Takeaways from the New Zealand versus Pakistan T20I series (2025)

[Extra_Cover]

Let's dive right into it. The biggest takeaway is that having a fearless attitude or war chest thumping before the game means nothing when on the day you don't have the brains neither the application to make any of it work. Imagine a batting line-up from 1-7 of Afridi like characters, what would be the outcome? Pak v NZ T20 2025 series.

The funny thing is the entire series started with the war chant of being "fearless". This fearless idiocrasy was boosted after 3rd T20. And by the time 5th and final T20 arrived the fearless bunch turned into timid bunch.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong in playing fearless cricket but it means jack nothing without ability. Fearless cricketers are undoubtedly MVPs of the game like Head, Sharma (previous T20 WC), Brook, etc. However all these players have massive ability behind them rather than just branding them as fearless cricketers. They are successful on the back of their ability then they take it a notch above by playing risk game of fearless cricket. So ability comes first, fearless attitude later. We at Pak cricket team are trying to alter this formula which is why we ended with this result.

Coming onto this recent T20 series. I would like to start with positives but there weren't many.
1. Sufyan - How did this guy got dropped after taking 5/3 against Zimbabwe. We have captains like Babar make a career out of battering Zimbabwe but this guy got dropped. To add to that CT games were in spin friendly conditions and this guy isn't even in squad. Thats Pak thinktank in a nutshell.
2. Fielding - Although a lot still yet to be desired in the field there were some good moments in the field which I expect with team of youngsters. The catch from Rauf was brilliant and so were efforts from Niazi, Khushdil and Shadab. Yes there were drop catches such as Usman today, Shadab previously but at least there were sparks. I have this feeling that Pakistan fielders are much more relaxed when game is lost hence their fielding improves on field, if the game is in the balance these players tend to panic even at simple chances. I hope PCB can have a good fielding coach in place for long-term.
3. Bits of fast bowling - Rauf has been good overall in the series. Shaheen has been very decent in only his first over of the game. Muhammad Ali has been unlucky with new ball at times. Me trying to find anything decent from this sorry bunch this is the best I could muster.

Not so positive now, our batting and bowling. Here is my take on our fearless bunch.
1. Hasan Nawaz - The poor lad has got no defensive technique. The guy is made for cement pitches and tape ball. Slight alteration in bounce or movement off the deck he is a lost soul. You know a guy is a gully cricketer when he tries to hit even a short of length balls down the ground. That's Hasan Nawaz, at the moment a gully cricketer who would set sparks in home games against inferior attacks but will not win big games or tournaments.
2. Mohammad Haris - He is completely opposite of Nawaz in the sense that he might actually be type of a player that relishes challenges and big stage to perform. But boy he has got zero application and match awareness. The guy is 200% pre-meditated slogger. Should be discarded from the team for good and hopefully after this series his loud mouth can also take a break for a bit.
3. Salman Agha - Undoubtedly the best of this sorry lot. I don't think he is a long-term option for our T20 side but for the moment he is fine.
4. Shadab Khan - Why is this guy selected? What has changed between Shadab of previous WC vs today? Nothing. He keeps on bowling rank half trackers with pathetic consistency. If he needs to transform his career as a batsman then he needs to pile on big runs to be taken seriously as a batter because as a bowler he is worse than average u19 cricketer.
5. Irfan Niazi - He has potential but he needs at the least 2 seasons in domestic circuit. Even though he is young I believe he much mature and has good game awareness than most of our players. Plus he is an amazing fielder as well. I want him to come back in the side after a break and can be good option for late middleovers batting in T20 and ODIs.
6. Abdul Samad - Might have potential but I saw none of it. He has this weird smile and attitude during the game that suggests he is not taking things as seriously as he should be. Given its his debut series he should have been putting in much more effort and if he is like this now attitude wise then in a year or two time his attitude will be exactly like much of our ex-cricketers.
7. Khushdil Shah - Not cut for international cricket. I'm never fond of such players who either are not capable bowlers nor capable bats. If he had one strong trait you could have made an argument for him but in this case he is not a good bat and not a good bowler so should not be in the team.
8. Shaheen Shah - The guy should realise that he is now mauled in international cricket for fun. Be it a top side or lower ranked side, battering Shaheen has now become norm. On top of that the guy is obsessed with magic deliveries so that once it comes off he can spring into that starfish pose for media and his blind fans but what he fails to realise is that in producing that magic delivery he has already conceded 25 in 2 overs.
9. Haris Rauf - He is a bipolar cricketer. On his day he looks epic and even takes catches like the one we saw in 3rd T20. But most days are not his days unfortunately. Yes he had a good series but if we analyse his performance over a span of 2 years you'd realise he shouldn't even be in the team.
10. Abrar Ahmed - Decent spinner, got battered like rest, not his type of wickets. Obviously is our lead spinner and should continue to be so.
11. Jahandad Khan - Has the ability to swing ball both ways however no control on line and length. Also not sure what his work ethic or attitude is like. I have a feeling he will do well under Rizwan who would get the best out of him.
12. Usman Khan - Still surprised this guy plays cricket for a living. Should be nowhere near international cricket.

