Pakistan plays only 4 specialist batsmen in its XI

[Madplayer]

Fakhar Zamaan
Imam
Babar Azam
Malik

These are the four specialist batsmen which Pakistan plays with. How do we expect to score any decent total with just 4 specialist batsmen? Do we expect the likes of Sarfaraz (wicket keeper) , Shadab (spinner) , Nawaz (spinner) , Asif (lower order striker who averages 20 odd in LA cricket) and bowlers to score runs for Pakistan? Occassionally we throw in Faheem in there or if we are in the mood, we play Haris as the 5th batsman. Ridiculous stuff from Team management and one big mistake in my opinion. You need specialist batsmen especially when your batting is useless.

 

[Asif321]

They passed yo yo test we don’t compromise on fitness . Fitness first skill later

 

[Markhor]

I've just mentioned this in the match thread. The balance of the team is asking for trouble.

Batsmen like Fakhar enjoy pace on the ball but when the ball is stopping and not easily coming onto the bat like we see in UAE he doesn't have a plan B.

You have a non-performing captain occupying a key middle order spot, whilst Babar has done little of note against top teams since his international debut. Asif Ali is a powerful hitter but lacks ability to construct long innings in ODIs and seems better suited to short bursts in T20 cricket.

So effectively a historically weak batting team like Pakistan is playing with four specialist batsman - two are out of form !

Meanwhile we have not a single specialist spinner in the squad and are relying on two all-rounders in Shadab and Nawaz who are not matchwinners with the ball. This means in every match of this tournament we're one specialist batsman and one spinner short !

 

[wazzy]

I am a firm believer that bits and pieces cricketers are not suitable for ODI or test matches (they may get away in T20). We should only call someone an all rounder if they can get into the team purely on their batting abilities as well as merit to be in the team purely as a pure bowler. In pak team none of the so called all rounders are good enough as either.

 

[ahmed16]

Only 3 tbh, Malik isn't a specialist, he's a good decent bat but not a specialist imo, started his career as a bowler who could bat a little and is now a batting allrounder.

 

[wazzy]

Only 3 tbh, Malik isn't a specialist, he's a good decent bat but not a specialist imo, started his career as a bowler who could bat a little and is now a batting allrounder.

lol. If you going to be this critical, then of the remaining 3, one is used as a hitter to give quick starts (does not have a great technique) and another (Imam) is still to establish imselve (jury is out on him), leaving only one proper batsman in the team.

 

[ahmed16]

lol. If you going to be this critical, then of the remaining 3, one is used as a hitter to give quick starts (does not have a great technique) and another (Imam) is still to establish imselve (jury is out on him), leaving only one proper batsman in the team.

Agreed

 

[Minnowbasher]

Bring back Hafeez. He always brought perfect ballance to the team.
Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Sarfraz
Malik
Hafeez
Faheem/shadab
Z.Gohar (specialist spinner)
Hasan
Junaid
Shaheen

 

[Madplayer]

I've just mentioned this in the match thread. The balance of the team is asking for trouble.

Batsmen like Fakhar enjoy pace on the ball but when the ball is stopping and not easily coming onto the bat like we see in UAE he doesn't have a plan B.

You have a non-performing captain occupying a key middle order spot, whilst Babar has done little of note against top teams since his international debut. Asif Ali is a powerful hitter but lacks ability to construct long innings in ODIs and seems better suited to short bursts in T20 cricket.

So effectively a historically weak batting team like Pakistan is playing with four specialist batsman - two are out of form !

Meanwhile we have not a single specialist spinner in the squad and are relying on two all-rounders in Shadab and Nawaz who are not matchwinners with the ball. This means in every match of this tournament we're one specialist batsman and one spinner short !

Well this Asia cup has been a massive debacle. Pakistan barely beat Afghanistan who was the only decent team they did beat. The selection policy of picking so many all rounders needs to be looked at very strongly. You already dont have the talent in batting and after that you dont pick enough batsmen. What craziness is this

 

[mak36]

They passed yo yo test we don’t compromise on fitness . Fitness first skill later

Stupid comment.

Fitness is a minimum but not sufficient condition to success. What's hard to understand about that?

 

[Savak]

Other teams have non specialist batsmen who are 10 times better than the so called specialist batsmen we are playing today.

