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Some tough decisions need to be made if Pakistan are to win the 2019 World Cup

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So, we can win a world cup, but we need to take tough decisions:

1- Let Malik be the captain. The guy has great cricketing brain and can help the team in critical situations.

2- Include Shan Masood in the team. I was hoping for Haris Sohail, but since he is unfit, so not sure if he can play. This is very important. This will help a lot in improving our batting line up, as he can provide stable starts against new ball. We don't want to be in 20-30 for 3/4 wickets out, in the mega event, do we? Oh, he should come at number 3, so that new ball can be seen off, as we know babar can struggle against swing.

3- Fielding: While the fielding has improved a lot, but it still has left a lot to be desired. The inner circle fielders need to practice more on the direct hits to the stumps, and they should be fit enough to stop batsman from stealing a single. This is very under-rated and may be over-looked, which definitely won't help our cause.

4- We would win against low profile teams, or minnows, but we need to study and practice what we are going to bowl to the high profiles of the game. The last 20 odd dismissals, should be looked carefully and then plans need to be made how our bowlers are going to bowl to them, because these players will make you pay after they settle in and then our bowlers won't be able to get them out.

5- Drop Amir. Ok, before you criticize, you need to know that he is not at the top of his game. he picked up only 1 wicket, in south africa, where he was supposed to lead our attack, so obviously he should be sent back to the first class, where he should perform and get selected then. He is performing like nobody. The swing is not there. The pace is not there. We don't need to waste a position, as we can play someone better who can contribute towards the team.

6- Drop Imad, or Hafeez. Both guys can bowl 10 overs in a match. With Shan Masood in, we need to sacrifice useless redundancies. I would want Imad to be dropped. Hafeez adds a lot to the team with his batting, and he can bowl 10 overs with decent economy.

7- Don't drop Hassan Ali & Shaheen from now on. Ok, these guys should be made part of the playing 11, so that they know their position and role in the team. Also, they need to have as much as playing experience as possible.

8- Include Junaid Khan. This guy can bowl good in swing and can fill in the role of Amir. Also, he has the nerves of steel, so in pressure situation, you can count on him to deliver.

9- Practice for Chinaman / left arm leg spinner & spin. Although, we are from subcontinent, and its normally expected that we will be good players of spin, but recent times have shared a different story. We suffered a lot against India in asia cup due to this. We need to practice more against spin, and need to have plan about what to do. If we can't score against them big, then we need to at least take singles on sweep shots etc.

What are your thoughts?
 
Dropping Amir should not be a tough decision pretty much straight forward and realistic decision
 
Dropping Amir should not be a tough decision pretty much straight forward and realistic decision

Yeah, it should be a straight forward. Such a surprise that he get free ride along every tour when he needs to be working for his slot in the team, by showing performance in first class like others.

These players jump on playing T20 cricket for easy money, but when it comes to team performance, they don't care much. Seems like the T20 leagues have destroyed our cricketers' passion
 
Imad is a must in this line up. Probably the best hitter out of our lower order a difficult bowler for those who have never faced him.
Have you seen the last 2 games!!??
Hafeez can not bowl 10 overs anymore, he is there for the odd 3-4 overs when a new lefthander comes to the wicket, or a rightie who takes his time. He is not the same bowler unless he resorts to chucking ( I hope he is ready to do this in a world cup semi;) )

DO NOT TOUCH BABAR AT 3

I like imam but I would have preferred Shan to open given his game looked more assured recently, he is a better hooker/puller than imam, his list a record is beastly) HE MUST REMAIN PART OF THE SQUAD

There needs to be some sensible and serious work in the background to determine whether the team as a whole are not happy with sarfaraz being captain. They shouldn't make a change if only one or 2 people have an issue, as u will always get a couple who are not happy.
Otherwise Malik is more than able

About amir, his returns have not been great at all, but i still feel the big opposition players have his respect. That could allow whoever is bowling on the other end to reap the rewards where the opponent's take more risk. He should be in our squad at the least if not the eleven.
 
