[PICTURES] 18-member Test squad announced for Australia tour

[Jazx]

Avoiding a whitewash will be an achievement for pakistan this time.

 

[Raja Ishtiaq]

Where is Rizwan?

Just realised that Rizwan is in the squad!

He HAS to play ahead over Sarfraz

Sarfraz will be a walking wicket in those conditions.

 

[ahmadharis1]

Wasim Jr is a dumb selection, how does he keep getting selected for tests?

How is Amir Jamal selected? Played 2 QAE matches and he didn't go anything amazing

Feel like Ali Shafiq should have been selected. Good domestic season and has good height which is useful in these pitches

 

[Fenrir]

This team will get a good hiding.Australia will win 3-0.Hasan Ali and Ashraf keep getting selected.Australia is going to win anyway so why not try new bowlers.Arshad Iqbal,Abbas Afridi etc.

 

[zaidihusain]

Imam must be benched in first 2 tests and new ones must be tried with Abdullah. Minimum 3 proper fast bowlers, 1 bowling all-rounder & 1 proper spinner is required in Australia. Interesting to see what will be the final 11 and who will bowl new bowl with Shaheen.

Shaheen also will not play all 3 tests

 

[kingusama92]

I hope Saim is just there for the experience since he shouldn't be in the Test XI right now and needs time to develop more. Regardless, it's good exposure for him and will help Saim get used to the environment.

The squad itself is average but there's not much to pick from.

It's a tough job for Wahab Riaz because you could select any combination of 18 players and it's still going to be a drubbing in Australia. That's the reality of the situation.

 

[Ahmad-GERMANFC]

3-0 to Australia incoming.

The only question is if we can make a test or two competitive?

Lol you’re saying as if there was any other likelihood of a different team selected

I genuinely think that even if we play with 13 people on the field, and 13 batsmen, we would lose

 

[160KPH]

The bowling looks weak, but what choice do we have with so many injuries?

Wishing luck to the whole squad. Hope they give 100% and if they do, you never know what can happen. Maybe the Australians spend the next 2 weeks having one too many beers in celebration of the WC Final and we pull of something magical in the first Test.

I wonder what our XI will look like? Maybe same batting as the last Sri Lankan match but just some bowlers subbed in for our injured bowling.

 

[moghul]

Not impressed with Wahab , more of a political selection . Same old and failed cricketers like useless and hopeless Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf are included . I guess Inzimam's company still has influence on selection.

 

[moghul]

Forget about winning or even drawing any test. Team's goal should be to take the test to 4rth day.

 

[Chip32]

Mir Hamza as we saw has difficulty even hitting 130k, what is he going to do in Aus?

He's going to be useless because he isn't very skilful either, but the pace isn't a big issue. Please tell me what pace India had when they won with Natarajan, Siraj and Thakur?

Ollie Robinson and Wagner were England's and NZ's best bowlers when they toured Aus last, and both barely clock 130 kph as well.

Scott Boland has been taking bucket loads of wickets for fun and he's low to mid 130's.

You don't need blistering pace to succeed in Australia. I'm glad for Rauf's sake he decided to run away from this tour because he would have been given the mauling of a life time. The pitches are true, you need consistency more than anything.

 

[Chip32]

Pace attack will be one of the worst ever to tour Australia. Looks absolutely mediocre.

80 mph trundler Mir Hamza in Australia ?

Shaheen and Hasan should start. 3rd seamer will get smashed whether it's Hasan or Mir or Khurram.

Kashif Ali should have been selected.

Well it's hard for it to be worse than what we took last time with Imran Khan, Naseem, Abbas and Musa which is arguably the worst attack to ever tour Aus.

 

[Savak]

If you are picking the likes of Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza then they are not going to bounce the Aussies out. The plan has to be to get them to bowl on off, middle stump full and pack the leg side field and ruthlessly stick to this line, length, plan, restrict the batsmen to 1-2 runs per over. Restricting the scoring rate is the key to success in Australia.

