Pakistan's selectors now faced with a tough dilemma due to failure of openers in recent Tests

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">13 out of Pakistan's last 14 opening partnerships in Test cricket:<br><br>0<br>18<br>27<br>40<br>5<br>15<br>37<br>0<br>20<br>12<br>12<br>13<br>2<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1069885903257174016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Pakistan selectors had a great chance to try out a new opening combination - now they face a dilemma as they may have to bring in an untested combo for the tough tour of SA

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

We need to invest in sami, fakhar and make azhar regular opener

 

[Sher Khan]

Shan Masood And Abid Ali will be a good combo.

 

[Asif321]

Let’s see how long nephew can survive
Hafeez will be dropped if not then we will se scores like 5/2 every test

 

[ameemlutfi]

I second the idea of Abid Ali and Fakhar being given an extended run. Until Fakhar gets fit maybe have Azhar open. Having these two at the top is just pathetic.

 

[aukhan]

Inzi is sleeping.

 

[as-95]

Inzi's nephew needs to go back to domestic and learn how to play the short ball. He also needs to improve his ability to rotate the strike. He is still young so he should work hard in domestic before coming back to the side as an improved batsman.

Maybe we could try Mohammad Rizwan as an opener. Anything is better than Hafeez+Imam.

 

[aukhan]

Inzi's nephew needs to go back to domestic and learn how to play the short ball. He also needs to improve his ability to rotate the strike. He is still young so he should work hard in domestic before coming back to the side as an improved batsman.

Maybe we could try Mohammad Rizwan as an opener. Anything is better than Hafeez+Imam.

Unfair to throw him as an opener. Why not reward Abid ali for his performances.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Facts: we dont have 1 decent test opener let alone 2. Its like the tour of england a few years ago. We picked to openers and used azhar at 3. Two openers kept failing till point where we then opened with Azhar again.

Whats point in Azhar batting at 3 when hes not suited to position and we also have plenty of options to fill the middle order.

Instead we recycle rubbish between Masood, Imam and hafeez none who are good enough.

I have no sympathy for the stupidity of captain, coach or selectors.

Azhar opens and bring in one other opener. The rotation of 2 walking wickets at top of inns has to stop!

 

[Amjid Javed]

Get Abid Ali into side to open with Azhar. Fakhar can open once hes fit again.

 

[as-95]

Unfair to throw him as an opener. Why not reward Abid ali for his performances.

Fair point. I'm definitely up for trying new players. Abid is seasoned from years of domestic and has been performing in the A team so he definitely deserves a shot instead of the pathetic Hafeez. It shows how desperate we are to replace the trash that are currently playing when I am suggesting throwing in a middle order WK batsman as an opener so we can get rid of Inzi's nephew )

 

[Markhor]

Oh God, please pray one of Steyn, Philander and Rabada get injured for the series.

10-2 is guaranteed in every match.

 

[Markhor]

Abid Ali and Fakhar Zaman have been the highest averaging openers in FC cricket for the last two years. Abid scored two hundreds in Pakistan A's three "Tests" against New Zealand A and England A.

If Fakhar is still injured, then open with Azhar and Abid.

 

[Hasan123]

I am willing to give Imam time but Hafeez has to go. His bowling isn't being used and he always fails overseas. Time to move on from him.

Never disliked a Pakistan player as much as I hate Hafeez. In most other countries in his situation they would have retired. Look at Shane Watson, retired after the 2015 ashes because he knew he wasn't good enough and was holding a crucial spot in the team. Also retired from T20s after 2016 World T20 even though he could have played till the next one.

Hafeez is so selfish.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Yeah, I'd go along with Azhar and Abid opening the batting in South Africa. Can hardly get worse. Nonetheless, it's scary to see that Khurram Manzoor and Iftikhar Ahmed are statistically the best batsmen in Pakistan.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Azhar and Abid should open, no brainer.

Abid has scored on the green wicket of Islamabad as an opener in the past few seasons and is in the form of his life. Has a pretty decent defensive technique.

But vision is something we dont expect from selectors so wont be surprise if Shan Masood is picked who will be a dud against fast bowling.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

A blessing in disguise for us Pakistani fans. Imam clueless against short pitched balls, Hafeez, well put Allah in front of his name and it’s what the bowlers say in the 1st over of an innings, and Fakhar injured. All signs point towards Shan Masood, for a test call up.