I stop reading when you said babar should be replaced with shan as babar can not play swing like seriously?
1)World cup is england there pitches are flatest in the world .there will be swing of maximium first 4 overs .
2)Babar have solid technique he don.t have any weakness .he is ideal for number 3.
3)Shan is newbie and yet to play odi cricket .i like him too but we should wait till he plays atleast 10 odis .the mantra of any x,y,z on bench is better than one in playing 11 is ridiclous.
 
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I stop reading when you said babar should be replaced with shan as babar can not play swing like seriously?
1)World cup is england there pitches are flatest in the world .there will be swing of maximium first 4 overs .
2)Babar have solid technique he don.t have any weakness .he is ideal for number 3.
3)Shan is newbie and yet to play odi cricket .i like him too but we should wait till he plays atleast 10 odis .the mantra of any x,y,z on bench is better than one in playing 11 is ridiclous.
My fault since i left it unclear. Babar would come at 4, followed by Hafeez, Malik (make shift hitters ir consolidate order if need be)
 
My fault since i left it unclear. Babar would come at 4, followed by Hafeez, Malik (make shift hitters ir consolidate order if need be)

Babar is not power hitter he should bat at 3 to play long inning and other can bat around him
 
I stop reading when you said babar should be replaced with shan as babar can not play swing like seriously?
1)World cup is england there pitches are flatest in the world .there will be swing of maximium first 4 overs .
2)Babar have solid technique he don.t have any weakness .he is ideal for number 3.
3)Shan is newbie and yet to play odi cricket .i like him too but we should wait till he plays atleast 10 odis .the mantra of any x,y,z on bench is better than one in playing 11 is ridiclous.

You are right about how good the batting wickets in England have been especially in recent years. But looking at previous tournaments in England, somehow it seems and this may just be a coincidence but Pakistan rarely play their matches on the batsmen friendly 300+ English pitches , it’s like these are reserved for the Big Three (Eng, Aus and Ind) — and Pakistan ends up playing on wickets which are more traditional seamer friendly English wickets, where unfortunately Pakistan’s top order gets exposed.

For that reason I would agree with the suggestion of Imam, Fakhar and Shan Masood as top three , Babar at 4 , as we all know if Pakistan can bat 50 overs in full they can accelerate to make up for slow start, but if you lose top 3 in 5 overs and expose your middle order against the new ball , then that can be virtually game over against a good bowling attack. And history will show that’s Pakistan’s biggest problem in England has been collapsing and exposing middle order against the new ball after losing early wickets.
 
Disagree on the Malik captaincy thing. We've been there before and seen it. His Win/Loss record is not exceptionally better than Sarfraz's. Also, during his captaincy he failed to defeat the stronger sides and not to mentioned how he was criticized by players and coaches alike. Malik is a good player but he's not some sort of savior nor should be replace Sarfraz as captain.

Secondly, the whole Shan in and Babar out paragraph is utter garbage.
 
Babar seems to be more capable of surviving seem bowling than fakhar, imam and even shan. He is much better than all other Pakistani top order players. I will never remove him from no. 3 spot. Otherwise, if a couple of wickets fell early than he would be under pressure from first ball.
 
I stop reading when you said babar should be replaced with shan as babar can not play swing like seriously?
1)World cup is england there pitches are flatest in the world .there will be swing of maximium first 4 overs .
2)Babar have solid technique he don.t have any weakness .he is ideal for number 3.
3)Shan is newbie and yet to play odi cricket .i like him too but we should wait till he plays atleast 10 odis .the mantra of any x,y,z on bench is better than one in playing 11 is ridiclous.

Lol, Imagine Boult, Starc bowling with new ball, bringing it back in and then babar falling over for single figures, as he came to bat at 3. Shan would more likely to survive overs at the start. i think at 4, babar would be more than comfortable. Plus, it's not like he won't get 30 odd overs, as you can count our openers to be out to the pavilion by 10th over. So, Babar will still have his shot, more than he would ask for, but in a way that would suit him and the team most.
 
Babar seems to be more capable of surviving seem bowling than fakhar, imam and even shan. He is much better than all other Pakistani top order players. I will never remove him from no. 3 spot. Otherwise, if a couple of wickets fell early than he would be under pressure from first ball.

