.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

A lot of posters are blaming Misbah. But this is Babar's approach, he does not like taking chances. Babar at the moment has a lot of power (it has been a long time since Pakistan had a player that good), he is not taking dictation that's for sure. We will be seeing this approach by Babar even after Misbah.

 

[Farabi]

Looks like Babar was not happy about the surprise selection of Shahnawaz Dhani. By putting 36 yr old Tabish Khan ahead of Dhani, Babar is making a statement that he is not ready to try players with little experience, even if that experience is of first class cricket.

I heard Babar is very concerned about his record as a batsman and as a captain. So he is not a fan of taking chances.
Unlike Imran Khan who would absolutely play someone with zero experience if he thinks that he has talent.

If that is true, I am glad we finally have a sensible captain. No one should be playing test cricket with zero experience.
This is not 1988.

 

[El Generico]

A lot of posters are blaming Misbah. But this is Babar's approach, he does not like taking chances. Babar at the moment has a lot of power (it has been a long time since Pakistan had a player that good), he is not taking dictation that's for sure. We will be seeing this approach by Babar even after Misbah.

Its pretty fair assumption that Misbah probably has a part in the conservative selection policies because he had the same approach as captain. As captain, Misbah would play a full strength team against even Zimbabwe and Scotland.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

problem is

Abid, Imran butt, Azhar and Fawad only play tests so its difficult to "rest" them so saud shakeel wont get a game that easy unfortunately

I would have loved to see Arshad Iqbal ahead of Harris Rauf, Dahani and Tabish

 

[srh]

Misbah's tactics looks like "dont lose"

 

[Omer2002]

Clearly very worrying signs from.misbah

 

[Ami]

They're gutless.

 

[Ami]

Fear of failure..

 

[shamaan]

Babar is a terrible captain. He has absolutely no vision for future. He is as defensive as Misbah.

Really disappointed with babar and his team selection

 

[shamaan]

Babar should also be accountable for the selection be makes not sure its just misbah decision.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Babar should also be accountable for the selection be makes not sure its just misbah decision.

It's full of newbies anyways, besides this series doesn't really mean much. Our regular test players need to play in order to keep themselves active because of the lack of test cricket and A series Pak plays.