 

[Ali_Pakistan]

Might not be a bad idea to reward domestic performers. Abid and Rizwan have done well in A games so bring Abid in to open with Azhar and bring Rizwan in the middle order.
But the thing I am worried for this is that if Abid doesn't do well in SA he might get discarded permanently and then for the easy series Bhanjas and Papa ka betas will come back.
So we should give Abid at least 5 to 6 test matches to see what he can do at international level.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

It's their own fault. Azhar was doing pretty well as an opener but they had to get Imam + Hafeez in.

Now yet again they have not tried out Abid instead of Hafeez knowing Hafeez is totally out of sorts.

Lazy Pakistan will suffer the consequences.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

I hope Abid scores a big century in upcoming QeA final to make a case for SA series. Otherwise we will see the same tried and tested failures in Shan Masood and once they fail hear the same things that our openers are not enough.

 

[Brilliance]

Don't set yourself up for a disappointment. Abid Ali is mediocre.

 

[topspin]

I am willing to give Imam time but Hafeez has to go. His bowling isn't being used and he always fails overseas. Time to move on from him.

Never disliked a Pakistan player as much as I hate Hafeez. In most other countries in his situation they would have retired. Look at Shane Watson, retired after the 2015 ashes because he knew he wasn't good enough and was holding a crucial spot in the team. Also retired from T20s after 2016 World T20 even though he could have played till the next one.

Hafeez is so selfish.

Good post this - hit the nail on the head with a good case in point. Watson was still a far better batsman and probably still is. Some players just have no shame whatsoever.

 

[MenInG]

I am willing to give Imam time but Hafeez has to go. His bowling isn't being used and he always fails overseas. Time to move on from him.

Never disliked a Pakistan player as much as I hate Hafeez. In most other countries in his situation they would have retired. Look at Shane Watson, retired after the 2015 ashes because he knew he wasn't good enough and was holding a crucial spot in the team. Also retired from T20s after 2016 World T20 even though he could have played till the next one.

Hafeez is so selfish.

Well there is the second innings of this match.

 

[moghul]

Don't worry, Hafeez and Imama are not going anywhere, in Pakistan personal contacts and friendship are more important than anything else. Inzi is a good old fashioned family man , will take care of his own people. Who cares about Pak cricket.

 

[topspin]

Azhar has to open with Fakhar when recovers from his injury. Time to bring Saad Ali or Saud Shakeel at no.6

 

[Napa]

I am willing to give Imam time but Hafeez has to go. His bowling isn't being used and he always fails overseas. Time to move on from him.

Never disliked a Pakistan player as much as I hate Hafeez. In most other countries in his situation they would have retired. Look at Shane Watson, retired after the 2015 ashes because he knew he wasn't good enough and was holding a crucial spot in the team. Also retired from T20s after 2016 World T20 even though he could have played till the next one.

Hafeez is so selfish.

Good post this - hit the nail on the head with a good case in point. Watson was still a far better batsman and probably still is. Some players just have no shame whatsoever.

I think the selectors are to blame for this. Australian selectors are quite ruthless in discarding older players. Voges comes to mind. It is really the job of the selectors to select the best team rather than players retiring voluntarily.

 

[Shafi]

As if Inzi didn't know that and will amend the mistake. All along he knew that. Since Izi is not liable for his selections he will keep same players for SA tour. He keeps doing it again and again and gets away with this. See how he keep selecting players like Rahat and undeserving players in national, A, U-19 or emerging teams.

 

[topspin]

I think the selectors are to blame for this. Australian selectors are quite ruthless in discarding older players. Voges comes to mind. It is really the job of the selectors to select the best team rather than players retiring voluntarily.

Correct but I also genuinely believe players like Watson, Alistair Cook et al are not selfish and have the team's interest at heart.

In Pakistan nothing will change until we get rid of the cursed seniority culture.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Skipping this series will be a huge blessing in disguise for Hafeez.

Let's be honest, who ever replaces him will most likely "fail".

Guess what? All roads will lead to Hafeez once that happens.

 

[Titan24]

Opening batting is once again the weakest department in terms of back up. Missing Fakhar bigtime, hopefully he can be fit soon.

Ideally make Azhar open along with any of Abid Ali, Shan and Imam etc. However if Fakhar is fit he is our no 1 choice opener across the formats (This NZ series has just rendorsed that in terms of test as well)

We do have some options in middle like Saad Ali and co so they can be brought in the middle.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Don't think any batsman should be making his debut in south africa , you go from slow low wickets of uae straight to south africa. Not going to be fair on the debutants.

make these failures play again in south africa.

 

[Hasan123]

Good post this - hit the nail on the head with a good case in point. Watson was still a far better batsman and probably still is. Some players just have no shame whatsoever.

Watson was a very good LO cricketer.