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Lol, have you checked his record against swing? That's nz tour for you

In third odi, he got run out for 10 or something
 
Disagree on the Malik captaincy thing. We've been there before and seen it. His Win/Loss record is not exceptionally better than Sarfraz's. Also, during his captaincy he failed to defeat the stronger sides and not to mentioned how he was criticized by players and coaches alike. Malik is a good player but he's not some sort of savior nor should be replace Sarfraz as captain.

Secondly, the whole Shan in and Babar out paragraph is utter garbage.

Babar won't be out, just read please. Shan would come at 3 and babar at 4.
 
Babar won't be out, just read please. Shan would come at 3 and babar at 4.

So what you're saying is you'd stick with Fakhar the hack in the hope that he smashes some minnows and not replace him with Shan but instead you will push Babar, who realistically speaking is our most reliable batsman, further down the order.

Babar should remain at 3. This is his place. There should be no shifting around.
 
So what you're saying is you'd stick with Fakhar the hack in the hope that he smashes some minnows and not replace him with Shan but instead you will push Babar, who realistically speaking is our most reliable batsman, further down the order.

Babar should remain at 3. This is his place. There should be no shifting around.

I know Fakhar doesn't have the technique. But he can certainly fire a quick 30-40 in the space of 15-20 deliveries, providing us quick start. We need to have him, in this day and age to give us momentum. Also, left hand batsman kinda shields right hand batting line up against left armers & swing bowlers better. That's what I have felt recently. He proved to be great in NZ too.
 
Lol, Imagine Boult, Starc bowling with new ball, bringing it back in and then babar falling over for single figures, as he came to bat at 3. Shan would more likely to survive overs at the start. i think at 4, babar would be more than comfortable. Plus, it's not like he won't get 30 odd overs, as you can count our openers to be out to the pavilion by 10th over. So, Babar will still have his shot, more than he would ask for, but in a way that would suit him and the team most.

did you watch babar batting in Pak vs Aus series odi series in 2017 against starc hazlewood?i am still trying to understand your point about weakness in babar technique.The best of best can be dismiss for unplayable ball from bowler so no point hiding babar at 4 if he is our best batsmen
 
did you watch babar batting in Pak vs Aus series odi series in 2017 against starc hazlewood?i am still trying to understand your point about weakness in babar technique.The best of best can be dismiss for unplayable ball from bowler so no point hiding babar at 4 if he is our best batsmen

I love Babar. In fact, I think he is the best find for us, in batting. But, I don't want him to go without scoring runs. I simply want him to be behind enough shield. Ideally, I would like him to come around to bat after 15 odd overs, so that he can be set, and make an innings of his own. If it were UAE, i would totally back him at 3.

But in England, in summer, there will be early nip and zip for bowlers and also, there will be swing. So, if having an extra opener per se, the one who was found to be way ahead of our current ones, at 3 will provide him that shield. If Haris would have been fit, I would totally make Babar play at 3 and Haris at 4. But haris isn't around and we need an extra batsman, so that we don't choke
 
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out of his 58 odis you only find his 3 failure in one odi series.if you think he has suspicious technique why he have the following averages in Sa and Aus of odis.

56 in Aus

57 In SA

4 really. In Aus, ball doesn't swing. There is bounce. Same like South Africa. That's I think we find Babar to be better in these series.
 
I love Babar. In fact, I think he is the best find for us, in batting. But, I don't want him to go without scoring runs. I simply want him to be behind enough shield. Ideally, I would like him to come around to bat after 15 odd overs, so that he can be set, and make an innings of his own. If it were UAE, i would totally back him at 3.

But in England, in summer, there will be early nip and zip for bowlers and also, there will be swing. So, if having an extra opener per se, the one who was found to be way ahead of our current ones, at 3 will provide him that shield. If Haris would have been fit, I would totally make Babar play at 3 and Haris at 4. But haris isn't around and we need an extra batsman, so that we don't choke

I am sorry but i don,t buy this logic.The success of team depend on top 3 and if you hide your best batsmen at 4 than it won,t help your team win many games.
 
Do ball swing in England in odi format?

