Pakistan squad for the 5-match T20I series against New Zealand announced

[Kroll]

Where is Haris Rauf?

Hopefully Mr Concede 12 RPO has picked a new job, cricket isn't for him.

 

[Omer2002]

The guy Harris should replace is Rizwan

Haris??

What has he done nothing..clearly i am against Azam too i mean i thought Fakhar was injured too what has he done to get in. Even Saim i wouldnt have but because of his bowling now i would. There is no balance to the team with so many pacers being picked.

 

[stani_pak]

The squad that has been selected for the most part it is a good squad, and it seems the 17 you see there will be part of the world cup squad barring injuries and form you might see 1 or 2 players swap when the world cup squad will be announced

Positives
Hate them or love them good see Amir and Imad back in the squad
Good to see 2 good spinners in the squad (Abrar and Usama)
Also have some decent spin option in Saim and Ifitikhar if needed
Very Happy to see Abbas Afridi being persisted with
Good to see Irfan Khan given a chance as well a good middle order batsman

Cons
Azam Khan now I know he has CPL experience, he can play big shots, and is good vs spin, but he will lose you more games than win you some. His keeping alone will lose you games, and even when given the chance to play on national team, he has done nothing of note with the bat. His running between the wickets is poor as well, can you Imagine if he needs to squeeze a single of the last ball or need to run 2 runs to win a match, this man should not play for Pakistan until he takes his health and fitness seriously

3 players in the non-travelling reserves should or could be in the squad easily if not all 3 than at least 2 of them ( Wasim Jnr, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Ali)

Maybe a good decision but I would have liked to see Aamer Jamal given a go in this series

Mohammad Haris has been unfairly dropped and should have given a proper chance in this series (at this point I do not think I would take him to the world cup due to lack of games, and also it seems like he does not fit in PCB set up in terms of team balance)

That being said you will never have a perfect squad But I can say 90 percent I am Happy


This would be my 17 players for NZ series (I am going based on the 17 players selected and non-travelling reserves

Babar Azam (captain)
Mohammad Rizwan
Saim Ayub
Fakhar Zaman
Iftikhar Ahmed
Usman Khan
Irfan Khan
Salman Ali Agha
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Usama Mir
Abrar Ahmed
Mohammad Abbas Afridi
Mohmmad Amir
Naseem Shah
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Wasim Jnr

Non-travelling reserves: Haseebullah, Mohammad Ali, Zaman Khan. Sahibzada Farhan, and Azam Khan


My 15 for the World Cup plus 3 travelling reserves

Babar Azam (captain)
Mohammad Rizwan
Saim Ayub
Fakhar Zaman
Iftikhar Ahmed
Usman Khan
Irfan Khan
Salman Ali Agha
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Abrar Ahmed
Mohammad Abbas Afridi
Mohmmad Amir
Naseem Shah
Shaheen Afridi

Travelling Reserves
Aamer Jamal
Usama Mir
Mohammad Wasim Jnr

 

[zaidihusain]

Two very notable omissions.. selected Azam khan parchi this guy can’t complete 2km run that means he is just a normal fatso not an athlete to play cricket belongs to gully cricket , many guy with his physique who are even better players rot in gully cricket because their father is not Moin khan.

Wahab says rotation policy , workload management blah blah but have selected all the frontline players to play against Newzealand C team out of fear of losing and gonna oversee them as Senior team Manager

Yousuf - head coach u-19 , national team selector , batting coach of senior team
Wahab - Sports Minister, chief selector (under the name as selector) , Senior team manag

Yes it's hilarious really. What kind of rotation policy is implemented when all main players who are in playing 11 since last 3-4 years are selected. I really feel Salman Agha & Wasim Jnr are not in good books of team management and may be threat to few players, that's why they don't get regular chances

 

[Concerned]

PCB should not have picked so many top order batsmen if the batting order will not be changed. Babar and Rizwan have nothing to gain from this series.

Babar Azam (captain)

Fakhar Zaman

Mohammad Rizwan

Saim Ayub

Usman Khan

 

[Slim]

Good decision by Captain Azam getting rid of Rauf. Niazi is a good pick ,guy is a great fielder too.
Azam Khan fills the terrible selection quota once again.
Other than that its a decent squad.

My 11 in batting order
Saim Rizwan Babar Usman Niazi Iftikhar Imad Amir Shaheen Naseem Abrar

Who said he got rid of Rauf? Hes injured. Good to see “captain azam” fan attributing the squad selection to him. I hope you stick by captain azam when he chokes in the worldcup against actual playing 11s.

 

[Slim]

No matter what squad you select, we all know the playing 11 is going to be the same old stinking mess now that we have paper king back as captain. Happy to be proven wrong.

 

[kingusama92]

Respectable squad if we ignore the elephant in the room.

Bowling depth will be excellent for the WC but the batting is dodgy. They need Irfan Niazi/Usman to do well from game 1 to secure a spot in that fragile middle order. Fakhar is an option to.

It’s the biggest question that needs an answer in the coming series with hopefully someone grabbing the chance with two hands.

