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Question for Wahab Riaz: Why did you drop Mohammad Haris for the T20I series against New Zealand?

The Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle

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Why would you drop a talented and versatile player like Mohammad Haris? Why not drop others?

Just have a look at his stats and great strike rate.

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Also below stats show the great difference in performances from Mohammad Haris and Pakistan T20 squad member Haseebullah Khan in recently concluded National T20 tournament 2023.

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Haseebullah is no doubt talented, but he only had a SR of 111 in the National T20 Cup. And from what I could make out, was more of an accululator and a slow starter. We already have Babar and Rizwan for that. Haseeb's SR in T20's is 121 which is too slow.

Also Mohammad Haris is famous for hard-hitting and he has a strike rate of 186.28 in PSL with an average of 32.25.
 
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He said in the press conference that he’s being rested because he’s already showed his capability in first class cricket and he’s in their future plans so he wanted to test out a broader pool of players.

I guess that means Mohammad Harris has already booked his spot in our main squad, but I think he should have been selected for this squad regardless and played all 5 matches.
 
Babar and Rizwan should have been rested. Kohli and Sharma always rest in useless T-20 matches even against strong A sides but here Babar and Rizwan threaten mutiny. Player power and Saya Corp influence needs to be purged from Pakistan Cricket for good.
 
So far Haris international performance have not been good bar one game. He also plays reckless shot to get out. Shame we will not get to test him further next series. Azam Khan does not deserve to be in squad ahead of Haris, as he has been worse in few international chances he has got, and playing a guy with his physical shape is not good advertisement for Pakistan cricket, or example for youngsters .
 
Wahab is part of that corrupt dishonest mafia which is ruling and looting everything in Pakistan, thus far the atrocities with players. Hard to say that as selector he should be ready for the humiliation after the conclusion of Aus tour
 
Mohammad Haris's performance was decent in T20 WC 2022 and if he is in the bigger scheme of things like for T20 WC 2024 squad then it was a foolish decision to make him sit out idly just for nothing.
 
Mohammad Haris should not have been "rested" considering Rizwan & Babar should have been. With that being said, I like Haseebullah Khan as a player.

But he is not a T20I player yet. Whereas M.Haris is exactly the type of player, Pakistan need.
 
Bro, its a very good decision.

You guys are looking at Mohammad Harris, just like how senior fans used to look at Imran Nazir.

Your domestic stats never lie, and what you do in domestic, you will do similar in international or worst.

Mohammad Harris has been terrible in domestic cricket. Soo much so that his avg is below 30 in list A. Just because like Imran Nazir he can hit boundaries doesnt mean you add him in the team. He played all games against Afghanistan and he did nothing and Pakistan lost the series to Afghanistan cause of him.

He needs to develop his batting. He is not as good as you guys see him. He needs to bring his batting avg up, and needs to develop in domestic cricket not at international because he is not ready. Saim Ayub is there and is a better batsman, plus Saim has been developed. If Harris is as good as people believe him to be, than he should perform and be amongst the highest scorers and get into the team.

Wahab made a great decision. Harris throws his wicket like Umar Akmal used to and Haider ali aswell. If we start giving pre mature selections to such players they will not develop and only be wasted. He is still young, if he can prove himself in two domestic seasons (not just psl), than he should walk back in to the team.

Mohammad Rizwan was scoring runs since 2011, but he got his breakthrough after the 2015 World Cup, even though he was avg in the 40s back in 2012. Thing is, you need to develop players at domestic and just select them because they hit boundaries.

Imran Nazir was one of the worst Pakistani players ever played. He only got to play due to his boundary hitting abilities. THe guy never knew how to build or hold an innings and was a walking wicket.
 
A t20i average of 14 at 127 is terrible. He has not shown anything at international cricket so far.
 
Major said:
Bro, its a very good decision.

You guys are looking at Mohammad Harris, just like how senior fans used to look at Imran Nazir.

Your domestic stats never lie, and what you do in domestic, you will do similar in international or worst.