 

[Hasan123]

I think the selectors are to blame for this. Australian selectors are quite ruthless in discarding older players. Voges comes to mind. It is really the job of the selectors to select the best team rather than players retiring voluntarily.

Inzi selections are rarely based on the conditions. Hafeez was selected for the test squad due to his performances in the T20s against Australia. What kind of selection is that ?

 

[Hasan123]

Well there is the second innings of this match.

Done with Hafeez. He is Steyns bunny and struggled since that 100. 1 good score after all those poor performances isn't good enough for a 38 year old.

 

[DRsohail]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">13 out of Pakistan's last 14 opening partnerships in Test cricket:<br><br>0<br>18<br>27<br>40<br>5<br>15<br>37<br>0<br>20<br>12<br>12<br>13<br>2<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1069885903257174016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Pakistan selectors had a great chance to try out a new opening combination - now they face a dilemma as they may have to bring in an untested combo for the tough tour of SA

Your selectors already knew it , it is not dilemma it is their plan.

 

[BreadPakoda]

If the selectors persist with him, Hafeez should do a Shakib here. Skip the series.

 

[ShahidDar08]

Open with Azhar Ali and Abid Ali. Add Saad Ali in the middle order, problem solved.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Open with Azhar Ali and Abid Ali. Add Saad Ali in the middle order, problem solved.

Sarfraz, Inzi and Mickey arent clever to think like this.

 

[New Yorker]

Facts: we dont have 1 decent test opener let alone 2. Its like the tour of england a few years ago. We picked to openers and used azhar at 3. Two openers kept failing till point where we then opened with Azhar again.

Whats point in Azhar batting at 3 when hes not suited to position and we also have plenty of options to fill the middle order.

Instead we recycle rubbish between Masood, Imam and hafeez none who are good enough.

I have no sympathy for the stupidity of captain, coach or selectors.

Azhar opens and bring in one other opener. The rotation of 2 walking wickets at top of inns has to stop!

This, and this again.

Azhar needs to open. But I suspect that Mickey has a very poor sense of who is playing well in domestic cricket. Remain unconvinced by Abid Ali. 31 years old and averaging in 30s as opener. When players averaging mid 50's can't get a look in any more.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

If Fakhar is not fit and Azhar does not want to open Pak got huge issues.

A struggling Imam and some other opener who has never played in SA. Pak middle order is going to face some hardcore music in this series.

 

[Baigel]

Shan Masood Will be on the plane to South Africa, even more so after Fakhar's "Injury"

 

[The Viper]

Fakhar and Azhar would be the ideal combo. Imam’s struggles are worrying as if it weren’t for his bad form, I would go with him. He did look good against Ireland in seaming conditions.

 

[Ahmed216]

Open with Fakhar and Azhar because Azhar almost always comes in to bat inside first 5 overs even in UAE.
Fakhar
Azhar
Haris
Babar
Asad
Saad/saud (depending upon who plays the short ball better)

 

[Stewie]

Aprt from Sohail-anwar era, pakistan almost always struggled with opening batting, so this is no surprise.

However, things could not be so bad, as we so have some players waiting in the wings that can be tried..

 

[coy0607]

thats what you get with a friends and family selection policy

the best Pakistani openers are still playing in domestic

 

[MMHS]

Why not Israrullah with Azhar? Azhar is basically opening for PAK from #3 in most innings.

Another long shot could be Azhar - Haris opening, but I don’t think think tank considers Haris for a top 3 role. My hunch is Shan will be back & if Ahmed’s van is over, he also will n contention. Don’t think Ul Haq will make the mistake of picking Sami as a direct rival of Imam - he has to pick 2 openers including Imam, and make sure that Azha keeps declining to open.

 

[srh]

keep Imam; in Tests he makes sense; he should not play ODIs and T20Is though

 

[Amjid Javed]

Fakhar and Azhar would be the ideal combo. Imam’s struggles are worrying as if it weren’t for his bad form, I would go with him. He did look good against Ireland in seaming conditions.

Imams bad form? Oh wait lets organize a few warm up games against minnows like zimbabwe so he can regain form

 

[Pete Rose]

Oh God, please pray one of Steyn, Philander and Rabada get injured for the series.

10-2 is guaranteed in every match.

10 - 2 is charitable. when were last there, we were dismissed for 45 the first time we batted

 

[Pete Rose]

Imams bad form? Oh wait lets organize a few warm up games against minnows like zimbabwe so he can regain form

Maybe the psychiatrist needs to do visualization exercises with him, whereby he only sees Zimbabwe bowlers regardless of who is bowling against him.