Potential XI for WC

Saim Ayub
Babar Azam (C)
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Usman Khan/Irfan Niazi/Fakhar
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Mohammad Amir
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Abrar Ahmed

They have 7-8 varied bowling options here, which is incredible with six being capable of the full four overs if needed.

Batting depth is good too but the quality is lacking big time. That middle order might ruin their campaign.

 

[mominsaigol]

PCB should not have picked so many top order batsmen if the batting order will not be changed. Babar and Rizwan have nothing to gain from this series.

Babar Azam (captain)

Fakhar Zaman

Mohammad Rizwan

Saim Ayub

Usman Khan

Naw, they need to show the world why their goats via 2nd string bashing.

 

[Ahmed216]

Who said he got rid of Rauf? Hes injured. Good to see “captain azam” fan attributing the squad selection to him. I hope you stick by captain azam when he chokes in the worldcup against actual playing 11s.

Yes I'll stick by him as captain although he does have his faults. He almost won us the WC in 2021 and 2022.
2021 it was Hassan Ali and Shaheen who lost us the semis and 2022 some brainless batting in last 5 overs by likes of Shadab left us 20 important runs short.
At least I am not one of those who hope for Pak to lose if their favorite player is not the captain.
Did you also want Imad Wasim to be appointed as captain?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Decent squad. No major surprises.

 

[mominsaigol]

Decent squad. No major surprises.

Zaman khan > Ali is not a major suprise? Since when?

 

[Ahmed216]

There's serious delusion among fans that PSL performers will be equally good at international level. We don't have guys who can score 20-30 runs consistently yet some fans have the audacity to constantly bash Rizwan and Babar and even hold them responsible for our losses. They want us to believe that other 9 players are not accountable

 

[mominsaigol]

There's serious delusion among fans that PSL performers will be equally good at international level. We don't have guys who can score 20-30 runs consistently yet some fans have the audacity to constantly bash Rizwan and Babar and even hold them responsible for our losses. They want us to believe that other 9 players are not accountable

When a team loses, its a failure for the whole squad, agreed.

But no one praises anyone else upto cloud 9. Fakhar has so many notable performances in odi yet he never gets insanely praised on this forumn or anywhere else on the entire Internet?

Yet when babar and rizwan make a cake video or do some nonsense interview it gets praised to cloud 9 by his loyalist cult?

Argument goes both ways as its a team game, if you want people to stop bashing babar and rizzu and talk about the whole teamz then stop attributing wins to only babar and rizzu and start talking about the entire team.

Even loyal sarfraz fans from 2017 never attributed the whole CT to his name, they acknowledged everyone who contributed except for Ahmed shehzad ofcourse who was the only useless member.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Zaman khan > Ali is not a major suprise? Since when?

He's been in the squad for a while and is a rated bowler..I'm glad they stuck by him during a bad patch.

 

[mominsaigol]

He's been in the squad for a while and is a rated bowler..I'm glad they stuck by him during a bad patch.

Fair point and fair arguments, we do need to back our players more, and I've always believed in team building

But

Ali should have been taken and deserved a call up, we need to build the best team possible and this series warranted a call and not a reserve spot, he was the best pacer of the psl.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Respectable squad if we ignore the elephant in the room.

Bowling depth will be excellent for the WC but the batting is dodgy. They need Irfan Niazi/Usman to do well from game 1 to secure a spot in that fragile middle order. Fakhar is an option to.

It’s the biggest question that needs an answer in the coming series with hopefully someone grabbing the chance with two hands.

Potential XI for WC

Saim Ayub
Babar Azam (C)
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Usman Khan/Irfan Niazi/Fakhar
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Mohammad Amir
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Abrar Ahmed

They have 7-8 varied bowling options here, which is incredible with six being capable of the full four overs if needed.

Batting depth is good too but the quality is lacking big time. That middle order might ruin their campaign.

If you’re having to choose between Fakhar and Usama for the playing xi when you have 7 bowling options then you can easily take out one of the all rounders for a genuine batsman.

Your bowling attack won’t be affected but it’ll strengthen your batting line up.

Saim Ayub
Mohammad Rizwan
Babar Azam
Fakhar Zaman
Usman Khan

That’s the top 5 (Rizbar ain’t going anywhere)

Now it’s a toss up between Ifthikar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed.

There’s two ways you can go about this, if you’re playing Abrar, then Shadab isn’t need. You don’t need to leggies in an xi.

If you’re playing both Shadab and Abrar then you have to choose between Imad and Ifthikar.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He's been in the squad for a while and is a rated bowler..I'm glad they stuck by him during a bad patch.

He's got one ball, a slingshot yorker bowled with a low arm without much bounce. I'm not sure it will translate to success at international level.

 

[Ahmed216]

When a team loses, its a failure for the whole squad, agreed.

But no one praises anyone else upto cloud 9. Fakhar has so many notable performances in odi yet he never gets insanely praised on this forumn or anywhere else on the entire Internet?

I think Fakhar does get his due credit on this forum for his ODI performances. But if most of the conversations are about Babar and Rizwan, then obviously there will be less mention of other players

Yet when babar and rizwan make a cake video or do some nonsense interview it gets praised to cloud 9 by his loyalist cult?