Pakistan is still playing a very out dated brand of cricket and we keep on continuously investing in the wrong players. The rest of the top 5 teams had moved on to a different brand of cricket a long time back while we still are stuck in the 90's.

Mickey Arthur has been a complete waste of time and has wasted a golden opportunity to make a difference.

 

[Majid Khan]

It all depends what you mean by 'specialist' - just checked in my son's school dictionary and part of the definition says : "a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field."

Not sure any Pakistani batsmen around today qualify under that definition

 

[Madplayer]

It all depends what you mean by 'specialist' - just checked in my son's school dictionary and part of the definition says : "a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field."

Not sure any Pakistani batsmen around today qualify under that definition

Its true. But at least they should look to find batsmen who have both gears. Like a Rohit Sharma who can play slow or fast as per situation. We either have slow batsmen or asif ali.

 

[Madplayer]

Other teams have non specialist batsmen who are 10 times better than the so called specialist batsmen we are playing today.

Pakistan is still playing a very out dated brand of cricket and we keep on continuously investing in the wrong players. The rest of the top 5 teams had moved on to a different brand of cricket a long time back while we still are stuck in the 90's.

Mickey Arthur has been a complete waste of time and has wasted a golden opportunity to make a difference.

I wonder if Pakistan can do a west Indies and build a team like Clive Lloyd did with tall fast bowlers who put fear of God in Batsmen's hearts. And also a few decent batsmen.

 

[giri26]

I wonder if Pakistan can do a west Indies and build a team like Clive Lloyd did with tall fast bowlers who put fear of God in Batsmen's hearts. And also a few decent batsmen.

To be really frank, the great West Indies team had a powerful batting line up as well. They were not all bowling. Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Clive himself, Kalicharan, Larry Gomes, Jeff Dujon et all were very good players, followed by 4 fearsome fast bowlers. If you don't have the combination of both, you cannot build a world beating side.

 

[Madplayer]

To be really frank, the great West Indies team had a powerful batting line up as well. They were not all bowling. Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Clive himself, Kalicharan, Larry Gomes, Jeff Dujon et all were very good players, followed by 4 fearsome fast bowlers. If you don't have the combination of both, you cannot build a world beating side.

True. Batting needs to be looked at. And hence this thread. Pakistan's batting is already so weak and after that they arent playing enough specialist batsmen in the team. Its a recipie for disaster.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

Fakhar Zamaan ( Correction - a proper TULLER)
Imam
Babar Azam
Malik

These are the four specialist batsmen which Pakistan plays with. How do we expect to score any decent total with just 4 specialist batsmen? Do we expect the likes of Sarfaraz (wicket keeper) , Shadab (spinner) , Nawaz (spinner) , Asif (lower order striker who averages 20 odd in LA cricket) and bowlers to score runs for Pakistan? Occassionally we throw in Faheem in there or if we are in the mood, we play Haris as the 5th batsman. Ridiculous stuff from Team management and one big mistake in my opinion. You need specialist batsmen especially when your batting is useless.

Correction

 

[todfod 11]

They need to find solid bats for number 4 and 5

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Haris should be given a proper run at 4. Also, we need middle order batsmen who can also score quickly. The idea that guys who can bat long at 80 SR will occupy the middle order and then having an Asif Ali come at the end to accelerate the innings can't get you match winning totals every time.

 

[Wonderwoman]

Fakhar Zamaan
Imam
Babar Azam
Malik

These are the four specialist batsmen which Pakistan plays with. How do we expect to score any decent total with just 4 specialist batsmen? Do we expect the likes of Sarfaraz (wicket keeper) , Shadab (spinner) , Nawaz (spinner) , Asif (lower order striker who averages 20 odd in LA cricket) and bowlers to score runs for Pakistan? Occassionally we throw in Faheem in there or if we are in the mood, we play Haris as the 5th batsman. Ridiculous stuff from Team management and one big mistake in my opinion. You need specialist batsmen especially when your batting is useless.

Three are minnow bashers and Damaad-e-Hind is an India basher! Who is a real batsman?

 

[Madplayer]

Three are minnow bashers and Damaad-e-Hind is an India basher! Who is a real batsman?

Minnow basher or India basher or any basher, the point is only 4 are specialist batsmen. Which is too low a number for a poor batting side.

 

[Markhor]

Looks like we will repeat the same mistake vs South Africa. What is about insanity being repeating the same failed experiment time and again ?

