Saud Shakeel vs Fawad Alam; who would you have selected?

[Titan24]

Fawad Alam is 34 years old with an unorthodox style and a FC avg of 56 and 34 100s and someone who can bowl decent part time left arm spin.

Saud Shakeel is 24 years old with an orthodox style FC avg of 45 and 7 100s and is also someone who can bowl decent part time left arm spin.

There have been statements in the favor of both in last few months that how Fawad was not treated well considering how he scored a 100 on his debut and the consistency he showed at FC level which was one of its kind in the history of Pak domestic cricket.

On the other hand Saud Shakeel is rated highly by many and is 10 years younger than Fawad with bit of class and elegance to his batting who many expected to be in the Pakistan team by now.

So how would it have been taken if Pak management would have gone for a younger guy in Saud Shakeel on the basis of future ahead of him instead of Fawad Alam who somehow didnt come into radar despite being a legendary FC player.

Who would you have gone for if it was the option between these two? Would it be Fawad as he deserves it and Saud has enough time on his side to get a spot going forward or would it be Saud because of him being a lot younger and thus a longer future and potential of development ahead of him?

 

[Rayyman]

I would pick Saud because if you look at the Pakistan Top 6, there are already 5 30+ players in Abid, Azhar, Shan, Haris and Asad.

He is the best batsman in Pakistan who has not debuted yet.

Azhar will be the next to go, unless Abid really struggles on this tour.

Pakistan have to plan for the future which they didn’t do when Misbah and Younis played. Now they are stuck picking stopgaps like Fawad, who deserves to be selected, but Pakistan will not be a top Test team in the next couple years so they might as well play a young team. Asad and Haris are faster players than Fawad and have better techniques to survive pace.

Instead of making Babar captain, give him the responsibility of batting at #3 in Tests. Because he is the best capable for that position while others are more comfortable down the order. Make Shan captain for now.

This would be my batting order in Tests:
Imam ul-Haq
Shan Masood*
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Asad Shafiq
Saud Shakeel

 

[Titan24]

I would pick Saud because if you look at the Pakistan Top 6, there are already 5 30+ players in Abid, Azhar, Shan, Haris and Asad.

He is the best batsman in Pakistan who has not debuted yet.

Azhar will be the next to go, unless Abid really struggles on this tour.

Pakistan have to plan for the future which they didn’t do when Misbah and Younis played. Now they are stuck picking stopgaps like Fawad, who deserves to be selected, but Pakistan will not be a top Test team in the next couple years so they might as well play a young team. Asad and Haris are faster players than Fawad and have better techniques to survive pace.

Instead of making Babar captain, give him the responsibility of batting at #3 in Tests. Because he is the best capable for that position while others are more comfortable down the order. Make Shan captain for now.

This would be my batting order in Tests:
Imam ul-Haq
Shan Masood*
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Asad Shafiq
Saud Shakeel

Point well made. Its definitely worth thinking to have players who will be available by the next test championship cycle and Saud if adapts international cricket well, he has a decent enough game to be in the ODI setup as well going forward for the 2023 WC.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

I have never seen Saud play live but Fawad needed to be given one opportunity. The extended squad however offered an opportunit to bring some talented batsmen along with bowlers and that opportunity has been royally squandered.

Saud, Sameen, and Akif Javed could easily have been drafted in place of Shinwari, Sohail, Bhatti, Imran etc.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

I’d select both by not selecting Iftikhar. I mean both can roll their arms so you are not loosing over the lack an all rounder in Ifti.

 

[coy0607]

both are top performers and both should be in the squad.. how about dropping some other passengers like the 45-year old Ifthikar

 

[Mueez]

In my opinion Saud Shakeel should’ve been selected.

It is better to invest in a youngster than a 35 year old Fawad Alam whose selection will always be uncertain.

This is make or break series for Fawad. I hope he performs well but to be very honest I don’t see it happening...

 

[shamaan]

I would pick Saud because if you look at the Pakistan Top 6, there are already 5 30+ players in Abid, Azhar, Shan, Haris and Asad.

He is the best batsman in Pakistan who has not debuted yet.

Azhar will be the next to go, unless Abid really struggles on this tour.

Pakistan have to plan for the future which they didn’t do when Misbah and Younis played. Now they are stuck picking stopgaps like Fawad, who deserves to be selected, but Pakistan will not be a top Test team in the next couple years so they might as well play a young team. Asad and Haris are faster players than Fawad and have better techniques to survive pace.

Instead of making Babar captain, give him the responsibility of batting at #3 in Tests. Because he is the best capable for that position while others are more comfortable down the order. Make Shan captain for now.

This would be my batting order in Tests:
Imam ul-Haq
Shan Masood*
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Asad Shafiq
Saud Shakeel

Harris sohail isnt that good in tests same with asad shafiq hes been okay nothing special

 

[hitthestump]

For me i think Fawad deserved his opportunity and England is a place where experience counts for something. His bowling is also quite a bit more established than Saud's, though still very part time.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

A reasonable first XI for England with an eye on the future might have been as follows-

Imam ul Haq
Imran Butt / Sami Aslam
Shan Masood (c)
Babar Azam (vc)
Saud Shakeel
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Shadab Khan
Faheem Ashraf
Shaheen Shah
Mohammad Abbas
Naseem Shah

However, we now have constraints on captaincy (Azhar Ali) and certain players that are unlikely to be dropped (Asad Shafiq) and the entire combination changes.

 

[The Viper]

Fawad merited an opportunity, considering his years of domination, and he scored in the recent QEA FC competition. Of course he is not getting any younger, but he merited the opportunity. Saud should have been in the squad though.

 

[DRsohail]

saud for his age, Fawad should have been given chance 7 years ago not now, it can not be fixed now.