For new ball to swing, it's entirely upto the bowler from what I gather. Good bowlers and the greats of the game, have been able to swing new ball irrespective of the surface, by bowling it full with an upright seam.

May and June, early summer in england, will certainly have bit of moisture at the start of the play, which will add to the help for new ball bowlers to get swing & seam. So, I would expect the starting 10 overs to be very crucial, which actually makes it 5 each for two new balls.
 
It was a just one off series. I think you have forgotten that he smashed back to back fifties in his previous tour ODI of New Zealand. He also scored 90 not out against NZ in Hamilton batting at no. 3 position.

You want to bring shan at no. 3 only because he has performed in one series and babar has failed in one series. Great logic..
 
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Lol, have you checked his record against swing? That's nz tour for you

In third odi, he got run out for 10 or something


It was a just one off series. I think you have forgotten that he smashed back to back fifties in his previous tour ODI of New Zealand. He also scored 90 not out against NZ in Hamilton batting at no. 3 position.

You want to bring shan at no. 3 only because he has performed in one series and babar has failed in one series. Great logic..
 
I am sorry but i don,t buy this logic.The success of team depend on top 3 and if you hide your best batsmen at 4 than it won,t help your team win many games.

Success of team, depends upon team effort, my friend
 
It was a just one off series. I think you have forgotten that he smashed back to back fifties in his previous tour ODI of New Zealand. He also scored 90 not out against NZ in Hamilton batting at no. 3 position.

You want to bring shan at no. 3 only because he has performed in one series and babar has failed in one series. Great logic..

Ideally, I want Haris Sohail and Babar to continue at 3. I don't want Babar to be out, neither I said so in my post. My whole point is, he should be shielded bit more. now, if only openers do that...
 
Ideally, I want Haris Sohail and Babar to continue at 3. I don't want Babar to be out, neither I said so in my post. My whole point is, he should be shielded bit more. now, if only openers do that...

I am not talking about taking him out of the team. I am talking about displacing him from position no 3. Why repair something, when it hasn't broken?
 
I am not talking about taking him out of the team. I am talking about displacing him from position no 3. Why repair something, when it hasn't broken?

Babar batter at no. 4 in that series of new zealand, where he scored 50s in nz
 
Ideally, I want Haris Sohail and Babar to continue at 3. I don't want Babar to be out, neither I said so in my post. My whole point is, he should be shielded bit more. now, if only openers do that...

You play your best batsmen in the top 3 in ODIs, you don't shield them. You give them the maximum opportunity to win matches for the team with big knocks. I can't think of any ODI team that plays their best batsman below #3 (besides finishers).
 
You play your best batsmen in the top 3 in ODIs, you don't shield them. You give them the maximum opportunity to win matches for the team with big knocks. I can't think of any ODI team that plays their best batsman below #3 (besides finishers).

Kohli & Root used to play at 4, for sometime. If haris was in, I would have been comfortable with babar at 3 and haris at 4, knowing i could count on these two to carry on till the end. I understand your point of view. But, with the kind of instability which can creep in our batting, extra batsman, especially the one that can shield an entire line up and save the best, would really help. Also, he would still be getting maximum exposure, since how many times have you seen our team playing 20 overs with only 1 down?
 
The key is to be totally honest with players and tell them to keep their egos bottled and not throw tantrums while selecting the team based solely on the conditions and the opposition.

For example, Imad against India should never be in the team. Play with ten men if you have no other option but not him. Malik shouldn't play on a track that offers any kind of bounce or seam or if the sky looks cloudy. Amir could be played against certain teams in certain conditions but not all matches. Play with three openers if the pitch looks difficult and oppostion has fast bowlers while dropping the big names in middle-order. Be flexible on the captaincy and keeping option as well. That kind of stuff.

Basically, the golden rule "though shall not tinker with the winning combination whatsoever" needs to be sidelined completely.

You can't make drastic changes in three to four months in terms of fielding. Imam won't become the second coming of Rhodes within four months. Amir won't channel Wasim or grow a few inches taller just so he can bounce batsmen out. Pakistan should identify roles, opportunities, and risks and mitigate them as each match goes and hope that the odds favor them.
 