Our cricket is dying a slow brutal death. The management at the top is largely responsible for this rot but hey we can't do anything about the management as they aren't selected or elected they are actual descendants of royal Pak families. So we have to live with the fact that we have a lapdog as a chairman who has zero intellect or vision. One can wish we had brains leading our cricket setup rather than rotten guts. One could wish we had a coaching team in place that would actually look to scientific and research driven studies to improve our cricket. One can wish that performance holds more merit in our setup rather than family relationships or political leanings. One can wish that the biggest cricketer this country has produced doesn't languish in jail but can actually lend an idea to take cricket forward.

 

[hafizexpress]

Top analysis. Sums it up.

Although with a few changes and Fakhar and Saim's return, this team could be more threatening. Omair Bin Yusuf needs more chances. M Haris needs to come in the lower order. I think he can be a great #6-7 for Pakistan, and is not cut to open in international cricket.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I will leave it to Rana and Major bhai regarding this but the little cricket I watched I wasn’t impressed at all by most of the players. The quality in Pakistan cricket has deteriorated. I will let the experts speak further.

 

[Ahmed216]

Poor series for us. Worst part is Rizwan could be back if Haris has another poor series.

 

[shah9425]

Give these guys home series with Bangladesh

So nobody complains they were judged on difficult kiwis pitches

 

[pakistani pride]

truth is: Our cricket is dying a slow brutal death.

 

[jamie smith fan]

Nothing
Shunniya
Nada
Zero
Anda

 

[jamie smith fan]

truth is: Our cricket is dying a slow brutal death.

It was dead the day Inzi retired.
We have been minnow level since then.

 

[SportsWarrior]

I watched few highlights and live few overs during first two matches. What really struck me was pathetic quality of batting. Literally gully mohalla quality batsmanship from most except Salman. I watched specifically for players hyped here on PP like harris and honestly he won’t make it to SMAT level t20 in India and will struggle to make it to SL team.

These batsman look like they have never been coached. They have no concept of movement, weight transfer, range of shots, etc. looks just hyped by PR machinery

 

[shariqnoor]

The only 2 clown batsmen that were missing who would've completed a full circus were Captain Asif Ali and Englishman Shan Masood.

On the bowling side, if only Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf would've been included, it would've been a beautiful mezze platter of mediocrity.

Sure give the same guys an opportunity against Bangladesh at home but if they smash the Bengalis, please don't take these players as the truth. They are all still rubbish. Even on Pakistani pitches, one Pat Cummins or Bumrah over will expose these "fearless batsmen"

I just can't stop laughing at those Haris' comments against Babar/Rizwan that if I get the opportunities as an opener, I will score 50's every match too. Lol. Couldn't even lay a bat to ball. As they say "aik toh ghareeb oopar say badtameez."

Also, stop rating Sufyan Muqeem. He's another rubbish bowler. He's just enjoying his honeymoon period in international cricket as did Shaheen. He will soon be found out and get carted around the ground. I don't see anything special about his bowling. Primarily because he doesn't spin the ball. Pushing the ball at 95kph without a consistent line or length can only take you so far. Just cannot understand how you can become a spin bowler without actually spinning the ball.

The only person who can come out of this T20 series with any credibility is Salman Agha. Pakistan should actually work on this guy and improve his power hitting. He can become a decent middle order player because he doesn't slog aimlessly.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Even for T20 hitting you need certain technique. Almost everyone beaten for pace. Lot of balls ended up in deep third or behind the keeper meaning they are not picking the length soon enough. NZ showed how T20 hitting should be done. When the ball comes at certain height it invariably catches the splice of every batsman. They have to spend time working on range hitting against all kind of lengths. Look at Mitch Marsh, you bang it in short bet your bottom dollar it will end up in the stands.

 

[Extra_Cover]

The only 2 clown batsmen that were missing who would've completed a full circus were Captain Asif Ali and Englishman Shan Masood.

On the bowling side, if only Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf would've been included, it would've been a beautiful mezze platter of mediocrity.

Sure give the same guys an opportunity against Bangladesh at home but if they smash the Bengalis, please don't take these players as the truth. They are all still rubbish. Even on Pakistani pitches, one Pat Cummins or Bumrah over will expose these "fearless batsmen"

I just can't stop laughing at those Haris' comments against Babar/Rizwan that if I get the opportunities as an opener, I will score 50's every match too. Lol. Couldn't even lay a bat to ball. As they say "aik toh ghareeb oopar say badtameez."

Also, stop rating Sufyan Muqeem. He's another rubbish bowler. He's just enjoying his honeymoon period in international cricket as did Shaheen. He will soon be found out and get carted around the ground. I don't see anything special about his bowling. Primarily because he doesn't spin the ball. Pushing the ball at 95kph without a consistent line or length can only take you so far. Just cannot understand how you can become a spin bowler without actually spinning the ball.

