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Pakistan's Test squad for the Sri Lanka series

Babar_Azam_fan

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This series is already gone. With just two weeks left to the first test, what should be the team for the series against SL

This should be the XI

Sami
Shan
Imam
Azhar (c) (coz he’s a captain) (hide him from the new ball)
Asad
Babar
Rizwan (wk)
Yasir
Zafar
Naseem
Shaheen
 
Lankan spinners will trouble Pakistan batting . Apart from Asad no one excellent against spin
 
This series is already gone. With just two weeks left to the first test, what should be the team for the series against SL

This should be the XI

Sami
Shan
Imam
Azhar (c) (coz he’s a captain) (hide him from the new ball)
Asad
Babar
Rizwan (wk)
Yasir
Zafar
Naseem
Shaheen

Great team, unfortunately only in our dreams. Chacha Ifti will play and we will get some 37 year old left arm spinner instead of Zafar :salute
 
Sami Aslam
Shaan Masood
Usman Sallahuddin
Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Rizwan

This should be batting line up.
 
after 2-0 against australia pakistan will need to win both matches against srilanka to get back to zero points. Abid ali will be amazing in pakistan , play fawad alam in place of iftikhar ahmad.
 
Maybe Abid Ali instead of the quarter-century specialist who is regularly opening the batting?
 
Maybe Abid Ali instead of the quarter-century specialist who is regularly opening the batting?

I am not the biggest Shan fan but at the moment he is least of the problems.The so called two veterans bat like a tail ender when the heat is on.
 
Zafar gohar should definitely picked ahead of bhatti who is another darter which is not ideal for asian pitches
 
1. Shan Masood
2. Sami Aslam
3. Babar Azam (c)
4. Fawad Alam
5. Usman Salahudin
6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
7. Zafar Gohar
8. Yasir Shah
9. Shaheen Shah Afridi
10. Muhammad Abbas
11. Naseem Shah
------------------------------------
12. Abid Ali
13. Nauman Ali
14. Haris Sohail
15. Muhammad Musa Khan
16. Kamran Akmal

Now, most of you will not select Kamran Akmal at all, but Kamran Akmal has proven himself in all formats and all domestic tournaments for the past few years and is having a good QeA this year also. Despite his controversies in the past and being hated by a lot of people, he deserves to be selected and is a good backup keeper for Rizwan.
 
2 spinners must be selected. Would not be upset if Yasir was dropped .

Understandable but you should understand that we are in pretty bad phase and we not necessarily have the luxury to drop players who can perform in given conditions.

Yasir Shah is far from being the perfect long term spinner we need but, playing in Asia we have to play two spinners in the playing XI and Yasir Shah has to be one of them. Currently we don't have even a name for the second spinner we are going to play.
So, at least in Asia, Yasir shah should play. Maybe, the second spinner we will play there will prove to be quality and then we can think about dropping Yasir Shah overseas.
 
unbelieveable how people are discarding Harris Sohail already .. he is our best batsmen after babar (i presonally like him more than babar but thts my bias for left handers) .... he should be there for atleast 1 year even if he fails ....

i would go with
1)Shaan
2)Azhar
3)Harris Sohail
4)Babar
5)Iffi Chacha
6)Asad Shafiq (although dont want him in the team would like abid ali to open and azhar to drop down 1 and so on)
7) Rizwan
8) Zafar Gohar
9)Yasir
10) M.Abbas
11)SSA

wouldnt play Naseem Shah in pak at the min.. too much for the boy's physical stress.. dont wanna play SSA as well but he needs more match pratice
 
If Shan is selected and doesnt score big runs in 2nd test than it should be the end for him atleast for now. As Sami Aslam and Abid Ali have scored more runs than Shan in domestic cricket and have a much better record overall and deserve a chance in tests.

Sami Aslam still averages more than Shan Masood in tests. So unless Shan convert his starts in the next game he shouldnt be in the squad. One can afford an opener who gets out in 30-40 in 16-17 matches with an avg of 26 odd and just 1 hundred.
 
Azhar will have to be there as he will 99.99% be captain.