 

[Boycottisno2]

Mohammed Hurera ? why was he not picked .... he is one of the best batter to come out of Pakistan junior cricket? this is the only reason why supporters hate the selectors.... Shame on you Wahab

 

[shamaan]

Wasim Jr is a dumb selection, how does he keep getting selected for tests?

How is Amir Jamal selected? Played 2 QAE matches and he didn't go anything amazing

Feel like Ali Shafiq should have been selected. Good domestic season and has good height which is useful in these pitches

I think Wasim is okay selection he is a decent bowler even thou he hasn't been tested in tests.

 

[shamaan]

Not impressed with Wahab , more of a political selection . Same old and failed cricketers like useless and hopeless Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf are included . I guess Inzimam's company still has influence on selection.

Who would you have picked ?

 

[shamaan]

Mohammed Hurera ? why was he not picked .... he is one of the best batter to come out of Pakistan junior cricket? this is the only reason why supporters hate the selectors.... Shame on you Wahab

Hurraira is okay but he will get exposed in Australia at the top order.

 

[IAJ]

Naseem in SENA is amongst the worst bowlers in history. Absolutely embarrassing numbers.

Naseem must be in his mid 30s poor guy since you have come up with your normal bombastic conclusion?

Lol, calm down. At 20 most bowlers haven’t even made their international debut so cut him some slack. When he is actually 35 then you can give your verdict. Some people never seem to learn…

 

[Rana]

It might be a weak bowling unit but let’s hope for the best. Cricket/batting has evolved a lot in the modern day.

Let’s hope for a result like this:

Australia bat first…score 600 in 4.5 sessions.

Pak first innings 230 all out in 3 sessions. Australia enforce follow on….

Pak second innings bat out of their skins and score 500 in the second session with one batsman scoring a double ton…all other players chipping in with 50s and the tail wagging taking the game into day 5…

Hope for the best I guess

 

[IAJ]

Uninspiring squad, but that is the state of our cricket. Wish they could play 15 warm-up matches before the 3 Test matches.

Allthough we desperately need Shaheen, I would have rested him, those pitches are unforgiving and he has started to bowl non-stop again just like before. If he get’s injured again he will end up bowling as quick as a Ravi Bopara or Scott Styris rest of his career.

 

[Rana]

Just realised that Rizwan is in the squad!

He HAS to play ahead over Sarfraz

Sarfraz will be a walking wicket in those conditions.

And Rizwan wouldn’t?

Remind me of how he handled bounce last time in Australia?

 

[ahmadharis1]

I think Wasim is okay selection he is a decent bowler even thou he hasn't been tested in tests.

Wasim Jr has no basis at all for test selection

 

[Nasty Naz]

And Rizwan wouldn’t?

Remind me of how he handled bounce last time in Australia?

37, 95, 0, 45. Pretty decent scores considering it was his first tour to Australia and only his 3rd & 4th Test matches of his career. His score of 95 is higher than anything Sarfraz has ever scored in Australia/NZ/England/SA combined. That is how much of a disaster Sarfraz is in SENA.

Hard to believe it even needs to be said considering he can't play pace at all. His average is 52 in Asia and he's been completely abysmal outside of Asia.

Whatever squad Pakistan was going to select, it was going to be awful regardless and get destroyed 3-0. Pakistan may put up decent runs in Australia but the bowling attack is so horrific that it won't matter one bit.

Nice to see Khurram get picked, he's been pick of the bowlers domestically and deserves a shot. Figured Arshad Iqbal might get a shot too as he has been ok and is tall enough that he could potentially be a handful. Still quite raw though so maybe more seasoning makes sense. Great to see my boy Saim Ayub selected. May not play but regardless, this is a good experience for him, he will get to see the pitches up close and who knows, Imam is so awful and can't play bounce at all, that Saim coming in for him could make some sense.

 

[PakEngFan]

Not impressed with Wahab , more of a political selection . Same old and failed cricketers like useless and hopeless Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf are included . I guess Inzimam's company still has influence on selection.

Can you tell us who missed out? Who is selected based on politics?