Mohammad Harris has been terrible in domestic cricket. Soo much so that his avg is below 30 in list A. Just because like Imran Nazir he can hit boundaries doesnt mean you add him in the team. He played all games against Afghanistan and he did nothing and Pakistan lost the series to Afghanistan cause of him.

He needs to develop his batting. He is not as good as you guys see him. He needs to bring his batting avg up, and needs to develop in domestic cricket not at international because he is not ready. Saim Ayub is there and is a better batsman, plus Saim has been developed. If Harris is as good as people believe him to be, than he should perform and be amongst the highest scorers and get into the team.

Wahab made a great decision. Harris throws his wicket like Umar Akmal used to and Haider ali aswell. If we start giving pre mature selections to such players they will not develop and only be wasted. He is still young, if he can prove himself in two domestic seasons (not just psl), than he should walk back in to the team.

Mohammad Rizwan was scoring runs since 2011, but he got his breakthrough after the 2015 World Cup, even though he was avg in the 40s back in 2012. Thing is, you need to develop players at domestic and just select them because they hit boundaries.

Imran Nazir was one of the worst Pakistani players ever played. He only got to play due to his boundary hitting abilities. THe guy never knew how to build or hold an innings and was a walking wicket.
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Fully agree with you. People have become disillusioned by a few sparkly innings at the PSL. He has batted like a tailender at International cricket. Most of the time he cannot score more than 20.

This sends the right message to him that you need to bring your average and consistency up. A few sparkly boundaries won't do.
 
Kianig89 said:
Wahab is part of that corrupt dishonest mafia which is ruling and looting everything in Pakistan, thus far the atrocities with players. Hard to say that as selector he should be ready for the humiliation after the conclusion of Aus tour
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i think you need to calm down abit here with your allegations.

Just because a player you like is not selected doesnt mean you freely throw around the corruption tag onto someone.

Wahab did nothing wrong in getting the PCB job, and he has picked a wonderful squad. Yes i dont like the Azam Khan pick, but because i dont like it that doesnt mean i start calling Wahab Riaz corrupt.
 
Sher Khan said:
A t20i average of 14 at 127 is terrible. He has not shown anything at international cricket so far.
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He was our best batsman in the WT20 and the Afghanistan tour is the reason for his poor stats which were on terrible pitches. He's not quite ready but will only get better by playing. His strike rate and intent is the best in Pakistan. He hits from ball 1. The sample size for that stat is only a handful. He's potentially Paks 360 player. He plays shots all around the ground. Who else in Pak can do that?
 
ataullah said:
He was our best batsman in the WT20 and the Afghanistan tour is the reason for his poor stats which were on terrible pitches. He's not quite ready but will only get better by playing. His strike rate and intent is the best in Pakistan. He hits from ball 1. The sample size for that stat is only a handful. He's potentially Paks 360 player. He plays shots all around the ground. Who else in Pak can do that?
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And by ball 15 he is out :ROFLMAO: Typically gully danda batter
 
160KPH said:
He said in the press conference that he’s being rested because he’s already showed his capability in first class cricket and he’s in their future plans so he wanted to test out a broader pool of players.

I guess that means Mohammad Harris has already booked his spot in our main squad, but I think he should have been selected for this squad regardless and played all 5 matches.
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That’s just a cop out excuse. Rizwan and Babar are also guaranteed selections, and actually do need rest.

T20’s outside the WC are pointless anyways and there’s no reason for us to be playing our first choice XI.
 
He is never going to develop, unless he plays some FC cricket.

He has hardly played any long format games.

Get him playing the departmental competition!
 
Chip32 said:
That’s just a cop out excuse. Rizwan and Babar are also guaranteed selections, and actually do need rest.

T20’s outside the WC are pointless anyways and there’s no reason for us to be playing our first choice XI.
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Yeah, Mohammad Harris needs playing time against international sides as well. He’s barely played T20i’s.
 