I suspect we will go with Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Hafeez, Malik, Sarfraz, Imad/Shadab and Faheem as our top 8.

That means three specialist batsmen with the rest being all-rounders of one variety or another. Three specialist batsmen for a historically weak batting lineup like Pakistan against a strong South African bowling attack - what's the worst that can happen ?!

 

[Amjid Javed]

It all depends what you mean by 'specialist' - just checked in my son's school dictionary and part of the definition says : "a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field."

Not sure any Pakistani batsmen around today qualify under that definition

Your forget Hafeez who is blessed in all Facets of the game (Highly skilled ) - Supreme specialist.

 

[TeymurBlake]

The lack of batsman and that middle order batsman in our team is scarce. Are guys like Saud Shakeel, Hammad Azam, Khushdil Shah, Zeeshan Malik and Ali Imran not good enough to be considered. Like what!!

I wonder if we will see any changes to the ODI setup once Malik and Hafeez are gone.

 

[Salman4.]

The lack of batsman and that middle order batsman in our team is scarce. Are guys like Saud Shakeel, Hammad Azam, Khushdil Shah, Zeeshan Malik and Ali Imran not good enough to be considered. Like what!!

I wonder if we will see any changes to the ODI setup once Malik and Hafeez are gone.

Hammad Azam is really not international material.

 

[Madplayer]

Looks like we will repeat the same mistake vs South Africa. What is about insanity being repeating the same failed experiment time and again ?

I suspect we will go with Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Hafeez, Malik, Sarfraz, Imad/Shadab and Faheem as our top 8.

That means three specialist batsmen with the rest being all-rounders of one variety or another. Three specialist batsmen for a historically weak batting lineup like Pakistan against a strong South African bowling attack - what's the worst that can happen ?!

This is insanity. Illogical beyond words.
You are weak in batting already and you are acting oversmart by picking "all rounders" instead of specialist batsmen. Madness.

 

[Cric1234]

This is insanity. Illogical beyond words.
You are weak in batting already and you are acting oversmart by picking "all rounders" instead of specialist batsmen. Madness.

Expect 60-5 70-6 type scores in the series unless the wickets are flat where are the middle order batsmen Umar Akmal Saud Shakeel Saad Ali etc instead we have all rounders in Imad Talat Shadab Faheem Hafeez looks a misbalanced disjointed squad overall.

 

[Kroll]

Putting Hafeez and Malik in the middle order which are critical positions is insane. Not only are they not batting specialists but they're ancient as well.

I think Malik can make the team on merit and play at 6 but you can't accommodate both of them.

 

[Cric1234]

Putting Hafeez and Malik in the middle order which are critical positions is insane. Not only are they not batting specialists but they're ancient as well.

I think Malik can make the team on merit and play at 6 but you can't accommodate both of them.

Malik has improved but they were never great especially against the top teams now it's a given they will fail only on flat wickets can they score in this series.

 

[iPakistani]

I've just mentioned this in the match thread. The balance of the team is asking for trouble.

Batsmen like Fakhar enjoy pace on the ball but when the ball is stopping and not easily coming onto the bat like we see in UAE he doesn't have a plan B.

You have a non-performing captain occupying a key middle order spot, whilst Babar has done little of note against top teams since his international debut. Asif Ali is a powerful hitter but lacks ability to construct long innings in ODIs and seems better suited to short bursts in T20 cricket.

Bhai how much do you want Babar to do by himself?

Average of 56 against Australia. (All in Australia).
Average of 37 against England. (38* in CT Semi).
Average of 27 against India. (One run out, two scores of 46 and 47).
Average of 31 against New Zealand. (Last scores being 46 and 92).
Average of 31* against South Africa. (Averaging 37.75 in the tests currently).

He is improving day by day, he is only 24!

 

[Majid Khan]

Well Abbas is almost half way there to becoming a specialist batsman for Pakistan — really hope he gets to 25, the quarter century landmark that very few Pakistani batsmen get to against South Africa or Australia.

 

[hadi123]

Well Abbas is almost half way there to becoming a specialist batsman for Pakistan — really hope he gets to 25, the quarter century landmark that very few Pakistani batsmen get to against South Africa or Australia.