1.Azhar
2.Shan
3.Haris (he is bad in Australia, but will do well in Pakistan)
4.Babar
5.Asad
6.Rizwan
7.Zafar Gohar
8.Yasir Shah
9.Shaheen
10.Naseem
11.Abbas/ Sameen Gul (Prefer Sameen as Abbas isn't in good form and isn't bowling well in the nets either according to team management)

Haris Sohail is pretty good in Asia as a 3rd spinner. Zafar is decent with the bat, and with the batting line up we have we can afford to have Zafar at 7.
 
Haha...lets not get too excited. .
Shan
Imam
Azhar
Asad
Babar
Haris/Ifthi
Rizwan
Yasir
Abbas
Shaheen
Shah/Gohar
 
you cant drop players based on series loss against Aus.
Plyers will loose confidence and feel insecure if you keep changing frequently.

Win or loose doesn't matter, they should have give few more chances.
This is the problem with Pakistan cricket
 
Understandable but you should understand that we are in pretty bad phase and we not necessarily have the luxury to drop players who can perform in given conditions.

Yasir Shah is far from being the perfect long term spinner we need but, playing in Asia we have to play two spinners in the playing XI and Yasir Shah has to be one of them. Currently we don't have even a name for the second spinner we are going to play.
So, at least in Asia, Yasir shah should play. Maybe, the second spinner we will play there will prove to be quality and then we can think about dropping Yasir Shah overseas.

He seems to have lost his accuracy. So if he isn't picking up wickets he will go for runs.

He will need to be moved on eventually. So why not try another spinner in UAE conditions against Sri Lanka?
 
The good thing about these 2 matches is that the players selected on the basis of QEA trophy this season will be playing in familiar conditions. Keeping this in mind, I would select Zafar, Sami and Sameen Gul (in place of SSA)

Mine XI would be:
Sami
Imam/Abid
Azhar
Haris
Babar
Tendulkar
Rizwan
Yasir
Zafar
Sameen
Abbas
 
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Sami
Shan
Azhar
Babar
Asad
Saad/Sallaudin/any other top domestic performer
Rizwan
Zafar
Yasir
Abbas
Naseem/Sameen/SSA
 
Sohail khan, junaid khan, Rahat Ali, Ahmed shehzad, Salman Butt, kamran akmal, zulfiqar babar
Is there any other unfit 35 year old that I have missed?
 
Imam
Abid
Shan
Babar
Saud
Salahuddin
Rizwan
Zafar
Shaheen
Sameen
Naseem

If you want to build for the future then kick Azhar and Asad out, give others a go.
 
Sohail khan, junaid khan, Rahat Ali, Ahmed shehzad, Salman Butt, kamran akmal, zulfiqar babar
Is there any other unfit 35 year old that I have missed?

Kashif Bhatti is the second spinner in the squad. He is the Zulfi substitute.
 
Azhar will have to be there as he will 99.99% be captain.

1.Azhar
2.Shan
3.Haris (he is bad in Australia, but will do well in Pakistan)
4.Babar
5.Asad
6.Rizwan
7.Zafar Gohar
8.Yasir Shah
9.Shaheen
10.Naseem
11.Abbas/ Sameen Gul (Prefer Sameen as Abbas isn't in good form and isn't bowling well in the nets either according to team management)

Haris Sohail is pretty good in Asia as a 3rd spinner. Zafar is decent with the bat, and with the batting line up we have we can afford to have Zafar at 7.
I must have missed the part where we were 94-5 in both innings. Bar one world class batsman this batting lineup is mediocrity defined.
 
He seems to have lost his accuracy. So if he isn't picking up wickets he will go for runs.

He will need to be moved on eventually. So why not try another spinner in UAE conditions against Sri Lanka?
The series against Sri Lanka is being played in Pakistan, not UAE.
And it's what I have written, we will be trying a spinner anyway in that series as we will play too Spinners.
 
The Tests are scheduled at Pindi & Karachi; and I am expecting that the wickets won’t be typical PAK wicket. Long back, Pindi track had pace and bounce, while NSK had dry but compact wicket which didn’t break for spinners, but did reverse in afternoon. I believe this time PCB tank does know that SRL doesn’t have the pace stock and a typical dross wicket will bring their finger spinners in the game - they have arguably better batting line up hence on a spin friendly wicket they’ll dominate PAK if the win toss while on typical QeA wicket that we saw this season, PAK will dominate the game, but might not take 20 wickets in 350 overs of Test cricket at Pindi.