He's a hack sure, but t20s are the format where you want hacks who can play 15-20 balls and score 40+ runs. He should have been in the team
 
ataullah said:
He was our best batsman in the WT20 and the Afghanistan tour is the reason for his poor stats which were on terrible pitches. He's not quite ready but will only get better by playing. His strike rate and intent is the best in Pakistan. He hits from ball 1. The sample size for that stat is only a handful. He's potentially Paks 360 player. He plays shots all around the ground. Who else in Pak can do that?
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People were celebrating when Haris opened in Afghanistan and Rizwan and Babar was rested.

Knew it would end in tears. Great experience for the youngsters apparently. Instead it pretty much led to the ouster of Haris, Abdullah, Tayab, Azam. Saim is the only one left, and his record isn’t great either he might be dropped soon too.

It’s much better to give players an actual position that they can make their own if they perform and practice on in the PSL. Otherwise best to not play them at all and wait for an actual chance to cement their spot not just a temporary one for a series. And play them with the experienced seniors. Not in competition with them.
 
ads101 said:
People were celebrating when Haris opened in Afghanistan and Rizwan and Babar was rested.

Knew it would end in tears. Great experience for the youngsters apparently. Instead it pretty much led to the ouster of Haris, Abdullah, Tayab, Azam. Saim is the only one left, and his record isn’t great either he might be dropped soon too.
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That was good, they should keep cycling through all the domestic players until they find good ones.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
Look at his average. He is incapable of scoring 40+ runs.
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He's young and needs more reps. The potential is clearly there. I remember him hooking Anrich Nortje for six in Australian conditions... I honestly doubt there's another batsman in the entire country who can do that... he needs to play
 
ahmadharis1 said:
He's young and needs more reps. The potential is clearly there. I remember him hooking Anrich Nortje for six in Australian conditions... I honestly doubt there's another batsman in the entire country who can do that... he needs to play
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He's not young, he is 26.

Club cricketers in T20 leagues do that day in day out, nothing extraordinary.

What is special is presence of mind, game awareness, consistency and concentration for long periods which he has displayed none of. Next.
 
I don't get people hating on Haris's T20 average. Yes it's 14, but he's only played 9 games but he's always a busy player. He needs to be persisted with for longer then we can make a proper decision. What matters to me most is that he has proper intent from ball one. Haseeb takes an ageeee to get himself in and in the process, he puts a lot of pressure on his batting partner(s). Yes, Haseeb can develop his game, but I feel that Haris has been hard-working. I'd rather have a fearless batter than an accumulator in T20's any day. We alreay have enough accumulators in our team.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
He's not young, he is 26.

Club cricketers in T20 leagues do that day in day out, nothing extraordinary.

What is special is presence of mind, game awareness, consistency and concentration for long periods which he has displayed none of. Next.
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Where are you getting 26 from? Cricinfo saying 22. He has only played 9 T20I's, not really long enough judge.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
He's not young, he is 26.
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Not sure where you're getting 26 from... a website says 22.

Flat_Track_Bully said:
Club cricketers in T20 leagues do that day in day out, nothing extraordinary.
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If there are club cricketers in Pakistan who can play those kinds of shots against those bowlers on those pitches, they're not anywhere near the international side. The whole Pakistan XI can't play any sort of short pitched bowling. I haven't seen someone play a proper pull or hook shot in years before Haris


Flat_Track_Bully said:
What is special is presence of mind, game awareness, consistency and concentration for long periods which he has displayed none of. Next.
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Yeah I'm not saying he's perfect but players aren't born with all that... it comes with time and most importantly practice. He's a perfect player who can be groomed to develop those skills
 
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Asad T said:
I don't get people hating on Haris's T20 average. Yes it's 14, but he's only played 9 games but he's always a busy player. He needs to be persisted with for longer then we can make a proper decision. What matters to me most is that he has proper intent from ball one. Haseeb takes an ageeee to get himself in and in the process, he puts a lot of pressure on his batting partner(s). Yes, Haseeb can develop his game, but I feel that Haris has been hard-working. I'd rather have a fearless batter than an accumulator in T20's any day. We alreay have enough accumulators in our team.
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Problem is how many games should we let him fail? He’s played 15 international games too.