I don't ever do that and can't speak for others

Argument goes both ways as its a team game, if you want people to stop bashing babar and rizzu and talk about the whole teamz then stop attributing wins to only babar and rizzu and start talking about the entire team.

I haven't seen any poster do that. But yes I have seen people criticize Babar and Rizwan for every ill that affects Pak cricket

Even loyal sarfraz fans from 2017 never attributed the whole CT to his name, they acknowledged everyone who contributed except for Ahmed shehzad ofcourse who was the only useless member.

 

[mominsaigol]

I think Fakhar does get his due credit on this forum for his ODI performances. But if most of the conversations are about Babar and Rizwan, then obviously there will be less mention of other players

I don't ever do that and can't speak for others

I haven't seen any poster do that. But yes I have seen people criticize Babar and Rizwan for every ill that affects Pak cricket

"I haven't seen any poster do that"

Are you kidding? 90% of the time I deal with comments such as

If everyone played like rizwan in Australia Test series we would have cremeated Australia even though one of aussie bats averaged 86 on that series lol,

Or comments such as Rizwan was so amazing and it's because of his contributions Pakistan was able to chase 301 against Afghanistan even though shadab was the main contributor and rizwan was a footnote in that game.

 

[160KPH]

Are you kidding? 90% of the time I deal with comments such as

If everyone played like rizwan in Australia Test series we would have cremeated Australia even though one of aussie bats averaged 86 on that series lol,

Now you’ve taken your embarrassment to another thread as well.

I said if our other batsmen played as good as Rizwan, who was by far our best performing batsmen in the series, we would have had a higher chance of winning at least one match and could probably have won one.

And also you’re the one who brought this argument up because you lied about what I said and instead of admitting you lied or misremembered you doubled down.

 

[mominsaigol]

Now you’ve taken your embarrassment to another thread as well.

I said if our other batsmen played as good as Rizwan, who was by far our best performing batsmen in the series, we would have had a higher chance of winning at least one match and could probably have won one.

And also you’re the one who brought this argument up because you lied about what I said and instead of admitting you lied or misremembered you doubled down.

You're ironically starting to sound, text and chat like Pakengfan now.

When did I LIE exactly? I have never lied on PP lol.

Also stop saying embrassment, as I said your opinion on me means nothing.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

3 days after this series , all teams will have to select their World Cup squads , so I don't see too many changes .

Expect one of Abrar/Usama to get cut in a straight shootout and most likely a pacer to get cut - maybe one of Aamir, Abbas and Zaman.

That's your World Cup squad.

 

[Ahmed216]

"I haven't seen any poster do that"

Are you kidding? 90% of the time I deal with comments such as

If everyone played like rizwan in Australia Test series we would have cremeated Australia even though one of aussie bats averaged 86 on that series lol,

How does that equate to attributing every Pak win to only Babar and Rizwan? I don't think poster tried to imply that. He just stated others didn't bat as well as Rizwan.

Or comments such as Rizwan was so amazing and it's because of his contributions Pakistan was able to chase 301 against Afghanistan even though shadab was the main contributor and rizwan was a footnote in that game.

 

[160KPH]

You're ironically starting to sound, text and chat like Pakengfan now.

When did I LIE exactly? I have never lied on PP lol.

Also stop saying embrassment, as I said your opinion on me means nothing.

Here are quotes to the whole discussion:

Here is the original quote that I said, you can click on it and see that I was talking about the Australian Test series:

If all of the other batsmen had performed as good as Rizwan we did we would have won a match, it’s that simple.

Now you can read what you said today:

Rizwan and Abdullah didn't make up for anything, Abdullah and rizwan ended up soft scoring minus that Sri lanka game, his snail pace 46 against Australia wouldn't have done anything if as @160KPH Wrongfully said that if every player had played like rizzu then we would have won against Australia.

You’re mixing up formats again, I made that comment about the Australian Test series.

No pur talk was about the world cup.

I said rizzu only performed during the Sri lankan game, and you said so his 46 and 49 against India don't count?

I responded with did he manage to win?

The og point is irrelevant, dont push and move forward.

Once again, I don’t think you lied. I think you misremembered. My issue is when I point out what I originally said and you double down even though I provide you with the quotes. If you’re wrong just admit it man, we all misremember things, it’s not a big deal.

 

[mominsaigol]

How does that equate to attributing every Pak win to only Babar and Rizwan? I don't think poster tried to imply that. He just stated others didn't bat as well as Rizwan.

What about comments during the 2021 t20 wc against India where everyone attributed everything to babar and rizwan and excluded the bowlers?

In fact despite the bowlers restricting India to a subpar total, people were making comments such as "Shaheen could have bowled and fielded better but instead had to rely on his drama bazi hero antics".

 

[mominsaigol]

Here are quotes to the whole discussion:

Here is the original quote that I said, you can click on it and see that I was talking about the Australian Test series:


Now you can read what you said today:





Once again, I don’t think you lied. I think you misremembered. My issue is when I point out what I originally said and you double down even though I provide you with the quotes. If you’re wrong just admit it man, we all misremember things, it’s not a big deal.

How on earth is any of this misremembering anything?

