Rebuilding Pakistan Cricket: A Roadmap for The Future (Potential Prospects + Selections)

[Farabi]

Hafeez sahib finds an extra gear to his b.s when Shoaib Akhtar isn’t sitting there to call him out.

When Pakistan wins, it's all about hyping up players—Rizwan’s “the best product,” Shadab should be back, and somehow Abdullah Shafique is a “Whitehall product” according to Hafeez. But when they lose, suddenly it’s all about the system, grassroots, and all the things that went wrong there. Never a discussion about what actually went wrong during the match.

Sure, the system has its flaws, no doubt. But who’s the one who blocked Sharjeel from getting picked as an opener vs Abdullah S, Imam, Rizwan and other ? Who stopped you from opening with Fakhar and Haris in T20Is? And who’s holding back the players with the right mindset that are already in the system?

 

[Rana]

When Pakistan wins, it's all about hyping up players—Rizwan’s “the best product,” Shadab should be back, and somehow Abdullah Shafique is a “Whitehall product” according to Hafeez. But when they lose, suddenly it’s all about the system, grassroots, and all the things that went wrong there. Never a discussion about what actually went wrong during the match.

Sure, the system has its flaws, no doubt. But who’s the one who blocked Sharjeel from getting picked as an opener vs Abdullah S, Imam, Rizwan and other ? Who stopped you from opening with Fakhar and Haris in T20Is? And who’s holding back the players with the right mindset that are already in the system?

Excellent post and assessment

System theek karna hai with Abdullah and Haseebullah as your T20i openers!

 

[Farabi]

Excellent post and assessment

System theek karna hai with Abdullah and Haseebullah as your T20i openers!

Hafeez? Not exactly a visionary. Akhtar, on the other hand, is the only guy who makes a bit of sense, despite his emotional rollercoaster. He talks about a no-nonsense approach, “run a ball” cricket, “proving your talent at big stages”, and “pecha dalo” (compete with the best). Akhtar had real heart. This guy had the audacity to spit at and stare down the mighty Aussies in their own backyard—he even wanted to shut down the Indian crowd in Chennai. Today, even the chickens could learn a thing or two from him.

I guess my point is that we need brave men leading our cricket who want bravery and courage and fearlessness. I am done with this timid weak and safety first approach. Haro magar dil gurda dekhao!

On Pak vs India game, I was hoping UsmanK will feature. He’s no SachinT, but at least he would have TRIED to go after Indian bowling.

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan probably have to drop 6-8 players. In other words, have a new team under a new captain.

They did something like that after 2003 WC.

 

[Greenstorm]

That's where I've to disagree. For me Rizwan must be dropped from both white ball formats.

I think he should be dropped from T20s only. In ODIs, he won three consecutive away ODI series. It will be harsh to blame him for CT and tri series when he lost two of his prime batsmen (Saim and Fakhar), got a botched up squad from Aqib and didn't even had the power to select his own playing XI !

 

[Greenstorm]

It seems there's more of a consensus on replacing the bowlers.

Should all of them be dropped? Should 1-2 be retained out of Shaheen, Naseem, and Haris?

I am guessing Mohammad Wasim Jr. is going to get a serious look as one of the replacements. But who will handle the new ball? Can they just rely on Jahandad + Abbas Afridi to go with Wasim? Pakistani cricket has serious questions to answer with the lack of development behind these pacers.

This is another reason why playing your strongest XI every time is ridiculous.

We are playing 18 ODIs until end of the year. Shaheen, Naseem and Harris should feature in all these ODIs unless they go badly out of form. They should not be playing in a single T20I (apart from Asia Cup). For next NZ T20 series, these will suffice;

Akif Javed (your answer for new ball)
Abbas Afridi
Wasim Jr
Jahandad/Jamal
Abrar
Sufyan

 

[usman.sandhu]

Some of the comments here are quite sad,

1.Some fans believe keeping Babar+Rizwan in the team is a viable option as "we don't have anyone else"
2. Shadab and Iftikhar should be part of the team as they have good "averages and strike rates"

The path forward is very clear, its not about who we play in the team, it is more important to ensure that our rotten core (Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, Haris and Naseem) is swiftly taken out and replaced...

Otherwise more of the same "cowardly" mentality, same power politics, same "un"fitness culture that we have fostered over the past 2-3 years...

Shadab and Iftikhar are failures who are unwilling to learn and improve... Let's not bring back garbage into the team...

 

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan probably have to drop 6-8 players. In other words, have a new team under a new captain.

They did something like that after 2003 WC.

Pakistan should definitely invest on new guys but who will they be?, this is the real question.

Nafay, Hassan nawaz, haider(another chance for him), Abdul Samad, maaz sadaqat, Mehran, Arafat minhas,, mubasir, sufiiyan, jahandad, abbas.