These are my two XI (though Misbah won’t change playing XI, unless PAK loses the first Test by innings!!!)


1. Shan
2. Captain (he must open, doesn’t deserve to bat at 3 & can’t be dropped)
3. Shan
4. Babar
5. Asad
6. Haris (2nd purpose is his 23-25 overs)
7. Rizwan+
8. Amad Butt
9. Shaheen
10. Abbas
11. Naseem

At Karachi, I’ll drop Haris for Gohar and Yasir for Amad. Even on dry wicket, Abbas should extract reverse and he’ll be a threat with new ball & then overs between 35-58, with semi old ball.

PAK should look to win both Tests and at Karachi, it’s better to go with full 5 men attack and ensure that bowlers are always fresh and attacking for wickets.
 
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The Tests are scheduled at Pindi & Karachi; and I am expecting that the wickets won’t be typical PAK wicket. Long back, Pindi track had pace and bounce, while NSK had dry but compact wicket which didn’t break for spinners, but did reverse in afternoon. I believe this time PCB tank does know that SRL doesn’t have the pace stock and a typical dross wicket will bring their finger spinners in the game - they have arguably better batting line up hence on a spin friendly wicket they’ll dominate PAK if the win toss while on typical QeA wicket that we saw this season, PAK will dominate the game, but might not take 20 wickets in 350 overs of Test cricket at Pindi.

These are my two XI (though Misbah won’t change playing XI, unless PAK loses the first Test by innings!!!)


1. Shan
2. Captain (he must open, doesn’t deserve to bat at 3 & can’t be dropped)
3. Shan
4. Babar
5. Asad
6. Haris (2nd purpose is his 23-25 overs)
7. Rizwan+
8. Amad Butt
9. Shaheen
10. Abbas
11. Naseem

At Karachi, I’ll drop Haris for Gohar and Yasir for Amad. Even on dry wicket, Abbas should extract reverse and he’ll be a threat with new ball & then overs between 35-58, with semi old ball.

PAK should look to win both Tests and at Karachi, it’s better to go with full 5 men attack and ensure that bowlers are always fresh and attacking for wickets.

Why play 2 Shan and not 2 Babar?
 
My 15 would be the following

1) Shaan Masood
2) Abid Ali
3) Imam Ul Haq

4) Babar Azam
5) Azhar Ali
6) Mohammad Rizwan ( Wk)
7) Usman Salahuddin
8) Asad Shafiq

9) Kashif Bhatti
10) Yaser Shah
11) Mohammad Ashgar

12) Mohammad Ilyas
13) Shaheen Shah Afridi
14) Naseem Shah
15) Mohammad Abbas
 
Sami Aslam needs to play
He's scored 850+ runs in 12 innings on these Pakistani pitches.

I'm 70% sure he'll score a double century against Sri Lanka if given a chance.

Overseas he's atrocious. But we should not think about that for this series.

Our aim should be to win this series 2-0 so people forget our 2017 2-0 loss.
 
Masood
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Babar
Saud Shakeel( we shouldn’t waste this series and try out at least a couple of players)
Rizwan
Kashif Bhatti
Yasir
Abbas
Naseem
 
Abid
Azhar - should retire but wont
Babar
Asad
Salahuddin
Haris
Rizwan
Yasir
Bhatti
Abbas
Shaheen
 
Sami Aslam
Shan Masood
Azhar
Babar
Asad/Haris
Haris/Asad
Yasir
Naseem
Abbas
Shaheen

This should be the First XI imo.
If Sami doesn't perform, bring in Imam or Abid
 
You'd still go with Asad?

He has been in decent form recently, hasn’t he? Also our middle order is pretty young even Babar has only played like 20 matches so I think we need Azhar and Asad in the team for a bit.
 
Id like shan, imam, azhar, asad and haris to all be dropped but wont happen.
 
I noticed a lot of people aren’t picking Kashif Bhatti in their team. What has he done wrong to be dropped? He is already in the squad and has good FC stats backing him. The guy can also bat a bit.
 
