Pakistan considering playing 2 spinners for 1st Test at Manchester - smart move or folly?

[MenInG]

Said in the press conference that Pakistan could consider 2 spinners based upon how the pitch is looking now and how it took spin on day 1 of the previous Test played here - could this work for Pakistan? Are our spinners good enough to take this opportunity?

Misbah's comments on 2 spinners

"The pitch seems to look like it did when England played West Indies here, where we saw that the spinners had a role to play from day 1 and the ball was spinning well; We are also considering this strategy but will check the final look of the pitch today and tomorrow and also examine the overall weather conditions, and then decide; The possibility of playing 2 spinners is very much there and this is also an encouraging sign for us"

 

[shah_1]

Fawad again getting snubbed lol

Karachi media will be on fire

 

[shah_1]

I doubt Shadab will add any value as a bowler

 

[Mueez]

Not a bad move considering the expected heat wave in UK.

 

[Junaids]

It looks like Shadab is batting at 7.

I see no point picking two leggies. And it’s a Dukes Ball.

So I would shock the England team by turning up at the toss with this team sheet that they really don’t want to see:

6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
7. Shadab Khan
8. Mohammad Amir
9. Mohammad Abbas
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi
11. Naseem Shah

 

[PakHammer]

It looks like Shadab is batting at 7.

I see no point picking two leggies. And it’s a Dukes Ball.

So I would shock the England team by turning up at the toss with this team sheet that they really don’t want to see:

6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
7. Shadab Khan
8. Mohammad Amir
9. Mohammad Abbas
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi
11. Naseem Shah

Amir is not part of the test squad that was named.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/...raz-ahmed-20-man-pakistan-squad-england-tests

 

[Junaids]

Amir is not part of the test squad that was named.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/...raz-ahmed-20-man-pakistan-squad-england-tests

It doesn’t matter - neither was Shannon Gabriel.

Pakistan can pick any of the 29 players in the pavilion. They can even pick Misbah or Younis if they want. Or Waqar. Or Mushie!

England would HATE to walk out to face Amir!

 

[shady]

It doesn’t matter - neither was Shannon Gabriel.

Pakistan can pick any of the 29 players in the pavilion. They can even pick Misbah or Younis if they want. Or Waqar. Or Mushie!

England would HATE to walk out to face Amir!

As much as I would rather play Amir over Yasir, theres a difference between Gabriel being picked and Amir since Amir's officially retired from Tests. It wouldn't shock me if Amir played one of the tests in the series in the interest of rotation but I doubt it's going to be the first one.

 

[PakHammer]

It doesn’t matter - neither was Shannon Gabriel.

Pakistan can pick any of the 29 players in the pavilion. They can even pick Misbah or Younis if they want. Or Waqar. Or Mushie!

England would HATE to walk out to face Amir!

No this has been named for the test squad, not like the West Indies. Read the link.The only way Amir gets in if one of those bowlers in that squad gets Co Vid.

Amir wont be in the test team and nor should he.

 

[Junaids]

No this has been named for the test squad, not like the West Indies. Read the link.The only way Amir gets in if one of those bowlers in that squad gets Co Vid.

Amir wont be in the test team and nor should he.

There is no such thing as a squad in Test cricket. You can pick whoever you like. If they are in the pavilion you are totally at liberty to pick anyone of the right nationality.

Shannon Gabriel was a reserve who wasn’t in the West Indian squad.

 

[topspin]

It would be typical of Misbah (and Waqar) to play two leggies because he lacks the cricketing IQ to think his way around this.

Having said that, Iftikhar is a good friend of Misbah's and was given a place in the side by him 4 years ago on the basis of favouritism, during that final test at the Oval, so perhaps Misbah will stick to his old tricks instead.

 

[Kroll]

We all laughed when Waqar said this last week and dismissed it as mind games. So is Misbah still trying the mental gymnastics two days before the Test?

Nevertheless, don't think it would be a good move with a mediocre Yasir Shah and Shadab's bowling not up to Test standard though he should be given a go before a full assessment can be made.

Amir is not match fit neither is he committed to the cause, best playing Faheem or even Sohail Khan if he can last more than one bowling innings.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Playing 2 leggies will be stupid, go for an offie in bhatti

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

It doesn’t matter - neither was Shannon Gabriel.