When he has 20 international t20s under his belt with a poor record, it’s going to be very difficult for him.

This becomes the issue when you pick a talented player who is nowhere near his prime nor is he dominating domestic. You don’t know whether he fails because he’s not bad or just not ready.

I would have kept Haris. But I understand it’s becoming a difficult decision whether to play Haris or not or preserve his confidence till he’s ready instead of letting him fail.
 
People are over reacting. Haris not being included for one series is not the end of the world.

If he really is the second coming of ABD he will perform superbly in the upcoming PSL and make his way back into the team.
 
Haris was rested for a guy named haseebullah LOL. It was amazing how a guy, who was looked at as the replacement for Rizwan in case he got unfit or did not score runs, is replaced by a young boy who is more of an accumulator rather than going crazy from ball 1 type of guy.
 
in the 15 games Haris has played uptil now, he is yet to score 40 runs
 
Iftikhar Ahmed picked - is he the future?
 
ads101 said:
Problem is how many games should we let him fail? He’s played 15 international games too.

When he has 20 international t20s under his belt with a poor record, it’s going to be very difficult for him.

This becomes the issue when you pick a talented player who is nowhere near his prime nor is he dominating domestic. You don’t know whether he fails because he’s not bad or just not ready.

I would have kept Haris. But I understand it’s becoming a difficult decision whether to play Haris or not or preserve his confidence till he’s ready instead of letting him fail.
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His last international T20 game was in April during the series against NZ. He only played in the 5th T20 where he got out for a golden duck. So again, can't really judge anything from that series.

All i'm saying is to give him about 20 matches on the trot, give him that confidence, and only then can we really understand what he is made of. If he is playing 1 match per series he will never be allowed to show his true colours.

In my head, his roll would just be to pinch hit and make something like 20 from 8. We have enough accululators in our team.
 
Most of Wahab Riaz's selections seems nonsense but dropping Haris for Hasibullah is just beyond a blunder.

This guy is making decisions in complete confusion and making flip flop choices.
 
I'm not opposed to dropping Haris to be honest. He hasn't done too much to warrant a place in the team.

Would be nice for him to get some experience in the domestic circuit and work on his game before being drafted in.

His domestic stats don't look too great so imagine how he would fare against better bowling lineups.

@Major mentioned above that it's very rare you see players at the international level surpass their domestic records except a bulk of the Ausi team before 2007 which was always astounding to me.
 
Asad T said:
His last international T20 game was in April during the series against NZ. He only played in the 5th T20 where he got out for a golden duck. So again, can't really judge anything from that series.

All i'm saying is to give him about 20 matches on the trot, give him that confidence, and only then can we really understand what he is made of. If he is playing 1 match per series he will never be allowed to show his true colours.

In my head, his roll would just be to pinch hit and make something like 20 from 8. We have enough accululators in our team.
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We did this with Haider….

It doesn’t work.

Haider was the next best thing and now a few years and many international games later he is apparently just a useless hack.

Haris has potential but that’s all it is at this stage. He’s got work to do to become a batsman.

Suggesting his role is capped at hitting 20 off 8 type scores is a bit ridiculous. Send Shaheen and Rauf in that case.

Batsmen are there to bat. He needs to be capable of scoring 100 if he is coming in within the top four.
 
hitthestump said:
Batsmen are there to bat. He needs to be capable of scoring 100 if he is coming in within the top four.
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Off how many balls though??

Don’t act like strike rate is meaningless in T20 cricket just to protect the con artists
 
hitthestump said:
We did this with Haider….

It doesn’t work.

Haider was the next best thing and now a few years and many international games later he is apparently just a useless hack.

Haris has potential but that’s all it is at this stage. He’s got work to do to become a batsman.

Suggesting his role is capped at hitting 20 off 8 type scores is a bit ridiculous. Send Shaheen and Rauf in that case.

