Pakistan vs New Zealand | 3rd Test | Abu Dhabi | Dec 3-7, 2018 | Pre-Match Discussion

[MenInG]

Pakistan announce 15-member Test squad for 3rd Test match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi

Lahore-November 27, 2018: The National Selection Committee headed by Inzamam ul Haq after consultation with Captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Head Coach Mickey Arthur has retained the 15-member Test squad for the third Test match against New Zealand. The third Test match will be played in Abu Dhabi from December 3 to 7, 2018.

1). Mohammad Hafeez
2). Imam-ul-Haq
3). Azhar Ali
4). Haris Sohail
5). Asad Shafiq
6). Babar Azam
7). Saad Ali
8). Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain)
9). Yasir Shah
10). Bilal Asif
11). Mohammad Abbas
12). Hasan Ali
13). Shaheen Shah Afridi
14). Faheem Ashraf
15). Mir Hamza

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

No Fakhar Zaman?

That's disappointing.

 

[coy0607]

what was the point of this announcement? I don't see any changes here

Hopefully Hafeez is "rested", would really love to see Saad get a game before SA. Maybe Faheem or Shaheen comes in for for Asif as well

 

[Finisher]

It was mentioned on PP that Saud Shakeel was to be selected for the 3rd test..disappointed to see the same Sqaud again. Saad Ali should be played in place off Hafeez

 

[JibranAnsari]

Hafeez ans bilal still here.

 

[Sirris]

what was the point of this announcement? I don't see any changes here

Hopefully Hafeez is "rested", would really love to see Saad get a game before SA. Maybe Faheem or Shaheen comes in for for Asif as well

No clue what this announcement is supposed to accomplish.

 

[Sherlock]

Changes for the third and final Test?

For the love of all things sane, please drop Bilal Asif. He brings absolutely nothing to the side. Thought he's been atrocious throughout the 2 games thus far.

Hafeez will carry on playing for the next decade after his century v Australia.

I like Imam, but his issue has been the 4th/5th wicket deliveries and the amount of times he's nicked behind is worrying.

The other issue is a reliable all-rounder, which we don't have hence why I think Bilal has played because I feel the coaching staff thought maybe he can bat a bit. Which is baffling because he's been rubbish!

Hafeez [unfortunately]
Imam [another chance]
Azhar [needs to start converting again]
Haris
Babar
Shafiq [time is almost up]
Sarfraz
Shadab*
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas

*If not Shadab then who would you replace Bilal with?

 

[Markhor]

Bilal Asif being retained is disappointing.

Hafeez should be replaced by Saad Ali with Azhar moving to open.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

For the love of all things sane, please drop Bilal Asif. He brings absolutely nothing to the side. Thought he's been atrocious throughout the 2 games thus far.

Hafeez will carry on playing for the next decade after his century v Australia.

I like Imam, but his issue has been the 4th/5th wicket deliveries and the amount of times he's nicked behind is worrying.

The other issue is a reliable all-rounder, which we don't have hence why I think Bilal has played because I feel the coaching staff thought maybe he can bat a bit. Which is baffling because he's been rubbish!

Hafeez [unfortunately]
Imam [another chance]
Azhar [needs to start converting again]
Haris
Babar
Shafiq [time is almost up]
Sarfraz
Shadab*
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas

*If not Shadab then who would you replace Bilal with?

Shadab is not in the squad, so he can't play.

Either they will have to play Bilal again or give match practice to Shaheen before tour to South Africa, but then they will be going with only 1 full time spinner.

 

[Rana]

I feel bad for Bilal Asif but I don’t want Pakistan to select 2 leg spinners. However, these are valuable chances for experience for the youngster Shadab and I think Pakistan really can use this time to hone him into a bowling if not batting all-rounder in Test cricket. This could be so useful in the long run as Pakistan could potentially have a 5th bowling option batting at number 6. They could select 3 seamers, 2 seamers and 1/2 spinners this way.

 

[Markhor]

For the love of god drop Hafeez before South Africa.

I'd go:

Azhar
Imam
Haris
Shafiq
Babar
Saad
Sarfraz
Asif
Shah
Ali
Abbas

 

[Rana]

Secondly, I’m surprised as to why Hafeez is yet to announce his retirement? What is left for him to play Test cricket for besides the pay cheques of playing a Test match or sitting on the bench for a Test series.

He needs to drop himself.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Why not include Shadab?