Pakistan can pick any of the 29 players in the pavilion. They can even pick Misbah or Younis if they want. Or Waqar. Or Mushie!

England would HATE to walk out to face Amir!

Nope, he absolutely, definitively, should NOT play in the first test. Why? Here's why:

a) He joined the Pakistan squad on 30th July after clearing his two negative covid tests. That's literally 6 days before the first test. That means that he hasn't even had the chance to bowl in the nets for close to 4 and a half months let alone get reasonable match practice and acclimate to conditions.

b) Your comparison to Shannon Gabriel is inaccurate because Gabriel, through his own fitness work, kept himself Test ready, and was able to train in Jamaica prior to touring, where COVID has not been so bad that one can't train. Amir, on the other hand, has been busy awaiting the birth of his daughter, a stressful time where he wasn't even expecting to tour. How could he have built up any fitness or bowling rhythm in such a scenario?

c) Even if he did maintain a basic level of fitness (remember, he's not bound by the PCB code of conduct regarding fitness, as they didn't give him a central contract), you're expecting him to be fit enough to bowl in the most demanding format of the game, potentially during a heatwave?

d) Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, let's address the giant elephant in the room. He still hasn't declared himself available for tests yet, so imagining him into your line-up is futile.

Given reasons a) to c) above, the best Pakistan could hope for , is to have him as an option for the third test.

 

[PakHammer]

There is no such thing as a squad in Test cricket. You can pick whoever you like. If they are in the pavilion you are totally at liberty to pick anyone of the right nationality.

Shannon Gabriel was a reserve who wasn’t in the West Indian squad.

So why did the Pakistan name a test squad for the fun of it? I don't think you are understanding.

The fast bowlers named to play TEST matches are:

Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Mohammed Abbas
Wahab Riaz
Faheem Ashraf
Sohail Khan
Usman Shinwari
Imran Khan Sr.

Amir is not on that list.

 

[hitthestump]

When was the last time Amir even played a red ball game? I can't believe his name is even being mentioned here.

 

[DandyFellow]

Pakistan will play 3 pacers and it feels like they are considering to play an extra spinner or a batsman. Considering the tail and a loss of batsman, the addition of a spinner would be Shadab. I am not sure if it would be a good move but if he plays then he would need to keep things tight or to get a few wickets otherwise he will be a total waste. Kashif Bhatti could be a good decision to keep things tight and attack from the other end.
To be honest, I just feel that for the first test the pitch and conditions suggest 5-1-5 formation and next two tests we can switch back to 6-1-4. It is just my analysis of the situation.

 

[Titan24]

Thing is in England its not just the pitch but, the weather as well which defines the effectiveness of bowling. For example a cloud cover on one of the first 3 days would mean there is a chance pacers will be more into the play.

At the same time its not a hidden fact that English batsmen can struggle against spin by being stuck on the crease and not using much feet and sweep shots and there was some spin in almost all the tests. Question is whether Yasir and Shadab are accurate enough to pressurize Eng’s batting. Two full time spinners can only mean Shadab at no 7 and likelihood of Kashif Bhatti playing over Yasir is pretty low which will make it two leggies.

Best possible scenario with two leggies would be that they would provide reasonable control and can chip in with wickets as well while worst would be pace bowlers bowling really well but, leggies with their lack of control leaking runs and taking the pressure off Eng batting.

 

[hitthestump]

If Pakistan are going to go with 2 spinners then i'm unsure why Iftikhar was left out of the squad. Why limit one of your options for no reason? Particularly as Iftikhar can actually bolster a weak batting line up too.

Also, if Shadab is being touted for a possible second spinner role, why did they refuse to give him any overs in the practice match? I naturally assumed then that they had decided he had no role in tests.

To be honest I wonder if Misbah actually has a plan here or if he's making it up as he goes along. For all his misgivings i couldn't see a Mickey Arthur team having this much uncertainty a few days before the first test after so much preparation time.

 

[mumtaz]

I would argue that Misbah's plan has been pretty clear from the start of the tour. In all the warm up games, he has gone with an allrounder at 7. The likely starting XI for first test played in the last warm up game as one team.

