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Pakistan v Sri Lanka Tests: Sarfaraz Ahmed confirms that Azhar Ali will bat at #3, Asad Shafiq at #4

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Is this wise?

Azhar Ali can open as well but what Asad Shafiq at 4?
 
terrible to hear.

That either means we'll have only one of Haris or Usman or that Babar will be dropped.
 
Poor decision. He'll end up practically opening anyway when Shan nicks off early on.

Really wanted to see both Haris and Usman debut. It is the ideal time to bring them in otherwise come next summer when Azhar will eventually have to go back up to opening because Shan/Shehzad won't be lasting out there in England. One of Usman or Haris will potentially be debuting in the challenging early summer series there.
 
Not that excited to see Shan Masood opening, but at least this means that Babar won't be batting at #3 anymore.

Will be quite fun to see his fans throwing tantrums.
 
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I trust Micky's judgement, but I personally feel this is a mistake

Azhar practically will be opening anyway given the poor standards of openers we have

We are weakening the team with this move imo
 
I trust Micky's judgement, but I personally feel this is a mistake

Azhar practically will be opening anyway given the poor standards of openers we have

We are weakening the team with this move imo

Think in UAE, Azhar will get some luxury.
 
Think in UAE, Azhar will get some luxury.

True but thats hiding a problem rather than solving it. In Azhar and Sami we at least knew we had players capable of surving a hostile spell

Shan on the other averages 18 in the UAE, like i said in other threads he might scrape something against probably the worst SL team of all time, but that will just be a mask
 
1) Sami Aslam
2) Shan Masood
3) Azhar Ali
4) Asad Shafiq
5) Babar Azam
6) Usman Salahuddin/Haris Sohail
7) Sarfraz Ahmed

That's rubbish.

How can they justify keeping a better player out for Shan Masood?
 
Very bad move indeed. Trying to save their best batsmen of the format is the most defensive strategy. Remember MISBAH saving UA at 5/6 rather unleashing at the top didn't succeed was a big failure indeed. Can't learn from their past mistakes.

Moreover benching deserving debutants for an opener like SHAAN is pathetic. Didn't expect this from MICKEY & co.
 
Another bad move by Mickey. Didn't expect any less from him.
 
I expect Azhar to have a weak series in term of runs as he will have to play with more pressure at no.3 than he used to when he had MIS|YOU to cover the bottom half. And adjusting to the new pressure from opening the batting and now to no. 3 will be tough too.
 
All of this just to accommodate baap ka beta as opener. Pathetic really. Might (Geoff) boycott the series.
 
Terrible decision but I already made up my mind after hearing recent interviews of Mickey and Sarfraz.

This was the best chance to build a new team with new middle order batsmen but they are not brave.

What will we achieve even with Shan scoring some runs? Almost everyone knows he is not a long term solution and Azhar is the best opener we have. We will win the series with or without Shan so why not go with Haris and Usman who have much more potential than Shan?
 
Azhar is not a damn number #3. They just don't understand this. He cannot accelerate even set and stagnates the whole batting lineup.
 
All of this just to accommodate baap ka beta as opener. Pathetic really. Might (Geoff) boycott the series.

Shan Masood, Wahab Riaz and co; really do have some special contacts.

it doesn't have anything to do with masood. if it wasn't masood shehzad would have played.

the management are clearly not willing to throw in two new middle order batsmen at the same time because it will make the middle order very inexperienced
 
Poor. The Azhar at #3 is reasonable but Shafiq at #4 makes no sense. Babar needs to be given more confidence to succeed in the longer format and continually demoting him is not the way to do it.

Hopefully by the end of the series, they realize their mistake and have a lineup that looks like this:

1) Sami Aslam
2) Ahmed Shehzad/Fakhar Zaman
3) Azhar Ali
4) Babar Azam
5) Asad Shafiq
6) Haris Sohail
7) Sarfaraz Ahmed
8) Mohammad Amir
9) Yasir Shah
10) Hassan Ali
11) Junaid Khan/Mohammad Asghar
 
Happy Asad is at four, not Azhar. But kind of expected this to happen, we were only going with one fresh face in the middle order.