This means they will have to play Bilal again if they want to play with 2 spinners

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Pakistan need to look at alternatives to Bilal Asif, since his 6 wickets against Australia he has been having a free ride, a liability with the bat and in the field as well.

 

[Amjid Javed]

So same two walking wickets as openers and same lame 2nd spinner in Asif.

Am sure Inzi and sarfraz sat in meeting eating plenty of cake and drinking lots of cups of tea and took no notice of glaring issues with the team.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Pakistan will play an unchanged team. Though honestly it's better to give a debut to Saad because
a) I see Azhar Ali opening in South Africa and b) Hafeez is back to his old tricks and has been terrible recently. Somehow though I also have a feeling that Hafeez will step-up and nail down his position for the South Africa tour. He always does this when he's on the cusp of being dropped

 

[NauV]

So Pakistan only announced the squad for the first 2 tests, so let's see if they bring anyone in . .
But what I would like to see is close to what I would wanna see in South Africa (at least from a batting perspective)

Drop Hafeez, push Azhar up to open . . Push Haris to 3 and instead of putting Asad at 4, put Babar at 4 . . I think we should plan on having those two as our 3 and 4 for the long term (given they perform hopefully) . .

I would move Sarfaraz to 6 and play Shadab at 7 (if he is in the squad) . . If not, then play another batsman . .

Imam
Azhar
Haris
Babar
Shafiq
Sarfaraz
Shadab
Bilal
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas

Having said that, I don't think this will happen. lol

 

[DRsohail]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] so you were right about Saud Shakil, I have no doubt Inzi the hypocrite is not selecting him deliberately so that he can keep his meats and dears happy.

 

[DRsohail]

It was mentioned on PP that Saud Shakeel was to be selected for the 3rd test..disappointed to see the same Sqaud again. Saad Ali should be played in place off Hafeez

It was sarfaraz and Inzi mafia brigade who were trying to defend their useless selection.

 

[yasir]

Oh man, they have not added Fakir for last test, which means we will play Hafeez in SA, that is disastrous...

Only change will be replacing Bilal with Faheem, that is also terrible. You need four seamer and a spinner, how do you do that ? - Drop a batsman and play two allrounders, which we have.

To me drop Yasir, Bilal, Hafeez and Inam. Play Shadab, Faheem, Afridi and Fakir. Open with Azhar and Fakhir

Long Tail


Keep in mind we have won only two test in SA(I think), one when Azhar Mahmood score 140( an allrounder), second when Inzi batted with tail and took lead to 100+ runs in first innings...In both cases tails runs were invaluable...

Good thing is Mickey knows very well, problem is dropping both Hafeez and Yasir will not be possible for him, unfortunately that means we are playing compromised team. We are starting from loosing position

 

[Sherlock]

Shadab is not in the squad, so he can't play.

Either they will have to play Bilal again or give match practice to Shaheen before tour to South Africa, but then they will be going with only 1 full time spinner.

That was just my POV if he was in the squad.

 

[MMHS]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] so you were right about Saud Shakil, I have no doubt Inzi the hypocrite is not selecting him deliberately so that he can keep his meats and dears happy.

Dirty tricks played here. They (I have to say all 3 here are together) always had it in mind to retain certain players, but there could & should have been media backlash if being hosts, Ul Haq had announced a final squad of 15 for all 3 Tests at the start. So, a little drama was required and they have announced identical squad for 3rd Test, backed on the logic of winning last Test. Had the results altered (PAK winning 1st Test & Kiwis 2nd), l Haq would have dropped Saad Ali & Shaheen from the squad to show some initiatives.

 

[MMHS]

Same XI - this time logic is, you don't change a winning combination.

 

[Abdullah]

Lol there is no way hafeez AND Bilal will be dropped from this squad. One or them at least will play given the lefties NZ have

 

[coy0607]

Lol there is no way hafeez AND Bilal will be dropped from this squad. One or them at least will play given the lefties NZ have

its a nice idea, having off-spinners against a team heavy with left handed batsmen, but whats the point if they aren't producing results.

but I'm with you, I don't see them both being dropped. Pakistan team management just doesn't move fast enough for dynamic changes life that. We'd be lucky if one of them is left off

 

[Veteran]

Corrupt and self-serving bunch. Don't want to admit they are ever wrong. They announced the unchanged team thinking that in the glow of Pakistan's test win enough cricket fans would swallow this latest travesty. Pathetic and insulting to us long-suffering fans. In all this I find it hard to understand why Mickey Arthur just goes along with the blatant injustices and wrong-headed decisions with that bemused look on his face.