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Kohli & Root used to play at 4, for sometime. If haris was in, I would have been comfortable with babar at 3 and haris at 4, knowing i could count on these two to carry on till the end. I understand your point of view. But, with the kind of instability which can creep in our batting, extra batsman, especially the one that can shield an entire line up and save the best, would really help. Also, he would still be getting maximum exposure, since how many times have you seen our team playing 20 overs with only 1 down?

I kind of agree with your point here. The fact is that the team is imbalanced due to Hafeez/Malik at 4/5. If we lose two wickets early, it'll be very difficult to put up any kind of a decent total against good bowling lineups. But I don't think demoting Babar is the answer.
 
The key is to be totally honest with players and tell them to keep their egos bottled and not throw tantrums while selecting the team based solely on the conditions and the opposition.

For example, Imad against India should never be in the team. Play with ten men if you have no other option but not him. Malik shouldn't play on a track that offers any kind of bounce or seam or if the sky looks cloudy. Amir could be played against certain teams in certain conditions but not all matches. Play with three openers if the pitch looks difficult and oppostion has fast bowlers while dropping the big names in middle-order. Be flexible on the captaincy and keeping option as well. That kind of stuff.

Basically, the golden rule "though shall not tinker with the winning combination whatsoever" needs to be sidelined completely.

You can't make drastic changes in three to four months in terms of fielding. Imam won't become the second coming of Rhodes within four months. Amir won't channel Wasim or grow a few inches taller just so he can bounce batsmen out. Pakistan should identify roles, opportunities, and risks and mitigate them as each match goes and hope that the odds favor them.

On a side-note, there is a major problem in Pakistan, and that is the media that can not fathom the concept of players being rested, or picked based on conditions/opposition etc. This tends to transfer over to the fan-base as well. So if a player does not play, he has been 'dropped' and that too, permanently, and people start speculating about apparent dislikes and 'groupings' in the team.

The ongoing captaincy saga is the latest example. A lot of noisy media people are raising a huge hue and cry about Sarfaraz going home rather than staying with the team and leading Pakistan for the third T20I against South Africa when his ban will be over. The very thought of Sarfaraz being the captain but not leading the team for a match gets people talking. Never mind the fact that the poor guy is desperately overworked and 10 days or so rest should really do him some good.

All these factors build up media pressure and can have an impact on the team.
 
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The key is to be totally honest with players and tell them to keep their egos bottled and not throw tantrums while selecting the team based solely on the conditions and the opposition.

For example, Imad against India should never be in the team. Play with ten men if you have no other option but not him. Malik shouldn't play on a track that offers any kind of bounce or seam or if the sky looks cloudy. Amir could be played against certain teams in certain conditions but not all matches. Play with three openers if the pitch looks difficult and oppostion has fast bowlers while dropping the big names in middle-order. Be flexible on the captaincy and keeping option as well. That kind of stuff.

Basically, the golden rule "though shall not tinker with the winning combination whatsoever" needs to be sidelined completely.

You can't make drastic changes in three to four months in terms of fielding. Imam won't become the second coming of Rhodes within four months. Amir won't channel Wasim or grow a few inches taller just so he can bounce batsmen out. Pakistan should identify roles, opportunities, and risks and mitigate them as each match goes and hope that the odds favor them.

Very good! Agreed to most of your analysis.

One small caveat with is, who would you replace Malik with on those tracks? And would you leave the captaincy to the guy who would rather save runs, then going after their batting with aggressive captaincy? I mean, the match would be lost if we let them score 300 on that pitch, while we can't manage 200 on the same. Captaincy is very crucial aspect..

Also, regarding Amir, I would rather play Junaid if i have to another bowler as Amir is bowling with wobbly seam & has lost pace too, basically out of sorts lately. Junaid looks more seasoned professional i think. The last four would be Shadab, Faheem, Hassan & Shaheen for me. And if you really want Amir to play, or another bowler, i would rather play Junaid in place of Faheem, but I think Faheem can do an alright job with the ball. Can expect him to go for around 5 with may be a wicket or two, while he bowls consistently around 140. and Faheem may surprise with batting too..
 