 

[Xoib]

With Naseem and Ihsanullah not available this was the best squad we could have hoped for . The only change I would have made was Kashif Ali for Faheem with Kashif in the camp I hope he can impress someone like Hafeez or Babar and can join the squad

 

[ads101]

37, 95, 0, 45. Pretty decent scores considering it was his first tour to Australia and only his 3rd & 4th Test matches of his career. His score of 95 is higher than anything Sarfraz has ever scored in Australia/NZ/England/SA combined. That is how much of a disaster Sarfraz is in SENA.

Hard to believe it even needs to be said considering he can't play pace at all. His average is 52 in Asia and he's been completely abysmal outside of Asia.

Whatever squad Pakistan was going to select, it was going to be awful regardless and get destroyed 3-0. Pakistan may put up decent runs in Australia but the bowling attack is so horrific that it won't matter one bit.

Nice to see Khurram get picked, he's been pick of the bowlers domestically and deserves a shot. Figured Arshad Iqbal might get a shot too as he has been ok and is tall enough that he could potentially be a handful. Still quite raw though so maybe more seasoning makes sense. Great to see my boy Saim Ayub selected. May not play but regardless, this is a good experience for him, he will get to see the pitches up close and who knows, Imam is so awful and can't play bounce at all, that Saim coming in for him could make some sense.

Even if both do nothing with the bat. At least one of them will keep well.

I'd play Sarfraz though. Rizwan could probably use the rest playing quite a lot of cricket, and Sarfraz is in form with the bat.

 

[The_KING]

Lol you’re saying as if there was any other likelihood of a different team selected

I genuinely think that even if we play with 13 people on the field, and 13 batsmen, we would lose

I bet you wanted to see Ahmad Shehzad in the team.

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

Well if It was up to me, here is my thinking:

Learn from Pakistans last test tour of Australia: Do anything you can to not play any debutants/ youngsters

Literally, Pakistans greatest ever bowlers have struggled in Australia. So we cant be having debutants, or at least players who have played the least amount of test cricket to play in Australia.

Key: Play players who have experience.

Ideal Selection path is below:
(1) Play players who have either performed in Test matches in Australia and/or played test matches in Australia
(2) Play players that have experience in Test cricket
(3) If it comes down to choosing players that have never made an test and/or international circket debut, then play players that have at least played a high number of FC matches. But hopefully it doesn't come down to (3)

1. Shan Masood (c)
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Babar Azam
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Muhammad Rizwan
6. Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk)
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shaheen Shah Afridi
9. Muhammad Wasim Jr.
10. Khurram Shehzad**
11. Abrar Ahmed

People keep arguign between who to play betweeen Muhammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed, but how about play both of them?? Becuase both of them have played test matches in Australia before.

Now that Shadab Khan is not selected, it would be interesting to know what @Junaids has to say about which spinner and to play, and overall what his thoughts on who to select are

** So on the last fast bowling option you have: Mir Hamza, Hassan Ali, Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shehzad. Although I did say play bowlers who have at least experience in playing in Australia and/or Test cricket, I am choosing Khurram Shehzad because he does have a good FC experience, and I think he bowls faster than Mir Hamza and Hassan Ali.

But overall, all the best for the team.

 

[moghul]

Can you tell us who missed out? Who is selected based on politics?

There got to be someone better than these dead woods like Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf . Someone like Arshad Iqbal or Sameen Gull or anyone.

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

There got to be someone better than these dead woods like Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf . Someone like Arshad Iqbal or Sameen Gull or anyone.

Not really the squad chosen is pretty much the best there is, apart from maybe like 1 or 2 players at most.

Lets say Arshad Iqbal and Sameen Gul are better than Hassan Ali, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shehzad. But even then, its will they be having some massive impact on the performance and results?

 

[Kianig89]

Out of curiosity, how many of the 18 selected are from Yazoo Group

 

[moghul]

Not really the squad chosen is pretty much the best there is, apart from maybe like 1 or 2 players at most.

Lets say Arshad Iqbal and Sameen Gul are better than Hassan Ali, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shehzad. But even then, its will they be having some massive impact on the performance and results?

Ever heard of a thing called grooming of the player for future. It was better to take a 23 YO tall and well bult fast bowler than a shortie , old trundler.

