Pakistan aren't just dark horses, they are firm favourites for the 2019 World Cup just like England

[Dr_Bassim]

Malik will be dropped if he doesn’t score. We will be forced to put our best in form players in....and the pitches will encourage reverse as the World Cup goes on.

Should be exciting.

Malik and Hafeez aren't getting dropped along with Babar, Amir, Hasan and a few others.

 

[Irfan Hussain]

What options do we have for the World Cup?

Openers:-
At maximum, we can select 3 openers.
If we be realistic and think of Imam as a deserving player rather than the '******' tag that people have given him, you will agree that he will be in the squad.
Fakhar Zaman is a dasher. I know he has not been as consistent as we want him to be, but the way he bats, he's prone to be somewhat inconsistent.
Now let's talk of the third opener.... Abid Ali, Shan Masood and Ahmed Shehzad... As far as I'm concerned, I won't be selecting any of these as an opener, because if needed Hafeez can open. So we will be having 3 openers...... Fakhar, Imam and Hafeez.
Let's talk of the other batsmen....
Babar, probably the best batsman in Pakistan cricket right now.
Shoaib Malik:- He's a must guys because we need experience and he can up the ante when needed. Although, he's not in the best of forms, but let's hope he performs really well at the world cup.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, obviously our Wicketkeeper batsman and our captain.
Now let's talk of the second wicket keeper. Many will argue that we don't need a second keeper, but God Forbid, if Sarfaraz even has a slight niggle on a particular day, who will keep wickets...
The options Rizwan and Abid Ali.
Although both batted well yesterday, I would go with Abid Ali, simply because Abid looked more compact against pace bowling than Rizwan.
Faheem Ashraf, because we have never given opportunity to any other fast bowling all-rounder.
Shadab Khan, he's a key member but needs to find his mojo with the ball.
Imad Wasim, we might need him in some games which are conducive to spin bowling in England.
Fast bowlers:-
Hassan and Shaheen without a doubt.
Many might not take Amir, but I would have him simply because when in rhythm, he's a fantastic bowler. He needs to find his rhythm, swing and wicket taking ability. He might be Pakistan's best bet, if he finds his wicket taking form.
Shinwari/Junaid/Hasnain/ Abbas/ Wahab:- This is a difficult spot.... I'm not sure about this one.... May be you should help.
Asif/Umer/Haris:- I would go with Asif simply because he's the one who can fulfill the role of a power hitter. In England, the wickets are true, and I believe he will win us quite a few matches.
Unfortunately Haris cannot fit in my squad, because we can only have 15 in the squad.
Share your views friends.... Any suggestions are welcome...

 

[msb314]

Sorry but based on your suggestions we will be heading for disaster

Malik, Sarfraz, Shadab, Faheem will all be horribly exposed in the WC.

Fakhar is in poor form so have low expectations of him.

Babar is our only hope and trusting a youngster like Abid is also setting him up for failure.

 

[saeedhk]

We should be happy if Pakistan even manges to win against Afgh. This has to be the worst team we send to any world cup. Bits and pieces players like Shadab, Imam, Faheem, Asif, Sarfraz will never win you any games.

 

[ARK Rafay]

Pakistan has the players to perform at World Cup. But the management and selection will always ensure a disaster

 

[Bigbb]

Pakistan has the players to perform at World Cup. But the management and selection will always ensure a disaster

Can you name those players except Babar?

 

[ARK Rafay]

Can you name those players except Babar?

You won't get someone like Babar in Pakistan for next 10 or so years. But managing and selecting the right players will give this team a chance.

Players:
Hafeez, Haris, Fakhar, Imad, Shadab, Hasan, Shaheen, Amir, Masood.

 

[the Great Khan]

But why? Why are we in this state despite spending 4 years in transition?

coz we arent that good..you can be in transition and have ane xcuse..we arent. We have a core group who are ok just not great..

 

[cricket_cfa]

Currently team does not look favourite
May win on good days
Need some spark

 

[Abu_Hamza]

My gut feel says Pakistan will win the world cup by defeating England in finals. Remember Pakistan always does a Pakistan and also what Nasser Hussain said," You never know which Pakistan will turn up on the day. And I am sure it will be the one to be afraid of in the finals.

 

[OmaIR1]

LOL

If we win it will be a fluke like the CT Final in 2017. The Pakistan cricket team is quite weak.