Batsmen are there to bat. He needs to be capable of scoring 100 if he is coming in within the top four.
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If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and you move on. My point is that if you are going to introduce a young lad into the team, you need to give him a bit of time to grow. You can't just let that person play 1-2 matches per series and then drop that person completly. Give the person a fair shot, and if he fails, then drop him.

I'm not saying he should be capped at 20 from 8. My overarching point is that in T20 cricket, short cameos have a larger impact on outcomes compared to ODI cricket. They can be match-winning, and he is more than capable of playing them. I just think he needs 20 consecutive matches.

Azam Khan is also capable of these types of bursts but isn't the best keeper in the world.
 
Yeah, Wahab could have easily rested Rizwan and Babar for this series and let Haris be with the squad. He does not need rest when he is not playing much cricket as the World Cup is coming up. Rizwan should have been rested and new players could have been tried on top.
 
Ertugrul_Bey said:
Shaheen is another puppet. Instead of sticking to Haris, he just took the team given to him.
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I think it's Shaheen who never picked him up. If you remember a bit of a rift between these two during the last PSL season, that might be the case haris not been picked.
 
Rana said:
Off how many balls though??

Don’t act like strike rate is meaningless in T20 cricket just to protect the con artists
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A player capable of making 160 from 120 balls in a ODI will be a better T20 player than a "T20 specialist" who has an upper ceiling of 40 off 18 balls. This is what we call a tailender and in Pakistan it has become a top order batter :ROFLMAO:

What an absolute demise in our standards.

I can't stand batters like Haris and Asif Ali, they represent everything that is wrong with our batting culture. We need to go back to producing thoroughbred ODI batters who are dynamic enough to play T20s.
 
Flat_Track_Bully said:
player capable of making 160 from 120 balls in a ODI will be a better T20 player than a "T20 specialist" who has an upper ceiling of 40 off 18 balls. This is what we call a tailender and in Pakistan it has become a top order batter :ROFLMAO:
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Which players in Pakistan are capable of scoring a 120 ball 160?

Name them
 
What I don't get is why Wahab said Haris was part of their future plans but they're just "resting" him so they can use the rest of the pool of players. Yet for some reason Babar and Rizwan are both there?

Why the hell do you need to rest a 22 year-old who has barely even played? Just like any other young player they're trying to blood he should be given a consistent run in the team to properly find his feet.
 
Firebat said:
What I don't get is why Wahab said Haris was part of their future plans but they're just "resting" him so they can use the rest of the pool of players. Yet for some reason Babar and Rizwan are both there?

Why the hell do you need to rest a 22 year-old who has barely even played? Just like any other young player they're trying to blood he should be given a consistent run in the team to properly find his feet.
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Exactly what my point was earlier. Why would you keep playing a wicket-keeper batter who cannot bat down the order instead of a player who is young and can play anywhere but he also needs matches to improve his skills?

Haris should have been in the squad because if Babar and Rizwan are playing, you will never be able to test any batter in the top order.
 
The Bald Eagle said:
Bro his strike rate is 186.28 in Psl in 16 games. And this is quite high and remarkable.
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I was specifically talking about his T20 international stats ( Even though the sample size is too small).

Talking about PSL, Asif Ali has highest SR overall for a Pak batter ( Min 500 balls faced), still has been serial failure at international level.

But I have high hopes from Haris, he is definitely better than Asif, Haider and Khushdil. But if his records shows no improvement at international level in future, we may loose him soon.
 
Maliq_Mudasir said:
Surprised to see Haris's SR is just 127
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It’s because he’s failing and struggling to connect. Same happened with Khushadil even though he had ability to score faster.

Haris if he continues the same form as he has up to this point isn’t an asset. What we’re banking on is his next lot of games being significantly better. Which is difficult to guarantee as he looks worse every game.

I’m really worried this guys going to get lost at internationals too. I think we’ve mismanaged him. He should have been given a consistent run at one position 3 or 4 and only t20s, as well as playing the same position at PSL. So he could really specialise and given the best chance to succeed. 15 games isn’t an insignificant number of games. With how bad a start he has, it’ll take probably 50 games for him to get a decent record to just outdo this start and that’s providing he starts performing from this point. And I’m not sure he will be afforded those chances now, he has already been dropped for this series. Which is why I think you have to be careful how you play these youngsters.
 