 

[W63L35]

To the fans who blamed Baber for selecting his friends in the team, so which one of his friend is not selected for Australian tour?

 

[Sycamore]

To the fans who blamed Baber for selecting his friends in the team, so which one of his friend is not selected for Australian tour?

That was just laughable. As usual pakistanis are heavily biased themselves and blindly hate players for their own personal agendas, you can criticise babar for bad captaincy and selection, but calling it as selecting his friends in the team was ridiculous.

 

[SaimFan]

To the fans who blamed Baber for selecting his friends in the team, so which one of his friend is not selected for Australian tour?

M Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Usman Qadir.

Sure some friends did made it to the squad, his best friend Imam, Hasan, Faheem, Abdullah, Rizwan. Wahab is to be blamed for selecting the first three without merit.

Wahab basically selected everyone he thought could make the cut. Its now upon Hafeez and Shan to select most suitable playing xi (i.e. excluding Imam, Hasan, Faheem, Mir Hamza, Noman, etc)

 

[Nasty Naz]

Even if both do nothing with the bat. At least one of them will keep well.

I'd play Sarfraz though. Rizwan could probably use the rest playing quite a lot of cricket, and Sarfraz is in form with the bat.

Sarfraz isn't really a good keeper anymore at his age. Rizwan has been in quite good form too, including in Tests when he took over for Sarfraz as concussion sub.

Sarfraz never handled pace well in his prime and I think its absolutely crazy if he plays ahead of Rizwan. Sarfraz is past his best before date and Rizwan is in his prime. Maybe its time Pakistan stop playing over the hill players trying to squeeze last juice out of them.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I was happy with the squad until i saw Hassan and Faheem on that list. I am sure now that Hassan is in, he is going to play ahead of Khurram Shehzad who was the top wicket-taker in the domestic cup. Faheen is also going to play ahead of amir or wasim. apart from these 2, we have selected a good squad from the available resources.

 

[Marooned]

Well if It was up to me, here is my thinking:

Learn from Pakistans last test tour of Australia: Do anything you can to not play any debutants/ youngsters

Literally, Pakistans greatest ever bowlers have struggled in Australia. So we cant be having debutants, or at least players who have played the least amount of test cricket to play in Australia.

Key: Play players who have experience.

Ideal Selection path is below:
(1) Play players who have either performed in Test matches in Australia and/or played test matches in Australia
(2) Play players that have experience in Test cricket
(3) If it comes down to choosing players that have never made an test and/or international circket debut, then play players that have at least played a high number of FC matches. But hopefully it doesn't come down to (3)

1. Shan Masood (c)
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Babar Azam
4. Saud Shakeel
5. Muhammad Rizwan
6. Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk)
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shaheen Shah Afridi
9. Muhammad Wasim Jr.
10. Khurram Shehzad**
11. Abrar Ahmed

People keep arguign between who to play betweeen Muhammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed, but how about play both of them?? Becuase both of them have played test matches in Australia before.

Now that Shadab Khan is not selected, it would be interesting to know what @Junaids has to say about which spinner and to play, and overall what his thoughts on who to select are

** So on the last fast bowling option you have: Mir Hamza, Hassan Ali, Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shehzad. Although I did say play bowlers who have at least experience in playing in Australia and/or Test cricket, I am choosing Khurram Shehzad because he does have a good FC experience, and I think he bowls faster than Mir Hamza and Hassan Ali.

But overall, all the best for the team.

I don't think it's just debutants/youngsters that struggle

Last time, yes Musa Khan struggled but Yasir Shah and Imran Khan struggled as much if not more.

 

[Xoib]

If Kashif Ali can be drafted in place of Faheem this will be near perfect squad. Arshad for Hassan Ali could also make sense but with Naseem injured you needed one bowler with some experience along with Shaheen.

 

[BouncerGuy]

What do Natrajan and Shami etc have to do with Pakistan's squad?
Please stop making this thread a comparison thread with the Indian team. Stay on topic or else you can post in another relevant thread instead.