Think Shehzad will be the other opener. Kind of player that Micky likes, someone who's performed in domestic and already experienced in internationals whilst also being pretty young. Micky will feel like there's untapped potential there. A bit like umar akmal who was probably on the fringe of selection before partly because of Mickey ironically despite Umar's please.

Also feel sadly this opens the door up to Butt. If Shehzad fails he'll be dropped and Butt comes in.
 
I think Pak fans see Shehzad different to Mickey. Similar situation where Mickey brought back Irfan only to find to his surprise couldn't last 10 overs (and to no surprise of Pak fans). Shehzad seems old news to Pak fans as we've seen him time and time again.

To Mickey however he reads as great domestic performances, very good test average so far, hundreds albeit in ODIs in SA. And still young. I don't think the lack of performance in LOI will change that.
 
Really like this move, going forward we can place an attacking opener in the test team this way. Its very hard to leave 3 gaps in the middle order with babar(still hasn't done anything too solid in tests), haris and usman. Shan can be replaced if he fails.
 
Expected move after the Shan selection and the recent statements from Mickey.

I am fine with Asad at 4. It was about time he got promoted and we do need an experienced player in the middle. I would have preferred for Azhar to remain an opener, but I will give Mickey the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I haven't seen Shan bat since he got dropped. He may have improved. Thing is him scoring against this SL won't really prove anything (unless he goes big like and scores 300+).
 
Happy Asad is at four, not Azhar. But kind of expected this to happen, we were only going with one fresh face in the middle order.

Think Shehzad will be the other opener. Kind of player that Micky likes, someone who's performed in domestic and already experienced in internationals whilst also being pretty young. Micky will feel like there's untapped potential there. A bit like umar akmal who was probably on the fringe of selection before partly because of Mickey ironically despite Umar's please.

Also feel sadly this opens the door up to Butt. If Shehzad fails he'll be dropped and Butt comes in.

I don't think Shezzy is in the squad.
 
Azhar is not a damn number #3. They just don't understand this. He cannot accelerate even set and stagnates the whole batting lineup.

india also have a number 3 who stagnates the whole lineup. but they still have the best batting unit in the world.

as long as sami steps up to the plate (he has the shots but needs to show intent) along with babar and sarfraz we will be fine

only issue is masood and shafiq. shafiq has the ability but no mentality.

i don't have much hope from salahudin either. he is from the misbah school of batting. i hope we play haris.
 
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shehzad was part of the training camp but he is not in the squad.

a travesty bcoz he more than deserves a place in the test team.
 
india also have a number 3 who stagnates the whole lineup. but they still have the best batting unit in the world.

as long as sami steps up to the plate (he has the shots but needs to show intent) along with babar and sarfraz we will be fine

only issue is masood and shafiq. shafiq has the ability but no mentality.

i don't have much hope from salahudin either. he is from the misbah school of batting. i hope we play haris.

India's 1,2,4,5,6 are all shot makers.
 
india also have a number 3 who stagnates the whole lineup. but they still have the best batting unit in the world.

as long as sami steps up to the plate (he has the shots but needs to show intent) along with babar and sarfraz we will be fine

only issue is masood and shafiq. shafiq has the ability but no mentality.

i don't have much hope from salahudin either. he is from the misbah school of batting. i hope we play haris.

Pujara is one of the best in world accelerating when set.
Check out his scores. Sorry but I don't thinky ou watch Indian test matches.
Pujara's scores are usually like 44* (131) and then next 56* (70).
 