 

[Greenstorm]

If Fakhar is fit than his non selection is beyond me. I think it is clear now that Inzi do not want Hafeez and Imam to be replaced. Problem is that Mickey has given up and Sarfaraz do not have spine to stand up against 'seniors'. This is not good for Pakistan cricket.

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

The squad is the same. I hope they play Saad Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi

 

[MMHS]

If Fakhar is fit than his non selection is beyond me. I think it is clear now that Inzi do not want Hafeez and Imam to be replaced. Problem is that Mickey has given up and Sarfaraz do not have spine to stand up against 'seniors'. This is not good for Pakistan cricket.

I read FZ has a level 2 tear at kne ligament - that must be serious if true, but just wondering why they played him in ODI series then?

 

[Greenstorm]

I read FZ has a level 2 tear at kne ligament - that must be serious if true, but just wondering why they played him in ODI series then?

Fakhar should remain away from PCB medical department if he has knee issues. Harris and Junaid are just a few examples.

What do you think regarding Hassan Ali. Should he be rested in the next test ? considering that SA tour is just 3 weeks away and he has been playing continuously for some time now.

 

[MMHS]

Fakhar should remain away from PCB medical department if he has knee issues. Harris and Junaid are just a few examples.

What do you think regarding Hassan Ali. Should he be rested in the next test ? considering that SA tour is just 3 weeks away and he has been playing continuously for some time now.

PAK should look to win this Series first - Hasan or no Hasan, don't think PAK starts as favorites in SAF. But, losing to this Kiwi side in UAE will be be a disaster. There are 3.5 weeks gap between 2 Tests, if required Hasan can skip National T20 or T10, T5, Sixer leagues ....... , but every Test should have best available XI. In total, over a 5-6 years period, PAK likely to play more Tests than only ZIM, therefore Test cricket isn't the place for PAK players to rest.

 

[ILcricket]

I guess a extra dry pitch is in order . What do YOU think ?

 

[Savak]

The same wicket in which Pakistan lost the first test?

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

I know series is on line but I want a competitive wicket for pacers/spinners: hacks getting out early and proper batsmen scoring... and a thumping Pak win, Insha'Allah!

 

[warcry]

this is terrible news.
All i ask is for hafeez to be kicked out for good. but noo. we are stuck with him till 2022 at least

 

[Ali_Pakistan]

Hafeez might score 50 and enjoy a free ride for SA series.

 

[Rayyman]

Saad replaces Hafeez, Shaheen in for Hasan.

 

[Sarwar89]

Same team will
Play. Same 11.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Saad replaces Hafeez, Shaheen in for Hasan.

What?

 

[ikky47]

If only we had a SLA in the squad to replace Bilal and drop Hafeez for Saad. Professor needs to retire for good.

 

[gazza619]

Hafeez’s time us up I am afraid. Looking ahead to SA series may be its time he packs his bags.

 

[Ami]

I think same team will play...

May be afridi for asif...but i cant see it.

As for shadab, as someone pointed out, Pak wont play 2 leg spinners so shadab will have to wait until shah saab calls it a day.

For S Africa first test?

Fakhar
Imam
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Babar
Sarfraz
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas
Afridi..

NOW THAT IS TAIL AND A HALF!...unless they play faheem...but who would you drop???

 

[QalandarFan]

Surprised there is no Fakhar, but I get that as we would like him to fully recover as he will be key on the SA tour for our success. But how have we not selected a second spinner for the 3rd test? Yasir Shah isn't going to pick up 10+ Wickets every match, we need somebody who can take wickets from the other end Bilal hasn't been able to do that.

 

[Square Drive]

Saad in for Hafeez. Need to test Saad before SA.

Azhar moves up to open.

 

[mesmerizer85]

Hopefully Saud Shakeel is tried in PSL and plays well to justify his induction in PAK ODI team. Maybe he needs few more performances to prove himself further. But this will come at a cost of probably dropping someone like Hafeez/Imam which will not happen soon IMO. Probably after MoHa's retirement post WC or if Inzimam is kind enough to drop his nephew from the short formats.