 

[Rana]

37, 95, 0, 45. Pretty decent scores considering it was his first tour to Australia and only his 3rd & 4th Test matches of his career. His score of 95 is higher than anything Sarfraz has ever scored in Australia/NZ/England/SA combined. That is how much of a disaster Sarfraz is in SENA.

Hard to believe it even needs to be said considering he can't play pace at all. His average is 52 in Asia and he's been completely abysmal outside of Asia.

Whatever squad Pakistan was going to select, it was going to be awful regardless and get destroyed 3-0. Pakistan may put up decent runs in Australia but the bowling attack is so horrific that it won't matter one bit.

Nice to see Khurram get picked, he's been pick of the bowlers domestically and deserves a shot. Figured Arshad Iqbal might get a shot too as he has been ok and is tall enough that he could potentially be a handful. Still quite raw though so maybe more seasoning makes sense. Great to see my boy Saim Ayub selected. May not play but regardless, this is a good experience for him, he will get to see the pitches up close and who knows, Imam is so awful and can't play bounce at all, that Saim coming in for him could make some sense.

Right

Are we casually supposed to forget how Rizwan handled pace and bounce in the T20 World Cup last year? And the fact that the Australians have way more data on him now than what they did 4 years ago?

 

[saqib.rai]

They need to drop Imam from the 11
Any one with even the brain a size of a peanut can tell that Imam is bound to fail if given the opportunity

Abdullah
Shan
Babar
Saud
Rizwan (wk)
Salman Agha
Faheem
Wasim jnr
Hasan Ali
 Shaheen
Abrar

This needs to be the eleven

 

[MANU ROY]

Does Pakistan play at Gabba ?

 

[BouncerGuy]

Does Pakistan play at Gabba ?

Full schedule:

1st Test – Perth, 14-18 December 2023

2nd Test – Melbourne, 26-30 December 2023

3rd Test – Sydney, 3-7 January 2024

Here is the schedule for your info.

 

[Devadwal]

Pakistan is going to play another 3 test match series in Australia starting from 14 December . Pakistan Team test record against Australia in Australia from 1999 is nothing less tham embarassing . during this period they have played 17 test and lost all the test ,not even draw a single test .
Can Pakistan Draw a single test after 24 years? Or they continue to humiliated like every time post 1999
Discuss.

 

[Ahmed216]

No Pak will lose every game. They cannot compete with big 3 in test matches.
But India's thrashing at about same time in SA will provide some solace to Pak fans

 

[Pakhs]

New people in charge and same team has been selected.

 

[Pakhs]

Pakistan is going to play another 3 test match series in Australia starting from 14 December . Pakistan Team test record against Australia in Australia from 1999 is nothing less tham embarassing . during this period they have played 17 test and lost all the test ,not even draw a single test .
Can Pakistan Draw a single test after 24 years? Or they continue to humiliated like every time post 1999
Discuss.

Pakistan is playing a team with greater resources, no humiliation in losing to a team that has just beaten India who control world cricket. Humiliation is when you lose at home despite controlling and using everything possible to your advantage.

 

[gazza619]

New people in charge and same team has been selected.

Do you genuinely think that the old management would have selected the domestic performers?

I can a see few better selections this time around. Our resources are thin. Lets back the boys to take all 3 test matches to day 5.

 

[hitthestump]

They need to drop Imam from the 11
Any one with even the brain a size of a peanut can tell that Imam is bound to fail if given the opportunity

Abdullah
Shan
Babar
Saud
Rizwan (wk)
Salman Agha
Faheem
Wasim jnr
Hasan Ali
 Shaheen
Abrar

This needs to be the eleven

That isnt a bowling attack, it more resembles a bowling machine.

Australia are going to be racking up 600/2 type scores this year.

 

[PakFan2010]

Mohammad Abbas deserves another try, he is very consistent and can bowl at 3 RPO.

 

[saqib.rai]

That isnt a bowling attack, it more resembles a bowling machine.

Australia are going to be racking up 600/2 type scores this year.