Pujara is one of the best in world accelerating when set.
Check out his scores. Sorry but I don't thinky ou watch Indian test matches.
Pujara's scores are usually like 44* (131) and then next 56* (70).

one of the best in the world accelerating when set?

yeah right. he scored 200 vs australia this year and his strike rate was 38. amazing acceleration indeed. :yk2

he nearly cost india a win in that game.

he is better than azhar when it comes to acceleration but he is not close to what you are describing him. he is still a proper defensive batsman.

azhar also can play 56 (70) knocks which he does all the time in odis

i think you are the one who needs to watch more cricket. pujara one of the best at accelerating :)))

he is not a dynamic batsman at all and that is why he has failed in limited overs
 
one of the best in the world accelerating when set?

yeah right. he scored 200 vs australia this year and his strike rate was 38. amazing acceleration indeed. :yk2

he nearly cost india a win in that game.

he is better than azhar when it comes to acceleration but he is not close to what you are describing him. he is still a proper defensive batsman.

azhar also can play 56 (70) knocks which he does all the time in odis

i think you are the one who needs to watch more cricket. pujara one of the best at accelerating :)))

he is not a dynamic batsman at all and that is why he has failed in limited overs

I said 'accelerating when set'.
He slowed down in that 200 because Cummins was bowling very lively in the next session. Both him and Saha played according to the situation.

And nowhere I said about his strike rate. Better to start test matches rather than laughing ;)
 
Very defensive strategy, Masood should have got the boot and I think Shafiq's days are numbered.
 
I said 'accelerating when set'.
He slowed down in that 200 because Cummins was bowling very lively in the next session. Both him and Saha played according to the situation.

And nowhere I said about his strike rate. Better to start test matches rather than laughing ;)

no he doesn't and he cannot. he doesn't have shots to accelerate.
 
Very defensive strategy, Masood should have got the boot and I think Shafiq's days are numbered.

shafiq just bought himself another 50 tests because of the retirement of yk and misbah and he is also best pals with the captain

forget about him getting dropped. he would probably end up as the most undeserving player to play 100 tests lol
 
instead of blaming Mickey we should look at selectors who chose Shan Masoon in first place.. he may score tons in this series but he will be a walking wicket outside subcontinent
 
shafiq just bought himself another 50 tests because of the retirement of yk and misbah and he is also best pals with the captain

forget about him getting dropped. he would probably end up as the most undeserving player to play 100 tests lol
undeserving player ever to bat at no.6 for most of his career? do you anything about cricket mate? an average of almost 40 at no.6 with 10 centuries is not an easy feat already..
 
no he doesn't and he cannot. he doesn't have shots to accelerate.

He has all the shots against spin and he has accelerated many times in test matches. One of his role is not to lose his wicket and play difficult spells. You should watch his , and coach's interviews where they have said that his role was not to lose wicket. Every player has his own role in the team and Pujara doesn't give his wicket away on spin minefields. Accelerates when the situation demands.

Pujara's career strike rate is 48 and if you have the chance of watching his career he usually starts slow (not to lose his wicket) scoring 50 at 30 strike rate and then play at ~60 SR for the rest of his innings.

The below innings was Pujara's debut match when he scored a 72* in the 4th innings at a strike rate of 80. That was a class 4th innings where he played fluently and played all kinds of shots against spin. Later on he developed role of a player whose job was not to lose his wicket hence the change in approach.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/13112/scorecard/464527/India-vs-Australia-2nd-Test
 
undeserving player ever to bat at no.6 for most of his career? do you anything about cricket mate? an average of almost 40 at no.6 with 10 centuries is not an easy feat already..

the guy has been playing for years in the uae but he cannot keep his average above 40

yes he has hundreds in sa, eng and australia but his averages are still poor in those countries which shows how inconsistent he is and is a "one innings wonder" and fails like a tail ender in the remaining innings

a mediocre batsman by every count who has not been able to become a dependable player after 7 yrs... it is a joke that he has been preferred to fawad all these yrs who is a proper test batsman
 
Of course Shafiq's had his moments otherwise he wouldn't have had the run he's had in the team. However, I don't feel he's mentally strong enough or good enough to play in the top 4 and is merely just going to be another passenger in the team.
 