I am still trying to understand why someone would drop Muhammad Haris with his extraordinary recent form. He is a consistent run-scorer with remarkable strike rates in both tournaments.


PSL 2023 Stats:

*Total Runs: 350
*Average (Avg): 31
*Strike Rate (SR): 186
*Highest SR among the top 25 highest run-scorers
*Highest Strike Rate in Power Play and Middle Overs
*Highest overall strike rate in the PSL 8


Recent National T20 Cup 2023 Stats:

*Total Runs: 330
*Average (AVG): 27.5
*Strike Rate (SR): 146
 
Cricket Warrior said:
I am still trying to understand why someone would drop Muhammad Haris with his extraordinary recent form. He is a consistent run-scorer with remarkable strike rates in both tournaments.


PSL 2023 Stats:

*Total Runs: 350
*Average (Avg): 31
*Strike Rate (SR): 186
*Highest SR among the top 25 highest run-scorers
*Highest Strike Rate in Power Play and Middle Overs
*Highest overall strike rate in the PSL 8


Recent National T20 Cup 2023 Stats:

*Total Runs: 330
*Average (AVG): 27.5
*Strike Rate (SR): 146
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even if his stats were not great anyone with half a brain wouldve realized that Haris is the real deal. Would Pakistan have made it to the T20 WC final if not for him? None of our 'star' players were able to increase the scoring rate till he came and smashed the fastest bowlers for huge sixes and played without fear. 'resting' him before the T20 WC and selecting Azam Khan was a dishonest move by Wahab nothing to do with merit
 
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Just another hype job like asif ali

As the Afghan series and Asian games showed when the main players were rested these bench players got badly beaten unless you count beating Hong Kong a success.
 
Rizwan could have been rested for Mohammad Haris but nope. Our great selectors thought that a player who has been playing cricket non-stop does not need rest and a player who needs more international exposure was rested and a new guy was selected instead of your potential squad member for the T20 World Cup 2024.
 
Pakistan's T20I batsman Mohammad Haris, during an interaction with local media, said about himself after being dropped from the New Zealand T20I tour in 2024:

"Well, I also don't know where my performance went wrong, but there are ups and downs. Sometimes, your backup players perform better than you, and they deserve the chance. But the aim is to make it a healthy competition. The effort is to work hard now as PSL is coming. An opportunity is coming, and I want to grab it."

“I am not sad about being dropped as this is part of the game. These things make you stronger. I have gotten time to analyse my mistakes and improve my skillset.”
 
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Wait. I thought Wahab said because Harris has already been identified that's why he was not in squad and not dropped 'dropped' and also that Wahab wants to set a precedence of communicating clearly to players and to media.

What happened to all that?
 
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Shots fired…Mohammad Haris who used to bully Wahab in the Zalmi net sessions is now firing shots at the clueless chief selector.
 
Need Harris to score a 50 in the PSL and pull out an image of Wahab.
 
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Really strange decision to not select him.

Pakistan will definitely need him at the T20 World Cup
 
shamaan said:
I think its battle between Azam and Haris.Haseebullah wont be selected for the world cup squad.
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I hope so. Just seems strange that they would drop Haris if Haseeb was never going to be in contention for the WC
 
Haris, azam khan, and Mohammad Rizwan will be the 3 WK that will go to WC. I still don't understand why Haris was not selected for this tour instead of Haseeb to give him more game time in the international arena.
 
This is one format where Pakistan should be winning the WC.

It will be much harder to stomach a loss because they have the resources to win. It's the complete opposite of the Test series in Australia but I'm not liking some of their decision-making already (like dropping Haris, selecting Azam) and hope it's just experimentation.

The captaincy was a bit odd from Shaheen too, which is another lingering concern. Need proper game awareness when things are moving as quickly as this do in T20 cricket.
 
