Shoaib Malik should play in place of Imad Wasim in the last two matches : Shoaib Akhtar

[big_gamer007]

I like most of Pakistani ex cricketers as analysts. Always some controversy or drama.

 

[Iffitheking]

I think we should forget Malik, but may be match against Afghanistan bring Asif back in place of Imad we need lots of runs to make our NRR better.

 

[zee-za-man]

Imam has solid technique

I have played school cricket, and any inter-school or club player can easily dismiss him. Just bring the bowl into him or just bounce him towards his body, he'll surrender his wicket himself. If his uncle was not chief selector he would not even be allowed in the nets where teams practice.

Imam only twice played past 15 overs most of the time he does'nt even last 5 overs.

The 50 he scored against Australia, he was dropped at slip.
You talked about Fakhar getting out on soft dismissals there also Imam has done better than him, he has literally given his wicket to spinners likes of Moeen Ali thru caught and bowled. The 1 50 he scored against Australia, he was dropped at slip

 

[Kraetoz]

Malik shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the team. Intikhab alam was right years ago that this guy is poison for the team. He is just there for his politics and groupings even if he was a Kohli or Ponting he still needs to stay out of team. Because of his controversial character.

Here is the link for oath-take scandal and intikhab alam's comment back in 2010. Malik did get a one year ban for creating factions in the team.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/archive/index.php/t-96432.html

Malik should not even share the same dressing room.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

England is not his lucky ground and Malik is out of form but we did lose to Bangladesh not long ago and almost lost to Afghanistan. Our top order is good at playing fast bowlers but when it comes to spinners Malik comes to the rescue. Malik was part of winning momentum of T20 WC 2009. He is the reason Pakistan qualified for Champion Trophy when Pakistan almost lost to Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and West Indies. Any batsman who averages 50 in SA cannot be overrated. Not to mention he averages 50 in wins.

Malik was brought in because Haris along with Babar and others failed and got out to 110 against West Indies. I would maintain the winning momentum but Imad is useless as player and Malik bowls and field better than him. Just the matter of time before he finds the form back and hopefully play the role in the upcoming matches.

The key point that you seem to keep forgetting is that this is England not the sub-continent. Malik averages 14 in England, the lowest by any visiting batsman with a minimum of 20 innings in the country. That's absolutely atrocious and there's no reason he should be playing, nor will he.

Also the fact that he is a good minnow-basher is no reason to select him either. Yes, he played well during the 2015-18 period and elevated his reputation as a dependable and quick-scoring middle order batsman but barely any of those match-winning innings came against top-level teams and watching him bat now its abundantly clear that he's finished. And the fact of the matter is that he had not one but 3 chances to step-up on the big-stage one last time and as a senior player it was his responsibility to do so but 8 runs in 3 innings, including two ducks in games when Pakistan desperately needed him to stick around is horrible and it's time that the book was finally closed on his ODI career.

 

[mak36]

Just play Asif (assuming he is in the right frame of mind).

 

[miandadrules]

Neither has Imad done anything. I feel Shoaib is more capable of contributing something positive then Imad. I hate the way Imad plays more then Shoaib does.

Based on what?

 

[DeadlyYorker]

Yes mr.akhtar is right ,play the worst player of whole wc....opposition would not expect him at all

 

[unemployedgm]

Apart from agility in the field, Shoaib Malik gives Pakistan nothing.

 

[Titan24]

I have played school cricket, and any inter-school or club player can easily dismiss him. Just bring the bowl into him or just bounce him towards his body, he'll surrender his wicket himself. If his uncle was not chief selector he would not even be allowed in the nets where teams practice.

Imam only twice played past 15 overs most of the time he does'nt even last 5 overs.

The 50 he scored against Australia, he was dropped at slip.
You talked about Fakhar getting out on soft dismissals there also Imam has done better than him, he has literally given his wicket to spinners likes of Moeen Ali thru caught and bowled. The 1 50 he scored against Australia, he was dropped at slip

Imam plays with a straight bat and in the V more often than not which is important to be a good opener. There is a reason guy still averages 50+ after 34 matches.

Yes there is a lot of improvement required in his strike rotation and strike rate but he has solid defense in my opinion. Yes he struggles with bowl coming in as you have mentioned but he has worked on that as which you can clearly see from the shot he played against Starc's incoming delivery for 4 towards mid wicket. Yes he still needs to work on playing short deliveries.

If Imam is ever dropped it wont be due to his technique but due to his pacing of innings which we can hope he can learn.

I rate Fakhar very highly in terms of impact he can create and he is really important player for Pak. I was just a bit disappointed in him getting out softly especially he is one of the best players we have.