Since Rangana Herath has retired, Lasith Embuldeniya will be the next Sri Lankan finger spinner for our batsmen to collapse to.
 
fine. you wanted the squad you got it. squad of 15

First XI

Shan
Imam
Asad
Babar(C)
Fawad( but of course)
Rizwan (Wk)
Shahdab Khan
Yasir
Shaheen
Abbas
Naseem


Squad Players
Musa
Kashif Bhatti
Abid
Salahuddin
 
If Shan is selected and doesnt score big runs in 2nd test than it should be the end for him atleast for now. As Sami Aslam and Abid Ali have scored more runs than Shan in domestic cricket and have a much better record overall and deserve a chance in tests.

Sami Aslam still averages more than Shan Masood in tests. So unless Shan convert his starts in the next game he shouldnt be in the squad. One can afford an opener who gets out in 30-40 in 16-17 matches with an avg of 26 odd and just 1 hundred.

Shan is scoring at Gaba against an awesome attack where batsmen like Sami and Abid would fail definitely .
 
Haris is out of form but I think it’s only a matter of time before he turns it around. After Babar, I would say Haris is the best we have.

Haris needs to be dropped as hes out of form, once hes shown improvement by all means should be recalled.
 
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] why are you picking 3 pacers and a raillu katta at 8?? In Pakistan 2 spinners should always play. Naseem and Abbas as pacers. I don't like Shaheens line and length, he tends to be inaccurate. Play Yasir and Gohar both tests.
Honestly
As for batsman honestly I am not sure..Haris can be decent at 6 but I wonder if it's too late to bring Umar Akmal in tests. His domestic form has been pretty good...
 
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] why are you picking 3 pacers and a raillu katta at 8?? In Pakistan 2 spinners should always play. Naseem and Abbas as pacers. I don't like Shaheens line and length, he tends to be inaccurate. Play Yasir and Gohar both tests.
Honestly
As for batsman honestly I am not sure..Haris can be decent at 6 but I wonder if it's too late to bring Umar Akmal in tests. His domestic form has been pretty good...

PAK should try to develop a fast bowling all-rounder and unless they try it against SRL at home, do you think it should be done in English tour, come July? Among incumbents, Amad looks promising and his QeA stats are good this year - Imran was a bigger RK (& ******) at the start, but he changed his fortune by hard work; this guy Amad also has potential, age & size to his favour l, worth investing.

PAK has to be smarter & decisive about their bowler picks, particularly at home. Those UAE tracks have taken intelligence out of PAK cricket and the playing XI is often as monotonous as it can be (strategy built on Yasir bowling 85 overs from one end and may be 100 by others); but it’s time to pick horses for courses. At Pindi, in December, bring the best curator, he won’t be able to make a turner and it won’t break much with 70 overs/day Test - so, better don’t try it. Put lots of grass on the track and play four pacers - now, the batting display I have seen from PAK at Leeds, Cape Town.... if it’s green, even Lakmal, Kumara might make it 72-6 by first lunch, so a little batting protection is needed.

At Karachi, wickets will be drier, and more importantly we should get 90 overs/day, means wicket will bake by day 3 - two spinners are must and the three pacers I picked are capable of reversing it. Tactics at Karachi (since it’ll be dry wicket & 450 overs Test) should be to build good batting tracks (but not like the one gave YK his Triple) where PAK batsmen can pile up runs quickly regardless of batting first or second and 5 men attack should be able to force 20 wickets. While at Pindi, ideally it should be a 3.5 days (330 overs max) track, where Test must end in a direct W/L and PAK being home team, should fancy their chances for a win.

I am afraid the XI, the wicket & the tactics will be completely opposite of what I think - Misbah’s team won’t ever play enforcing cricket, PCB’s curators are not capable of producing wickets that forces teams to play aggressive cricket, neither Misbah, Azhar are risk takers, rather they will try to nail it down by inch - a very good chance that SRL might bail out a draw for the playing duration at Pindi and deadness at Karachi. Honestly speaking, my spirit has gone down the moment I heard that the Tests will be played in PAK - worst place to play Test cricket... that too in December.
 