 

[Mbappe]

Ha ha ha ha... This thread became obsolete pretty quickly

 

[Bilal7]

I'll enjoy seeing all the wrist-slitters and whiners jump on the bandwagon once the Pak team gets on a roll. I believe a team needs six wins to get to the next round and this team is definitely good enough to pull that off, InshaAllah (especially if India gives us an assist).

When we're two wins away from a WC win, this place will be quite fun.

 

[Bilal7]

Teams that we are likely to beat:

- Bangladesh.
- West Indies.
- Afghanistan.
- Sri Lanka.

Teams that are a 50-50:

- India (Due to the likely forfeit).
- South Africa.
- Australia.

Teams that will likely beat us (but we certainly have a chance):

- England.
- New Zealand.

 

[CricketAnalyst]

Teams that we are likely to beat:

- Bangladesh.
- West Indies.
- Afghanistan.
- Sri Lanka.

Teams that are a 50-50:

- India (Due to the likely forfeit).
- South Africa.
- Australia.

Teams that will likely beat us (but we certainly have a chance):

- England.
- New Zealand.

There's a 0% chance India will forfeit the game.

That said, I fully expect Pakistan to be one of the favourites.

We will not do as well as projected because Kohli is an awful captain and the think-tank does not understand white ball cricket.

 

[Farhansk]

I want to see more and more negative remarks about team Pakistan before the world cup, I want all cricket experts, PPer's and every cricket fan to undermine Pakistan and predict an early exit for Pakistan.

You underrate Pakistan at your own peril and you will be in for a rude surprise.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

After the 5-0 loss to Australia we are becoming firm favorites to win the World Cup.

The only sad news is since 1999 the only teams who have won the World Cup have been considered one of the contenders for the title.

1999 - Pakistan, Australia, South Africa - Australia won.

2003 - Australia - Australia won.

2007 - Australia - Australia won.

2011 - Asian teams - India won.

2015 - Australia - Australia won.

2019 - England, India, perhaps Ausralia - Fans - ( Pakistan won).


Either I am delusional or fans are delusional.

Personally, there is no harm in believing your team can win, but you have to be realistic and look at what has happened over the last 20 years and keep supporting your team. But to think your team is MUCH BETTER than it is, is actually SETTING YOURSELF up for Disappointment.

Semi Final place for Pakistan should be the basic target and they will have their work cut out to get there.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

They're not even dark horses let alone being firm favorites.

As Bassim above has said, you have to be realistic and look at the bigger picture rather than live in a fools paradise.

 

[Mp812]

Optimism



It isn't gonna swing in England (even last year there was a dry summer) so what happened in NZ isn't gonna happen.

We do struggle against spin but it won't spin that much either. In Asia cup we had no spin options (Shaddy was injured), and our spin bowlers are pretty much darters, so we weren't gonna make any impact there.

Secondly, that wasn't SA B, they had a lot of their main players playing that series. It was also a great learning curve for the likes of Faheem.

Conditions in England suit us, that's why we are favourites.

Just imagine these scenarios
Faheem would be so easy to get out in UAE/Asia, but he would look pretty dangerous on the truer surfaces of England.
Immad is not a hitter, but he can be effective on true surfaces.

Optimism and opium is lethal combo

 

[MMHS]

Consistency is good. This thread was opened just before the AUS series..... the tone maintained a status co even after the Australian tour, which is encouraging.

 

[Mueez]

Pakistan will definitely reach the semifinals.

After that it is anyone’s game, so you never know...

 

[The_Odd_One]

The only teams Pakistan can realistically beat are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

 

[Sean143]

Optimism and opium is lethal combo

We'll see in about 2 months.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

There's a 0% chance India will forfeit the game.

That said, I fully expect Pakistan to be one of the favourites.

We will not do as well as projected because Kohli is an awful captain and the think-tank does not understand white ball cricket.

Kohli's captaincy doesn't matter in ODIs, Dhoni and Rohit will carry the team. India still has Kuldeep and Bumrah who're possibly the best spinner and pacer in ODIs at the moment. Unlike IPL, Kohli won't be able to get away with stupid decisions in internationals.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

We'll see in about 2 months.

I think you are the one who is going to see a lot of things.

It will be good for your growth.

 

[Sean143]

I think you are the one who is going to see a lot of things.

It will be good for your growth.

Agreed, growth is a good thing, isn't it?

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Some positivity is needed among all the other doom and gloom threads.

