Replacement of Asif Ali (Hit or Miss/Power Hitter) with Haris Sohail (Consistency/Batting Depth)

[adil79]

Hi,

So, we won against England. And that's great news for us. and our confidence. But i was wondering, how can as a batting unit we can improve.

Now, I think that if we replace Asif Ali with Haris Sohail, things may improve for us, in both fielding & batting.

Why?

1- Haris Sohail provides more consistency to the team. His stats speak for themselves. He times the ball very well & is a proper batsmen with good technique, probably best after Babar Azam.

a- We saw glimpse of that in recent series against England. He failed liked everyone else against Windies, so it's unfair to drop him for future matches.

b- While Asif Ali, will be a hit or a miss. His past record is proof of that. Against England, he also gave his wicket away and scored run a ball.

c- Haris Sohail plays spinners very well. He picks them off hand. While Asif Ali, he play off pitch.

2- Have you seen how Asif Ali fields? It's a nightmare. His eyes aren't on the ball. I have seen him pick up a catch and he had his eyes closed. That's probably the second biggest argument against him. At least Haris Sohail won't be as half bad.

3- It all comes down to consistency, for me. I would rather have batsman who can score a hundred for team than a slogger who could get out any time. It's like Afridi complex for us, as we want power hitters. If top order rotates the strike and score at good rate, we won't need a power hitter.


What do you think?

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Nope. We need a player like Asif. He looked good yesterday and even middled the ball he got out on. Hope he plays atleast the next 3 games

 

[Mamoon]

Asif Ali is very poor. He has great hitting ability, but his batting maturity, intelligence and adaptibality is that of an U-19 player.

Domestic averages of 21, 28 and 26 at the age of 27 clearly illustrates that he is a half-cooked player with no international credentials. You can invest in a 19 year old with these numbers, but not in a 27 years old.

Pakistan is desperate for power hitters and any batsman that can hit 2-3 big sixes becomes a player of value, but Pakistan needs to play Hafeez in Asif's role and Haris at number 4. Haris is lazy and lethargic, but he is a very solid batsman who rarely gets out cheaply. He is the ideal player for the number 4 spot at the moment.

 

[adil79]

Nope. We need a player like Asif. He looked good yesterday and even middled the ball he got out on. Hope he plays atleast the next 3 games

How many games did he win for you, or his franchise? Look at his batting record? Guys like these perform while everyone is performing. On the other hand, i remember Haris Sohail played better overseas when other batsmen struggle. We will get green tracks in the world cup, and haris is must there. Even on slow tracks, he will be better against spin.

 

[adil79]

Asif Ali is very poor. He has great hitting ability, but his batting maturity, intelligence and adaptibality is that of an U-19 player.

Domestic averages of 21, 28 and 26 at the age of 27 clearly illustrates that he is a half-cooked player with no international credentials. You can invest in a 19 year old with these numbers, but not in a 27 years old.

Pakistan is desperate for power hitters and any batsman that can hit 2-3 big sixes becomes a player of value, but Pakistan needs to play Hafeez in Asif's role and Haris at number 4. Haris is lazy and lethargic, but he is a very solid batsman who rarely gets out cheaply. He is the ideal player for the number 4 spot at the moment.

Thank you. Finally someone with cricketing intelligent and sense. We are riddled with Afridi complex. And that's why we lost so many matches from winning position.

 

[Titan24]

As I have said time and time again, if not Asif than someone else should have been in the team. One Power hitter is as crucial as any other member of the playing 11.

If you need conventional batting till now 6-7 to consolidate inside 30 overs than you have already pretty much lost the match, it wont make a difference who is playing at those numbers. Ideally your no 7 or even 6 should be coming in overs 40 plus. In terms of consolidation Asif can also play a role of strike rotator on occasions he need to come early.

We have only 3 batsmen who can single handedly take the game away on their good days Fakhar, Hafeez and Asif.

Haris can play in difficult conditions where you need to bat out overs, he was given a role against WI and he failed there and Hafeez is not accepting the role of Asif Ali and after yesterday’s innings I highly doubt he will do that.

 

[adil79]

We have only 3 batsmen who can single handedly take the game away on their good days Fakhar, Hafeez and Asif.

Name one game where Asif Ali single handedly took the game away & won it for us

 

[Rana]

Asif Ali is very poor. He has great hitting ability, but his batting maturity, intelligence and adaptibality is that of an U-19 player.

Domestic averages of 21, 28 and 26 at the age of 27 clearly illustrates that he is a half-cooked player with no international credentials. You can invest in a 19 year old with these numbers, but not in a 27 years old.

