Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed must be in the playing XI at any cost

[Justcrazy]

Abrar Ahmed scored 23* (15) against New Zealand during the tri-nation series, he batted with Naseem Shah to save the Karachi Test against New Zealand in January 2023, when the ball was spinning well, and he batted with Saud Shakeel at Galle in July 2023 against Sri Lanka to allow Saud Shakeel to reach his maiden double hundred.

Then he should be promoted a little bit higher and see how he responds. You can test true mettle in match situations.

 

[mominsaigol]

@Aqib_mustafa

Let's say Sufiyan and abrar are both in one playing 11,

Then we have 3 bowlers, who's going to fill in as a no 7 batsmen? Pakistan doesn't have a Marco Jansen in their team.

 

[harshjoshi87]

@Aqib_mustafa

Let's say Sufiyan and abrar are both in one playing 11,

Then we have 3 bowlers, who's going to fill in as a no 7 batsmen? Pakistan doesn't have a Marco Jansen in their team.

Sasta Marco Jansen hai na - Faheem Ashraf

 

[Shaka81]

@Aqib_mustafa

Let's say Sufiyan and abrar are both in one playing 11,

Then we have 3 bowlers, who's going to fill in as a no 7 batsmen? Pakistan doesn't have a Marco Jansen in their team.

TBF, there are not many "batsmen" from 1 to 6 either...

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

I mean seriously guys this boy bowled brilliantly in new zealand where shadab was getting hammered yet sufiyan got dropped from the team not sure he will be retained in odi either this has to stop if pakistan wants to be on top again.

 

[Rana]

I mean seriously guys this boy bowled brilliantly in new zealand where shadab was getting hammered yet sufiyan got dropped from the team not sure he will be retained in odi either this has to stop if pakistan wants to be on top again.

They only need 1 spinner for the series. Abrar is fine.

Shadab, Agha and Khushdil are good second bowler options

 

[shamaan]

They only need 1 spinner for the series. Abrar is fine.

Shadab, Agha and Khushdil are good second bowler options

Still Sufiyaan should have been selected in the squad.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Great thread in hindsight, add Hassan Nawaz and M Naeem in T20s too

 

[cricfan432]

You're right, pak made same mistake in ct 2024 and i hope they do not go with one proper spinner in asia cup and t20 wc.

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

I mean does not make any sense not to play sufiyan and abrar together i blame these sena coaches they always prefer pace over spin this time was no different and this has cost Pakistan a series had both been playing together pak would have win the series i would say in asia cup play them together at any cost.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I mean does not make any sense not to play sufiyan and abrar together i blame these sena coaches they always prefer pace over spin this time was no different and this has cost Pakistan a series had both been playing together pak would have win the series i would say in asia cup play them together at any cost.

Because Saim "Muralitharan" ayub and Salman"Shane warne" Agha are there already..

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Not controlled for bowling speeds and overspin/side spin but these were the numbers for the degrees of turn by PAK spinners in the 1st ODI

Saim - 3.8
Agha - 2.9
Sufyeen - 1.9

 

[gazza619]

I mean does not make any sense not to play sufiyan and abrar together i blame these sena coaches they always prefer pace over spin this time was no different and this has cost Pakistan a series had both been playing together pak would have win the series i would say in asia cup play them together at any cost.

Our think tank is obsessed with playing average bowlers who can bat a bit, or average batters who can bowl a bit.

Been saying this since day 1. Pakistan needs to play proper bowlers and aim to get the opposition out for an average score. That should always be our formula.

 

[Abid Z]

Our think tank is obsessed with playing average bowlers who can bat a bit, or average batters who can bowl a bit.

Been saying this since day 1. Pakistan needs to play proper bowlers and aim to get the opposition out for an average score. That should always be our formula.

The problem is when 4 bowlers can’t hold a bat then the tail becomes too long. It’s all very well having good spinners but Abrar and sufyan can’t bat or field. If there is a bit of dew they can’t grip the ball either.

 

[gazza619]

The problem is when 4 bowlers can’t hold a bat then the tail becomes too long. It’s all very well having good spinners but Abrar and sufyan can’t bat or field. If there is a bit of dew they can’t grip the ball either.

Extra batter didnt help in most of the games though.

 

[shamaan]

Both Abrar and Sufiyaan are tailenders plus thier fielding is club level.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Extra batter didnt help in most of the games though.

Most teams are setup in a way that the batting goes deep, we can’t afford to have four tail-enders in an LOI team.

This is the problem with our fans and cricket in general, the lack of understanding of modern day cricket. It’s not just about strike-rates or hitting sixes, little things like this matter too.

For all the hue and cry about the NZ team that thrashed us in early 2025, please go and check how many full-time bowlers they played.

 

[gazza619]

Most teams are setup in a way that the batting goes deep, we can’t afford to have four tail-enders in an LOI team.

This is the problem with our fans and cricket in general, the lack of understanding of modern day cricket. It’s not just about strike-rates or hitting sixes, little things like this matter too.

For all the hue and cry about the NZ team that thrashed us in early 2025, please go and check how many full-time bowlers they played.