These guys should be backed now. Omir bin yousaf is another guy who can play longer format. Many good youngsters in the domestic circuit and they need to be backed now.

BUT PCB??? PCB works differently and they think in the opposite direction.

 

[jamie smith]

Pakistan should definitely invest on new guys but who will they be?, this is the real question.

Nafay, Hassan nawaz, haider(another chance for him), Abdul Samad, maaz sadaqat, Mehran, Arafat minhas,, mubasir, sufiiyan, jahandad, abbas.

These guys should be backed now. Omir bin yousaf is another guy who can play longer format. Many good youngsters in the domestic circuit and they need to be backed now.

BUT PCB??? PCB works differently and they think in the opposite direction.

Hassan Nawaz is overrated but nafay and maaz are the real deal.
Omair can also be a good test and odi no 3/4.
Mubasir khan and qasim akram have been performing consistently in domestics so they can be given a chance in tests.
Rest are just T20 players.

 

[charlie007]

If any changes are not made NOW when the iron is hot, that chance will be lost until the next ICC event. Saqlain will come in and retain everyone you are trying to replace for trying new players, furthermore Shadab Khan will be back too, with a bang to boot! Guess who continues to get banged then?
This is the time to change before some bilateral wins make everyone forget this disaster. Hasn’t everyone seen that more often than they would have liked to see?

 

[jamie smith]

If any changes are not made NOW when the iron is hot, that chance will be lost until the next ICC event. Saqlain will come in and retain everyone you are trying to replace for trying new players, furthermore Shadab Khan will be back too, with a bang to boot! Guess who continues to get banged then?
This is the time to change before some bilateral wins make everyone forget this disaster. Hasn’t everyone seen that more often than they would have liked to see?

Changes are 100% confirmed for nz tour.
Rizbar,shaheen,Naseem and rauf are out.
Salman to lead.Shadab could have returned with saqlain but the pcb has decided to back aqib javed.

First time call ups for.
Nafay
Maaz
Akif
Samad
Minhas
Qasim akram
Mubasir khan

Recalls for
Haris
Haider
Wasim jr.
Abbas afridi
Jahandad khan
Sufyan
Niazi

 

[BouncerGuy]

Nafay is definitely the guy I want to see on the upcoming tour. To partner him, if saim is fit then ok otherwise we should give a go to Hassan or omair (because he has played t20s although he failed to score big but his intent was there), we also have Haris to open. So no worries.

 

[mominsaigol]

Nafay is definitely the guy I want to see on the upcoming tour. To partner him, if saim is fit then ok otherwise we should give a go to Hassan or omair (because he has played t20s although he failed to score big but his intent was there), we also have Haris to open. So no worries.

Sorry brother ab nahi, I won't let a heel become a baby face.

You guys advocated babar and rizwan so enjoy their company. As the saying goes, if you can't love babar and rizwan at their worst, then don't love em at their best.

Thankfully for me I always hates them . Please God let babar and rizwan continue for 5 more years. And please God have fakhar leave and join usa as an independent freelancer. Fakhar needs a heel turn.

My new slogan from now on is "I am the pain"

 

[Xoib]

Changes are 100% confirmed for nz tour.
Rizbar,shaheen,Naseem and rauf are out.
Salman to lead.Shadab could have returned with saqlain but the pcb has decided to back aqib javed.

First time call ups for.
Nafay
Maaz
Akif
Samad
Minhas
Qasim akram
Mubasir khan

Recalls for
Haris
Haider
Wasim jr.
Abbas afridi
Jahandad khan
Sufyan
Niazi

I don’t care whose in the team Aqib the politician should be first to get the boot

 

[kingusama92]

We are playing 18 ODIs until end of the year. Shaheen, Naseem and Harris should feature in all these ODIs unless they go badly out of form. They should not be playing in a single T20I (apart from Asia Cup). For next NZ T20 series, these will suffice;

Akif Javed (your answer for new ball)
Abbas Afridi
Wasim Jr
Jahandad/Jamal
Abrar
Sufyan

Interesting.

I assume you're confident in this trio's ability to make a comeback and do well in 2027.

How will Pakistan develop its bench strength if they feature in all 18 ODIs? This is a key question because if one of them loses form and/or gets injured right before the major tournament, they will have no one to replace them. Basically what happened with Saim at the opening position.

They will need to maintain some sort of rotation even if they're confident in the trio.

 

[Greenstorm]

Interesting.

I assume you're confident in this trio's ability to make a comeback and do well in 2027.

How will Pakistan develop its bench strength if they feature in all 18 ODIs? This is a key question because if one of them loses form and/or gets injured right before the major tournament, they will have no one to replace them. Basically what happened with Saim at the opening position.

They will need to maintain some sort of rotation even if they're confident in the trio.

We can build bench strength by playing Tier2 fast bowlers in T20Is. Rotation can be done like giving rest to main bowlers in few matches. Akif or Wasim jr should be the fourth bowler instead of Hasnain.