 

[aloo paratha]

Would like to see azhar open with fakhar, and then someone like Saad Ali or Mohammad Rizwan debut at 6.

 

[The Viper]

Imams bad form? Oh wait lets organize a few warm up games against minnows like zimbabwe so he can regain form

Look Imam is a minnow basher but we really lack options. Abid Ali has scored runs but it is harsh to debut him in a tough tour. Maybe pick him and see how he does in the warm up.

 

[silent ischemia]

I have heard that Micky Arthur doesn't fancy Abid Ali too much. He feels his fitness is not up to the mark

 

[Amjid Javed]

I have heard that Micky Arthur doesn't fancy Abid Ali too much. He feels his fitness is not up to the mark

Lets pick shan masood as hes super fit but cant hold a cricket bat instead.

 

[Napa]

Inzi selections are rarely based on the conditions. Hafeez was selected for the test squad due to his performances in the T20s against Australia. What kind of selection is that ?

Quite likely a very poor selection.

Also seems like after Taylor called out his bowling Hafeez didn't bowl the entire innings. Was it an injury or is it some sort of a voluntary ban? Did not admit he was chucking, but did not want to get called by ICC again?

 

[Ab Fan]

Azhar ko open karo Fakhar ke sath.

Azhar
Fakhar
Haris
Babar
Shafiq
Saad
Sarfaraz(wkt)
Wasim v2. 0
Yasir
Hasan
Abbas

 

[Hasan123]

Quite likely a very poor selection.

Also seems like after Taylor called out his bowling Hafeez didn't bowl the entire innings. Was it an injury or is it some sort of a voluntary ban? Did not admit he was chucking, but did not want to get called by ICC again?

When he wants to retain his place in the team he will revert to chucking.

 

[MMHS]

This can a blessing in disguise, rather than a tough dilemma.

Normal business in PCB is that without an accident or shake-up, you don't expect the obvious to be done. Had MoHa not retired, I am sure Ul Haq would have picked him as opener for SAF and he would have tactfully picked back-up opener to make sure that MoHa/Imam plays 3 games, unless injured.

Now that MoHa has left, this time there is a chance that Ul Haq will pick one out of box opener - not sure if it'll be a young one, but may be unexpected one. If so, I'll back that opener to do well - Ul Haq knows his cricket, unless he is to compromise, I back his fair picks to do well.

 

[New Yorker]

This can a blessing in disguise, rather than a tough dilemma.

Normal business in PCB is that without an accident or shake-up, you don't expect the obvious to be done. Had MoHa not retired, I am sure Ul Haq would have picked him as opener for SAF and he would have tactfully picked back-up opener to make sure that MoHa/Imam plays 3 games, unless injured.

Now that MoHa has left, this time there is a chance that Ul Haq will pick one out of box opener - not sure if it'll be a young one, but may be unexpected one. If so, I'll back that opener to do well - Ul Haq knows his cricket, unless he is to compromise, I back his fair picks to do well.

They all know their cricket, these players, they have lived cricket their entire lives. But some are clearly more conservative than others.

Inzi also has an awful record introducing young players as captain, was responsible in part for the lack of options when he left. I believe you or [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] made that point.

He'll pick Shan, that's it. Shan has hit runs in LA cricket, that is what matters to the PCB people. In Inzi's era there was no great perceived difference between the formats and that will still be his logic.

 

[giri26]

It is not going to get easy for Pakistan as they would be faced with Steyn, Rabada and Phillander in SA soon. I don't see Fakhar or Imam scoring too many runs at the top. Fakhar might get away to some blazing starts but cannot expect big scores.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Obvious solution is making Azhar the opener and hoping Fakhar is fit enough to be the second one.

Saad Ali has the potential to be a good middle order batsmen and he needs to be legitimately be given a shot.

 

[MMHS]

They all know their cricket, these players, they have lived cricket their entire lives. But some are clearly more conservative than others.

Inzi also has an awful record introducing young players as captain, was responsible in part for the lack of options when he left. I believe you or [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] made that point.

He'll pick Shan, that's it. Shan has hit runs in LA cricket, that is what matters to the PCB people. In Inzi's era there was no great perceived difference between the formats and that will still be his logic.

He was the most powerful captain of PAK since Imran - for four years. During that time, he had in total 3 debutants in PAK team - Riaz Afridi played one Test; Md. Asif (dropped for a year after debut and came back ironically in the Test Ul Haq was injured) & A Rahman, in his last Series. May be I am missing 1-2 names (Mansoor Amzad probably played one game), but that’s it in 4 years in a period when PAK won 2 U19 WCs in 2004 & 2006!!!!!