Back to the topic, especially after Indian batting is being discussed for some reason, I think they don't want to take the chance of Azhar getting a beauty first up and boom goes the best batsman out for a single digit score or something!

Not saying this is right, it is infinitely ridiculous and cowardly but that is the only reason for this move (Shan factor is still not that important here me thinks)...what management doesn't want to accept is that at 1 down, Azhar will still end up coming very early if one of the two fails and hence chances of Azhar getting out cheaply increase as well!

Morons, best way in UAE would be to open with Azhar and Sami, one down still Babar, then bring in Sarfraz (if situation requires scoring quickly or taking on Herath), then Shafiq, Harris/Usman...
 
We are just playing with one player less, dads dream will get out pretty quick so will have azhar practically opening anyway
 
Disappointing and illogical move.

Don't know what the team management sees in Shan Masood who looks a walking wicket every time he steps onto the field. Fitness is all well and good but you also need to perform in your primary function and Masood hasn't done that.

Azhar Ali has performed excellently as opener, he practically opened when he was batting at 3 anyway before his promotion.

I'm fine with Asad Shafiq being moved up to 4 though, he needs to step up and become more consistent with the added responsibility.
 
Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq. That is some next level tuk tuk top order. Our dynamic bats will bat at No. 5, 6 and 7. Wow..

Free advice for you folks. Start watching Pak's innings after 1st hour or 2 hours, otherwise, you will die yawning. :ma
 
Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq. That is some next level tuk tuk top order. Our dynamic bats will bat at No. 5, 6 and 7. Wow..

Free advice for you folks. Start watching Pak's innings after 1st hour or 2 hours, otherwise, you will die yawning. :ma

Well with Shan Masood the opposition will make quick inroads and then there is only the matter of dismissing Sami Aslam and poultry farmer Shafiq and then you get to the "exciting bit" of the batting lineup.
 
Azhar Ali is not an opener. He is the best #3 Pakistan has ever produced in tests. Huge injustice was done to him by moving him from #3. Now he is going back to being a powerhouse. Its not his fault that Pakistan is not selecting correct openers.
 
Azhar is not a damn number #3. They just don't understand this. He cannot accelerate even set and stagnates the whole batting lineup.

The real question is, when will Azhar understand this? It seems like he prefers batting at 3.
 
The real question is, when will Azhar understand this? It seems like he prefers batting at 3.

I don't think he has a problem with it. He was quite enjoying his success as opener. It's the best he's batted in his career. I don't see why he'd ask to move. This is a gutless move from Mickey and Sarfaraz because they don't want an inexperienced middle order. And Shafiq despite his experience doesn't really instill confidence. Just a cowardly move.

Even without experience, batting lineup of Sami, Azhar, Babar, Haris, Usman, Asad(to a lesser extent) would've been extremely difficult for SL to dismiss in UAE. That's six batsmen who know where their offstump is. We haven't had that in two decades.
 
I don't think he has a problem with it. He was quite enjoying his success as opener. It's the best he's batted in his career. I don't see why he'd ask to move. This is a gutless move from Mickey and Sarfaraz because they don't want an inexperienced middle order. And Shafiq despite his experience doesn't really instill confidence. Just a cowardly move.

Even without experience, batting lineup of Sami, Azhar, Babar, Haris, Usman, Asad(to a lesser extent) would've been extremely difficult for SL to dismiss in UAE. That's six batsmen who know where their offstump is. We haven't had that in two decades.

I would be surprised if Azhar didn't approve of this move- I doubt they would have done it otherwise.

You are preaching to the choir, my friend. I wish they had picked Sami, Azhar, Babar, Haris, Usman, Asad as the top six. That is an incredibly strong line up, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. Even Shehzad is a better opener than Masood.
 