I love reading your posts, they crack me up. You are one of my favourite posters bro

 

[Majid Khan]

I love reading your posts, they crack me up. You are one of my favourite posters bro

Thank you Sir, well that gives me a reason to carry on then as I’m not feeling as comfortable on Pakpassion these days with there being a Pakistan tour to SA and not a single thread about Hafeez on the front page.. I’m almost feeling like I’m redundant and have nothing to do here anymore but then Azhar Ali, Asad and Sarfraz could be my next targets now that Hafeez is gone, just can not stand mediocre seniors.

 

[Abdullah]

Babar being set up for the nip backer by vern

 

[Abdullah719]

#4-6: Malik, Hafeez, Sarfaraz

 

[Cric1234]

#4-6: Malik, Hafeez, Sarfaraz

7-9 Imad Shadab Faheem

 

[in_cutter]

Sarf continues to select he’s buddies

 

[Madplayer]

Mind boggling approach this.

 

[in_cutter]

No Shaheen. No in form Rizwan & Shan. Mashallah, great selection strategy.

 

[Markhor]

Three specialist batsmen today - Fakhar, Imam and Babar.

Bits and pieces strategy fails again.

 

[Amjid Javed]

A tail that starts at after number 4 in ODIs

 

[aukhan]

Poor team selection as usual. Insecure captain keeping inform Rizwan out

Rizwan should have played today instead of Talat.

 

[Madplayer]

This approach will never work. You need the top 3 of Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit to make this strategy work. Pakistan doesnt have that kind of class in batting so this approach will fail more often than not.

 

[Pakhs]

They dont have anymore proper batsman in the team but I would have played Shan and obviously Harris is out.

 

[We Bleed Green]

Malik is not a proper batsman. He too is an allrounder.

We play with three specialise batsmen

 

[We Bleed Green]

We will win only ocassionally if you fill the team with bowlers only.

Having 10 bowlers in last ten overs when bowling is completely useless but having ten batsman in last ten overs means you can score more runs.

The whole point of playing all rounders is that it allows you to play more batsmen

 

[Madplayer]

Imam, Fakhar, Babar (only REAL batsmen)

Hafeez, Malik (previously were all rounders, just because they dont bowl much now doesnt mean they suddenly became frontline batsmen)

Rizwan (Wicket keeper)

Shadab, Imad (all rounders)

Bowlers.


3 proper batsmen will NEVER win you games consistently.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Imam, Fakhar, Babar (only REAL batsmen)

Hafeez, Malik (previously were all rounders, just because they dont bowl much now doesnt mean they suddenly became frontline batsmen)

Rizwan (Wicket keeper)

Shadab, Imad (all rounders)

Bowlers.


3 proper batsmen will NEVER win you games consistently.

Agree 100%. been saying the same in many of the other threads, although I would say Hafeez is as much of a specialist batsman as any of his replacements are likely to be. He was initially picked for Pakistan as a batsman, his bowling only really became a feature afterwards. Malik is a no 7, should never be coming in higher than that. Same goes for Sarfraz really. He's usually good for a few quick runs, but can always get out at any time because he doesn't know how to construct a big innings.

 

[Abdullah]

Most teams do cos everybody tries to have 6 bowling options plus one wicket keeper=7
That leaves 4 batting spots

 

[Madplayer]

Most teams do cos everybody tries to have 6 bowling options plus one wicket keeper=7
That leaves 4 batting spots

Lets see the Indian line up
Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli
Gill
Rayudu
Jadhav
Karthic (wkb)
Pandya
Bowlers.


6 proper front line batsmen. A couple of them can roll their arm over but they are selected in the team as batsmen, not allrounders.

Then you have reliable wk batsmen in Karthic or Dhoni.

Finally you have another reliable batting all rounder in Pandya.

The entire approach to top 8 is batting centric. And their success should be no surprise.

 

[Abdullah]

Lets see the Indian line up
Dhawan
Rohit
Kohli
Gill
Rayudu
Jadhav
Karthic (wkb)
Pandya
Bowlers.


6 proper front line batsmen. A couple of them can roll their arm over but they are selected in the team as batsmen, not allrounders.

Then you have reliable wk batsmen in Karthic or Dhoni.

Finally you have another reliable batting all rounder in Pandya.

The entire approach to top 8 is batting centric. And their success should be no surprise.

Madplayer what are you on.
How do u get
Bunrah
shami
chahal
Kuldeep

Into the above ?? Let alone bhuvi?? That's 13 players all together??