Pakistan is desperate for power hitters and any batsman that can hit 2-3 big sixes becomes a player of value, but Pakistan needs to play Hafeez in Asif's role and Haris at number 4. Haris is lazy and lethargic, but he is a very solid batsman who rarely gets out cheaply. He is the ideal player for the number 4 spot at the moment.

He needs to offer something besides his hit and miss batting tbh. Even if he could bowl flat darts stump to stump and fill in for a poor bowler, we could eventually look to push him up the order as an opener.

He needs a ton very soon or he will be discarded im afraid

 

[Captain caveman]

I like haris, but his over weight. He cant field and loses concentration after scoring 35.
Asif has shown me he can bat sensibly in the england series when he came in at 5 and scored a couple of 50s. The problem is the team in the wc want him to play a power hitter role to make up for imam's slow batting!

SOLUTION:

Haris can come in for malik(whose useless with the bat).
USE ASIF AS A OPENER!
he will score a quick fire 40/50 runs in the powerplay and take the pressure of fakhar, who can then bat deep into the innings , because he doesnt have imam killing the scoring rate!
If you want to keep imam, bat him at 3 and push everone down 1 position.
SIMPLE!

 

[umarf76]

Hi,

So, we won against England. And that's great news for us. and our confidence. But i was wondering, how can as a batting unit we can improve.

Now, I think that if we replace Asif Ali with Haris Sohail, things may improve for us, in both fielding & batting.

Why?

1- Haris Sohail provides more consistency to the team. His stats speak for themselves. He times the ball very well & is a proper batsmen with good technique, probably best after Babar Azam.

a- We saw glimpse of that in recent series against England. He failed liked everyone else against Windies, so it's unfair to drop him for future matches.

b- While Asif Ali, will be a hit or a miss. His past record is proof of that. Against England, he also gave his wicket away and scored run a ball.

c- Haris Sohail plays spinners very well. He picks them off hand. While Asif Ali, he play off pitch.

2- Have you seen how Asif Ali fields? It's a nightmare. His eyes aren't on the ball. I have seen him pick up a catch and he had his eyes closed. That's probably the second biggest argument against him. At least Haris Sohail won't be as half bad.

3- It all comes down to consistency, for me. I would rather have batsman who can score a hundred for team than a slogger who could get out any time. It's like Afridi complex for us, as we want power hitters. If top order rotates the strike and score at good rate, we won't need a power hitter.


What do you think?

Haris is not necessarily a better fielder. We dont need more batting if we have both Hafeez and Malik and Asif coming in at 7. We need the X-Factor which is what Asif brings in.

 

[Hamza_]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Its very strange that we don't invest in a young batsman however we are happy to fast track pacers.

Haris Sohail, Sharjeel, Asif Ali etc. all got their break late.

 

[TeymurBlake]

I would rather swap Malik out for Haris than Asif.

 

[adil79]

Let's take a look at recent england series, where our fellow PP think he was successful:

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor)
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor)

WC match against England: 14 off 11 balls (poor)


Are we seriously falling for this performance? Ask yourself, will Haris Sohail be not better? And that' just batting. I have seen him failing to stop boundaries, dropping catches & being a let down in field.

His average of first class & odi, clearly indicates how will he be. He is not our michael hussey.

 

[Hamza_]

At this point of time, I think Malik should sit out.

Because if we are to play both Malik and Haris, Then Sarfraz as a result of this will be batting at #6 whereas he should be batting at #4 or #5.

We cannot have Malik, Haris and Sarfraz in a team together.

 

[Mamoon]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

Its very strange that we don't invest in a young batsman however we are happy to fast track pacers.

Haris Sohail, Sharjeel, Asif Ali etc. all breaked into the team late.

Babar, Umar, Imam, Shehzad, Sahibzada, Sami Aslam, Amin, Jamshed, Masood etc. were all given chances early. Even Haris was 23 when he made his debut. Unfortunately, most of them squandered the opportunities and failed to nail their place in team.

 

[adil79]

I like haris, but his over weight. He cant field and loses concentration after scoring 35.

And Asif Ali is better? Haris normally fields in slips. Also, he is better at catching the ball, so he is at least better than Asif Ali who looks like a rookie and can't field the ball or catch it using basics. And no, Haris doesn't lose concentration. His last year performance speaks for that.

 

[Captain caveman]

Play asif as an opener, trust me the man will do well. He pkays pace bowling as good as anyone in the team and he wont get caught on the boundary as often with only 2 fielder outside the ring.

 

[adil79]

At this point of time, I think Malik should sit out.