Answer: because he’s yet another random selection for a major post at the PCB. He doesn’t know any better.
 
I am honestly missing Mohammad Haris on this NZ tour, he could have been the trump card on such wickets.
 
kingusama92 said:
This is one format where Pakistan should be winning the WC.

It will be much harder to stomach a loss because they have the resources to win. It's the complete opposite of the Test series in Australia but I'm not liking some of their decision-making already (like dropping Haris, selecting Azam) and hope it's just experimentation.

The captaincy was a bit odd from Shaheen too, which is another lingering concern. Need proper game awareness when things are moving as quickly as this do in T20 cricket.
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Pakistan clearly don't have the resources and it's a common delusion among some fans that if only we had the right management or tinkered with a couple of different players we'd have a cupboard full of trophies.

Pakistan currently possesses zero middle order. The spinners wouldn't frighten U-19 teams. Our best fast bowler is looking wiped out. Rauf has never been the same since Kohli took him apart. I could go on. You don't become favourites in ICC events with these leaks.

Then when you look at what Australia, India, NZ, SA bring to the table it's a whole other matter entirely. These teams wouldn't take a single player of ours into their t20 squads. They outclass us in every department possible.

So be realistic. Babar might have hauled us to a few close finishes in the last two events. However, we ran way above expectations in Australia and before that the UAE pitches happened to suit us down to the ground.

From the evidence so far we are now only going backwards under Shaheen and Hafeez and it remains to be seen by how much.
 
hitthestump said:
Pakistan clearly don't have the resources and it's a common delusion among some fans that if only we had the right management or tinkered with a couple of different players we'd have a cupboard full of trophies.

Pakistan currently possesses zero middle order. The spinners wouldn't frighten U-19 teams. Our best fast bowler is looking wiped out. Rauf has never been the same since Kohli took him apart. I could go on. You don't become favourites in ICC events with these leaks.

Then when you look at what Australia, India, NZ, SA bring to the table it's a whole other matter entirely. These teams wouldn't take a single player of ours into their t20 squads. They outclass us in every department possible.

So be realistic. Babar might have hauled us to a few close finishes in the last two events. However, we ran way above expectations in Australia and before that the UAE pitches happened to suit us down to the ground.

From the evidence so far we are now only going backwards under Shaheen and Hafeez and it remains to be seen by how much.
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Every time the World Cup always stuff comes out from fans and ex cricketers oh if we’d make that change or captain was different etc we would have won the World Cup. We’re always looking for that temporary fix or fluke to try and win one. Rather than generally becoming a good team over a long period of time and actually address our long term problems.

It would be a challenge filling our batting line up 1-7 with guys who average 25 at similar strike rates to Babar or Rizwan. They average less even with lower SRs often . That would be a realistic goal to achieve first. If middle order batsmen can actually do that then they can secure their place, which leads to greater confidence about their place, which should lead to better performance. Literally every top team has at least this and more. They don’t rely on two batsmen like we do.
 
hitthestump said:
Pakistan clearly don't have the resources and it's a common delusion among some fans that if only we had the right management or tinkered with a couple of different players we'd have a cupboard full of trophies.

Pakistan currently possesses zero middle order. The spinners wouldn't frighten U-19 teams. Our best fast bowler is looking wiped out. Rauf has never been the same since Kohli took him apart. I could go on. You don't become favourites in ICC events with these leaks.

Then when you look at what Australia, India, NZ, SA bring to the table it's a whole other matter entirely. These teams wouldn't take a single player of ours into their t20 squads. They outclass us in every department possible.

So be realistic. Babar might have hauled us to a few close finishes in the last two events. However, we ran way above expectations in Australia and before that the UAE pitches happened to suit us down to the ground.

From the evidence so far we are now only going backwards under Shaheen and Hafeez and it remains to be seen by how much.
Click to expand...

I agree in Tests and ODIs.

They had no chance against Australia regardless of which players they picked. I mentioned this before that series even started.

I feel differently in T20s though.