I would be surprised if Azhar didn't approve of this move- I doubt they would have done it otherwise.

You are preaching to the choir, my friend. I wish they had picked Sami, Azhar, Babar, Haris, Usman, Asad as the top six. That is an incredibly strong line up, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. Even Shehzad is a better opener than Masood.

What I'm saying is that it's unlikely Azhar asked for this considering the success he's enjoyed and the fact he's a team player. He simply accepted because Mickey and Sarfaraz proposed it, considering how highly he rates their cricketing acumen, I doubt he'd have any objections thinking this to be what's best for the team.
 
Yep, good point. Exactly what it's leading to.

I wrote earlier that I wouldn't be surprised if the PCB are orchestrating a situation where it looks like Pakistan don't have an opener and so "have" to bring him back. Pathetic stuff.
 
I wrote earlier that I wouldn't be surprised if the PCB are orchestrating a situation where it looks like Pakistan don't have an opener and so "have" to bring him back. Pathetic stuff.

Crooks will be crooks. We've seen it happen far too often to be surprised now.

Salman will supposedly be on our next A tour. Guess where that is? Zimbabwe.
 
What I'm saying is that it's unlikely Azhar asked for this considering the success he's enjoyed and the fact he's a team player. He simply accepted because Mickey and Sarfaraz proposed it, considering how highly he rates their cricketing acumen, I doubt he'd have any objections thinking this to be what's best for the team.

Yes, I meant as in he "actively" approved/supported this idea but Azhar has always been a team player so your account is certainly possible. it's difficult to know either way and in any case it doesn't change the fact they've created a needless mess.
 
The situation will make Salman Butt's case stronger.

Yep, good point. Exactly what it's leading to.

Agree with this. An absolutely atrocious decision by Sarfraz and Mickey and even if Shan miraculously scores a century, which in itself is very, very unlikely, it will count for nothing because he is a terrible player who will never be a long term prospect for Pakistan. Shan's subsequent failure will lead to Salman Butt being brought back and before you know it, Haris/Usman's careers will be ruined and they'll be the next Fawad Alams.

This would have been the perfect opportunity to give Haris and Usman the confidence they needed to settle them into the team. Instead we find ourselves taking a step back, with the management chosing Shan Masood as Younus Khan's replacement :facepalm:
 
I wrote earlier that I wouldn't be surprised if the PCB are orchestrating a situation where it looks like Pakistan don't have an opener and so "have" to bring him back. Pathetic stuff.

Crooks will be crooks. We've seen it happen far too often to be surprised now.

Salman will supposedly be on our next A tour. Guess where that is? Zimbabwe.

This isn't new.
Just look at the scorecard of this match!
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...-Pakistan-Group-D-royal-bank-of-scotland-cup/

"Batting first, the Eagles were bowled out for 122 in 40.3 overs. In the second innings National Bank scored 123 off just 6.1 overs, with Butt making 92 off 25 balls. Sarwar opened the bowling and conceded 78 runs from his three overs and never played another List A or first-class match. National Bank qualified for the semi-finals. The Pakistan Cricket Board investigated the match and said that they found no evidence of foul play."
 
This isn't new.
Just look at the scorecard of this match!
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...-Pakistan-Group-D-royal-bank-of-scotland-cup/

"Batting first, the Eagles were bowled out for 122 in 40.3 overs. In the second innings National Bank scored 123 off just 6.1 overs, with Butt making 92 off 25 balls. Sarwar opened the bowling and conceded 78 runs from his three overs and never played another List A or first-class match. National Bank qualified for the semi-finals. The Pakistan Cricket Board investigated the match and said that they found no evidence of foul play."