Because if we are to play both Malik and Haris, Then Sarfraz as a result of this will be batting at #6 whereas he should be batting at #4 or #5.

We cannot have Malik, Haris and Sarfraz in a team together.

I think Malik can hit big against spinners, so he need to bat up the order at 4 or 5, just after Hafeez so that if one fails other may do the trick. Both are power hitters with good bit of technique. And don't forget the value of Malik in the field. He provides calmness from what i have seen.

 

[Titan24]

Name one game where Asif Ali single handedly took the game away & won it for us

He has just played 13 innings in ODIs, just in the last series against England he scored 51 (36) with 4 sixes and 52 (43) with 3 sixes. Pak went onto score 361 and 358 in both those innings and in rest of two games we scored 340 and 298 so on his day he can create a difference in the overall innings. Yes Pak needs more than that from him.

You can see a decent potential. I am not comparing but him to Josh Buttler but he took two years to score his first ODI hundred after his debut, players time time to develop, yes Buttler is another class but every player needs to be developed first and then you get the results.

If not Asif then they should develop someone else.

 

[Jin Chacha]

Asif doesn't add enough value in his current role to justify selection. He is playing as a specialist batsman who cannot bowl, is a bad fielder and bats so low down the order that he will play 5 to 10 overs at best. Given that power hitting is an inherently high risk role, it is likely he will get out cheaply half the time anyway. If we want a power hitter, it should be someone who gets into the team as a bowler or batsman with power hitting as an added advantage. We cannot afford the luxury of carrying a specialist slogger.

 

[adil79]

Haris is not necessarily a better fielder. We dont need more batting if we have both Hafeez and Malik and Asif coming in at 7. We need the X-Factor which is what Asif brings in.

We need the consistency factor. X-factor shouldn't be Afridi or the likes. We need batting depth, as we didn't have anyone to score in the last 5 overs. Tail enders had to play 3 overs at the depth.

 

[umarf76]

Let's take a look at recent england series, where our fellow PP think he was successful:

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor)
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor)

WC match against England: 14 off 11 balls (poor)


Are we seriously falling for this performance? Ask yourself, will Haris Sohail be not better? And that' just batting. I have seen him failing to stop boundaries, dropping catches & being a let down in field.

His average of first class & odi, clearly indicates how will he be. He is not our michael hussey.

All decent scores when come in the 35 over plus

 

[marlonbrowndo]

The reason we’re playing 7 batsmen is so we can play someone like Asif

 

[adil79]

He has just played 13 innings in ODIs, just in the last series against England he scored 51 (36) with 4 sixes and 52 (43) with 3 sixes. Pak went onto score 361 and 358 in both those innings and in rest of two games we scored 340 and 298 so on his day he can create a difference in the overall innings. Yes Pak needs more than that from him.

You can see a decent potential. I am not comparing but him to Josh Buttler but he took two years to score his first ODI hundred after his debut, players time time to develop, yes Buttler is another class but every player needs to be developed first and then you get the results.

If not Asif then they should develop someone else.

I already shared his record. 51 off 36 is good, while the second is just average and others are just poor including the recent performance. Potential is even in Umar Akmal. Asif Ali has been given enough chances since the last PSL (before this PSL)

 

[IMMY69]

If you go with 4 bowlers plus Hafeez (and Malik) then Asif Ali is a luxury you can afford to have in the side.
Yes he may not click every time but when he does he can hit a few sixes at the right time for us.

Suhail doesn't get in to the side if you're playing Hafeez and Malik.
He gets in to the side if is replacing on of them.

So then its between Suhail and Malik and as such as I don't rate Malik, he has is a far far superior fielder and just ahead on the bowling. But it's either Malik or Suhail, not Suhail or Asif.

Of course if you're going in with 5 bowlers then Suhail comes in instead of Asif to add stability to the batting line-up.

 

[adil79]

The reason we’re playing 7 batsmen is so we can play someone like Asif

And he is failing miserably at that.

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor)
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor)

WC match against England: 14 off 11 balls (poor)


Just because he can hit 6 doesn't mean, he will win you matches. He is back to his original self. 15-20 runs at bit better than run a ball and get out

 

[Captain caveman]

And Asif Ali is better? Haris normally fields in slips. Also, he is better at catching the ball, so he is at least better than Asif Ali who looks like a rookie and can't field the ball or catch it using basics. And no, Haris doesn't lose concentration. His last year performance speaks for that.

Safi foolishly hardly employs slips and if he does ot will be babar. Both asif and haris are substandard fielders even by pak standards.
Like isaid you can play both, by dropping malik but your fielding will be weak.