I know but these are the ones we have

PCB and us supporters need to finally decide on whether our priority Is test cricket or not

Seeing the pathetic turn out in test matches at Lahore and Karachi, it clearly shows fans are not interested in test cricket anymore

Best solution Is to have different central contracts for white and red ball cricket
And not forcing cricketers who are doing well in white ball to play red ball

With so many professional cricketers in the country, in the future we might have a better bowling attack than the one we will be playing with in Australia

 

[Devadwal]

Pakistan is playing a team with greater resources, no humiliation in losing to a team that has just beaten India who control world cricket. Humiliation is when you lose at home despite controlling and using everything possible to your advantage.

A test nation who can't draw even a test( forget about a win )from 25 year should not tour anymore down under. Its embarassing .No one asking them to win a series but is impossible form them but just draw a damn test match

 

[Lampard]

Abbas Afridi or Arshad Iqbal should have been selected

 

[ask_analyse_act]

There's no squad Wahab could've picked to give us a cat in hell's chance of winning in Australia.

Contrary to popular belief, our bowlers not our batsmen are the biggest reason for our awful Australia record. Forget 20 wickets - Pakistan haven't taken 10 wickets in 5 out of the last 7 innings in Australia. On those 2 occasions we did, we conceded 429 and 580 !

This attack's scarcely any better and is a reflection of the lack of bowling depth in Pakistan. In Australia you need guys with decent pace who hit the deck hard and rely more on seam than swing through the air, with height being a bonus but not compulsory.

Sadly there aren't many in Pakistan fitting that bill. Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza will be cannon fodder. Three pace bowling ARs is overkill and none are worldbeaters.

A semi-competitive Test or two is the height of my expectations.

But this is a very weak lineup in terms of fast bowling, definitely much better lineup that can be made

Australia gonna play their C team and still whitewash these minnows with an inns to spare in each game.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Abbas Afridi or Arshad Iqbal should have been selected

Agree Sameen Gul and Arshid Iqbal should have been selected. With their height they will extract more bounce and come handy

 

[samiakh]

Measures of success for this tour.

1) Tests last more than 3.5 days
2) We avoid an innings defeat in at least one of the tests
3) Our bowlers take more than 40 wickets over the 3 test matches combined.

Faheem Ashraf and Mohammed Wasim were wasteful picks. Ali Shafique and Arshad Iqbal should have been picked instead to give us some hit the pitch bowlers. But really it wouldn’t have changed the overall result much.

 

[hitthestump]

I know but these are the ones we have

PCB and us supporters need to finally decide on whether our priority Is test cricket or not

Seeing the pathetic turn out in test matches at Lahore and Karachi, it clearly shows fans are not interested in test cricket anymore

Best solution Is to have different central contracts for white and red ball cricket
And not forcing cricketers who are doing well in white ball to play red ball

With so many professional cricketers in the country, in the future we might have a better bowling attack than the one we will be playing with in Australia

Test cricket is done for outside of the Big 3.

If PCB wanted to be the first to formally de-prioritise the format it would be actually quite understandable.

 

[saqib.rai]

Why isn't anyone talking about Aamer Yamin being part of this series ??

Haven't seen him play FC, but going by stats- the guy is one of the unluckiest ever to not play a SINGLE test match for Pakistan

Wouldn't he have been a better option than Jamal who is a bowler and a slogger. Not an all-rounder??

 

[W63L35]

M Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Usman Qadir.

Sure some friends did made it to the squad, his best friend Imam, Hasan, Faheem, Abdullah, Rizwan. Wahab is to be blamed for selecting the first three without merit.

Wahab basically selected everyone he thought could make the cut. Its now upon Hafeez and Shan to select most suitable playing xi (i.e. excluding Imam, Hasan, Faheem, Mir Hamza, Noman, etc)

Pakistan is going to play only test matches in Australia. So are Nawaz, Shadab, Usama and Usman test players?

If Wahab is to blame for selecting Babar's friends.... then what do you think is true?
1. Wahab did not know that Babar was selecting his friends... only fans like you knew? or
2. Wahab has no clue who to select on merit .... only fans like you know? or
3. May be Babar was selecting players on merit?