Is this the same nonsense of when you accused me of insulting you? Or calling you a snow flake which I never did.

In none of these posts am I misremembering anything or accusing you of claiming something you didn't?

What are you even on about?

 

[TeymurBlake]

Predictable squad tbh. However I don't like the selection of Zaman Khan. More surprising is the lack of pace bowling AR in Aamer Jamal. Surely you take him.

On a good note, no Mohammad Nawaz, fantastic.

 

[160KPH]

How on earth is any of this misremembering anything?

Is this the same nonsense of when you accused me of insulting you? Or calling you a snow flake which I never did.

In none of these posts am I misremembering anything or accusing you of claiming something you didn't?

What are you even on about?

At this point, I really think you have zero clue of what you’re talking about.

Here is the quote:

Rizwan and Abdullah didn't make up for anything, Abdullah and rizwan ended up soft scoring minus that Sri lanka game, his snail pace 46 against Australia wouldn't have done anything if as @160KPH Wrongfully said that if every player had played like rizzu then we would have won against Australia.

I never ever said this about the WC match. That’s what you’re misremembering.

You’re misremembering because I said this way later on about the Australian Test series, not about the WC match.

 

[mominsaigol]

At this point, I really think you have zero clue of what you’re talking about.

Here is the quote:

I never ever said this about the WC match. That’s what you’re misremembering.

You’re misremembering because I said this way later on about the Australian Test series, not about the WC match.

So how is this me lying or misrembering?

You claimed if every player played like rizwan did against Australia we would have won?

I addressed why that's wrong in test and why your 46 claim is wrong as well as rr was the issue in wc and in test the main issue was 2nd innings?

What am I misremembering?

 

[160KPH]

Is this the same nonsense of when you accused me of insulting you? Or calling you a snow flake which I never did.

You liked a comment making fun of my username and calling me a snowflake.

Also you don’t like when I say that what you’re doing is embarrassing but you take zero issue with things like you calling me a rat. That’s a bad double standard.

 

[mominsaigol]

You liked a comment making fun of my username and calling me a snowflake.

Also you don’t like when I say that what you’re doing is embarrassing but you take zero issue with things like you calling me a rat. That’s a bad double standard.

I didn't like any comment on calling you a snowflake though? Genuinely I didn't. I'm 200% sure I wouldn't?

As for me calling you a rat, I said that cause you didn't answer my 49 question, not because I have animosity against you.

 

[160KPH]

So how is this me lying or misrembering?

You claimed if every player played like rizwan did against Australia we would have won?

I addressed why that's wrong in test and why your 46 claim is wrong as well as rr was the issue in wc and in test the main issue was 2nd innings?

What am I misremembering?

It’s misremembering because you said I was talking about the WC match.. I never made that statement about the WC match.

Rizwan and Abdullah didn't make up for anything, Abdullah and rizwan ended up soft scoring minus that Sri lanka game, his snail pace 46 against Australia wouldn't have done anything if as @160KPH Wrongfully said that if every player had played like rizzu then we would have won against Australia.

We wouldn't have, the score was 364 in that game, Imam and Abdullah had outscored rizzu with a 64 and 70, problem was the pace that they played at, the rr was already over 10.

Literally this post is what you’re misremembering. I never said this about the WC match. What don’t you understand?

 

[mominsaigol]

It’s misremembering because you said I was talking about the WC match.. I never made that statement about the WC match.


Literally this post is what you’re misremembering. I never said this about the WC match. What don’t you understand?

It’s misremembering because you said I was talking about the WC match.. I never made that statement about the WC match.

Bruh? You didn't state anything about this game? Only test series? Why didn't you tell me at the beginning, rather then making me go on a goose chase .

 

[mominsaigol]

It’s misremembering because you said I was talking about the WC match.. I never made that statement about the WC match.

Bruh? You didn't state anything about this game? Only test series? Why didn't you tell me at the beginning, rather then making me go on a goose chase .

@160KPH

I apologise for the rat statements, cause I usually use them alot, but

I didn't misremember or lie or anything, that's all I'm saying nor did I make any statement on rizwan solely being to blame for Australia.

Regardless this conversation has gotten confusing and cluttered, and even heated so I'll respectfully back off and I hope theirs no hostility, I also never said anything regarding to any snowflake either.

Anyway I'll back off now.

 

[160KPH]

It’s misremembering because you said I was talking about the WC match.. I never made that statement about the WC match.

Bruh? You didn't state anything about this game? Only test series? Why didn't you tell me at the beginning, rather then making me go on a goose chase .

Bro that is what I’ve been trying to tell you. We already agree on that Australia match. We were never gonna win after that Warner knock in the WC match, it was already too far gone.

That’s why I was getting so frustrated. Because I never said that about the WC match. We already agree about that WC match.

 

[mominsaigol]

Bro that is what I’ve been trying to tell you. We already agree on that Australia match. We were never gonna win after that Warner knock in the WC match, it was already too far gone.

That’s why I was getting so frustrated. Because I never said that about the WC match. We already agree about that WC match.

Bro that is what I’ve been trying to tell you. We already agree on that Australia match. We were never gonna win after that Warner knock in the WC match, it was already too far gone.