The Pakistan side still has a lot going for it and will still make the semis imo. After that it’s anyones to win.

 

[PennOne]

India is a very consistent side, but it's really dependent on 6 players, their batting is literally their top 3 and if they fail it seems pretty ordinary afterwards.

England are obviously favourites being a home team and the kind of explosive batting coupled with the depth they have. Bowling also seems to be pretty decent with Adil Rashid being a trump card in the middle overs.

Now let's have a look at Pakistan.
Babar and Imam are reliable and they along with an in-form Fakhar would make for an excellent top 3.
Sarfaraz should get his mojo back as a batter, he should play at 4 just like he did in 2016 ODI series in England, I think he is gonna make an impact at 4 this year.
Although Malik has been ordinary in England throughout his career, but it just seems that this time he is going to be better equipped. His overall handling of pace bowling has improved slightly, and I believe a positive mindset might help him overcome his shortcomings this time.
Hafeez is a decent no 6 and can be destructive on truer surfaces of England. He would obviously should preferred over U Akmal because he can chip in with a few overs, and provide control to the captain in the middle overs. Considering Shaddy's terrible form, middle overs are going to be difficult to control.

Faheem has just started to chip in with the bat, and his bowling has really blossomed, and I wouldn't hasitate in saying that he is amongst the best death bowlers in the world atm.
Hasan's form before PSL was a concern, but he has been phenomenal in PSL, and might just be one of our gun bowlers.
Young Shaheen is a gun bowler. MA
Amir is reliable as a bowler, but he needs to proof his inclusion and should give his 100% in the WC
Shadab's form is a concern, but he is the best we have got and hopefully he would be okay after getting some rest.
Imad is okayish for English conditions, he is a darter and his batting seems to be decent on true surfaces of SENA.
Umar Akmal will be our backup keeper as well as somebody who could come in, if the side doesn't seem to be dynamic in the first few games.
Shan Masood will be our backup opener and if the ball starts swinging then he may bat at 3 to have some stability.
One of JK, Abbas or Hasnain could be our 4th seamer.
That's our 15 imo foakes!

Bowling Strategy.
Amir and Shaheen should share the new ball, with the newbie searching for wickets, and Amir supporting him by giving nothing to the batters to hit. Faheem and Amir are great death bowlers Hasan and Shaheen shouldn't be bowling at the death, they are our enforcers and should be used in 3-4 overs bursts to get us wickets. One of Shaheen and hasan should always be operating from an end to keep the batters on their toes till the 35th over. Hafeez, Amir and Faheem should support our gun bowlers. Gun bowlers (Shaddy, Shaheen and Hasan) should be used like gun bowlers, no point of bowling them in the death. I guess 1-2 overs in the death would be enough from them. We have got a special bowling attack with so many enforcers and should make it count by using our resources properly.

Batting Strategy:
Personally if the ball isn't swinging much, I would open with Azam and Fakhar and place Imam at 3. Babar can accelerate in PP in a safe manner and we would have a Left-hand right hand combo as well. It's pretty easy to assess that Babar's ability to play spin has regressed for the time being. Imam should be our accumulator, and should play for an anchor in most innings. Sarfaraz is going to be an enforcing accumulator for us at 4. His dot ball percentage is very low and his abilities should be maximized at 4. Hafeez, Malik and Umar Akmal are fighting for two spots, and I think with professor's batting, he is almost a certainty in our starting 11. So, it's between Umar Akmal depending on the conditions. The good thing with having Umar instead of Malik is that, we get a good hitter (considering those truer surfaces) and Shadab can also be used at 5 as an accumulator. At the moment with Malik at 5, Shaddy is pretty much being wasted at 7.
Faheem, Hassan and Amir need to step up, and chip in with useful contributions down the order.


IA the cup is going to be ours.
IA!

PS: The good thing about this WC is that I would be able to watch all of it, as my final semester would end by 26th May and would be relatively less busy. Currently, I am so busy with my FYP,research paper, recruitment drives and masters applications.

Hahahhahahahah

 

[Sean143]

Some positivity is needed among all the other doom and gloom threads.

The Pakistan side still has a lot going for it and will still make the semis imo. After that it’s anyones to win.

Yes, new ball bowling is a concern atm, but I think we can try hasan there. Wahab was a great positive today. Things will work out well for us IA

 

[Sean143]

Hahahhahahahah

You can laugh atm, but I think that we have got a good bunch of players who can go all the way to win it for us, and IA they will do it.