I have no issues in selecting proper bowlers who also have some batting abilities. It seems quite ineffective to have Hussain Talat at number 7 and M Nawaz at number 8, as neither of them are particularly reliable in batting or bowling. You might as well play with 9 players.

It appears that you are trying to mimic other teams without fully understanding our own unique strengths and capabilities.

 

[Usman Chadda]

I have no issues in selecting proper bowlers who also have some batting abilities. It seems quite ineffective to have Hussain Talat at number 7 and M Nawaz at number 8, as neither of them are particularly reliable in batting or bowling. You might as well play with 9 players.

It appears that you are trying to mimic other teams without fully understanding our own unique strengths and capabilities.

Well our unique strengths and capabilities are not good enough for international level, which is why you are playing as an associate nation at the moment. You have to drive a culture where you will feel pain now but you might have young players coming up looking to take down those roles.

Right now there’s no clarity and if there is, it’s not good enough for international level. You want to compete at this level? You have to atleast play with the same template rather than follow what used to happen in eras gone by.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Even in Test cricket batting depth is preferred these days. Nobody in the wildest imagination expected Kuldeep to sit out all 5 matches that too against England who gave a lot of problems when they toured India. India had to make a compromising choice of backing Washington Sundar whose contributions with bat proved to be decisive 3 important tests. If Pakistan goes with 2 "mystery spinners" hoping teams would just cave in they will be mistaken. Couple of reverse sweeps, slog sweeps all these mystery spinners wll lose their rhythm. Happened to the best like Rashid khan. I know Noor is pretty good. Guys like Theekshana, Noor have been good. But they have also been targetted from time to time.

 

[gazza619]

Well our unique strengths and capabilities are not good enough for international level, which is why you are playing as an associate nation at the moment. You have to drive a culture where you will feel pain now but you might have young players coming up looking to take down those roles.

Right now there’s no clarity and if there is, it’s not good enough for international level. You want to compete at this level? You have to atleast play with the same template rather than follow what used to happen in eras gone by.

well if you don’t believe in a team or lack ideas to solve a problem, it’s worth asking why you’re following this sport in the first place. The true beauty of being a sports fan is to remain positive about the next outcome, to hold onto that hope and faith that things will turn around.

Negativity can be quite contagious, and it doesn't help anyone. Instead look forward to the next match/series with optimism.

 

[Usman Chadda]

well if you don’t believe in a team or lack ideas to solve a problem, it’s worth asking why you’re following this sport in the first place. The true beauty of being a sports fan is to remain positive about the next outcome, to hold onto that hope and faith that things will turn around.

Negativity can be quite contagious, and it doesn't help anyone. Instead look forward to the next match/series with optimism.

Hesson is injecting the right ideas to solve one of our problems and fans/journalists/ex-cricketers are going after him for that.

The point was about Pakistan catching up to the standards applied at international level, I’m not sure why my support is suddenly the topic of discussion now?

 

[Tumble]

1. Saim Ayub
2. Sahabzada Farhan
3. Mohammed Haris (wk)
4. Fakhar Zaman
5. Hassan Nawaz
6. Salman Agha
7. Hussain Talat
8. Abbas Afridi
9. Salman Mirza
10. Abrar Ahmed
11. Sufiyam Moqim

 

[Tumble]

This team has 4 spin bowling options & 3 seam options that might be suitable for Asian conditions

 

[Abid Z]

Extra batter didnt help in most of the games though.

That is true. But they have to try something. West Indies are a fantastic and very underrated team right now and Pak are trying a few combinations. They have to get rid of ABDULLAH and drop Nawaz other than that it will come good.

 

[BouncerGuy]

1. Saim Ayub
2. Sahabzada Farhan
3. Mohammed Haris (wk)
4. Fakhar Zaman
5. Hassan Nawaz
6. Salman Agha
7. Hussain Talat
8. Abbas Afridi
9. Salman Mirza
10. Abrar Ahmed
11. Sufiyam Moqim

FOr t20s? Yes then

For longer formats?? Nope... This team will crumble badly like any other team or maybe worse.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Sufian is fine. You need to play 4 pacers and 2 spinners in ODIs.
Batting has been the big letdown. Babar, Rizwan, Agha all 3 failed in this series. Rizwan and Agha don't inspire much confidence with the bat either. You need a proper no.4.

 

[Aqib_mustafa]

I think no matter what play both against india at any cost if you want to win the match both are pakistan best bowlers can spin it should be pakistan trump card for god sake stop playing pacers for the sake of it these 2 in middle overs will be key and decide the game for pakistan.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I think no matter what play both against india at any cost if you want to win the match both are pakistan best bowlers can spin it should be pakistan trump card for god sake stop playing pacers for the sake of it these 2 in middle overs will be key and decide the game for pakistan.

For the record they did not play them together even against minnows.They have 0 matches played together. May be they don't want to hedge their bets on two crappy players who can't bat or field to save their lives? Not even India will play Kuldeep and Varun together both of whom can be twice dangerous.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I am never really sold on Abrar. He is rated very highly by some on PP but I am always nervous about him.