^^ This is what I've been trying to tell you for the past Hour and a half? I'm now genuinely confused as to what's going on .

 

[160KPH]

@160KPH

I apologise for the rat statements, cause I usually use them alot, but

I didn't misremember or lie or anything, that's all I'm saying nor did I make any statement on rizwan solely being to blame for Australia.

Regardless this conversation has gotten confusing and cluttered, and even heated so I'll respectfully back off and I hope theirs no hostility, I also never said anything regarding to any snowflake either.

Anyway I'll back off now.

Don’t worry about it man and don’t worry there’s no hostility. The thing is that we both already agreed on one of the big arguments and we were both talking past each other. That’s why we were both getting so frustrated, because we both already agree..

On the same end though, I also apologize for saying that you were embarassing yourself. I didn’t really mean it, but I think we were both just getting frustrated because we were talking about different things.

 

[mominsaigol]

Don’t worry about it man and don’t worry there’s no hostility. The thing is that we both already agreed on one of the big arguments and we were both talking past each other. That’s why we were both getting so frustrated, because we both already agree..

On the same end though, I also apologize for saying that you were embarassing yourself. I didn’t really mean it, but I think we were both just getting frustrated because we were talking about different things.

I'm gonna be honest. I actually have no clue as to what just happened .

Anyway this is the last time I'm mentioning rizwan and Australia again . Just gonna focus on the upcoming NZ series now.

 

[160KPH]

Bro that is what I’ve been trying to tell you. We already agree on that Australia match. We were never gonna win after that Warner knock in the WC match, it was already too far gone.

^^ This is what I've been trying to tell you for the past Hour and a half? I'm now genuinely confused as to what's going on .

No bro we already agree about many of the WC matches.

We had bad opening bowling. Bad spinners. And our batting was not that good.

 

[160KPH]

I'm gonna be honest. I actually have no clue as to what just happened .

Anyway this is the last time I'm mentioning rizwan and Australia again . Just gonna focus on the upcoming NZ series now.

Bro same, I tried to stop talking about Imad for the same reason.

But we also agree about Rizwan in T20. I think he shouldn’t open and am fine with him being dropped in T20.

 

[160KPH]

I'm gonna be honest. I actually have no clue as to what just happened .

Anyway this is the last time I'm mentioning rizwan and Australia again . Just gonna focus on the upcoming NZ series now.

I can’t believe we just debated for like an hour even though we mostly agree on all of the points. We were talking about different things.

Just to make it clear, I think Rizwan is a good Test batsmen in SENA conditions, pretty decent in ODI, but way too slow in T20.

 

[mominsaigol]

No bro we already agree about many of the WC matches.

We had bad opening bowling. Bad spinners. And our batting was not that good.

So you already agree that

A) Our bowling was terrible

B) We had non existent spin to the point that usama, Shadab and Nawaz were worse then part timers.

C) And our batting was dreadful besides 2 bats(Abdullah and Rizwan) from Sri Lanka game and one bat( Fakhar) from NZ game?

Then why have we been arguing on world cups .

Acha khair let it rest here, cause I'm totally lost on what the agreements are and what disagreements their are at this point.

 

[mominsaigol]

I can’t believe we just debated for like an hour even though we mostly agree on all of the points. We were talking about different things.

Just to make it clear, I think Rizwan is a good Test batsmen in SENA conditions, pretty decent in ODI, but way too slow in T20.

I think Rizwan is fine as a test bat, but I disagree about Australia because every pakistani batsmen have been historically poor in Australian Test IN THE 2ND INNINGS.

If you look at pur past test from the past 15 years in Australia, we always do fine in the first innings with 2 or 3 batsmen scoring 50's or 100's but none of our bats can ever play the 2nd innings properly due to Australian pitches having bilo bounce. We lost all 3 games due to the 2nd innings, first innigs we always kept pace with Australia. In the 2nd innings the batsmen don't function and short pitched deliveries don't trouble Australia.

In odi my issue isn't rizwan, It's the combo of Imam, Abdullah, Babar, Rizwan, Saud.

^^ These 5 are beyond frustrating to watch play together, individually I don't have an issue.

 

[160KPH]

A) Our bowling was terrible

Yes all of our bowling was horrible. Shaheen Shah was not the same post injury and I think he was rushed back too fast. Naseem Shah was also our best ODI bowler since his debut but he was gone due to injury.

B) We had non existent spin to the point that usama, Shadab and Nawaz were worse then part timers.

Yes, they have not been good ODI bowlers. Shadab was a good ODI bowler early in his career but not anymore. I hope he goes back to his old self in ODI. Although I think Shadab is a solid T20 bowler.

C) And our batting was dreadful besides 2 bats(Abdullah and Rizwan) from Sri Lanka game and one bat( Fakhar) from NZ game?

Also yes, almost all of our batsmen underperformed. The performances you listed are our few good performances. I think Saim + Fakhar opening duo in ODI will help our batting a lot once Saim hits his full form.

Acha khair let it rest here, cause I'm totally lost on what the agreements are and what disagreements there are at this point.