The only person who can come out of this T20 series with any credibility is Salman Agha. Pakistan should actually work on this guy and improve his power hitting. He can become a decent middle order player because he doesn't slog aimlessly.

On Sufyan Muqeem I agree with your point that this might well be his honeymoon period. The only thing going for him is the novelty factor. I would have liked to see him in CT though as it would have been useful to see if he changes his trajectory depending on spin surfaces. Anyways should not have been dropped from the squad to begin with.

The rest I agree with you. This team doesn't need Pat Cummins or Bumrah to get exposed even the likes of Adam Milne or Ngidi will be treated as second coming of Bond and Ntini.

 

[Xoib]

I will not be too harsh on these blokes when have PCB send its A and U 19 teams on SENA tours most Indian players when they play for India in SENA they have had couple of A tours already PCB on the other hand will waste money on random things but never organise proper A tour

 

[shariqnoor]

On Sufyan Muqeem I agree with your point that this might well be his honeymoon period. The only thing going for him is the novelty factor. I would have liked to see him in CT though as it would have been useful to see if he changes his trajectory depending on spin surfaces. Anyways should not have been dropped from the squad to begin with.

The rest I agree with you. This team doesn't need Pat Cummins or Bumrah to get exposed even the likes of Adam Milne or Ngidi will be treated as second coming of Bond and Ntini.

I agree he should've been part of CT but only because he would've been a novelty. Not because he's anything special.

Pakistan has done well whenever they have had a guy who nobody has really seen. In 2009, it was Amir. In 2012 India series, it was Junaid Khan. In 2017, it was Fakhar and Hasan. In 2019, it was Shaheen.

In the next T20 world cup, Pakistan just needs to induct a couple of nobody's. They would win a match or so single handedly.

 

[cricfan432]

We need hitters whether its Hassan Nawaz or some other guy, look at IPL whole batting lineup can play with 150 plus SR and we are still stuck with Babar Rizwan, world cricket has changed and its time we change too.

 

[Savak]

Yet another bring back Babar and Rizwan thread. Quit this rona dhona, have the courage to suck up defeats. We can't keep over hauling the squad after every meaningless bilateral series loss. The goal is to build and develop our bench strength and use the T20 format for that purpose atleast

 

[jamie smith fan]

Yet another bring back Babar and Rizwan thread. Quit this rona dhona, have the courage to suck up defeats. We can't keep over hauling the squad after every meaningless bilateral series loss. The goal is to build and develop our bench strength and use the T20 format for that purpose atleast

We can't win untill we select teams on merit.
Every other player in the team is a parchi.

 

[PakPremi]

I watched few highlights and live few overs during first two matches. What really struck me was pathetic quality of batting. Literally gully mohalla quality batsmanship from most except Salman. I watched specifically for players hyped here on PP like harris and honestly he won’t make it to SMAT level t20 in India and will struggle to make it to SL team.

These batsman look like they have never been coached. They have no concept of movement, weight transfer, range of shots, etc. looks just hyped by PR machinery

Always said Haris was a hack and Nawaz guy what I have seen him for first time this series will be same league of tulla bazi as Haris, there must be many proper and talented cricketers out there but being ignored for these tuka players.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Yet another bring back Babar and Rizwan thread. Quit this rona dhona, have the courage to suck up defeats. We can't keep over hauling the squad after every meaningless bilateral series loss. The goal is to build and develop our bench strength and use the T20 format for that purpose atleast

Yea.. i think failure of new selection cannot be tied to absence of them. There was a reason why they were dropped. Their selection should purely be based on that

 

[jamie smith fan]

Always said Haris was a hack and Nawaz guy what I have seen him for first time this series will be same league of tulla bazi as Haris, there must be many proper and talented cricketers out there but being ignored for these tuka players.

Maaz
Farhan
Abdullah fazal
Mohammad faiq

 

[Xoib]

Maaz
Farhan
Abdullah fazal
Mohammad faiq

Out of all these only Maaz can work as he has decent basics intact Maaz and Saim will be our long term all format opening pair

 

[Devadwal]

Rasid Latif called these current players as an "Nalla" in his youtube channel

 

[The Bald Eagle]

PCT needs to work on their flaws. And get away with those seniors who live off decadess on one off performances

 

[jamie smith fan]

Out of all these only Maaz can work as he has decent basics intact Maaz and Saim will be our long term all format opening pair

Yeah I rate maaz very highly.He has a good technique and can actually handle pace and movement on and off the surface unlike some of the hacks we have been dishing out recently.Howver i dont know if he can handle extra bounce.