 

[adil79]

If you go with 4 bowlers plus Hafeez (and Malik) then Asif Ali is a luxury you can afford to have in the side.
Yes he may not click every time but when he does he can hit a few sixes at the right time for us.

Suhail doesn't get in to the side if you're playing Hafeez and Malik.
He gets in to the side if is replacing on of them.

So then its between Suhail and Malik and as such as I don't rate Malik, he has is a far far superior fielder and just ahead on the bowling. But it's either Malik or Suhail, not Suhail or Asif.

Of course if you're going in with 5 bowlers then Suhail comes in instead of Asif to add stability to the batting line-up.

So, we are going with afridi (who at least won us a match), knowing he may fail us. If you could ask Haris Sohail to bat like Asif Ali, I am sure he can provide you as much strike rate if not better with stability.

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor) Should be
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor) Should be

WC match against England: 14 off 11 balls (poor)


This world cup will prove if we needed consistency or a hit or miss slogger

 

[Captain caveman]

So, we are going with afridi (who at least won us a match), knowing he may fail us. If you could ask Haris Sohail to bat like Asif Ali, I am sure he can provide you as much strike rate if not better with stability.

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor) Should be
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor) Should be

WC match against England: 14 off 11 balls (poor)


This world cup will prove if we needed consistency or a hit or miss slogger

Why are people judging asif when he has been ordered to hiit sixes and gets out. The best place for him to do this is an opener, with only 2 outfielders.
Haris is competing with malk.
And no haris cant hit big, apart from the odd occasion.

 

[Titan24]

I already shared his record. 51 off 36 is good, while the second is just average and others are just poor including the recent performance. Potential is even in Umar Akmal. Asif Ali has been given enough chances since the last PSL (before this PSL)

You are seeing his individual scores, if you look at the over all change ge brought to the dimension of the innings you can see that he made a difference in the total for around 15-20 runs with his SR being really good in comparison to the over all team. Him and Fakhar had the best SR out of anyone playing more than 5 balls and in his 2nd 50 he could have done bit better but he came in when Pak needed bit of partnership development.

Its one year in international arena for him with just 13 ODI innings. As a batsman Haris is one of the best we have but he gives it away and he cant accelerate much just like Imam and Sarfaraz rather he cant accelerate even as much as those two. I rate him pretty highly but we cant afford Imam, Sarfaraz, Malik and then Haris in same team in ODIs in modern day cricket. We have too many run a ball players.

 

[adil79]

Why are people judging asif when he has been ordered to hiit sixes and gets out. The best place for him to do this is an opener, with only 2 outfielders.
Haris is competing with malk.
And no haris cant hit big, apart from the odd occasion.

Ok

 

[Titan24]

Why are people judging asif when he has been ordered to hiit sixes and gets out. The best place for him to do this is an opener, with only 2 outfielders.
Haris is competing with malk.
And no haris cant hit big, apart from the odd occasion.

Should have been tried earlier, cant experiment in WC. If I am not wrong he used to open at the start of his career in limited overs cricket.

 

[adil79]

You are seeing his individual scores, if you look at the over all change ge brought to the dimension of the innings you can see that he made a difference in the total for around 15-20 runs with his SR being really good in comparison to the over all team. Him and Fakhar had the best SR out of anyone playing more than 5 balls and in his 2nd 50 he could have done bit better but he came in when Pak needed bit of partnership development.

Its one year in international arena for him with just 13 ODI innings. As a batsman Haris is one of the best we have but he gives it away and he cant accelerate much just like Imam and Sarfaraz rather he cant accelerate even as much as those two. I rate him pretty highly but we cant afford Imam, Sarfaraz, Malik and then Haris in same team in ODIs in modern day cricket. We have too many run a ball players.

The difference he brings is only what he makes with his bat. And take a difference of that out with his fielding because he is poor at that. Not more, not less.

Haris Sohail scored 50 off 36 balls in T20.
Asif Ali got run out on 3. This guy is unfit and will get out the same way & will leak runs at boundary or anywhere you put him. He will drop catches when pressure is on, like Rahat Ali against watson when wahab bowling.

 

[adil79]

This guys is a poor fielder. I am not making it up. I have seen him taking catch in england match.

 

[Titan24]

The difference he brings is only what he makes with his bat. And take a difference of that out with his fielding because he is poor at that. Not more, not less.

Haris Sohail scored 50 off 36 balls in T20.
Asif Ali got run out on 3. This guy is unfit and will get out the same way & will leak runs at boundary or anywhere you put him. He will drop catches when pressure is on, like Rahat Ali against watson when wahab bowling.