 

[Zaz]

No way malik should play another game for pakistan With his avge of 12 he shouldnt even get a game at 9 or 10

These analysts have no idea what they are talking about

Same team as yday and keep up the momentun

 

[The Viper]

Just play Asif (assuming he is in the right frame of mind).

I was thinking this. Imad only bowled three overs last game. Haris and Hafeez can bowl 10 between them.

 

[Saj]

I'd go with the same team, no changes. Keep it as it is.

 

[shaz619]

Lets just assume for a second Malik in theory is the better option, he should still never be picked. There is simply no argument which can be made in his favour. Imad is not perfect but he is the new kid on the block and has done well relative to his experience so far compared to Malik who isn't exactly having a boom in his career late on like Khan did in Tests; the reason for it is because he has never ever been good enough. The man is a damn cancer, tell him go home and take care of Sania Mirza or something; cricket is not for him.

 

[miandadrules]

At It’s core it is decent and definitely capable of winning 4 games on the trot. But to do so the majority if not all of that core have to click.

Imad is already a better option at 7 or 8 than Malik. We’ve seen the importance of the bowlers being able to come in and tee off as Hasan and Wahab have shown. Malik won’t be doing that.

And to those who say he can repair the innings lower down, I say when has he done that? We’ve been one batsman short and our performances since the return of Haris are testament to that.

Even Umer Akmal would have made more than 8 runs in 3 innings.

The squad is poor. Malik and Asif Ali bring nothing to the table.

Imam’s limited overs career is numbered. If Sharjeel is selected then Imam will be dropped before the year is out.

 

[Shaka81]

On current form my gran would be a better option than Shoaib Malik!

Leave the team as it is. There's a good balance to the team right now. Imad might not be everyone's favourite but he's good for bowling a couple of tight overs and slogging at the end.

 

[WC-Passion]

At It’s core it is decent and definitely capable of winning 4 games on the trot. But to do so the majority if not all of that core have to click.

Imad is already a better option at 7 or 8 than Malik. We’ve seen the importance of the bowlers being able to come in and tee off as Hasan and Wahab have shown. Malik won’t be doing that.

And to those who say he can repair the innings lower down, I say when has he done that? We’ve been one batsman short and our performances since the return of Haris are testament to that.

Even Umer Akmal would have made more than 8 runs in 3 innings.

The squad is poor. Malik and Asif Ali bring nothing to the table.

Imam’s limited overs career is numbered. If Sharjeel is selected then Imam will be dropped before the year is out.

I agree, the core of the side invokes confidence in the fans. Having batsmen like Fakhar and Babar at the top and having Amir, Shaheen and Wahab as your pace attack always gives Pakistan hope on any pitch. It's a much better situation that the last WC where we had to rely on Misbah, Shehzad and Irfan at points.

The spin bowling is slightly weak with only Shadab really pulling his weight. Imad can be economical however him darting the ball slightly faster than most spinners is worrying sometimes and he's not a wicket taking option.

Malik is slightly more effective at taking wickets when there's turn from the pitch however is a sitting duck while batting and can be expensive. I'm not sure where Shobby fans got the rebuild nonsense from, Malik being able to repair innings' is a myth! This guy can only bat without crumbling to fast bowlers when he's playing in Asian conditions, he's average in England is laughable and CT 2017 after his "resurgence" (2015) showed that he's not improved to be our saviour like some people think.

Umar has played well in England in the past and has a good-ish record in ICC tournaments. There's no doubt he would've done better than get 8 runs in 3 innings.

I'm not sure why Asif Ali is in the squad. He's a bit of a bits and pieces AR. He's had some terrible personal issues with what's happened to his daughter and I don't think he's in the mindset to be playing cricket. As for Imam, I feel like his criticism is harsh. Sharjeel would not be able to grind out performances in the same way Imam can imo.

 

[fight_club]

Haris has hit the last nail in malik coffin
He is not coming back.

Pakistan fans need to stop being so fickle change this change that. Whatever changes were required have been done

Keep faith in this team

 

[PakLFC]

Based on what?

I said I hate the way Imad plays. He is just there but doesn't ever make a telling impact. What are you asking me to further elaborate on?

 

[Rayyman]

Also remember Imad took 2/29 in 10 vs Afg in the warm-up.

Would be stupid to replace him with Malik on a dry pitch.

 

[The_KING]

I'm surprised that Malik still has advocates on this forum. I can't believe such an average player has supporters. Malik's chapter should have closed in 2009. He has played way more times than a player of his limited ability should have. Imad is a very average player too, but even he is better than Malik. Imad should definitely play ahead of Malik, who hopefully has played his last ever game for Pakistan.