 

[Bewal Express]

Yet another bring back Babar and Rizwan thread. Quit this rona dhona, have the courage to suck up defeats. We can't keep over hauling the squad after every meaningless bilateral series loss. The goal is to build and develop our bench strength and use the T20 format for that purpose atleast

Babar and Riz were turgid in recent times but the issue is whether these guys are going to be any good. Let's give them another series and then decisions can be made. The batting is bad but the bowling is much worse. We don't have a single bowler that is of a good international standard and we have loads that aren't even FC level.
This is a culmination of years of neglect and indifference by political appointees given their roles for money laundering, political support and rigging elections. Soon we won't be qualifying for WCs

 

[Savak]

Babar and Riz were turgid in recent times but the issue is whether these guys are going to be any good. Let's give them another series and then decisions can be made. The batting is bad but the bowling is much worse. We don't have a single bowler that is of a good international standard and we have loads that aren't even FC level.
This is a culmination of years of neglect and indifference by political appointees given their roles for money laundering, political support and rigging elections. Soon we won't be qualifying for WCs

It will be injustice of the highest travesty to bring back Babar, Rizwan in the next bilateral T-20 series especially in Pakistani conditions whereas these new players were exposed to tough batting wickets in NZ.

Personally speaking, Babar and Rizwan have played their last T-20 for Pakistan. Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha, Mohd Haris have already shown what they can do on a good batting wicket to their liking. I would back this new team for the next 2-3 series i.e. 10-15 T-20 games. It took Saim Ayub that amount of time before he finally started producing results.

Our batting has always been hot and cold but it was our bowling attack which made up the difference. In my view the real reason why we have fallen way offside in the last 5 plus years is because of our over rated bowlers who are getting worse and worse. If we can come up with a bowling attack which takes wickets in the opening, middle, death overs and curtails the flow of runs, it will make the team ten times more better.

 

[Xoib]

It will be injustice of the highest travesty to bring back Babar, Rizwan in the next bilateral T-20 series especially in Pakistani conditions whereas these new players were exposed to tough batting wickets in NZ.

Personally speaking, Babar and Rizwan have played their last T-20 for Pakistan. Hasan Nawaz, Salman Agha, Mohd Haris have already shown what they can do on a good batting wicket to their liking. I would back this new team for the next 2-3 series i.e. 10-15 T-20 games. It took Saim Ayub that amount of time before he finally started producing results.

Our batting has always been hot and cold but it was our bowling attack which made up the difference. In my view the real reason why we have fallen way offside in the last 5 plus years is because of our over rated bowlers who are getting worse and worse. If we can come up with a bowling attack which takes wickets in the opening, middle, death overs and curtails the flow of runs, it will make the team ten times more better.

Yeah totally agree bowling is so bad in tests we are actually the worse below BD and in white ball probable only BD is worse and some associates

 

[mominsaigol]

I skipped this entire series lol. . Only been watching on scoreboards and highlights but here are my positives and negatives.

Positives

1) We finally got rid of Babar and Rizwan for one t20 series. The reason this is a positive is because fans had been pondering for years what the situation would be without ba/riz so atleast both parties got their answer.

2) The youngsters were exposed to difficult conditions. Even if the boundaries were small, getting exposed to tough swingy conditons on a foreign land will be a huge confident booster.

3) Agha is proving himself to be a solid allrounder for pakistan and is improving day by day. I'm glad cause it shows why @Devadwal was always out of his element when entering into this agha vs Rizwan discussion with me. One is a solid compact batsmen and the other is a legsode hack. He's a proper gem for pakistan and a solid replacement for Haris sohail at no 5 who was our previous allrounder.

Negatives

1) Bowling wasnt great and pakistan should seriously be worried about their decling bowling stocks + Shaheen's forms.

2) While Hasan Nawaz scored a good century and imo he should be persisted with in the t20 format, the rest of the youngsters failed miserably. I'm all for giving them one more series in home/Asian conditons particularly Pakistan vs Bangladesh however and see where they stand,

But the likes of Haris and a few others are hackish in nature. Saim ayub + Agha are the only ones who give the vibes of Being proper batsmen.

3) Intent was shown. While the batting failed, every youngsters did try to attack which is the standard that is expected in t20.

Imo Babar should be back in t20 but not Rizwan. Agha and babar can play the stabilising role. The rest need to be saim, Fakhar, Hasan Nawaz, and other attacking batsmen.

 

[Savak]

I skipped this entire series lol. . Only been watching on scoreboards and highlights but here are my positives and negatives.

Positives

1) We finally got rid of Babar and Rizwan for one t20 series. The reason this is a positive is because fans had been pondering for years what the situation would be without ba/riz so atleast both parties got their answer.

2) The youngsters were exposed to difficult conditions. Even if the boundaries were small, getting exposed to tough swingy conditons on a foreign land will be a huge confident booster.

3) Agha is proving himself to be a solid allrounder for pakistan and is improving day by day. I'm glad cause it shows why @Devadwal was always out of his element when entering into this agha vs Rizwan discussion with me. One is a solid compact batsmen and the other is a legsode hack. He's a proper gem for pakistan and a solid replacement for Haris sohail at no 5 who was our previous allrounder.

Negatives

1) Bowling wasnt great and pakistan should seriously be worried about their decling bowling stocks + Shaheen's forms.