Haris is no way a better fielder than Asif. Haris has played few innings out of his comfort zone but those were anomalies which under the pressure of WC will be rarity to see. Anyway its just my opinion, I rate Haris pretty highly as a batsman but he can only play a role of Imam, Babar who are playing their roles perfectly or Malik. Unless conditions are really tough, Asif Ali and Haris Sohail are not at all replacements of each other.

 

[babajee]

It's Malik who shouldn't be in the XI. Yes I know he got a wicket.

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Sarfaraz
Hafeez
Asif

Haris is a better bowler than Malik and adds a left arm spin option. Haris and Hafeez to fill the 5th bowler quota. In any case Haris is a more threatening bowler than Imad.

 

[Slim]

If they really want to use Asif Ali then they should use him as an opener to take advantage of the powerplay rules.

Most of Asif's shots are towards the mid wicket area.

Allowing him to utilize the powerplay would enable us to release the pressure on Fakhar and up the RR from the start of the innings.

Team can experiment with this against Sri Lanka.

 

[MMHS]

Asif should definitely play in every game. This WC is played on absolute belters mostly and I doubt PAK will need someone at 6 to play out 50 overs. Rather, even a 12 ball 23 is probably more handy for such conditions; also there is decent batting depth in bottom half. Ideally, this same lineup should play against SRL, or may be they can rest Hasan for a game.

 

[IMMY69]

So, we are going with afridi (who at least won us a match), knowing he may fail us. If you could ask Haris Sohail to bat like Asif Ali, I am sure he can provide you as much strike rate if not better with stability.

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor) Should be
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor) Should be

WC match against England: 14 off 11 balls (poor)


This world cup will prove if we needed consistency or a hit or miss slogger

You've missed the main crux of my post.
The question is should it be Haris or Malik not between Haris or Asif.
Also, if you want someone to come in to launch it then surely it has to be Asif over Haris because Haris is shown that even when he gets to a hundred he isn't able to clear the field effectively.

We can debate Asif's inclusion as much as we want and if we were to play 5 bowlers, for example Imad instead of Asif, then your can argue whether Suhail should come in instead of Malik.

I hope I'm making sense?

 

[Captain caveman]

Should have been tried earlier, cant experiment in WC. If I am not wrong he used to open at the start of his career in limited overs cricket.

Dont do it in the next match SL.keep same side and combo. Do it the match after against aussies . The surprise factor could be a huge advantage.
This is a long tourney, teams are analysising each other. Cant keep playing same team and same tactixlcs, you get found out. Just look how WI surprised us with their tactics.

 

[babajee]

Asif should definitely play in every game. This WC is played on absolute belters mostly and I doubt PAK will need someone at 6 to play out 50 overs. Rather, even a 12 ball 23 is probably more handy for such conditions; also there is decent batting depth in bottom half. Ideally, this same lineup should play against SRL, or may be they can rest Hasan for a game.

Even Malik?

 

[warcry]

Haris Sohail & consistency?
sure he has consistency, he has consistently failed with the bat all tour.
More maligned players,like Imam ul Haq have performed better than this useless waste of space called Haris Sohail.

I would rather pick an extra fast bowler over Asif Ali, than replace him with 'Mr Consistent'

Haris Sohail deserves to be given the Fawad Alam treatment, i.e permanently discarded and never seen or heard from again ever. Useless lazy cricketer, and a poor fielder to boot.

 

[Captain caveman]

I think myself and others have been a bit harsh on haris about huis fitness. The mans got dodgey knees . It will be hard for him to stay fit. Hes probably retire in a couple years time. I wish him the best.

 

[Draeoftroy]

Haris should be in the playing XI but in place of Shoaib Malik. Malik bowled 3 overs and came at 7th. They need another bowler. Better give this place to a bowler like Hasnain.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Replacing malik with imad and imam with haris will be better.
Haris can perform the role of imam and he also has better hitting abilities.

 

[MMHS]

Even Malik?

Yes, he is the 2nd line of defence at 6-7. Nothing wrong with Haris and he can give good overs of SLAO spin instead of Imad; but I hate unfit, fat & lazy players - don’t deserve to play WC.

Also, Lankans have 5-6 lefti in line-up, I would like to see Malik given lot more overs than customary 2-3 that Sarfraz is giving now.

They won’t drop Imad for Haris, neither would open with Babar - so, ENG game XI is fine for the time being.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Horses for courses would be the best policy here. I don't rate Asif, pretty much agree with Mamoon's assessment, said the same thing even before the England series where he had some success. Even in that series he notably failed to take any game to the finish even when well set and with a great base put up by the top order.