The problem is that shaheen isn't swinging the ball anymore, and he is very young it has happened to the best of them, I still think that Pakistan are the second favourites after England.

Just look at this 11 man
Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Sarfaraz
Shadab
Hafeez
Asif
Imad
Amir
Hasan
Wahab

They bat till 11,and have got control in the form of Amir, Maddy and Hafeez. Our gun bowlers (Hasan, Shaddy and Wahab can and will fire IA). Hasan has to be utilized with the new ball now.
You can whine atm but you would stop muttering the moment we get our 6th win to book the semis

Shaheen isn't swinging the ball atm, he is an outstanding talent, it just isn't happening for him right now. But that doesn't make him a poor bowler.

 

[hussain.r97]

Yes, we've been losing, but there have been a lot of positives, and (for the most part) we haven't been uncompetitive by any means. I'm confident that things will come together next Friday.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

You can laugh atm, but I think that we have got a good bunch of players who can go all the way to win it for us, and IA they will do it.

The problem is that shaheen isn't swinging the ball anymore, and he is very young it has happened to the best of them, I still think that Pakistan are the second favourites after England.

Just look at this 11 man
Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Sarfaraz
Shadab
Hafeez
Asif
Imad
Amir
Hasan
Wahab

They bat till 11,and have got control in the form of Amir, Maddy and Hafeez. Our gun bowlers (Hasan, Shaddy and Wahab can and will fire IA). Hasan has to be utilized with the new ball now.
You can whine atm but you would stop muttering the moment we get our 6th win to book the semis

Shaheen isn't swinging the ball atm, he is an outstanding talent, it just isn't happening for him right now. But that doesn't make him a poor bowler.

I only have one question.

Why does a team that is firm favorite has lost 10 successive ODI's in a row and yesterday couldn't even finish of Afghanistan?

Are they saving their miraculous performance for the actual event?

 

[Sean143]

I only have one question.

Why does a team that is firm favorite has lost 10 successive ODI's in a row and yesterday couldn't even finish of Afghanistan?

Are they saving their miraculous performance for the actual event?

Well if you carefully look at it, we don't have good backups, in the absence of shaddy we would struggle, and similar things will happen if we don't have Amir, Wahab and Hasan together.
The first 11 is really dangerous, and has that killer instinct which most teams lack. As a unit Hafeez, Maddy ,Amir, Hasan, Wahab and shaddy would bowl better. That is my point. We have talented players but no one is an out and out match winner in this side. Sometimes our weaknesses can be our greatest strengths, this unit is weak if players are assessed on individual basis, and that will force them to play together as a team, which they will IA. They just need a win at the start, which will kick start them. Teams win trophies, individuals don't.

Sometimes going down after putting up a fight is also a good thing, Pakistan may have lost their last 5 games in England, but they fought well in 4 of those games. This will help them, and IA they will make history.
There is a line from a song by The Beatles which says the deeper you go, the higher you fly. Misery is a harsh lesson, so harsh that it forces you to attain glory. Pakistan sides in the last 2-3 WC's weren't that good but this one has great potential and the fact that the harshness of misery tames youth the most, makes us dangerous.

IA, we just have to believe, and I guess there is no point in being pessimistic. Don't keep your expectations high, but be an optimist and look at it positively. I have seen many people here who always seem to expect the worst, and I am like "guys why can't you just enjoy the moment ? nobody's gonna sign you up as a coach". If you are a cricket fan, then at least try to enjoy while being one. People spend hours here fighting and thinking that things are going to become better if they do that, Carpie Diem guys, there is no point in taking too much stress as a fan.

I do think that one should argue on the basis of logic, but have seen that sometimes defence mechanisms take hold of people here. I would also like to admit that sometimes I become too optimistic regarding my team or exaggerate their ability, but I don't regret that, after all fun is what I watch the games for and if the one thing that is supposed to relieve the stress that one endures in a workaholic modern day life is itself causing stress, then there is no point in pursuing that thing.

 

[Sean143]

Yes, we've been losing, but there have been a lot of positives, and (for the most part) we haven't been uncompetitive by any means. I'm confident that things will come together next Friday.

IA brother, we have and we will.

 

[saeedhk]

Let’s not sugarcoat our mediocrity. In the last 24 matches, we have lost 20.

Currently, we are on par with Hong Kong.