Like I argued in other threads as well, the only deviation from that team could be if conditions demand a 4-1 bowling combination in which case Yasir would be sacrificed for Faheem/Sohail. Shadab was always safe with 3 back to back tests in quick succession so the team had to go in with 5 bowling options and Faheem did not show any sort of batting form so was not an option at #7.

 

[cricketfan11]

Shadab isn't a big turner of the ball. I don't think he even has a great deal of first class experience in Pakistan, so one can't expect him to create miracles in England.

The batting is weak so they should strengthen the batting. Shadab doesn't even bat in the top order in T20 cricket so to expect him to play proper Test knocks is fanciful.

 

[MenInG]

The spin squad....

 

[Ahmed216]

This means ifti cha will make the 11

 

[aloo paratha]

This actually isn't that bad. Shadab will bat better than Fawad anyways.

 

[MenInG]

This means ifti cha will make the 11

He is not in the 20 man squad.

 

[therealAB]

Play 4 bowlers *** with a batsman at 6

 

[mon858]

I think he is trolling....Sohail Khan pace in second innings makes him count as spinner.

 

[FreePalestine]

Yasir is undroppable. I suppose he still has to play the first test, for sure.

Regardless of whether we play two spinners or not, it will be the seamers who have to do the heavy lifting in these conditions, unless Yasir somehow inexplicably rolls back the years.England is really excited about their seam attack. I am sure there will be something in the tracks for the seamers. Misbah also misread the conditions, situation in Aus, in danger of doing the same here if we take his strategy seriously.

 

[majiz]

pakistan dont have two spinners
old trafford isnt turning that much this year anyway. it didnt break up in the windies series really

playing two spinners would be crazy

 

[shamaan]

pakistan dont have two spinners
old trafford isnt turning that much this year anyway. it didnt break up in the windies series really

playing two spinners would be crazy

It was spinning in the west indies series in day 1 and 2

 

[majiz]

It was spinning in the west indies series in day 1 and 2

yeah, but it didnt break up. it didnt deteriorate
pakistan dont have two spinners as i say. just play to your strengths.

 

[shamaan]

Shadab isn't a big turner of the ball. I don't think he even has a great deal of first class experience in Pakistan, so one can't expect him to create miracles in England.

The batting is weak so they should strengthen the batting. Shadab doesn't even bat in the top order in T20 cricket so to expect him to play proper Test knocks is fanciful.

He played few good ininings in england in tests last time

 

[ARK Rafay]

It can work. If we are playing 5 bowlers. And I'm assuming Shadab will be good enough at no. 7. Otherwise I think Fawad and Azhar should be used as 2nd spinners.

 

[Major]

Smart move.

He has said the line up will be chosen according to conditions and thats how it should be done.

He believe if the pitch suits two spinners later on than good enough.
Shadan has shown in the recent psl he can bat.

The team has 6 batsmen, if they dont perform i really doubt the 7th(fawad) would be scoring a century.

I think it would be good if we get a spinners conditions. This way we are forced to play 2 spinners and the one that performs will get preferance in the rest of the series

 

[MMHS]

If they are planning to play two spinners, I am afraid Misbah is looking at Kashif at the corner of his eye - he has a crash on SLAO darters.

It’ll be a disaster. This is where Misbah was complete failure in selection - he had 29 players to pick and yet selected an imbalanced squad. Faheem can’t be trusted as batsman while Shadab is just not good enough to be picked as specialist spinner - second spinner may be, but then it makes two leggis in playing XI and none is famous for economy.

Ideally, Misbah should have picked Gohar & Yamin in those 29 - that gives an option to play a 3rd seemer who can bat at 7 and a genuine spinner on dry surface, keeping the leg spin option of Shadab as well. That could have made a very balanced XI for the predicted dry wicket of OT. Shadab, Yamin, Gohar makes a solid 7-8-9 + two fittest pacers, preferably Shaheen and Naseem. And it makes a fantastic versatile attack - a tall left arm fast bowler, a right arm slinger with pace and old ball skills, a right arm swing bowler to use the new & semi new ball; a SLAO finger spinner who can flight the ball and a leggi decent with bat, can be handy on last innings track.