That said, I would probably play him against those sides who don't have strong pace attacks, I could see him murdering the medium pace or spin against the weaker sides. He's not going to succeed against the top sides though, just doesn't have the mental strength or nous to score against top level bowlers.

 

[IMMY69]

Point to note is that yesterday’s top 6, other then Imam for Azhar,
Was exactly the same line-up that won the CT17.

Only thing up for debate is Asif or Imad at number 7 and if Imad comes in then whose better out of Suhai and Malik...

We now have a winning combination so i’d Be inclined to stick with it at least for the next game which is against Sri Lanka.

 

[Titan24]

It's Malik who shouldn't be in the XI. Yes I know he got a wicket.

Imam
Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Sarfaraz
Hafeez
Asif

Haris is a better bowler than Malik and adds a left arm spin option. Haris and Hafeez to fill the 5th bowler quota. In any case Haris is a more threatening bowler than Imad.

Maybe against team with more right handers otherwise Malik's off spin along with Hafeez against lefties especially against teams like Srl, Aus will be crucial.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Asif should definitely play in every game. This WC is played on absolute belters mostly and I doubt PAK will need someone at 6 to play out 50 overs. Rather, even a 12 ball 23 is probably more handy for such conditions; also there is decent batting depth in bottom half. Ideally, this same lineup should play against SRL, or may be they can rest Hasan for a game.

Exactly. Even our fans mindset when it comes to batting is awful

 

[shaz72]

As I have said time and time again, if not Asif than someone else should have been in the team. One Power hitter is as crucial as any other member of the playing 11.

If you need conventional batting till now 6-7 to consolidate inside 30 overs than you have already pretty much lost the match, it wont make a difference who is playing at those numbers. Ideally your no 7 or even 6 should be coming in overs 40 plus. In terms of consolidation Asif can also play a role of strike rotator on occasions he need to come early.

We have only 3 batsmen who can single handedly take the game away on their good days Fakhar, Hafeez and Asif.

Haris can play in difficult conditions where you need to bat out overs, he was given a role against WI and he failed there and Hafeez is not accepting the role of Asif Ali and after yesterday’s innings I highly doubt he will do that.

I agree with some point, But there are some merit and de-merit in both selection. If we select Haris we will have one dimension players playing in top 5 including Sarfaraz. Hafiz is also Hit and miss kind of player.

 

[PakLFC]

Asif all the way as we need a power hitter. We have enough slow coaches like Sarfaraz in the side playing at a snail's pace.

 

[ARK Rafay]

If Hafeez bats at 4. Pakistan can't afford Haris below. they need Asif.

There are many combos Pakistan can go with. 4 bowlers, 5 bowler, Hafeez at 6 or at 4, Haris or not, Malik or not.

 

[FreePalestine]

I think I tentatively agree with OP here. Haris also gives you a left arm bowling option to help fill the fifth bowler slot with Malik and Hafeez. [MENTION=139314]ARK Rafay[/MENTION] is right that Haris should not be batting below four. I would go with:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Sarfraz Ahmed
6. Mohammad Hafeez
7. Shoaib Malik
8. Shadab Khan
9. Hasan Ali
10. Mohammad Amir
11. Wahab Riaz

But I will not be too annoyed if Asif plays. Haris is also a liability in the field and running between wickets because of his weak knees (cannot be helped) but he is, imo, a much better batsman than Asif.

 

[FreePalestine]

In the line up above ^^ if the third wicket goes down after the 35th over, Hafeez and Malik should come before Sarfraz, kind of how England use Buttler and Stokes.

 

[MRSN]

UA would have been handy here.

 

[hitthestump]

Depends on the pitch.

On a phatta, Asif Ali.

On literally anything else, Haris.

 

[hitthestump]

I think I tentatively agree with OP here. Haris also gives you a left arm bowling option to help fill the fifth bowler slot with Malik and Hafeez. [MENTION=139314]ARK Rafay[/MENTION] is right that Haris should not be batting below four. I would go with:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Sarfraz Ahmed
6. Mohammad Hafeez
7. Shoaib Malik
8. Shadab Khan
9. Hasan Ali
10. Mohammad Amir
11. Wahab Riaz

But I will not be too annoyed if Asif plays. Haris is also a liability in the field and running between wickets because of his weak knees (cannot be helped) but he is, imo, a much better batsman than Asif.

I like the line up, but you'll never get the 'senior' men to take roles so far down the order. Hafeez will never accept a berth lower than no 4 now.