PAK should try to develop a fast bowling all-rounder and unless they try it against SRL at home, do you think it should be done in English tour, come July? Among incumbents, Amad looks promising and his QeA stats are good this year - Imran was a bigger RK (& ******) at the start, but he changed his fortune by hard work; this guy Amad also has potential, age & size to his favour l, worth investing.

PAK has to be smarter & decisive about their bowler picks, particularly at home. Those UAE tracks have taken intelligence out of PAK cricket and the playing XI is often as monotonous as it can be (strategy built on Yasir bowling 85 overs from one end and may be 100 by others); but it’s time to pick horses for courses. At Pindi, in December, bring the best curator, he won’t be able to make a turner and it won’t break much with 70 overs/day Test - so, better don’t try it. Put lots of grass on the track and play four pacers - now, the batting display I have seen from PAK at Leeds, Cape Town.... if it’s green, even Lakmal, Kumara might make it 72-6 by first lunch, so a little batting protection is needed.

At Karachi, wickets will be drier, and more importantly we should get 90 overs/day, means wicket will bake by day 3 - two spinners are must and the three pacers I picked are capable of reversing it. Tactics at Karachi (since it’ll be dry wicket & 450 overs Test) should be to build good batting tracks (but not like the one gave YK his Triple) where PAK batsmen can pile up runs quickly regardless of batting first or second and 5 men attack should be able to force 20 wickets. While at Pindi, ideally it should be a 3.5 days (330 overs max) track, where Test must end in a direct W/L and PAK being home team, should fancy their chances for a win.

I am afraid the XI, the wicket & the tactics will be completely opposite of what I think - Misbah’s team won’t ever play enforcing cricket, PCB’s curators are not capable of producing wickets that forces teams to play aggressive cricket, neither Misbah, Azhar are risk takers, rather they will try to nail it down by inch - a very good chance that SRL might bail out a draw for the playing duration at Pindi and deadness at Karachi. Honestly speaking, my spirit has gone down the moment I heard that the Tests will be played in PAK - worst place to play Test cricket... that too in December.

I see and good points you made. However obviously.we can't count on the curators at Rawalpindi making a green track, it will likely be a dead UAE type wicket.
 
Shan is scoring at Gaba against an awesome attack where batsmen like Sami and Abid would fail definitely .

Scoring 30,40 runs and not being able to convert them in 16 tests other than one innings isnt enough for an opener. Sami Aslam scored 50s in both innings of a test match at Edgbatson. Even in SA where Shan looked better than many Pak batsmen his highest was 65 and scored 2 50s in 6 innings.

Our standards have become really low, to be a top team one needs to select the players who if find their feet at international level can take the team to top 3. I have no issues with Shan if he performs but he isnt performing and everybody in domestic cricket as well as who understands cricket knows Shan has limited skills and his ceiling isnt that high as someone like Sami Aslam maybe.

Domestic records also depict the same picture along with the test record. Again Shan is playing for Pak and I want him to perform if he plays the next match but if he doesnt there is no point in keeping him especially when he isnt even someone who you stick with because of special talent.
 
My Playing X1

Salman Butt
Umar Amin
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Mohammad Rizwan
Numan Ali
Yasir Shah
Shaheen Shah
Junaid Khan
Mohammad Abbas
 
This series is already gone. With just two weeks left to the first test, what should be the team for the series against SL

This should be the XI

Sami
Shan
Imam
Azhar (c) (coz he’s a captain) (hide him from the new ball)
Asad
Babar
Rizwan (wk)
Yasir
Zafar
Naseem
Shaheen

Do both Imam and Sami Aslam need to be in the side ? (i'd take either one of them as Sami has been treated poorly and Imam is gritty and tough).

I think the squad needs to bring in a more experienced FC pace bowler and no reason for Bhatti to be dropped if he hasn't even had a chance to play here.

The ideal team would be Azhar at 3, Imam and Shan opening with Asad, Babar and Rizwan rounding off the batting. Both spinners MUST play and that may even include Shadab (Why was he dropped?).
 
PAK should try to develop a fast bowling all-rounder and unless they try it against SRL at home, do you think it should be done in English tour, come July? Among incumbents, Amad looks promising and his QeA stats are good this year - Imran was a bigger RK (& ******) at the start, but he changed his fortune by hard work; this guy Amad also has potential, age & size to his favour l, worth investing.