But that’s not the reason I opposed his appointment as CS - he did something worse than fixing couple of balls or games. Just after retirement as PAK Captain, he recruited almost entire PAK team for a fixed league knowing that, it could end their International career. BCCI wanted to erase ICL from history book, as if it didn’t exist, hence ICC didn’t dig deep into it, otherwise many PAK international players would have been in trouble for those Lahore Badshah games.

Extremely selfish, loyalist, morally corrupt, hypocrite and very rigid personality who should have never been at any role of PCB, let alone CS.

 

[Misia]

Fawad

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Dislodging Azhar and Sami as openers for Khurram & old S Masood was mistake

Azhar and Abid need to open for Pakistan in first two Tests against SA. If one of them God forbid has Hafeez’s like stinct than Shan can occupy that spot in 3rd Test provided he scores in the practice match in SA.


If Fakhar is fully fit than I ll go with Fakhar and not Shan.



Imam is completely out of sorts at the moment wrt his short ball issues. So it’s not desirable to pick him.



1. Azhar
2. Abid


3rd Opener Fakhar or Shan.

Why Shan ? Two FC hundreds against NZ A and Sami Aslam struggling at the moment in FC.


Abid Ali vs NZ A (257 runs @85 & SR of 54). Scored against Eng Lions too.

Shan Masood vs NZ A (352 runs @88 & SR of 72)


[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] [MENTION=16]Amjid Javed[/MENTION] [MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=139754]New Yorker[/MENTION]

 

[Justcrazy]

Imam should be dropped.

Azhar and someone new should be given a go .

 

[barah_admi]

Imam and Fakhar have shown in ODIs they can work well together, they need to resume their partnership in tests. Ali is perfect at 3.

ALl of this requires time, understanding and patience.

 

[topspin]

Azhar and Abid need to open for Pakistan in first two Tests against SA. If one of them God forbid has Hafeez’s like stinct than Shan can occupy that spot in 3rd Test provided he scores in the practice match in SA.


If Fakhar is fully fit than I ll go with Fakhar and not Shan.



Imam is completely out of sorts at the moment wrt his short ball issues. So it’s not desirable to pick him.



1. Azhar
2. Abid


3rd Opener Fakhar or Shan.

Why Shan ? Two FC hundreds against NZ A and Sami Aslam struggling at the moment in FC.


Abid Ali vs NZ A (257 runs @85 & SR of 54). Scored against Eng Lions too.

Shan Masood vs NZ A (352 runs @88 & SR of 72)



[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] [MENTION=16]Amjid Javed[/MENTION] [MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=139754]New Yorker[/MENTION]

If Fakhar is fit I would open him with Azhar. I'll be honest I don't know much about Abid but given his stats I agree at least he should be one of the 3 openers in the squad.

As for Shan Masood I have concerns with glaring technical deficiencies last time he was playing for the national side but I acknowledge he has done well for the A side.

I would like to see the following XI:

Fakhar
Azhar
Haris
Babar
Shafiq
Shadab Khan
Sarfraz
Faheem
Amir (since Abbas is going to be out from the looks of it)
Hasan Ali
Shaheen

I would like to have given Bilal Asif a go due to the bounce he gets and SA's vulnerability against right arm offies, however his batting isn't good enough for him to be batting anywhere above 9. Having him in the side would weaken what is already a frail batting line up in very testing conditions.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Azhar and Abid need to open for Pakistan in first two Tests against SA. If one of them God forbid has Hafeez’s like stinct than Shan can occupy that spot in 3rd Test provided he scores in the practice match in SA.


If Fakhar is fully fit than I ll go with Fakhar and not Shan.



Imam is completely out of sorts at the moment wrt his short ball issues. So it’s not desirable to pick him.



1. Azhar
2. Abid


3rd Opener Fakhar or Shan.

Why Shan ? Two FC hundreds against NZ A and Sami Aslam struggling at the moment in FC.


Abid Ali vs NZ A (257 runs @85 & SR of 54). Scored against Eng Lions too.

Shan Masood vs NZ A (352 runs @88 & SR of 72)



[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] [MENTION=16]Amjid Javed[/MENTION] [MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=139754]New Yorker[/MENTION]

Id rate england A as a tougher side then new zealand A, best to go with Abid over shan. I dont think shan has improved much as a player.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Abid and Azhar should open against South Africa.

 

[Ilustcricket]

Azhar and Fakhar to open. Saad/Usman to come into middle order. Until Fakhar is fit, Imam will continue to open and fail. Blessing in disguise so we can finally get rid of him. In UAE he failed so bad i cannot imagine how bad he will be in SA.