It’s sounds easy to think about a squad for England tour, but English wickets are changing with the climate and drainage upgrades, it’s not easy anymore. And, that’s why I gave him zero for the squad selection - you don’t need selectors to pick Babars & Shaheens & Rizwans.

 

[Major]

There are alot of problems in the pakistani bowling line up.

Naseem shah is a pace bowler. He can break down anytime during a test match. Pakiatan playing 4 bowlers will always be risky cause as soon as naseem is down we need to have a back up and thats why faheem ashraf got in the squad.

Second problem is abbas. He didnt perform that well in Australia, and now thats going to be tricky. He isnt a consisstent performer so its a big risk now to play him

 

[Shaka81]

If Shadab plays the best we can hope for is that England get so fed up with smashing him around the ground, they lose concentration and hit one of his half trackers straight in the air. Although the 10-15 runs he might add from his batting will convince his fans that he's an allrounder!

 

[majiz]

shadab is not a good bowler. two spinners would be justified MAYBE if pak actually had two spinners. this is just a ludicrous idea

 

[Markhor]

If they are planning to play two spinners, I am afraid Misbah is looking at Kashif at the corner of his eye - he has a crash on SLAO darters.

It’ll be a disaster. This is where Misbah was complete failure in selection - he had 29 players to pick and yet selected an imbalanced squad. Faheem can’t be trusted as batsman while Shadab is just not good enough to be picked as specialist spinner - second spinner may be, but then it makes two leggis in playing XI and none is famous for economy.

Ideally, Misbah should have picked Gohar & Yamin in those 29 - that gives an option to play a 3rd seemer who can bat at 7 and a genuine spinner on dry surface, keeping the leg spin option of Shadab as well. That could have made a very balanced XI for the predicted dry wicket of OT. Shadab, Yamin, Gohar makes a solid 7-8-9 + two fittest pacers, preferably Shaheen and Naseem. And it makes a fantastic versatile attack - a tall left arm fast bowler, a right arm slinger with pace and old ball skills, a right arm swing bowler to use the new & semi new ball; a SLAO finger spinner who can flight the ball and a leggi decent with bat, can be handy on last innings track.

It’s sounds easy to think about a squad for England tour, but English wickets are changing with the climate and drainage upgrades, it’s not easy anymore. And, that’s why I gave him zero for the squad selection - you don’t need selectors to pick Babars & Shaheens & Rizwans.

I agree with this but Aamer Yamin is nowhere near the standard of a third pacer. In batting conditions, his gentle 75mph seamup deliveries are ripe for the picking. If he developed his bowling we wouldn't have wasted last three years on Fahim Ashraf.

Gohar is definitely unlucky to miss out on in a 29 man squad. Team management seem to have an infatuation with legspin hence why Usman Qadir was picked over Gohar.

 

[MMHS]

I agree with this but Aamer Yamin is nowhere near the standard of a third pacer. In batting conditions, his gentle 75mph seamup deliveries are ripe for the picking. If he developed his bowling we wouldn't have wasted last three years on Fahim Ashraf.

Gohar is definitely unlucky to miss out on in a 29 man squad. Team management seem to have an infatuation with legspin hence why Usman Qadir was picked over Gohar.

Yamin is for a situation where your 3rd pacer is expected to bowl max 10-12 overs per ball (80 overs) and bulk of the bowling is done by two spinners & two pacers. Faheem definitely is a better bowling option but his batting is a big question mark - in that case, I’ll play someone like Sohail as 3rd pacer, who is definitely better bowling option and probably will give similar amount of runs.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It doesn’t matter - neither was Shannon Gabriel.

Pakistan can pick any of the 29 players in the pavilion. They can even pick Misbah or Younis if they want. Or Waqar. Or Mushie!

England would HATE to walk out to face Amir!

Shannon Gabriel wasn't retired from test cricket. Amir will not be playing.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This decision has the possibility of blowing up badly in their face. Shadab is not on that level in test cricket. England knowing Pakistan have a better spinner in Yasir Shah would want to nullify him and hence there is no guarantee the wicket will be similar to one dished out against West Indies. And I dunno but this decision smacks of something India would do in England before they got badly beaten for misjudging the pitch.