Lmao, that's Zardari level stuff. :))
 
This isn't new.
Just look at the scorecard of this match!
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...-Pakistan-Group-D-royal-bank-of-scotland-cup/

"Batting first, the Eagles were bowled out for 122 in 40.3 overs. In the second innings National Bank scored 123 off just 6.1 overs, with Butt making 92 off 25 balls. Sarwar opened the bowling and conceded 78 runs from his three overs and never played another List A or first-class match. National Bank qualified for the semi-finals. The Pakistan Cricket Board investigated the match and said that they found no evidence of foul play."

This is disgusting. Just when I thought this whole Salman Butt debacle couldn't get any worse.
 
Crooks will be crooks. We've seen it happen far too often to be surprised now.

Salman will supposedly be on our next A tour. Guess where that is? Zimbabwe.

So much for A tours being used to groom players under 30. :facepalm:

Putting the spot-fixing aside for a moment the most frustrating thing about the whole situation is that on merit there are far better, younger alternatives. Unfortunately some of these youngsters will now miss out on an A tour in order to make space for this crook.

Part of me thinks he isn't even interested in making a comeback, he just wants to show that he can.
 
Good decision. Babar averages 29 with a pathetic average and no performance at all even against his goto opposition the West Indies, has 1 50 in 13 games and that too against the WI... who is atleast responsible for 20+runs/game in his ODI average. Makes him look like an apparent Viv, but he is nothing more than mid 30s average dude with no perofrmance whatsoever.
Sarfraz saw through his fraud and has done right to demote him at 5
 
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Warning signs for Babar are there, eventually he will be ousted from the side if he keeps his performances up like this. Babar has run out of the good will of the selectors/captains.
 
Good decision. Babar averages 29 with a pathetic average and no performance at all even against his goto opposition the West Indies, has 1 50 in 13 games and that too against the WI... who is atleast responsible for 20+runs/game in his ODI average. Makes him look like an apparent Viv, but he is nothing more than mid 30s average dude with no perofrmance whatsoever.
Sarfraz saw through his fraud and has done right to demote him at 5

Why do you try so hard? Sarfaraz is on record saying Babar has the most upside in the squad.
 
Why do you try so hard? Sarfaraz is on record saying Babar has the most upside in the squad.

He enjoys being proven wrong. His hate-filled posts seem to act as a good luck charm for the team so we should encourage him to write his drivel.
 
Good decision. Babar averages 29 with a pathetic average and no performance at all even against his goto opposition the West Indies, has 1 50 in 13 games and that too against the WI...who is atleast responsible for 20+runs/game in his ODI average. Makes him look like an apparent Viv, but he is nothing more than mid 30s average dude with no perofrmance whatsoever.
Sarfraz saw through his fraud and has done right to demote him at 5

One day you'll tell us what Babar Azam did to you.

There has to be a reason.
 
azhar should have continued opener. He is good enough to do so. That would accommodate another all rounder in lower middle order.
 
Terrible decision. Azhar is an excellent test opener. Pathetic to move him back to #3 to accommodate SL specialist.
 
That will finish his career for sure, he wasnt suitable for #3.
I support the move of playing him at #5
 
Azhar should be opening, Shafiq would be better at 5.

Why has Azhar been moved when we clearly dont have two decent test openers to use at top of the order! :facepalm:
 
Considering the external influence to select Shan Masood, I don't blame Mickey at all. His word, even post-CT, may hardly be worth more than Masood's family.

If Mickey's smart on this, he's keeping his mouth shut.

I want Masood out of the frame as much as the next guy, though not if the replacement is Butt.

Ideally, we should have Azhar opening with Sami, Babar, Shafiq, two middle order batsmen who have played first class cricket for a couple of years at least.

Fawad at 3 or 5 would solve a lot of our problems, but it may be time to move on.
 
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shehzad was part of the training camp but he is not in the squad.

a travesty bcoz he more than deserves a place in the test team.

My bad thought he was added to the squad too.
 
Wow, such a diverse set of opinions on this thread.

About time Shafiq gets a go at 4..that's the right place for him to bat. I think Babar at 6 and Harris at 5 is the ideal positions for both.
 
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