The disagreement I had about Rizwan’s test performances in Australia were not with you, it was with someone else, and that’s part of the reason the argument got so confusing.

 

[Kianig89]

WasimJr. Dropped shocking no wonder clowns work in PCB

 

[emranabbas]

On paper this is a decent t20 squad

 

[Deewana Mastana]

The usual suspects including a few odd ones added into the squad as expected.

Not too sure about having Irfan in there on the basis of being a good fielder, unless they're going to trial him instead of Iftikhar.

A lot of people asking for Haris, where I seen him in this PSL he's regressed on both counts, batting and keeping.

It's a shame as he was inducted in the team plays unconventionally but still hasn't learnt much and keeps getting out in the same way.

He needs to go back to domestically working and fixing up on both areas and come back as he's still got time.

 

[PakEngFan]

"I haven't seen any poster do that"

Are you kidding? 90% of the time I deal with comments such as

If everyone played like rizwan in Australia Test series we would have cremeated Australia even though one of aussie bats averaged 86 on that series lol,

Or comments such as Rizwan was so amazing and it's because of his contributions Pakistan was able to chase 301 against Afghanistan even though shadab was the main contributor and rizwan was a footnote in that game.

Read between the lines. It's a metaphor and sarcasm which you have failed to detect.

 

[mominsaigol]

Read between the lines. It's a metaphor and sarcasm which you have failed to detect.

How can something be a metaphorical and sarcastic and read between the lines at the same time .

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

After doing so poorly in fitness tests, can't understand why he was selected.
Basically he's setting a precedent to all the emerging players in Pakistan that fitness doesn't matter.


As for the rest of the squad, I'm not too disappointed. We have way more match winners than I could have hoped for.

While he didn't deserve chances over performing Sahibzada Farhan, but Pak awam is too sentimental to accept the facts. Better to give him one more series to prove himself so that we don't see any social media trends thereafter.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Glaring omission is Haris and it really seems like PCB has an agenda against this kid at this point. I am sorry but there is no reasonable argument for Haseebullah being selected over Haris. I can understand Haris not being on the main squad but you have 5 reserves and he still can't get a spot there? For a kid who can bat at 150 SR, and is flexible enough to bat basically any position on a team with limited options for middle order anyways, his exclusion seems baffling.

Haseebullah didn't do much in PSL either. Haris is a better striker, fielder & wicketkeeper too.

Agha as a reserve doesn't make much sense either. How many top order guys have to be on the squad? He's zero chance as a #3 on this team and him batting anywhere else makes zero sense. That spot should have gone to Jamal as a back-up for Abbas Afridi so you have another pace allrounder in place.

Outside of that, its a good squad selected. Nice to see Irfan Khan Niazi get a shot. Pakistan's middle order options are so barren so it makes sense. Hopefully they actually rotate some players throughout the series, particularly in the bowling department to keep everyone fresh.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Haseebullah made one solitary score in the PSL before looking totally overwhelmed by the whole thing. I have no idea on what basis he made the cut unless he has done some special stuff in other competitions.

 

[shamaan]

This squad is stronger then our 2023 drama, but I still don't get some the decisions.

Ali was our best psl bowler so to see zaman khan given the go ahead makes zeronsense to me.

How did Azam get selected again? So many better options to take. And you already have a backup keeper now.

Rest of the squad is fine, but I'd have taken saud or Abdullah over Azam, better to have a backup opener then a backup keeper.

the only reason why i think Zaman made the squad is becouse he can bowl all his four overs outside the powerplay and is a specalist death bowler.They already have Amir,Shaheen,Naseem and Imad who can bowl with new ball.

 

[shamaan]

Haris left out again? What a joke. Haris is 10 times the player Azam Khan will ever be. Like for like replacement but a far superior player.

Even if he didnt make the 15 how an earth is Haseebullah prefered over Haris is absolutely ridicilous.

 

[shamaan]

Good decision by Captain Azam getting rid of Rauf. Niazi is a good pick ,guy is a great fielder too.
Azam Khan fills the terrible selection quota once again.
Other than that its a decent squad.

My 11 in batting order
Saim Rizwan Babar Usman Niazi Iftikhar Imad Amir Shaheen Naseem Abrar

Rauf is getting back to fitness pluss he had a injury not long ago he will make the squad unless Zaman bowls extrodinary.

 

[Asad T]

Where is Haris Rauf?

Injured

 

[Barragan]

Zaman Khan a rubbish selection and even more useless selection is that of haseebullah.

Abrar is also a mediocre selection.

Irfan Niazi is also mediocre and struggles to hit sixes, which is essential batting down the order.

The rest looks fine.

 

[shamaan]

Overall a good squad.I would have picked Haris instead of Haseebullah in the Reserves,Ali was very unlucky to miss out(zaman khan)
I would have picked Agha Salman but not sure who i would have dropped.

They need to give chances to the fringe players.

Saim
Rizwan
Babar
Usman Khan
Fakhar
Azam Khan (give him all the series he must perform or be dropped)
Imad
Shaheen
Zaman Khan
Amir
Abrar

 

[Asad T]

Zaman Khan a rubbish selection and even more useless selection is that of haseebullah.

Abrar is also a mediocre selection.