...or this decision could be a stroke of genius. You never know.

 

[Nasty Naz]

I don't have much faith Shadab being able to well in Tests right now. He was barely used in those practice matches and wasn't picking up wickets when he did. I honestly have more faith in Haris Sohail being able to get a wicket than Shadab right now in Tests. Hopefully he does well with the bat though but even for that, he doesn't have much FC track record to suggest what he can do.

Misbah was captain the last time he tried this two leggie experiment. Here is how it went:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...est-indies-vs-pakistan-2nd-test-wi-v-pak-2017

Shadab picked up 1 wicket in 40 overs combined and scored a combined 17 runs.

 

[shady]

If they are planning to play two spinners, I am afraid Misbah is looking at Kashif at the corner of his eye - he has a crash on SLAO darters.

It’ll be a disaster. This is where Misbah was complete failure in selection - he had 29 players to pick and yet selected an imbalanced squad. Faheem can’t be trusted as batsman while Shadab is just not good enough to be picked as specialist spinner - second spinner may be, but then it makes two leggis in playing XI and none is famous for economy.

Ideally, Misbah should have picked Gohar & Yamin in those 29 - that gives an option to play a 3rd seemer who can bat at 7 and a genuine spinner on dry surface, keeping the leg spin option of Shadab as well. That could have made a very balanced XI for the predicted dry wicket of OT. Shadab, Yamin, Gohar makes a solid 7-8-9 + two fittest pacers, preferably Shaheen and Naseem. And it makes a fantastic versatile attack - a tall left arm fast bowler, a right arm slinger with pace and old ball skills, a right arm swing bowler to use the new & semi new ball; a SLAO finger spinner who can flight the ball and a leggi decent with bat, can be handy on last innings track.

It’s sounds easy to think about a squad for England tour, but English wickets are changing with the climate and drainage upgrades, it’s not easy anymore. And, that’s why I gave him zero for the squad selection - you don’t need selectors to pick Babars & Shaheens & Rizwans.

That attack is way too green to pick in the first test of an away tour to England. If we actually played a five man attack with Shaheen, Naseem, Shadab, Yamin, and Gohar we would get demolished. Your two specialist pacers have played less than 10 tests combined, your first change seamer doesn't have the height, pace, or movement to trouble batsmen, and Shadab/Gohar have 4 tests between them. It's not a fantasy team you can't just throw guys in the deep end and expect to win games.

 

[SARJ_BD]

Call me crazy but I have a deep feeling that while people are fight on FAWAD vs SHADAB, Misbah will play Imam at #3

 

[Nervesofsteel]

This will be a complete disaster. I hope for Pakistan's sake that Misbah is just messing with England.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Misbah considering to play 2 spinners in the first test where as Pakistan doesn't even have 1 good spinner in their ranks right now.

Yasir hasn't done much for a while and infact has been smashed around the park many times off late. If they do go in with 2 spinners, IMO it wouldn't be the best of ideas especially when you do not have an all rounder who can do a job.

Either Misbah is just bluffing or if he does go with the 2 then it might just be pure nuisance.

 

[ahmadharis1]

No way. Play Yasir and use 5-10 overs of Fawad Alam spin.

 

[MMHS]

That attack is way too green to pick in the first test of an away tour to England. If we actually played a five man attack with Shaheen, Naseem, Shadab, Yamin, and Gohar we would get demolished. Your two specialist pacers have played less than 10 tests combined, your first change seamer doesn't have the height, pace, or movement to trouble batsmen, and Shadab/Gohar have 4 tests between them. It's not a fantasy team you can't just throw guys in the deep end and expect to win games.

Replace Gohar & Yamin with Faheem & Kashif, does it make better - that’s what we were discussing. With Amir & Wahab retired, unless you consider Yasir & Abbas, every other combination will be raw and my post was a scenario where both of these senior bowlers are excluded; otherwise it’s given and probably everyone can see that PAK will start first Test with Shaheen, Naseem, Abbas backed by Yasir; subject to fitness.

This is because of the hollow that has been created in the bowling line-up over the years - no back-up spinner, no pacer between age of 23-29. Ideally, by now Gohar should have played for 3-4 years, and instead of to polar opposite pacers (U19 - over 30), there should have been at least 2-3 people like Adil, Sameen ready to take over.