2) While Hasan Nawaz scored a good century and imo he should be persisted with in the t20 format, the rest of the youngsters failed miserably. I'm all for giving them one more series in home/Asian conditons particularly Pakistan vs Bangladesh however and see where they stand,

But the likes of Haris and a few others are hackish in nature. Saim ayub + Agha are the only ones who give the vibes of Being proper batsmen.

3) Intent was shown. While the batting failed, every youngsters did try to attack which is the standard that is expected in t20.

Imo Babar should be back in t20 but not Rizwan. Agha and babar can play the stabilising role. The rest need to be saim, Fakhar, Hasan Nawaz, and other attacking batsmen.

Sorry but Babar should not get an easy comeback in T-20 Cricket in Pakistani, Subcontinent conditions. If anything he should have been selected in these difficult NZ conditions but the selectors made a choice that they have to back youngsters in the format.

 

[mominsaigol]

Let's dive right into it. The biggest takeaway is that having a fearless attitude or war chest thumping before the game means nothing when on the day you don't have the brains neither the application to make any of it work. Imagine a batting line-up from 1-7 of Afridi like characters, what would be the outcome? Pak v NZ T20 2025 series.

The funny thing is the entire series started with the war chant of being "fearless". This fearless idiocrasy was boosted after 3rd T20. And by the time 5th and final T20 arrived the fearless bunch turned into timid bunch.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong in playing fearless cricket but it means jack nothing without ability. Fearless cricketers are undoubtedly MVPs of the game like Head, Sharma (previous T20 WC), Brook, etc. However all these players have massive ability behind them rather than just branding them as fearless cricketers. They are successful on the back of their ability then they take it a notch above by playing risk game of fearless cricket. So ability comes first, fearless attitude later. We at Pak cricket team are trying to alter this formula which is why we ended with this result.

Coming onto this recent T20 series. I would like to start with positives but there weren't many.
1. Sufyan - How did this guy got dropped after taking 5/3 against Zimbabwe. We have captains like Babar make a career out of battering Zimbabwe but this guy got dropped. To add to that CT games were in spin friendly conditions and this guy isn't even in squad. Thats Pak thinktank in a nutshell.
2. Fielding - Although a lot still yet to be desired in the field there were some good moments in the field which I expect with team of youngsters. The catch from Rauf was brilliant and so were efforts from Niazi, Khushdil and Shadab. Yes there were drop catches such as Usman today, Shadab previously but at least there were sparks. I have this feeling that Pakistan fielders are much more relaxed when game is lost hence their fielding improves on field, if the game is in the balance these players tend to panic even at simple chances. I hope PCB can have a good fielding coach in place for long-term.
3. Bits of fast bowling - Rauf has been good overall in the series. Shaheen has been very decent in only his first over of the game. Muhammad Ali has been unlucky with new ball at times. Me trying to find anything decent from this sorry bunch this is the best I could muster.

Not so positive now, our batting and bowling. Here is my take on our fearless bunch.
1. Hasan Nawaz - The poor lad has got no defensive technique. The guy is made for cement pitches and tape ball. Slight alteration in bounce or movement off the deck he is a lost soul. You know a guy is a gully cricketer when he tries to hit even a short of length balls down the ground. That's Hasan Nawaz, at the moment a gully cricketer who would set sparks in home games against inferior attacks but will not win big games or tournaments.
2. Mohammad Haris - He is completely opposite of Nawaz in the sense that he might actually be type of a player that relishes challenges and big stage to perform. But boy he has got zero application and match awareness. The guy is 200% pre-meditated slogger. Should be discarded from the team for good and hopefully after this series his loud mouth can also take a break for a bit.
3. Salman Agha - Undoubtedly the best of this sorry lot. I don't think he is a long-term option for our T20 side but for the moment he is fine.
4. Shadab Khan - Why is this guy selected? What has changed between Shadab of previous WC vs today? Nothing. He keeps on bowling rank half trackers with pathetic consistency. If he needs to transform his career as a batsman then he needs to pile on big runs to be taken seriously as a batter because as a bowler he is worse than average u19 cricketer.
5. Irfan Niazi - He has potential but he needs at the least 2 seasons in domestic circuit. Even though he is young I believe he much mature and has good game awareness than most of our players. Plus he is an amazing fielder as well. I want him to come back in the side after a break and can be good option for late middleovers batting in T20 and ODIs.
6. Abdul Samad - Might have potential but I saw none of it. He has this weird smile and attitude during the game that suggests he is not taking things as seriously as he should be. Given its his debut series he should have been putting in much more effort and if he is like this now attitude wise then in a year or two time his attitude will be exactly like much of our ex-cricketers.
7. Khushdil Shah - Not cut for international cricket. I'm never fond of such players who either are not capable bowlers nor capable bats. If he had one strong trait you could have made an argument for him but in this case he is not a good bat and not a good bowler so should not be in the team.
8. Shaheen Shah - The guy should realise that he is now mauled in international cricket for fun. Be it a top side or lower ranked side, battering Shaheen has now become norm. On top of that the guy is obsessed with magic deliveries so that once it comes off he can spring into that starfish pose for media and his blind fans but what he fails to realise is that in producing that magic delivery he has already conceded 25 in 2 overs.
9. Haris Rauf - He is a bipolar cricketer. On his day he looks epic and even takes catches like the one we saw in 3rd T20. But most days are not his days unfortunately. Yes he had a good series but if we analyse his performance over a span of 2 years you'd realise he shouldn't even be in the team.
10. Abrar Ahmed - Decent spinner, got battered like rest, not his type of wickets. Obviously is our lead spinner and should continue to be so.
11. Jahandad Khan - Has the ability to swing ball both ways however no control on line and length. Also not sure what his work ethic or attitude is like. I have a feeling he will do well under Rizwan who would get the best out of him.
12. Usman Khan - Still surprised this guy plays cricket for a living. Should be nowhere near international cricket.