 

[adil79]

Point to note is that yesterday’s top 6, other then Imam for Azhar,
Was exactly the same line-up that won the CT17.

Only thing up for debate is Asif or Imad at number 7 and if Imad comes in then whose better out of Suhai and Malik...

We now have a winning combination so i’d Be inclined to stick with it at least for the next game which is against Sri Lanka.

No, it's not. Besides Azhar, Wahab was rested in CT17 final. Junaid was playing instead. Imad Wasim was also not playing.

There will come a time, it's not the matter of if, it's when, during this world cup, when we will be 2-3 down inside 10 overs. And then, you would know the importance of Haris Sohail.

The thing is, if you have a solid foundation, runs can be scored at good pace. If you don't have that, then you are just gambling with a hit or miss player, who may or may not score at all. The batting average of player must count for something. If asif had been an asset apart from his batting, or even was consistent, i wouldn't have been talking about replacement at all.

His total value to the team is inconsistent power hitting, which translates to consistent failure against spin. And that value, in my opinion, becomes less with his sloppy fielding in the deep. Yesterday, there was a six, which could have been translated as catch in this day and age, or just save runs if you could reach your hands to it. I know Haris is at least better in catching.

If asif is batted as opener, other teams just could use spinners, like we did against england. In asia cup, he had severe difficulty in playing spin. I just wanted to add more value to the team. If people are happy with flukes, let it be.

As of now, other teams are eyeing to get our top three out and then we will have another collapse like windies. Mark my words.

 

[Red Devil]

I'd rather have Asif Ali batting in the last 10 overs than Haris Sohail.

 

[adil79]

I'd rather have Asif Ali batting in the last 10 overs than Haris Sohail.

I wouldn't have Haris Sohail bat in last overs too, just like babar azam. I would have Hafeez/malik & sarfraz bat in those last 10. And have someone like babar up the order to stop the jitters when pressure is on.

 

[adil79]

If hafeez wasn't dropped by Roy, many would have agreed with this point. That's why win doesn't teach you any lesson. We are still fragile as a batting unit.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris

Hafeez
Malik
Sarfraz

Shadab
Amir
Wahab
Hassan

That's my line up for qualification to semis.

 

[Red Devil]

I wouldn't have Haris Sohail bat in last overs too, just like babar azam. I would have Hafeez/malik & sarfraz bat in those last 10. And have someone like babar up the order to stop the jitters when pressure is on.

Even Malik and Sarfraz aren't that good when it comes to big hitting tbh. And Hafeez is not getting demoted after his innings against England.

 

[mon858]

I would continue with Asif for now. reason is we are not missing batting depth. we have Amir coming at number XI who can also bat a bit if need be, so no real need to extend batting line-up.

what we do lack is big hitting ability for last 10-15 overs and Asif is only one in squad that provides that (next best being Hafeez, Hasan Ali, Wahab).

If he comes off, we can extend a 330 to 360 and basically bat the opposition out of the game.

If we see issues with batting or a team against which we prefer someone additional to turn ball away from right handers, then Haris can replace Shoaib Malik, and chance batting order to have Hafeez come in at 6.

 

[ARK Rafay]

I think right now it's not between Asif and Haris. It's between Malik and Haris. I don't see both Haris and Malik playing.

 

[adil79]

Even Malik and Sarfraz aren't that good when it comes to big hitting tbh. And Hafeez is not getting demoted after his innings against England.

You don't have to hit 6 to have strike rate above 100. Hafeez will fail eventually. He is not that consistent. It's a matter of redundancy and patching up the weak links.

 

[FreePalestine]

I thought exactly the same thing! Haha. I think you are right. @ARKRafay

I also think Sarfraz is the one who is the misfit here... even though I think he is a good man and decent enough captain, because he can’t play at 3/4 or 6/7. Hafeez would be a good no. 5 if we had a wicket keeper-batsman who could hit the boundary with a bit more ease at no 7 ideally... I think Rizwan could bat five for us in the future with two hard hitting all rounders below him and it would be a solid line up. But who knows who will retire after this wc, and most likely, we will never see this hypothetical line up in reality as you suggest!

 

[ARK Rafay]

You don't have to hit 6 to have strike rate above 100. Hafeez will fail eventually. He is not that consistent. It's a matter of redundancy and patching up the weak links.

Well for someone to come in the last 10 overs. Definitely has to hit sixes in this modern age. And a lot more than 100 SR is needed in the last 10 overs.