PAK has to be smarter & decisive about their bowler picks, particularly at home. Those UAE tracks have taken intelligence out of PAK cricket and the playing XI is often as monotonous as it can be (strategy built on Yasir bowling 85 overs from one end and may be 100 by others); but it’s time to pick horses for courses. At Pindi, in December, bring the best curator, he won’t be able to make a turner and it won’t break much with 70 overs/day Test - so, better don’t try it. Put lots of grass on the track and play four pacers - now, the batting display I have seen from PAK at Leeds, Cape Town.... if it’s green, even Lakmal, Kumara might make it 72-6 by first lunch, so a little batting protection is needed.

At Karachi, wickets will be drier, and more importantly we should get 90 overs/day, means wicket will bake by day 3 - two spinners are must and the three pacers I picked are capable of reversing it. Tactics at Karachi (since it’ll be dry wicket & 450 overs Test) should be to build good batting tracks (but not like the one gave YK his Triple) where PAK batsmen can pile up runs quickly regardless of batting first or second and 5 men attack should be able to force 20 wickets. While at Pindi, ideally it should be a 3.5 days (330 overs max) track, where Test must end in a direct W/L and PAK being home team, should fancy their chances for a win.

I am afraid the XI, the wicket & the tactics will be completely opposite of what I think - Misbah’s team won’t ever play enforcing cricket, PCB’s curators are not capable of producing wickets that forces teams to play aggressive cricket, neither Misbah, Azhar are risk takers, rather they will try to nail it down by inch - a very good chance that SRL might bail out a draw for the playing duration at Pindi and deadness at Karachi. Honestly speaking, my spirit has gone down the moment I heard that the Tests will be played in PAK - worst place to play Test cricket... that too in December.

Good thinking, but I doubt the Rawalpindi curators will attempt to make a seaming wicket.

It will likely be flat and that will probably favour Sri Lanka.
 
Good thinking, but I doubt the Rawalpindi curators will attempt to make a seaming wicket.

It will likely be flat and that will probably favour Sri Lanka.

Rawalpindi has generally provided more pacer supportive wickets if I am not wrong than the other grounds. Though I am not sure if it has the same nature anymore or not.
 
The XI I want:

Azhar
Shan/Sami(If Shan can do something in Adelaide he should start)
Haris(may have done poorly in Australia but he is still fine for Asia, where we play most of our cricket)
Babar
Shafiq
Ifti(needs at least 2 series to prove himself)
Rizwan
Zafar
Yasir
Abbas
Shaheen/Naseem
 
Rawalpindi has generally provided more pacer supportive wickets if I am not wrong than the other grounds. Though I am not sure if it has the same nature anymore or not.

Didn't know that.

Hopefully the wicket has something for the bowlers.
 
1. Sami Aslam
2. Shan Masood (c)
3. Imam-ul-Haq
4. Babar Azam
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
7. Zafar Gohar (sla)
8. Yasir Shah (lbg)
9. Sajid Khan (ob)
10. Naseem Shah
11. Shaheen Shah Afridi
 
If Misbah decides to go for broke with his “no players in their twenties” policy.....

1. Azhar Ali
2. Abid Ali
3. Salman Butt
4. Fawad Alam
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Kamran Akmal (wk)
7. Kashif Bhatti
8. Yasir Shah
9. Bilal Asif
10. Mohammad Musa
11. Naseem Shah

This superb team eliminates the risk of picking people who haven’t got grandchildren yet.
 
If Misbah decides to go for broke with his “no players in their twenties” policy.....

1. Azhar Ali
2. Abid Ali
3. Salman Butt
4. Fawad Alam
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Kamran Akmal (wk)
7. Kashif Bhatti
8. Yasir Shah
9. Bilal Asif
10. Mohammad Musa
11. Naseem Shah

This superb team eliminates the risk of picking people who haven’t got grandchildren yet.

Your hate for Misbah is getting hilarious by every day & every post. And I am sure the reason is not only that Misbah has replaced Arthur and was instrumental in his exit; rather the reason is something with his looks.