Our cricket is dying a slow brutal death. The management at the top is largely responsible for this rot but hey we can't do anything about the management as they aren't selected or elected they are actual descendants of royal Pak families. So we have to live with the fact that we have a lapdog as a chairman who has zero intellect or vision. One can wish we had brains leading our cricket setup rather than rotten guts. One could wish we had a coaching team in place that would actually look to scientific and research driven studies to improve our cricket. One can wish that performance holds more merit in our setup rather than family relationships or political leanings. One can wish that the biggest cricketer this country has produced doesn't languish in jail but can actually lend an idea to take cricket forward.

Excellent post. This deserves POTW.

 

[Mamoon]

The Mohammad Haris delusion needs to end. A terrible batsman who is not half as good as Rizwan in any format of the game and never will be.

People who think he is an alternative, let alone a superior one, are circus clowns. There is a very good chance he is supplanted by another WK batsman in the coming years before Rizwan hangs his boots.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

This series prove a point that our domestic cricket is not preparing the players for International Cricket and the lone option left is to induct U19 players directly in to the national side and hope that they will improve in couple of years time but the sad thing is even the U19 players are not super talented. We definitely need to unearth 4/5 talented players to work with.

 

[giri26]

Except for Sufyan, Pakistan needs to worry about how ineffective their bowling has been. Even the experienced Shaheen, Haris, Naseem, Shadab have been ordinary in recent times. The new bowlers who played in this series have been bang average. That is a bigger concern for Pakistan. The batting has always been a problem for Pakistan but the bowling decline in recent times has been far more alarming. That has been the takeaway from this series.

 

[Mesozoic]

Watched highlights of all the games just now.

The quality of batting talent in Pakistan has got to be at an all time low if these guys are your best bets. Almost all the batters have the exact same tape ball technique with no balance or judgement or power or timing... nothing at all.

I would wager even our 5th tier guys like Ayush Badoni, Rahul Tripathi, Prabhsimran Etc are all better than these Usman Khans and Omair Yusufs and Abdul samads.

 

[kingusama92]

The biggest takeaway is that some Pakistani fans are impatient or have hidden agendas. This is unfortunate as no player should be above the team in a fan's eyes.

Rebuilds don't happen overnight.

This was true when they lost and it was true when they won the third match.

Pakistani cricket is in a tough spot where they need to not only revamp the XI but also the overall mindset. It's going to take time and it might include other players than the ones who were present in this series.

One good thing is that we have seen them move towards being more aggressive and anyone coming into the side is going to have the same mindset to fit in. This will bode well for them over time.

They have five games' worth of footage to work with and assess. They will have learned a lot about these players including who is willing to take feedback, fielding quality, and other in-game stuff that is important for the long-term.

 

[mominsaigol]

The biggest takeaway is that some Pakistani fans are impatient or have hidden agendas. This is unfortunate as no player should be above the team in a fan's eyes.

Rebuilds don't happen overnight.

This was true when they lost and it was true when they won the third match.

Pakistani cricket is in a tough spot where they need to not only revamp the XI but also the overall mindset. It's going to take time and it might include other players than the ones who were present in this series.

One good thing is that we have seen them move towards being more aggressive and anyone coming into the side is going to have the same mindset to fit in. This will bode well for them over time.

They have five games' worth of footage to work with and assess. They will have learned a lot about these players including who is willing to take feedback, fielding quality, and other in-game stuff that is important for the long-term.

Yes but these guys are hacks.

Someone like saim ayub should be backed because he is a proper batsmen with a proper technique.

Same case for omair bin yousaf. I don't mind omair being backed either.

Problem is the rest are all hacks.

The best t20 players of all time kohli, Kp, Warner and gayle were all proper batsmen with proper techniques.

Hacks don't survive in test cricket. Even the SKY bubble burst. Sky is a great t20 player however he's clearly not no 1.

Jaiswal, Sanju, Abhishek, prime kohli, Prime rohit, tilak varma are better batters then he is.

 

[Farabi]

I will not be too harsh on these blokes when have PCB send its A and U 19 teams on SENA tours most Indian players when they play for India in SENA they have had couple of A tours already PCB on the other hand will waste money on random things but never organise proper A tour

The only comment anyone needs to read really.
Essays written by others with zero understanding by folks all around.