Irfan Niazi is also mediocre and struggles to hit sixes, which is essential batting down the order.

The rest looks fine.

I like Abrar in there. He was the 3rd highest wicket taker in the PSL and his econ was under 8. The rest of your points i agree.

 

[kingusama92]

If you’re having to choose between Fakhar and Usama for the playing xi when you have 7 bowling options then you can easily take out one of the all rounders for a genuine batsman.

Your bowling attack won’t be affected but it’ll strengthen your batting line up.

Saim Ayub
Mohammad Rizwan
Babar Azam
Fakhar Zaman
Usman Khan

That’s the top 5 (Rizbar ain’t going anywhere)

Now it’s a toss up between Ifthikar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed.

There’s two ways you can go about this, if you’re playing Abrar, then Shadab isn’t need. You don’t need to leggies in an xi.

If you’re playing both Shadab and Abrar then you have to choose between Imad and Ifthikar.

Excellent point.

If they can't find a sureshot middle order batsman then your configuration makes the most sense. Add another batsman to protect the team from a total collapse.

Dropping Abrar definitely makes the most sense. Imad and Shadab turn the ball away from the right-hander so that should be enough.

Saim Ayub
Babar Azam (C)
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Fakhar Zaman
Usman Khan/Irfan Niazi
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Mohammad Amir
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah

That's not too bad at all.

I think a lineup like this would do well in a chasing scenario where they know the NRR beforehand. Let the bowlers restrict the score as that's your main strength and then chase with the total in mind.

Setting the score is where they might get clowned a bit and fall 15-20 runs short every time.

 

[PakEngFan]

How can something be a metaphorical and sarcastic and read between the lines at the same time .

These are your words.

 

[Maher96]

No space to play one of Usman or Abrar.

Ideally I think now we would see

Babar
Saim
Rizwan
Usman
Shadab
Azam
Iftikhar
Imad
Shaheen
Naseem
Amir

 

[GreenKhan]

People focus to much on PSL performances. If you have performed for the national team in the recent series pre-psl, then it don’t really make much difference how that players PSL went .
Same also applies vice -versa.
National performance should always come before PSL performances.

Case being —
Fakhar. Had a decent tour at number for Pak against New Zealand . Was by far the most impactful player . Him having a poor PSL don’t really matter .

Ifti- Azam- very poor in the New Zealand series . Had decent PSL but both selected again.

Saim Ayub- has had a very poor start to his t20 career . Like the guy and has potential but he was pretty dismal in the New Zealand series . Selected again on the back of PSL.

Basically have the latter 3 batsmen who have been selected on PSL , but not really delivered for the national team ( especially Saim and Azam).

A bit concerning for me. Some players are just not cut for the top level .

 

[emranabbas]

The lack of Mohammad Haris and the inclusion of Azam Khan is baffling.

Azam Khan’s fitness has only gotten worse and he’s failed in every single international match he’s ever played. Yet he continues to get selected.

what baffles me is you want Muhammad Harris to play 6 down, we already have 5 openers in the squad unless you want to drop babar or rizwan

azam khans inclusion has nothing to do with harris not being selected

 

[emranabbas]

People focus to much on PSL performances. If you have performed for the national team in the recent series pre-psl, then it don’t really make much difference how that players PSL went .
Same also applies vice -versa.
National performance should always come before PSL performances.

Case being —
Fakhar. Had a decent tour at number for Pak against New Zealand . Was by far the most impactful player . Him having a poor PSL don’t really matter .

Ifti- Azam- very poor in the New Zealand series . Had decent PSL but both selected again.

Saim Ayub- has had a very poor start to his t20 career . Like the guy and has potential but he was pretty dismal in the New Zealand series . Selected again on the back of PSL.

Basically have the latter 3 batsmen who have been selected on PSL , but not really delivered for the national team ( especially Saim and Azam).

A bit concerning for me. Some players are just not cut for the top level .

bro it does matter upcoming series is going to be played on the same grounds as PSL was played on same conditions too, the previous series was in newzealnd players perform different under diffrent condions pitches etc..

 

[GreenKhan]

bro it does matter upcoming series is going to be played on the same grounds as PSL was played on same conditions too, the previous series was in newzealnd players perform different under diffrent condions pitches etc..

Don’t think it matters. Some players are domestic bullies.
So far Azam khan and Saim have done well in CPL and PSL etc but have failed miserably at international level, especially Azam.

 

[mazkhan]

selectors didn’t watch the New Zealand series ? Ifthikhar ???? When was the last time Ifthikhar performed against top teams? Nepal ? Anyways it’s New Zealand C team. Hope Ifthikhar gets exposed.

Well how can he perform he is over the hill this guy is around the same age as misbah ul haq even with kala kola hair dye you can't make your body reflexes joints younger.

But misbah retired from t20s well over a decade ago.