No, the reason of no player in 20s (you are not correct actually - Rizwan is 27) is not Misbah’s policy, rather because two players in their 20s is missing from last Test - one retired & other one is Hasan Ali. There are two other players in 20s who are dropped from the squad is because they proved to be absolute
useless - Faheem Ashraf & Shadab Khan. And, another one (Imam) is dropped for his pathetic outing in SAF - given three Tests there. He is in the squad and I expect him to play in 2nd Test. Finally, Shan Masood has turned 30 a months back ....

There should have been few bowlers in 20s for sure - one of the reasons that it didn’t happen is that Arthur was absolute dumb when it comes to judge spinners; otherwise a Gohar would have preferred over Imad, and Arthur still would have been in charge, most likely.
 
It depends on what test wickets we see on this tour. I expect the new ball atleast to carry through a bit just like it does in most venues in India. It will encourage Pak fast bowlers and allow the likes of Shan, Babar to go for their shots. Will be a mistake if they go for a slow, dead track as Pak bowlers and batters will both suffer. Those UAE wickets were a strength only with Misbah/yk in team.
 
Zeeshan Ashraf in for Shan.

Can't really pick a 27-year-old who averages 26 in FC cricket just because of one hundred and a couple of fifties. He will have to perform for a longer period to come into the picture.

Has a better chance in the limited-over formats and PSL.
 
Can't really pick a 27-year-old who averages 26 in FC cricket just because of one hundred and a couple of fifties. He will have to perform for a longer period to come into the picture.

Has a better chance in the limited-over formats and PSL.
Gone are the days when you needed to average 50+ for a number of seasons to be selected for PCT. Misbah is more random.
 
Your hate for Misbah is getting hilarious by every day & every post. And I am sure the reason is not only that Misbah has replaced Arthur and was instrumental in his exit; rather the reason is something with his looks.

No, the reason of no player in 20s (you are not correct actually - Rizwan is 27) is not Misbah’s policy, rather because two players in their 20s is missing from last Test - one retired & other one is Hasan Ali. There are two other players in 20s who are dropped from the squad is because they proved to be absolute
useless - Faheem Ashraf & Shadab Khan. And, another one (Imam) is dropped for his pathetic outing in SAF - given three Tests there. He is in the squad and I expect him to play in 2nd Test. Finally, Shan Masood has turned 30 a months back ....

There should have been few bowlers in 20s for sure - one of the reasons that it didn’t happen is that Arthur was absolute dumb when it comes to judge spinners; otherwise a Gohar would have preferred over Imad, and Arthur still would have been in charge, most likely.
I struggle with the idea that you can drop three young players immediately after:

Player 1 scores 35 and 43 opening in the last Test in South Africa.

Player 2 scores a 50 and takes 4 wickets for 80 in the last Test in South Africa.

Player 3 takes 6-99 in the last Test in South Africa.

Imam, Shadab and Faheem may have done badly with a white ball, but I find it unacceptable to drop a player immediately after that performance in the previous Test.
 
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION]
I don’t “hate” Misbah.

I hold him in utter contempt for his unethical takeover and concentration of power for which he is unqualified.

And I view him as utterly predictable in his deficient decision making.

As soon as he rose to power I wrote that he’d make Azhar the skipper even though his performances for Pakistan and Somerset showed that he needed to be forcibly retired.

As soon as he rose to power I wrote that he would throw out players in their twenties in favour of players in their thirties, plus a few raw kids as a figleaf.

You know as well as I do that against Sri Lanka he will pick Kashif Bhatti (33) instead of Zafar Gohar (25) and Abid Ali (32) instead of Sami Aslam (23).

And Iftikhar.

And Imran.
 
1) Sami Aslam
2) Azhar Ali (c)
3) Shan Masood
4) Babar Azam
5) Asad Shafiq
6) Aamer Yamin
7) Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
8) Zafar Gohar
9) Yasir Shah
10) Abbas / Shaheen
11) Nasim Shah
 
This should be the playing 11 but it's not going to happen

Imam UL haq
Sami Aslam
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Asad shafiq
Rizwan Ahmed
Shadab khan
Yasir Shah
Mohammed Abbas
Shaheen afridi
Naseem Shah

We desperatly need all rounders
Imam and faheem have not been that good
 
guys technique or not...of what i have seen on youtube streaming as well.. i think Faddy definately deserves a chance especially at home matches..he should replace uncle ifti
 
we looked so toothless in the middle order in the first game.