 

[Madplayer]

Madplayer what are you on.
How do u get
Bunrah
shami
chahal
Kuldeep

Into the above ?? Let alone bhuvi?? That's 13 players all together??

The line up i mentioned was the one that played today

https://www.google.com/search?q=nz+...F-8#sie=m;/g/11gk0prbgm;5;/m/021q23;dt;fp;1;;

 

[Abdullah]

The line up i mentioned was the one that played today

https://www.google.com/search?q=nz+...F-8#sie=m;/g/11gk0prbgm;5;/m/021q23;dt;fp;1;;

And they still hot out for 92!!
Actually Kohli didn't play today, and today was dead rubber. Think logically about it. If they play the team u mentuoned they need kwdhar to bowl 10 overs. That isn't happening

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Most teams do cos everybody tries to have 6 bowling options plus one wicket keeper=7
That leaves 4 batting spots

That might be possible if you have four top class batsmen, but when your top four includes Zaman and Hafeez, you are taking a big risk.

 

[Madplayer]

And they still hot out for 92!!
Actually Kohli didn't play today, and today was dead rubber. Think logically about it. If they play the team u mentuoned they need kwdhar to bowl 10 overs. That isn't happening

Yes sorry i put kohli in there as well. Anyway, the top 7 still will be batting centric with at least 5 specialist batsmen. Even if you remove 1 batsman from there it makes little difference.
And please dont mention that they got shot out for 92 because you know the scores they have put up in last few years. Today was an aberration.

And what is Pakistan's approach? 3 specialist batsmen and even they are barely decent.

 

[Banter]

Fakhar Zamaan
Imam
Babar Azam
Malik

These are the four specialist batsmen which Pakistan plays with. How do we expect to score any decent total with just 4 specialist batsmen? Do we expect the likes of Sarfaraz (wicket keeper) , Shadab (spinner) , Nawaz (spinner) , Asif (lower order striker who averages 20 odd in LA cricket) and bowlers to score runs for Pakistan? Occassionally we throw in Faheem in there or if we are in the mood, we play Haris as the 5th batsman. Ridiculous stuff from Team management and one big mistake in my opinion. You need specialist batsmen especially when your batting is useless.

And which international class "specialist" batsman should Pakistan play in addition to these?

 

[Madplayer]

And which international class "specialist" batsman should Pakistan play in addition to these?

I dont know.
Are you saying Pakistan has no batsmen better than the likes of Hafeez, Malik, Faheem etc?

 

[Syed1]

I wonder why Shan wasn't picked in the side, even though he meritted more selection in ODIs than in Tests.


The unfortunate part is that Shan is earmarked as an opening batsman or max one-down and all three spots seem to be locked for Pakistan now all the way upto the WC. He could come in at 4, but then Prof's ego will come in the way. I hope they try Shan out at number 5, but then we will be playing him severely out of position and setting him up for failure. However, he can't do as bad as Malik/Sarfaraz.


It is kind of unfortunate in a way that the SA series went all the way to the last match and all the changes were kind of forced and the team could not experiment with different combinations.

 

[shah_1]

Its too late for the world cup

If Imam and Babar can score runs why not give youngsters a chance after WC. There is no guarantee of replicating the success but try trial and error. Its important we move away from Malik and Hafeez. We will never be a competitive team with these two

 

[Banter]

I dont know.
Are you saying Pakistan has no batsmen better than the likes of Hafeez, Malik, Faheem etc?

I don't follow Pakistan fringe players, you tell me.

 

[Saj]

There seems to be a fascination with bits and pieces players - players who rarely do much and don't have the skills to win matches.

 

[Markhor]

[MENTION=131678]Madplayer[/MENTION]

Allrounder INFECTION has spread to our bowling.

Just two specialist bowlers today albeit Imad is an excellent T20 spinner.

 

[Madplayer]

[MENTION=131678]Madplayer[/MENTION]

Allrounder INFECTION has spread to our bowling.

Just two specialist bowlers today albeit Imad is an excellent T20 spinner.

They were clearly 1 fast bowler short today. These kind of tactics are really risky. They have managed to pull things back a bit in last few overs. Lets see how it goes.

 

[Zaz]

There seems to be a fascination with bits and pieces players - players who rarely do much and don't have the skills to win matches.

The teams full of them today Ive counted 2-3 proper batsmen today The rest can hardly bat