They do have the resources to win a T20 World Cup depending on the players' form. This team went to the WC final in the previous event as a lot of their flaws get covered in the shortest format. It's just the nature of T20 tournaments.

The bowling attack when in-form/healthy is reasonably well-rounded with Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Shadab, and Abrar or a second all-rounder. Yes, form and health are crucial in any tournament but on paper, it's a solid attack. Form will come and go.

For example, Rauf was looking great at the end against NZ. Even in that game against India, he was bowling well before the final over.

Their main legitimate weakness is the middle order. They need to resolve this in the coming months and that solution is not Azam Khan. You find a good middle-order batsman and the batting depth will begin looking better.
 
Just imagine this team in full flow:

Farhan
Saim
Babar
Fakhar
M Haris
A Jamal
Shaheen
Wasim Jr
Abrar
Naseem
Zaman

Seems much more dynamic and fluid. I don't even mind Shadab in for Abrar or Jamal and batting at 5, depending on whether an extra spinner is needed. I don't think Abrar or Jamal are going to bowl much better than Shadab for 4 overs in a t20 game. You get versatile bowling with this team and finishing with Haris who showed promise as a finisher vs NZ last year in Pakistan. Him alongside the tailender hitters like Jamal, Shaheen, and Wasim.

This should be the team being groomed as the WC approaches. I don't know what the selectors are doing by dropping M Haris for literally no reason.
 
kingusama92 said:
I agree in Tests and ODIs.

They had no chance against Australia regardless of which players they picked. I mentioned this before that series even started.

I feel differently in T20s though.

They do have the resources to win a T20 World Cup depending on the players' form. This team went to the WC final in the previous event as a lot of their flaws get covered in the shortest format. It's just the nature of T20 tournaments.

The bowling attack when in-form/healthy is reasonably well-rounded with Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Shadab, and Abrar or a second all-rounder. Yes, form and health are crucial in any tournament but on paper, it's a solid attack. Form will come and go.

For example, Rauf was looking great at the end against NZ. Even in that game against India, he was bowling well before the final over.

Their main legitimate weakness is the middle order. They need to resolve this in the coming months and that solution is not Azam Khan. You find a good middle-order batsman and the batting depth will begin looking better.
Click to expand...
Middle order is 5 positions in the team. 3-7 are all issues. That’s half a team. Openers and bowlers are more individually important, but that’s too big of a weakness when other teams have competent players there.

We can always potentially pull off a tournament win in t20s. But we’ll be the underdog every time. So when we don’t win, we can’t really be that surprised.
 
ads101 said:
Middle order is 5 positions in the team. 3-7 are all issues. That’s half a team. Openers and bowlers are more individually important, but that’s too big of a weakness when other teams have competent players there.

We can always potentially pull off a tournament win in t20s. But we’ll be the underdog every time. So when we don’t win, we can’t really be that surprised.
Click to expand...

My assumption is some combination of Saim, Rizwan, Babar, and Fakhar will take the top four spots.

1. Saim
2. Rizwan
3. Babar
4. Fakhar

Let's assume this is how they go. It's not too bad and these guys can hold their own with one or two firing.

#5 and #6 are the clear weak spots. It's just bad.

7. Shadab
8. Second All-Rounder or Shaheen moves up to accommodate for Abrar Ahmed/Wasim Jr/Abbas Afridi
9. Shaheen
10. Naseem
11. Haris Rauf

From what I see, they have clear options in the top four and bottom five. You can tweak things a bit based on pitch conditions.

I would have liked Imad Wasim at that #7 spot with Shadab at #8 but the guy retired.

The real concern is those two middle-order spots at 5 and 6. Right now they are going with Iftikhar and Azam which is just terrible. It exposes the tail too much and doesn't offer the needed firepower after the top four.

Maybe they can try Haris? Or convince Rizwan to drop back and bring in Sahibzada Farhan as an opener.

I do sound optimistic but I can see things working out depending on how they rectify those two middle-order spots. There is a way here, especially in slower conditions like the US/WI but they need to put an end to the shameful Azam experiment. It's a waste of time.
 
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