 

[babajee]

Azhar
Imam
Haris
Asad
Babar
Saad
Sarfraz
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas
Shaheen

Willing to bet that Shaheen will have more of an impact than Bilal.

 

[Hasan123]

Team will be unchanged. Put your dream 11s away.

 

[Sherlock]

There's no way they'll replace Hafeez with a debutant when the series is on the line.

 

[QalandarFan]

With the available players this is the XI I'd go with:

1. Azhar Ali
2. Imam Ul-Haq
3. Haris Sohail
4. Saad Ali
5. Babar Azam
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Sarfraz Ahmed (C) (WK)
8. Bilal Asif
9. Yasir Shah
10. Hasan Ali
11. Mohammad Abbas

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Pak might try Shaheen, but the rest will remain the same.

 

[Barragan]

Don't know why another specialist spinner is not being selected.

Yasir bowled 44 overs in the 2nd innings and what if NZ win the toss in the next match, plus the pitch is dead for a few days, so how many overs will poor Yasir have to bowl?

The guy will be bowled into the ground at this rate because they want a spin bowler, who can bat a bit (which bilal can't even do).

 

[AliMurtaza]

Bizzare to see both Hafeez and Bilal were selected again. Even with Fakhar’s injury, it would make sense to test Abid Ali before the SA tour so that we may take him has a third opener in case he succeeds.

This logic that Bilal can bat is ridiculous. The guy can neither bowl nor bat. If you get a specialist spinner and he takes 3-5 wickets, that will more than compensate for the 10 runs Bilal will make with the bat. It baffles my mind why Mickey or selectors are reluctant to play Kashif, Irfan (left arm spinner) or even Asghar.

 

[CadPakFan]

This should be our XI

Azhar
Imam
Shafiq
Babar
Haris
Saad
Sarfraz
Yasir
Hasan
Shaheen/Bilal/Faheem/Hamza
Abbas

 

[hadi123]

I can't see any changes being made.

 

[topspin]

Team will be unchanged. Put your dream 11s away.

Generally I would agree but on this occasion even I don't think Hafeez can keep his spot for the last test surely?

 

[aloo paratha]

Don't see any changes actually happening, but I would drop Hafeez, have Azhar open, and play Saad Ali at 5/6, have heard good things about him.

 

[aloo paratha]

Generally I would agree but on this occasion even I don't think Hafeez can keep his spot for the last test surely?

That's where you're wrong

 

[topspin]

That's where you're wrong

If that is the case then he must have connections somewhere in the PCB that is allowing all this to happen. The guy is not only able to get himself picked but dictate where he wants to bat when he shouldn't be anywhere near opening. He'd be my number 7 or 8 if I had the choice.

 

[Rayyman]

What?

I want Shaheen to make his debut in this match.

 

[SL_Fan]

Series nicely setup now. Should be good.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

I want Shaheen to make his debut in this match.

Okay. I thought you might've had a sensible reason.

 

[Shafi]

I bet same squad will be retained for South Africa tour. By now we know how Inzi works. First he creates hype like Sethi but deliver much less than Sethi.

 

[cricket_cfa]

Read somewhere that the team announced earlier was for two tests only

 

[Justcrazy]

Pakistan should have selected one more specialist spinner.

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

For the love of all things sane, please drop Bilal Asif. He brings absolutely nothing to the side. Thought he's been atrocious throughout the 2 games thus far.

Hafeez will carry on playing for the next decade after his century v Australia.

I like Imam, but his issue has been the 4th/5th wicket deliveries and the amount of times he's nicked behind is worrying.

The other issue is a reliable all-rounder, which we don't have hence why I think Bilal has played because I feel the coaching staff thought maybe he can bat a bit. Which is baffling because he's been rubbish!

Hafeez [unfortunately]
Imam [another chance]
Azhar [needs to start converting again]
Haris
Babar
Shafiq [time is almost up]
Sarfraz
Shadab*
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas

*If not Shadab then who would you replace Bilal with?

Saud Shakeel And Harris are not bad spinner in uae

 

[Abdullah719]

Read somewhere that the team announced earlier was for two tests only

Yeah, but then they 'announced' the same squad for the third Test

 

[Hasan123]

Generally I would agree but on this occasion even I don't think Hafeez can keep his spot for the last test surely?

He was selected due to his T20 performances, why won't he keep his place? Don't see them going with inexperience for a must win.