Your 3rd point ... Shan/Hafeez should exclude Imam, Hasan, Faheem, Mir Hamza and Nauman...5 out of 18 players.
So basically you want Shan/Hafeez to select playing 11 out of 13 players because above 5 players are babar's friends? Nice!

 

[W63L35]

That was just laughable. As usual pakistanis are heavily biased themselves and blindly hate players for their own personal agendas, you can criticise babar for bad captaincy and selection, but calling it as selecting his friends in the team was ridiculous.

Exactly!

Those "fans" who did that, never imagined putting themseleves in Babar's shoes. I mean, why would Babar or anybody put his captaincy at stake (which he resigned anyways) by selecting his non-deserving friends??

IK upset his childhood hero and first cousin Majid Khan by dropping him ... because Majid was not performing.

 

[Savak]

Why isn't anyone talking about Aamer Yamin being part of this series ??

Haven't seen him play FC, but going by stats- the guy is one of the unluckiest ever to not play a SINGLE test match for Pakistan

Wouldn't he have been a better option than Jamal who is a bowler and a slogger. Not an all-rounder??

Jamal can bowl at 88-90 mph. Yamin is a 78-80 mph operator and needs swing/seaming conditions which he will not find in Australia.

 

[Savak]

Measures of success for this tour.

1) Tests last more than 3.5 days
2) We avoid an innings defeat in at least one of the tests
3) Our bowlers take more than 40 wickets over the 3 test matches combined.

Faheem Ashraf and Mohammed Wasim were wasteful picks. Ali Shafique and Arshad Iqbal should have been picked instead to give us some hit the pitch bowlers. But really it wouldn’t have changed the overall result much.

You don't need hit the pitch bowlers to win in Australia. Indians proved it in 2021 when they religiously stuck to their strategy of bowling wicket to wicket, packing the leg side field, no cuts/pulls, they dried up the Australian scoring rate masterfully. Pakistan needs to follow the template as well. You can successfully execute this plan even if the bowlers are operating at 130-132 km/hr.

 

[Fenrir]

PCB is a big mess like Pakistan’s political system.There are too many factions in PCB.Everyone wants their favourite player irrespective of talent.People were critical of Ramiz Rana the new management is even worse.Pakistan cricket will go nowhere unless PCB becomes autonomous and free from interference by political parties.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Pakistan cricketers Imam-ul-Haq and Faheem Ashraf have been granted permission to skip the training camp ahead of the Australia series due to their upcoming weddings.

Imam's wedding festivities are scheduled to begin on November 23 in Lahore, featuring a Qawwali night, followed by the highly anticipated Nikkah ceremony on November 25 and the Valima reception on November 26 at night. Faheem Ashraf's Valima reception is also set for November 26, taking place in Phool Nagar in the afternoon.

Both players are part of the 18-member Test squad for the Australia tour, with the pre-tour training camp in Rawalpindi starting on November 22 and running until November 28.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Pakistan cricketers Imam-ul-Haq and Faheem Ashraf have been granted permission to skip the training camp ahead of the Australia series due to their upcoming weddings.

Imam's wedding festivities are scheduled to begin on November 23 in Lahore, featuring a Qawwali night, followed by the highly anticipated Nikkah ceremony on November 25 and the Valima reception on November 26 at night. Faheem Ashraf's Valima reception is also set for November 26, taking place in Phool Nagar in the afternoon.

Both players are part of the 18-member Test squad for the Australia tour, with the pre-tour training camp in Rawalpindi starting on November 22 and running until November 28.

Ah 2 more guys who can be written off completely then.

 

[riddu]

Saim Ayub
Abdullah
Babar
Shan
Rizwan
Saud Shakeel
Agha Salman
Wasim Jnr/Jamal
Shaheen
Abrar Ahmed
Khurram Shezad

 

[Amjid Javed]

Club village standard players like imam, Faheem and wasim jnr in test squad

Somethings will never change

 

[Pakhs]

A test nation who can't draw even a test( forget about a win )from 25 year should not tour anymore down under. Its embarassing .No one asking them to win a series but is impossible form them but just draw a damn test match

Its okay we will try our best but its no humiliation when you dont have the resources that the opposition has infact no way near.