 

[jnaveen1980]

PCB has to address their pitch conditions first. THey have the lowest bounce in the world. The pitches they use in domestic white pitch with nothing on it. No wonder England made 800 runs, 509 runs in a single day in Test matches. It gives a false sense of security to batsmen.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Imo Babar should be back in t20 but not Rizwan. Agha and babar can play the stabilising role. The rest need to be saim, Fakhar, Hasan Nawaz, and other attacking batsmen.

This makes sense... Although we have farhan scoring heavily in domestics and he should also be given chance in home conditions because tulla show has failed so far and this could be their last series.

 

[mominsaigol]

This makes sense... Although we have farhan scoring heavily in domestics and he should also be given chance in home conditions because tulla show has failed so far and this could be their last series.

Time to move on from Farhan. Better to have a young team in every format.

Test

1) Azan Awais
2) Saim Ayub
3) Maaz Sadaqat

^^ Your openers

4) Saud Shakeel
5) Kamran Ghulam
6) Omair bin yousaf
7) Salman Ali Agha
8) Qasim Akram
9) Muhammad Rizwan
10) Hasebullah Khan( no other test backup keeper so no choice)

^^ your top to middle order

11) Mohammad Abass
12) Sajid Khan
13) Noman Ali
14) Abrar Ahmed
15) Sufiyan muqeem

^^ Your squad in pakistani conditons if pakistan is planning to continue with their doctored pitch nonsense, otherwise gotta drop sajid, Sufiyan and Abrar for 3 fast bowlers alongside Abass.

Odi

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Saim Ayub
3) Maaz

^^ Openers

4) Salman Ali Agha
5) Babar Azam
6) Rizwan( No backups atm but he should not be captain)
7) Hussain Talat( underrated talent has been grinding in domestics, needs to ve given another go)
8) Haider Ali (no clue why he's being ignored now, he's a much better batter then niazi and tayyab atm), should be our no 6 on current form.
9) Mubasir Khan

^^ Top to middle order

10) Abrar
11) Sufiyan
12) Akif Javed
13) Shaheen (gotta get him back in form)
14) Rauf (no choice atm)
15) Naseem (Same, gotta get him back in rhythm our bowling stocks are dry)

T20

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Saim Ayub
3) Hasan Nawaz

^^ Our openers

4) Haider Ali (Should bat at 5 in t20)
5) Hussain Talat
6) Babar Azam (Should bat only at 3)
7) Salman Ali Agha (Should bat at 4, we need some stability)
8) Tayyab Tahir (Should play over abdul samad, honestly our t20 stocks suck atm)
9) Muhammad Haris (Needs to bat at 7 only)

^^ Our top to middle order

10) Qasim Akram
11) Abrar Ahmed
12) Sufiyan
13) Shaheen
14) Naseem
15) Rauf

 

[BouncerGuy]

Time to move on from Farhan. Better to have a young team in every format.

Test

1) Azan Awais
2) Saim Ayub
3) Maaz Sadaqat

^^ Your openers

4) Saud Shakeel
5) Kamran Ghulam
6) Omair bin yousaf
7) Salman Ali Agha
8) Qasim Akram
9) Muhammad Rizwan
10) Hasebullah Khan( no other test backup keeper so no choice)

^^ your top to middle order

11) Mohammad Abass
12) Sajid Khan
13) Noman Ali
14) Abrar Ahmed
15) Sufiyan muqeem

^^ Your squad in pakistani conditons if pakistan is planning to continue with their doctored pitch nonsense, otherwise gotta drop sajid, Sufiyan and Abrar for 3 fast bowlers alongside Abass.

Odi

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Saim Ayub
3) Maaz

^^ Openers

4) Salman Ali Agha
5) Babar Azam
6) Rizwan( No backups atm but he should not be captain)
7) Hussain Talat( underrated talent has been grinding in domestics, needs to ve given another go)
8) Haider Ali (no clue why he's being ignored now, he's a much better batter then niazi and tayyab atm), should be our no 6 on current form.
9) Mubasir Khan

^^ Top to middle order

10) Abrar
11) Sufiyan
12) Akif Javed
13) Shaheen (gotta get him back in form)
14) Rauf (no choice atm)
15) Naseem (Same, gotta get him back in rhythm our bowling stocks are dry)

T20

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Saim Ayub
3) Hasan Nawaz

^^ Our openers

4) Haider Ali (Should bat at 5 in t20)
5) Hussain Talat
6) Babar Azam (Should bat only at 3)
7) Salman Ali Agha (Should bat at 4, we need some stability)
8) Tayyab Tahir (Should play over abdul samad, honestly our t20 stocks suck atm)
9) Muhammad Haris (Needs to bat at 7 only)

^^ Our top to middle order

10) Qasim Akram
11) Abrar Ahmed
12) Sufiyan
13) Shaheen
14) Naseem
15) Rauf

You cannot ignore 2 brisk centuries in just 4-5 games from Farhan. He needs to be tested at home and asian condition could be his place to bat on.