 

[reversehook]

those worried about shadab's non-inclusion is due to his groin strain he has been carrying along and playing games through.... Mickey A said shadab is going to be at home healing it up fully, then followed by some activity, then back into fold... so that is why he is not there.... shaheen isnt playing in uae as they are saving him for SA series.... no point killing/toiling him here... Fakhar Zaman also had some niggle and is sitting out due to it...

 

[Brilliance]

Saad Ali should debut. Rest I don't care

 

[ManFan]

The batsmen will not change.

Probably, Shaheen coming in for Bilal, if that.

 

[ShahidDar08]

The same 11 will be retained.

 

[octavian]

Hafeez needs to be dropped. The professor isn't smart enough to see the writing on the wall himself and retire.

Asad Shafiq also cannot ride his luck for too long. Saud Shakeel needs to take his place but I would refrain from taking him to SA with only one match under his belt.

I think Asad is one of the luckiest cricketers in Pakistan's history.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Hafeez ji need sto understand himself that he is 38.

Asad, Azhar, Sarfraz might not be in good form for last 1 or 2 years but still they have age on their sides so a chance of making a comeback in their mind but Hfeez ji is 38 not 28. Aqal k naakhun lo aur khud he retire ho jao.

 

[PakPremi]

Hafeez needs to be dropped. The professor isn't smart enough to see the writing on the wall himself and retire.

Asad Shafiq also cannot ride his luck for too long. Saud Shakeel needs to take his place but I would refrain from taking him to SA with only one match under his belt.

I think Asad is one of the luckiest cricketers in Pakistan's history.

Hafeez will be undeserving lucky given another chance to perform to book a place for SA. Why not check out Saad Ali before the series.

 

[Bob Marley]

Fakhar is injured - ok but what happened to Shadab and Saud or another batter like Shan or Sami, etc. They could have easily dropped Bilal and Hafeez!!!

 

[giri26]

Williamson urges batsmen to learn from Dubai experience

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was pleased with the determination he saw in side's second dig after having been steamrolled for 90 in the first by Pakistan.

The Dubai Test isn't one that New Zealand will look back on fondly. A collapse from 50 for no loss to 90 all out after Pakistan had declared at 418/5 set the tone for their massive innings-and-16-run defeat even though, following on, they fought a lot harder.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah engineered the side's downfall with spells of 8/41 and 6/143, thus equalling Imran Khan's record for most wickets in a Test match by a Pakistan bowler.

Skipper Williamson is hoping that his batsmen learn from the Dubai experience going into the deciding third Test at Abu Dhabi – the site of New Zealand's famous four-run victory in the first game of the series.

"Obviously, 90 wasn't ideal. Yasir Shah played extremely well the whole game and Pakistan played extremely well the whole game," Williamson said after the match. "But from our perspective, we wanted to be a lot better in that first innings.

"If we go back to the way Pakistan started, they were able to bat for two days on that surface, which put them in a very good position to be able to bowl and exploit those conditions with their spinners.

"They played very, very well, but we also showed in the second innings – perhaps on a wicket that had worn a little bit more – that there were opportunities to score runs, to bat and create an innings. I think it's really important we build on that going into the next game."

Williamson acknowledged that the win in the first Test at Abu Dhabi was one of New Zealand's best as they trigerred a collapse to arrest Pakistan's chase just short of the target. New Zealand will hope to draw inspiration from that win as they return to the venue for the third and final Test.

"It was a great game in Abu Dhabi, one of our great Test wins which was extremely exciting to be a part of," he said. "Then to come here wasn't our best performance by any means, but we know how difficult Pakistan are to play in their conditions.

"It's important that we are better and we learn from this experience here in Dubai. Pakistan will be full of confidence after their performance, but hopefully we can build on some of the confidence that we took in the second half of this game.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/923414

 

[Ellipsism]

Seeing Abbas has been ruled out hopefully we see Shaheen make his debut.

 

[MenInG]

Chance for Shaheen Shah Afridi to make Test debut

 

[Abid Z]

Fakhar is injured.
It’s imperative to have an offie to complement Yasir so one of Bilal and/hafeez is a must. I realise that some posters want a newbie to be given a debut instead of them but honestly you can’t have more that 2/3 newbies at a time. Bilal, babar, imam, Harris, Hasan Ali are all relatively inexperienced at test level.

In view of Abbas injury I think only ss Afridi Or faheem are realistic options and both have their pros and cons.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Shaheen has to play now.