Top 6 should be as follows:

Sami
Imam
Azhar
Babar
Alam
Salahuddin

All specialist batsmen who are needed due to the nature of our collapses. Azhar and Alam can bowl some overs of spin also.
 
We need to bring some experience into the bowling attack. My squad.will be:

Azhar (c)
Babar
Fawad Alam
Haris Sohail
Shafiq
Sami Aslam
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shan Masood
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Zafar Gohar
Yasir Shah
Shaheen Afridi
Abbas
Ehsan Adil
Sameen Gul

Starting XI would be:

1. Sami Aslam
2. Azhar (c)
3. Haris Sohail
4. Babar Azam
5. Fawad Alam
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
8. Zafar Gohar
9. Yasir Shah
10. Ehsan Adil
11. Shaheen Afridi

I've gone for what I believe are the too domestic performers. I know fawad is a bit old but he's performing and can give some stability for Asian conditions. Ehsan Adil is an experienced pacer who is in decent form, and he can bat a bit. Zafar will be the perfect no. 8, who can bat quite decently.

Abbas has been really out of form lately and his pace has dropped a lot recently so I went with Ehsan over him.

The good thing about this team is that only Shaheen is a complete bunny.

I'd let Naseem get some more experience before picking him. Musa is rubbish.
 
[MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] [MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION] this is my completely unbiased squad, what do you guys think?
 
[MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] [MENTION=147314]topspin[/MENTION] this is my completely unbiased squad, what do you guys think?

> I will add Sajid Khan the off spinner as the 16th member of the squad (Not much of an issue in home series) as Srl has quite a few good lefties and Sajid Khan has shown decent quality and form in QAE.

> Karachi will be a high scoring ground if we consider its history so I think ideally we should go with 5 bowlers including 1 all rounder unless we are confident Iftikhar can bowl good 10-15 overs if required. No harm in trying Amir Yamin or any other pace bowling in Karachi at no 7 along with Zafar providing batting depth as well.

> Also I will prefer Abid Ali over Shan in the squad, other than that this is pretty much the best we can offer at the moment.

Other than these three points I think its pretty much the best we have to offer. Naseem is a real talent but no point in playing him in sub continent in tests at the moment.
 
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> I will add Sajid Khan the off spinner as the 16th member of the squad (Not much of an issue in home series) as Srl has quite a few good lefties and Sajid Khan has shown decent quality and form in QAE.
> Karachi will be a high scoring ground if we consider its history so I think ideally we should go with 5 bowlers including 1 all rounder unless we are confident Iftikhar can bowl good 10-15 overs if required. No harm in trying Amir Yamin or any other pace bowling in Karachi at no 7 though along with Zafar providing batting depth as well.

> Also I will prefer Abid Ali over Shan in the squad, other than that this is pretty much the best we can offer at the moment.

Other than these three points I think its pretty much the best we have to offer.
Great points. I agree, I wanted Sajid in but thought 16 man squad would be too much. You are right, Yamin or Amad could slot in place of Sameen.
 
Lol. Now people think we'll get beaten by Sri Lanka.
Can't they differentiate between an away and a home fixture???

We're not going to lose. 2-0 or 1-0. Guaranteed
 
Pretty decent squad but i don't think Shan Masood has justified his place in the team and in place Abid Ali needs a proper chance with Imran Butt playing second fiddle in case of failures (second highest run getter in QeA).

Kamran Akmal purely because of his controversy and poor fielding i say no, Rizwan has proved himself and so a second wicketkeeper makes no sense. If you want a backup wicketkeeper then you have Umar Sidiq who also performed very well in QeA.

My squad:

1. Abid Ali
2. Sami Aslam
3. Babar Azam
4. Fawad Alam
5. Azhar Ali (c)
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Muhammad Rizwan (wk)
8. Yasir Shah
9. Shaheen Afridi
10. Muhammad Abbas
11. Naseem Shah
 
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