 

[Nasty Naz]

At this point and in the situation Pakistan are in, you ride and die with this lineup now. Malik/Hasan/Asif have performed too poorly to be recalled and relied upon and if Hasnain still hasn't played a game by now, especially with our non-Amir bowlers struggling so much, he definitely won't play going forward.

 

[QalandarFan]

He's actually not wrong against Afghanistan having Malik at 7 would be a luxury as he can play spin beautifully and dominate the spinners. Remember last time he won us the game against Afghanistan and he can probably get it to spin more than Imad on a turner too and pick up a wicket or two as well. I honestly think we need to get Malik in for Imad. Play it smart don't just blindly keep a winning combo like NZ we need to adapt to different conditions and opponents Malik makes the team in place of Imad against Afg because of the way he plays spin. No fan of Malik but again I feel having him at 7 would give our batting a bit of a cushion with Shadab at 8 at as well.

 

[hur rizvi]

Bunch of clowns these ex players

 

[The_Odd_One]

It took Pakistan 6 matches to find the right combination and Shoaib wants to again change it?

Did not Pakistan start with Malik and then tried Asif as well before realizing that it was best to go with Haris and Imad instead?

 

[Firebat]

2 wickets so far for Imad Wasim in the match vs Afghanistan, one including the dangerous opener Rahmat Shah. Seems like it was a good decision not to take Akhtar's advice.

 

[the_game]

Has bowled really well today, Mr. senior sher is not getting a look in for the rest of the tournament thankfully.

 

[moghul]

Well bowled Imad.

 

[Swing]

Malik is completely finished as a player. It isn't about whether or not he can play spin better than someone already in the team, he is no longer having the reflexes to play international level bowlers. His bowling isn't anything to write home about and as far as I can remember neither is his fielding.

Plus we see enough of him already in those god awful Uber ads.

 

[Nasty Naz]

lol...

 

[BakuGM]

watch a new thread come out asking who should we replace for Malik, my guess is it's going to be Hafeez or even Shadab, LOL.

 

[Zaz]

Won them the game himself What an innings! Well done imad

 

[Asif321]

Egg on shoaib Akhtar face

 

[miandadrules]

watch a new thread come out asking who should we replace for Malik, my guess is it's going to be Hafeez or even Shadab, LOL.

Oh yes, I totally forgot about those two.

Definitely Hafeez next, no doubt.

 

[Firebat]

I was quite confident that we were right not to take Akhtar's advice when the team sheet was announced, but now that the game has finished I can say that with absolute certainty! Staggering all-round performance from Imad, taking 2-48 then scoring an unbeaten 49 under immense pressure to drag Pakistan over the line almost single-handedly. Just amazing!!!

 

[Green Patriot]

Imad has heard Shoaibs comments it seems

Actually Shoaib Akhtar must be the most relieved person of all at Pakistan's win , by Imad's efforts or anybody really because of a certain prediction )

 

[Obaidd]

Shoaib is not a good analyst of the game. Always a simplistic point of view he has.

 

[from_da_lost_dim3nsion]

watch a new thread come out asking who should we replace for Malik, my guess is it's going to be Hafeez or even Shadab, LOL.

lol pretty much . MaliK minions are running around restless to somehow get him in .After today's game I can safety say that Malik has played his last international game for Pakistan.

 

[786warrior]

Bunch of clowns these ex players

EXACTLY - with or without beard!!!

 

[Slim]

This guy doesn't know jack.

 

[Amoeba]

Shoaib Akhtar once again proves he is a brainless idiot. Why do you guys give him any credence these past 20 years?

 

[Jin Chacha]

Akhtar now saying in his latest video that Shoaib Malik should come in place of Imam with Hafeez opening

 

[Amoeba]

Just get Malik in as non playing captain. Then he will be happy.

Any fool can see our top 4 should be Fakhar, Imam, Babar & Haris but not Akhtar it seems.

 

[Rifaqat]

Imad played well but lets not act like he didnt get a lifeline from the umpire....

 

[mgtow]

Shoaib Akhtar hates Malik given the history between each other. Yet Shoaib Akhtar has been persistent on Malik shows that guy is not about personal. Bravo.

That being said, it is too late to experiment but i am afraid with our fragile batting line, we might get exposed by Bangladesh spinners. We almost lost to Afghanistan today as Afghanistan practically handed us the win while we are gallivanting Imad as hero who was limping throughout the inning. No doubt that he held his nerve but if it wasn't for Afghanistan's charity, the game was lost.

 

[miandadrules]

The Maestro would have made 43 off 25.

 

[Amoeba]

Just realised I haven't called Shoaib Akhtar an idiot today. That makes a change for these past 20 years. So let me quickly remedy that. Shoaib Akhtar is an brainless idiot. Ignore everything he says.