 

[Usman]

Please God tell me this is a joke. Shadab is not good enough to take the place of a pacer. Nor do I think he should take the place of a batsman.

Let's just stick to three pacers and a spinner and not try to be too smart here.

 

[Suleiman]

It would be a calculated risk if we actually had 2 quality spinners. But we barely have 1, so just a risk.

Not to mention we haven’t groomed a dependable spinner since Ajmal got banned.

 

[coy0607]

Between Bhatti and Shadab - in the two practice games, they picked up a combined 1 wicket - that too of #11 Naseem Shah.

Shadab was so bad that he didn't even get a bowl across two innings of the second-practice match.

Misbah and Waqar is the only genius duo who would play a second spinner in that scenario. Brilliant!

 

[coy0607]

If Shadab plays the best we can hope for is that England get so fed up with smashing him around the ground, they lose concentration and hit one of his half trackers straight in the air. Although the 10-15 runs he might add from his batting will convince his fans that he's an allrounder!

Pakistan fielding likely won't be good enough to catch the ball that's hit in the air. Maybe Stokes will have pity on Shadab after a few dozen sixes to retire hurt

 

[sweep_shot]

1 spinner should be enough. 2 spinners may not be very effective.

 

[Suleiman]

If they are planning to play two spinners, I am afraid Misbah is looking at Kashif at the corner of his eye - he has a crash on SLAO darters.

It’ll be a disaster. This is where Misbah was complete failure in selection - he had 29 players to pick and yet selected an imbalanced squad. Faheem can’t be trusted as batsman while Shadab is just not good enough to be picked as specialist spinner - second spinner may be, but then it makes two leggis in playing XI and none is famous for economy.

Ideally, Misbah should have picked Gohar & Yamin in those 29 - that gives an option to play a 3rd seemer who can bat at 7 and a genuine spinner on dry surface, keeping the leg spin option of Shadab as well. That could have made a very balanced XI for the predicted dry wicket of OT. Shadab, Yamin, Gohar makes a solid 7-8-9 + two fittest pacers, preferably Shaheen and Naseem. And it makes a fantastic versatile attack - a tall left arm fast bowler, a right arm slinger with pace and old ball skills, a right arm swing bowler to use the new & semi new ball; a SLAO finger spinner who can flight the ball and a leggi decent with bat, can be handy on last innings track.

It’s sounds easy to think about a squad for England tour, but English wickets are changing with the climate and drainage upgrades, it’s not easy anymore. And, that’s why I gave him zero for the squad selection - you don’t need selectors to pick Babars & Shaheens & Rizwans.

I respect Misbah a lot, but it has to be said, only reason he got the position he has currently is because he is a well behaved employee who almost always agrees with his superiors. I don’t think he is qualified for the position based on the selections and statements I’m seeing.

 

[hasanali27]

Yasir with Mushy's constant in-game feedback is a whole different bowler than the one we saw in england last time around.

That being said, 2 spinners is risky but i like that they are trying to think out of the box.

 

[MMHS]

I respect Misbah a lot, but it has to be said, only reason he got the position he has currently is because he is a well behaved employee who almost always agrees with his superiors. I don’t think he is qualified for the position based on the selections and statements I’m seeing.

Misbah is probably blessed by someone sitting at a much, much higher position, don’t think his yes man attitude was enough to get this position.

 

[mumtaz]

I don't get how people are advocating going in with 4 bowlers considering that we have 3 tests in 20 days. For once the team management is spot on with the 5 bowler strategy. Faheem simply cannot bat at 7, so Shadab has to play, it is as simple as that.

The bulk of the bowling will be done by the other 4 bowlers with Shadab chipping in with 10-12 overs per day. It is essentially the Haris Sohail role.

 

[MenInG]

Unless that other spinner is Fawad Alam, it would be madness.

 

[MenInG]

So moment of truth coming up soon - Will they or wont they?

 

[Mueez]

So moment of truth coming up soon - Will they or wont they?

I think they will... Shadab/Kashif with Yasir.

Knowing Misbah he will go for Kashif.