Shaheen, Naseem and Harris are not suited to flat Asian/English tracks but they are not bad for SA(venue for WC27) and Aus where they have done well. These three will get worse if we keep playing them in T20s instead of longer formats.

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf and Hasnain combined have played less ODIs then;

Shami and Bumrah
Rabada and Ngidi
Henry and Ferguson.

 

[Greenstorm]

Changes are 100% confirmed for nz tour.
Rizbar,shaheen,Naseem and rauf are out.
Salman to lead.Shadab could have returned with saqlain but the pcb has decided to back aqib javed.

First time call ups for.
Nafay
Maaz
Akif
Samad
Minhas
Qasim akram
Mubasir khan

Recalls for
Haris
Haider
Wasim jr.
Abbas afridi
Jahandad khan
Sufyan
Niazi

Salman has improved immensely but he is not cut for T20s. Shadab is the obvious choice here but Aqib has his own agenda.

 

[kingusama92]

We can build bench strength by playing Tier2 fast bowlers in T20Is. Rotation can be done like giving rest to main bowlers in few matches. Akif or Wasim jr should be the fourth bowler instead of Hasnain.

Shaheen, Naseem and Harris are not suited to flat Asian/English tracks but they are not bad for SA(venue for WC27) and Aus where they have done well. These three will get worse if we keep playing them in T20s instead of longer formats.

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf and Hasnain combined have played less ODIs then;

Shami and Bumrah
Rabada and Ngidi
Henry and Ferguson.

Doing this might make it harder for them to adjust to 50 overs cricket. Those younger bowlers will need proper experience bowling 10 overs including handling different ODI situations.

They also have a T20 World Cup in Asian conditions (India/SL) to think about.

This is going to be tough for the PCB to crack and maybe the best strategy is to set up additional tours for the younger bowlers to see which one stands out.

 

[chinaman00]

Shadab is one of your best T20 batters. He has done well at 4 in PSL. Jamal at 5 is purely based on potential. How many players in Pakistan can cut and pull Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood for sixes in Aus ? That backfoot game can be useful in NZ. Iftikhar is strong on backfoot and still your best six hitter of pace after Fakhar and Saim.

If you think safe and steady middle/lower order like Tayyab, Salman, Khushdil, Faheem in T20s is the answer then I don't have much else to say.

I am convinced this is a Shadab Khan burner account.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Some reports are suggesting that Shadab will be back in the team for the upcoming tour. Not sure how good of a decision will that be considering PCB's motto of trying new faces.

 

[Savak]

Saya Corporation trap ie there are no replacements for the senior players.

 

[RizwanT20Champ]

Nice idea.

But we all know who will be on the plane to NZ.

Infact, right after Champions Trophy, I am sure NZ will field their C string side.

Babar and Rizwan will feast on those crap bowlers and chase some 200 scores.

The circle will be complete again.

Raucous calls about how Babar and Rizwan have been wronged will be raised by @heddie19 and @RizwanT20Champ.

Their fan backing will continue to gain momentum as they pillage C class attacks.

Excuses will be given that they can only play whats in front of them.

They will play in T20 World Cup in 2026 as fans will somehow expect them to replicate their performances vs C sides.

And Pakistan will go home early again.

Good luck everyone.

Rizwan and Babar have not been at their best but they are an indispensable asset for the side. It's fashionable to blame the 2 most successful T20I bats for Pak but take the India T20 WC 2024 match - your heroes Imad and co could not chase down a run a ball 30 after Rizwan got out. It would be very easy for Babar and Rizwan to hit out like tulla Shahid Afridi or Travis Head or Sharma but then they will average 20 away from home like Head.

 

[heddie19]

Nice idea.

But we all know who will be on the plane to NZ.

Infact, right after Champions Trophy, I am sure NZ will field their C string side.

Babar and Rizwan will feast on those crap bowlers and chase some 200 scores.

The circle will be complete again.

Raucous calls about how Babar and Rizwan have been wronged will be raised by @heddie19 and @RizwanT20Champ.

Their fan backing will continue to gain momentum as they pillage C class attacks.

Excuses will be given that they can only play whats in front of them.

They will play in T20 World Cup in 2026 as fans will somehow expect them to replicate their performances vs C sides.

And Pakistan will go home early again.

Good luck everyone.

You probably need to open your eyes and revisit Babar's 31 internations centuries before talking stupidly again and again.

This T20 squad can't bat 15 overs. RizBar will be back in a couple of series. Good that they're getting rest as they're 30+ now.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

You probably need to open your eyes and revisit Babar's 31 internations centuries before talking stupidly again and again.

This T20 squad can't bat 15 overs. RizBar will be back in a couple of series. Good that they're getting rest as they're 30+ now.

31 worthless centuries.

Well maybe not 31.

At least 25 probably worthless.