Whilst this chacha still flogs his trade

 

[adzzy786]

Harris left out is a joke

Amir back is even bigger joke. The cheat back in the team. Nothing surprises me. He would never be allowed back in Australia or England, or even maybe India. Shows how corrupt we are as a society. Then again if we can have money launders and thieves back in the highest office in the country this shouldn’t be any surprise

 

[160KPH]

what baffles me is you want Muhammad Harris to play 6 down, we already have 5 openers in the squad unless you want to drop babar or rizwan

azam khans inclusion has nothing to do with harris not being selected

I do want to drop Rizwan from opening and play Haris at 3. But Haris has actually had some success against international attacks including in the T20 WC, while Azam Khan hasn’t even gotten past the run 10 run mark in any of the 8 T20 internationals he’s played. Haris hits from ball one, he could play #6 better than Azam Khan.

 

[moghul]

I'm so unhappy with selection of Azam Khan , he has been given so many chances, undeservingly , at international level and failed every time , he physical fitness is a joke for a cricketer and even then he sneaks back to the team. If he plays , the best keeper in Pakistan , Rizwan will have to hand over his gloves to this Azam Khan. Also , Waseem Jr should have been in the team ahead of Zaman Khan.

 

[shehz]

In T20 cricket, serial hacks are crucial, particularly when chasing 50 runs in 15-20 balls, especially from players like Azam Khan playing a cameo role down the order. If either Ifti or Azam fires, it could give us a chance to win the game in an unlikely situation. This should relieve the pressure on Iftikhar, who is expected to bail the team out but often falls short. The lineup featuring Imad, Ifti, and Azam down the order looks like a recipe for success. We'll see how it plays out.

 

[Ahmed216]

What about comments during the 2021 t20 wc against India where everyone attributed everything to babar and rizwan and excluded the bowlers?

In fact despite the bowlers restricting India to a subpar total, people were making comments such as "Shaheen could have bowled and fielded better but instead had to rely on his drama bazi hero antics".

I still remember the match thread, everybody agreed that Shaheen won the match in the first innings itself. Rizwan and Babar just ensured it was an amphatic victory

 

[mominsaigol]

I still remember the match thread, everybody agreed that Shaheen won the match in the first innings itself. Rizwan and Babar just ensured it was an amphatic victory

Not everybody

 

[emranabbas]

I do want to drop Rizwan from opening and play Haris at 3. But Haris has actually had some success against international attacks including in the T20 WC, while Azam Khan hasn’t even gotten past the run 10 run mark in any of the 8 T20 internationals he’s played. Haris hits from ball one, he could play #6 better than Azam Khan.

babar - opener
rizwan - opener
saim - opener
fakhar - opener
usman - opener
harris - opener

where are you going to fit your middle order? are you going in with you no bowlers or no middle order?
and who are you going to to drop from your top order?

you cant just stick in a player just because you want to you also have to look at team combination

 

[Master Blaster]

Very strong team. No mercy for the Kiwi C team.

 

[Ali T]

While he didn't deserve chances over performing Sahibzada Farhan, but Pak awam is too sentimental to accept the facts. Better to give him one more series to prove himself so that we don't see any social media trends thereafter.

He shouldn't have been selected in the first place, but yeah I guess no choice. If he performs then I wont complain either as it can only be beneficial for the team, but still cannot agree with his initial selection on merit.

 

[emranabbas]

newzealand squad touring pakistan:

Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

Michael Bracwell to captain

all of the following missing
Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra,

 

[Ali T]

I believe the nepotism culture is strong in Pakistan.

Idk if you watched my clip on YouTube that I sent about Azam, I posted it here somewhere, but in that video azam Khan talked about how moin Khan decided to drop him for a year until azam does gym and the moment he did gym azam got rehired to play psl.

Similarly ik for a fact that Hasebullah is connected or belongs to a cricketing family. Same case for imam and shan.

These types of players keep finding a way in.

Also key thing to note: I watched azam khan's innings on YouTube with the highlights being listed 4 years back.

Azam 4 to 5 years ago wasn't obese, he was overweight yes, but his fitness looks similar to Sharjeel Khan or Inzimam, he seemed around 100 KG or 105 at most.

Flashforward 4 years he's hella obese now and looks 100x more plumb? He was recorded at 130KG, horrible fitness standards.

I initially misread and thought you posted a clip of yourself with your views.

Yeah, I saw the video and I've also seen other videos in the past about how he'll focus more on his fitness. The sincerity in some of his previous videos about how he wants to loose weight - I really thought we were progressively going to be seeing a new and improved Azam Khan in the years to come. How talk is cheap. Seems like he always opts for shortcuts.

In fact it's always the problem I've had with overweight cricketers - they prefer the path of taking shortcuts. Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan taking the shortcut for money hence match fixing. Umar Akmal to a certain degree too.

I basically don't trust overweight cricketers to make right decisions. Unless of course there is a medial diagnosis like thyroid issues or anything else.

On a side note, you should consider making some videos for PP!!

 

[Rana]

babar - opener
rizwan - opener
saim - opener
fakhar - opener
usman - opener
harris - opener

where are you going to fit your middle order? are you going in with you no bowlers or no middle order?
and who are you going to to drop from your top order?

you cant just stick in a player just because you want to you also have to look at team combination

Just imagine ICC pull a fast one on Pakistan and decide the tournament will be a Test championship with a dukes red ball.

That’s when Babar and Rizwan will happily decide to bat in the middle