 

[Seamer]

I think both should play in the team, my batting lineup for the next game :

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Babar Azam
3. Haris Sohail
4. Hafeez
5. Sarfaraz
6. Asif Ali

 

[adil79]

I think right now it's not between Asif and Haris. It's between Malik and Haris. I don't see both Haris and Malik playing.

I hate malik to his guts. I even had a thread why he & hafeez was prefered over competency. But, i believe, his experience does make team less nervous. He has been around since the time of Waseem/Waqar. He has seen it all and his presence in field/ in small meetings, adds more value than his batting. That's just my opinion. But i wouldn't remove him.

 

[ARK Rafay]

I hate malik to his guts. I even had a thread why he & hafeez was prefered over competency. But, i believe, his experience does make team less nervous. He has been around since the time of Waseem/Waqar. He has seen it all and his presence in field/ in small meetings, adds more value than his batting. That's just my opinion. But i wouldn't remove him.

Hafeez has sealed his place. That means if Pakistan go with 4 bowlers they have to play two batsman at no. 6 and 7 and one of them will be Asif that's for sure. If they go with 5 bowlers they can play one of Asif, Haris and Malik.

So Haris or Malik it is

 

[adil79]

Horses for courses would be the best policy here. I don't rate Asif, pretty much agree with Mamoon's assessment, said the same thing even before the England series where he had some success. Even in that series he notably failed to take any game to the finish even when well set and with a great base put up by the top order.

That said, I would probably play him against those sides who don't have strong pace attacks, I could see him murdering the medium pace or spin against the weaker sides. He's not going to succeed against the top sides though, just doesn't have the mental strength or nous to score against top level bowlers.

Absolutely loved your analysis, except with a small difference. Asif ali is a poor player of spin. He couldn't pick spinners out of the hand. Against Afghanistan in asia cup, he struggled:

Out of 4 innings in asia cup:

1. India- 9 (10) stumped by Jadhav
2. Afghanistan - 7 (6) wicket by Rashid Khan
3. India - 30 (21) bowled by Chahal
4. Bangladesh - 31 (47) stumped by Mehdy

Now, what's the common denominator in all above 4? All were spinners. This guy is a poor spinner of ball. In series england, pitches were total belter. Nothing was there for bowlers. And his record was:

2nd ODI: 51 off 36 balls (Good)
3rd ODI: 52 off 43 balls (average)
4th ODI: 17 off 12 balls (poor)
5th ODI: 22 off 17 balls (poor)

My Pakistani team would drop him if our semi final spot were in contention, as i wouldn't trust him to deliver during that scenario

 

[adil79]

I thought exactly the same thing! Haha. I think you are right. @ARKRafay

I also think Sarfraz is the one who is the misfit here... even though I think he is a good man and decent enough captain, because he can’t play at 3/4 or 6/7. Hafeez would be a good no. 5 if we had a wicket keeper-batsman who could hit the boundary with a bit more ease at no 7 ideally... I think Rizwan could bat five for us in the future with two hard hitting all rounders below him and it would be a solid line up. But who knows who will retire after this wc, and most likely, we will never see this hypothetical line up in reality as you suggest!

Rizwan is absolute pathetic against spin. Picking spinners off the hands/fingers is the clue whether a batsman will be better or not. All the indian greats or pakistani greats, adjusted when they saw the ball to be straight, wrong one or faster. It's so so important.

 

[R Shahid]

Pak Need players like him because they have too many accumulators

 

[MRSN]

I think right now it's not between Asif and Haris. It's between Malik and Haris. I don't see both Haris and Malik playing.

Agreed if one extra batsman is to play then Imam should sit out and we should open with Fakher and Baber with Harris at 3

 

[ARK Rafay]

Agreed if one extra batsman is to play then Imam should sit out and we should open with Fakher and Baber with Harris at 3

That will then be playing Haris instead of Imam.

 

[Kianig89]

Asif is needed as we dont have. A power hitter although Asif consistency is 5times than that of Afridi nevertheless he is needed Malik should be dropped to accommodate Imad or Haris or another strategy can be tp drop imam and play Haris

 

[MRSN]

That will then be playing Haris instead of Imam.

Yeah. Imam doesn't have a power game. At least Harris has a wide range of boundary shots.

 

[Azzurri]

I used to support Haris but now I have realized he’s just not good enough. He is a very meek character

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Asif over Haris. 15 balls for 30 is all Pakistan needs, even if it may not always come off. All others (Haris, Shoaib, Babar, Imam, Sarfaraz) are 30 balls for 30 at best - not good enough all the time.

It's OK to have one player who is hit or miss. Can't always hedge your bets and play safe. Winning games in today's world is all about taking the aggressive option.