 

[mumtaz]

Shadab will play, no other choice for #7. The real question is Yasir or Sohail Khan with the overhead conditions on day 1 and 2.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan playing 2 spinners!

Shadab and Yasir Shah

 

[Manunited18]

Pakistan have played their cards smart, even if they don't get a competitive first innings score this old Trafford wicket spun for roston chase and leg spinners will get alot of grip, it all comes down to how test match tuned the pakistan team is.

As for England both and Anderson and broad need to really set the tone for England and come at pakistan openers hard, the left hander has his work cut out against broad.

 

[Robert]

Smart move.

Dry wicket, England batting last. Pakistan will win. They will win the series.

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

I m really glad that they are not playing that hack fawad alam even though shadab is not any world beater but he is better than that ugly hack fawad alam

 

[Grunge101]

With the dry pitch, this move wouldve made sense had the 2nd spinner been half decent. Shadab khan has been atrocious lately.What added benefit will he provide over a part time spinning option like Azhar or Fawad ?
I wouldve played Fawad in place of Shadab.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m only an hour away from Manchester if they require a 3rd leg spinner&#55357;&#56834;&#55357;&#56834;&#55357;&#56834;</p>— Usama Mir (@iamusamamir) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamusamamir/status/1290942534554980352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[shaz619]

Technically Shadab is an off spinner if you ignore his wrist position

 

[MenInG]

Chris Silverwood on decision to play 2 leggies by Pakistan:

"I can see the logic to what they were thinking; this was not what he thought of doing to be honest, but it would be interesting to see what happens now when the pitch starts to dry out and starts to turn"

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Misbah finally playing to his strengths although historically he's favoured the off spinners
Will only work if they have a total to defend, not much containment bowling in that attack

 

[aloo paratha]

Playing Shadab was a no brainer. Fawad looked poor in the warmups. Just in terms of batting, Shadab is a better choice, then he also adds the 5th bowling option Pakistan has lacked. Especially on this pitch, I think the decision will come good.

If the Southampton pitches are anything like they were for the Windies vs England test then I would retain Shadab, drop Yasir and replace him with Sohail Khan.

 

[gazza619]

I think the choice was between Shadab and Fawad.

Fawad at best would have scored 30 (150 balls) and taken no wickets. Shadab on the other hand can score a quick fire 30 and is obviously is a better bowler than Fawad even with his poor bowling form.

 

[Zaz]

Lets be honest They aint playing two spinners but a 5th bowler who can bat and provide well needed rest to the 4th frontline bowlers

 

[Saj]

If Shadab scores some important runs and takes 3 or 4 wickets in the match, selecting him will be a good decision.

The pitch is ideal for leggies, so Shadab couldn't have asked for better conditions.

 

[hitthestump]

Surely Chacha Ifti would have made more sense in this scenario. He's an actual top order bat and isn't the same type of spinner as Yasir.

Two leggies feels like overkill to me, plus Shadab is really a number 8 FC batsman who's now going to have to play the role of a number 6.

 

[aloo paratha]

I think the choice was between Shadab and Fawad.

Fawad at best would have scored 30 (150 balls) and taken no wickets. Shadab on the other hand can score a quick fire 30 and is obviously is a better bowler than Fawad even with his poor bowling form.

Shadab already has 3 50+ scores, he's more than a player who will just score 20-30 odd.

 

[coy0607]

Surely Chacha Ifti would have made more sense in this scenario. He's an actual top order bat and isn't the same type of spinner as Yasir.

Two leggies feels like overkill to me, plus Shadab is really a number 8 FC batsman who's now going to have to play the role of a number 6.

Shadab is a better batsmen and a better bowler than Ifti.

 

[MMHS]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m only an hour away from Manchester if they require a 3rd leg spinner������</p>— Usama Mir (@iamusamamir) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamusamamir/status/1290942534554980352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On this track, this guy could be deadly - he is like 6'2" and bowls fastish leggi; if he can keep it on spot, he'll trouble leftis more than Yasir, because he'll bring the leg side close-in fielders of left-handers into business.

 

[hitthestump]

Shadab is a better batsmen and a better bowler than Ifti.

Weird that his FC average with the bat is 15 runs less than Iftikhar then.