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Drop Sarfaraz, Imad, Talat, Fahim Ashraf and Amir and replace with Junaid, Saud Shakeel/U Akmal (Slogging), Haris, PS4 young fast bowler, PS4 young batsman
 
There is a major problem in Pakistan, and that is the media that can not fathom the concept of players being rested, or picked based on conditions/opposition etc. This tends to transfer over to the fan-base as well. So if a player does not play, he has been 'dropped' and that too, permanently, and people start speculating about apparent dislikes and 'groupings' in the team.

The ongoing captaincy saga is the latest example. A lot of noisy media people are raising a huge hue and cry about Sarfaraz going home rather than staying with the team and leading Pakistan for the third T20I against South Africa when his ban will be over. The very thought of Sarfaraz being the captain but not leading the team for a match gets people talking. Never mind the fact that the poor guy is desperately overworked and 10 days or so rest should really do him some good.

One of the problems is that the media personnel in Pakistan are very much "tabloid news" inspired. If the team is doing well, they have nothing to report and henceforth they are always looking for one or two controversies to increase their ratings. And the fuel to this fire is added by some very vocal agenda driven ex-players and that's just not good for stability of the cricket team.

My personal opinion is that half of our cricketing problems aren't even related to our cricketing team but this is just a personal opinion and not a scientifically calculated number.
 
On a side-note, there is a major problem in Pakistan, and that is the media that can not fathom the concept of players being rested, or picked based on conditions/opposition etc. This tends to transfer over to the fan-base as well. So if a player does not play, he has been 'dropped' and that too, permanently, and people start speculating about apparent dislikes and 'groupings' in the team.

The ongoing captaincy saga is the latest example. A lot of noisy media people are raising a huge hue and cry about Sarfaraz going home rather than staying with the team and leading Pakistan for the third T20I against South Africa when his ban will be over. The very thought of Sarfaraz being the captain but not leading the team for a match gets people talking. Never mind the fact that the poor guy is desperately overworked and 10 days or so rest should really do him some good.

All these factors build up media pressure and can have an impact on the team.

If the burden of captaincy is too much on him, why doesn't he step down? It's like an evil of his own making, to continue like that, only to self destruct later.

And before this tour, didn't the team have enough rest?
 
Very good! Agreed to most of your analysis.

One small caveat with is, who would you replace Malik with on those tracks? And would you leave the captaincy to the guy who would rather save runs, then going after their batting with aggressive captaincy? I mean, the match would be lost if we let them score 300 on that pitch, while we can't manage 200 on the same. Captaincy is very crucial aspect..

Also, regarding Amir, I would rather play Junaid if i have to another bowler as Amir is bowling with wobbly seam & has lost pace too, basically out of sorts lately. Junaid looks more seasoned professional i think. The last four would be Shadab, Faheem, Hassan & Shaheen for me. And if you really want Amir to play, or another bowler, i would rather play Junaid in place of Faheem, but I think Faheem can do an alright job with the ball. Can expect him to go for around 5 with may be a wicket or two, while he bowls consistently around 140. and Faheem may surprise with batting too..

The team on the day can be anything. I mean at the end of the day if it's a seaming pitch with clouds overhead, Malik can be rested and Shan opens with Imam and Fakhar drops to middle order or bats at four behind Babar.

We used to be flexible; Abdul Razzaq was used as a number three because he had a good defensive technique and he'd just go out there and soften the new ball with straight face stodgy blocking.

The captaincy is a touchy subject but we need to realize that cricket matches can't be won be being defensive. Bowlers need support to take wickets and we are letting pressure off. If Sarfaraz can reinvent his mojo, it's fine as well. If not, then someone needs to step up. The problem here is political as well and I don't want to go into the details of that.

That's my whole point; the egos need to be put on a side and team should be the focus.

Team players may not have tremendous statistics but their value to a team is reflected by the little contributions on vital occassions and we need to find the right balance here if we are to win anything major.
 
I am seeing Pakistan dropping Shadab Khan after two failures :P

Shadab won't & shouldn't be dropped, as he is a very good bowler if properly provided support by the captain, exceptional fielder and good enough batsman too..
 
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