 

[Pakhs]

Do you genuinely think that the old management would have selected the domestic performers?

I can a see few better selections this time around. Our resources are thin. Lets back the boys to take all 3 test matches to day 5.

No they would have picked same team as these in charge. The change is about filling their own pockets rather than improving anything to do with Pakistan team

 

[Justcrazy]

To be honest The selectors do not have much option.

 

[mumtaz]

Surely we can't drop Agha after his MoS performance against SL. We also have to include Faheem as a fast bowling all rounder at least for Perth where we will need the 4th fast bowler. Interesting dilemma. I think we will end up going in with 3 fast bowlers + Abrar + Agha. Toss up between Sarfaraz and Rizwan. Maybe Rizwan comes in for Imam and bat #3.

 

[saqib.rai]

Jamal can bowl at 88-90 mph. Yamin is a 78-80 mph operator and needs swing/seaming conditions which he will not find in Australia.

Can he bat at 7?

If he bats at 8, then he is playing as a proper bowler. I have seen him bowling, we have much better fast bowlers

 

[saqib.rai]

Surely we can't drop Agha after his MoS performance against SL. We also have to include Faheem as a fast bowling all rounder at least for Perth where we will need the 4th fast bowler. Interesting dilemma. I think we will end up going in with 3 fast bowlers + Abrar + Agha. Toss up between Sarfaraz and Rizwan. Maybe Rizwan comes in for Imam and bat #3.

One of Salman Agha or Abrar will play the Perth test. If Salman plays at 7, then Both Abrar and Faheem wouldn't play

Our squad has 7 fast bowling options. I think Management plans on playing 4 fast bowlers in every test

 

[mumtaz]

One of Salman Agha or Abrar will play the Perth test. If Salman plays at 7, then Both Abrar and Faheem wouldn't play

Our squad has 7 fast bowling options. I think Management plans on playing 4 fast bowlers in every test

No way you can go into a test match with Agha as the lone spinner.

 

[saqib.rai]

No way you can go into a test match with Agha as the lone spinner.

Then he doesn't play regardless of the fact that he was Player of the Series against Sri Lanka

Or the Management grows a pair and drops Imam which is unlikely but then Salman can fit

Abdullah
Shan
Babar
Saud
Rizwan (wk)
Salman
Faheem

But in a country where parchi 28 is Test captain, do you really think they will drop Imam?

 

[mumtaz]

Then he doesn't play regardless of the fact that he was Player of the Series against Sri Lanka

Or the Management grows a pair and drops Imam which is unlikely but then Salman can fit

Abdullah
Shan
Babar
Saud
Rizwan (wk)
Salman
Faheem

But in a country where parchi 28 is Test captain, do you really think they will drop Imam?

I think there's a good chance that Imam would be dropped because of his short ball troubles in the world cup and he averaged only 28 against SL. Not sure they will replace him with Faheem though, more likely both Rizwan and Sarfaraz will play.

 

[shamaan]

Wasim Jr has no basis at all for test selection

He can reverse the ball pluss he has some pace and he's a good fielder.

 

[saqib.rai]

I think there's a good chance that Imam would be dropped because of his short ball troubles in the world cup and he averaged only 28 against SL. Not sure they will replace him with Faheem though, more likely both Rizwan and Sarfaraz will play.

Then they wont have picked 3 openers if they were going to drop Imam
Imam drop means Saim plays looking at the squad

I dont see both Rizwan and Sarfraz playing when you cant even fit the Player of the Series against Sri Lanka into the eleven

Salman Agha would be very unlucky but what can he do? Born in a country where parchis are included even at the national team level and made captain. Taking up a valuable spot

 

[shamaan]

Not really the squad chosen is pretty much the best there is, apart from maybe like 1 or 2 players at most.

Lets say Arshad Iqbal and Sameen Gul are better than Hassan Ali, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shehzad. But even then, its will they be having some massive impact on the performance and results?

But atleast you can say we backed our domestic performers and given them a chance we know we going to loose the series so why not use it to test the bench ?