I would pick him over other tullas for the upcoming bangla series at home...

 

[dravidthewall]

Nothing
Shunniya
Nada
Zero
Anda

First I thought you are naming of some young talent of pakistani players.Then realized its zero

 

[jamie smith fan]

Whatever team pak plays in the future it will have the same composition.

Saim
Tulla 1
TULLA 2
Selmon.
Tulla 4
Tulla 5
Bits and pieces.
Damaad Quota
Trundler.
Spray gun
Misty Spinner.

Surly pak cricket has become a joke now.

 

[Mohraheem]

Tuktuk don’t win you matches! Say no to defensive tactics of Misbah

 

[jamie smith fan]

First I thought you are naming of some young talent of pakistani players.Then realized its zero

There is no talent in pak either.
Pak cricket nowadays is like nil battai sannata.

 

[mominsaigol]

You cannot ignore 2 brisk centuries in just 4-5 games from Farhan. He needs to be tested at home and asian condition could be his place to bat on.

I would pick him over other tullas for the upcoming bangla series at home...

Imran butt was the 2nd highest scorer of that cup

 

[Ahmed216]

There is no talent in pak either.
Pak cricket nowadays is like nil battai sannata.

More than the lack of talent it's the turmoil in the system that's hurting Pakistan in last 2-3 years.
In a utopic world PCB would become an autonomous body like BCCI and we'll set ourselves on path to recovery

 

[jamie smith fan]

tahir baig was 3rd highest.
Uncles like ali majid,khalid usman,sohail khan,rahat ali,yasir shah were the bowlers.
Lol apart from Saim and Maaz to some extent I dont think any young pak batter meets international standards although Maaz is still untested but I rate him higer than hacks like nawaz,nafay,haris and a tad below than saim and fakhar.

Imran butt was the 2nd highest scorer of that cup

 

[jamie smith fan]

18 teams in a domesticT20 competition LOL @mominsaigol

 

[shehz]

New Zealand’s pitches were tough to bat on, and their bowlers were top-class. It was a good test for young batsmen, but I have a feeling that Nawaz and possibly Samad could be very dangerous on slower pitches. Remember, the World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka, where conditions will be different. Unfortunately, this series did not reveal any standout new talent, but it did help identify players who shouldn't be anywhere near the team. From this lineup, I would retain Nawaz, Samad, and Sufiyan, while keeping Rauf as a backup until a better bowling option emerges.

If Shaheen struggled in New Zealand, imagine how bad he will be in subcontinental pitches. As for Shadab, he has been consistently terrible and should not be part of the squad, let alone serve as vice-captain. His attitude and constant shamelss smirk while getting battered throughout the series, was frustrating to watch.

On a positive note, Sufiyan Muqeem should be a must-pick. Teams are thriving with aggressive left-arm spinners, and Sufiyan has the potential to be exceptional. Unlike Abrar, who is condition-dependent, Sufiyan’s height and control make him a more versatile option across different surfaces. We should keep experimenting with new bowlers and batsmen until we find a gem. It's okay to lose with youngsters than trying to hope for a win against usual suspects (Rauf, Shaheen, Shadab, etc)

 

[Farabi]

Let's dive right into it. The biggest takeaway is that having a fearless attitude or war chest thumping before the game means nothing when on the day you don't have the brains neither the application to make any of it work. Imagine a batting line-up from 1-7 of Afridi like characters, what would be the outcome? Pak v NZ T20 2025 series.

The funny thing is the entire series started with the war chant of being "fearless". This fearless idiocrasy was boosted after 3rd T20. And by the time 5th and final T20 arrived the fearless bunch turned into timid bunch.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong in playing fearless cricket but it means jack nothing without ability. Fearless cricketers are undoubtedly MVPs of the game like Head, Sharma (previous T20 WC), Brook, etc. However all these players have massive ability behind them rather than just branding them as fearless cricketers. They are successful on the back of their ability then they take it a notch above by playing risk game of fearless cricket. So ability comes first, fearless attitude later. We at Pak cricket team are trying to alter this formula which is why we ended with this result.

Coming onto this recent T20 series. I would like to start with positives but there weren't many.
1. Sufyan - How did this guy got dropped after taking 5/3 against Zimbabwe. We have captains like Babar make a career out of battering Zimbabwe but this guy got dropped. To add to that CT games were in spin friendly conditions and this guy isn't even in squad. Thats Pak thinktank in a nutshell.
2. Fielding - Although a lot still yet to be desired in the field there were some good moments in the field which I expect with team of youngsters. The catch from Rauf was brilliant and so were efforts from Niazi, Khushdil and Shadab. Yes there were drop catches such as Usman today, Shadab previously but at least there were sparks. I have this feeling that Pakistan fielders are much more relaxed when game is lost hence their fielding improves on field, if the game is in the balance these players tend to panic even at simple chances. I hope PCB can have a good fielding coach in place for long-term.
3. Bits of fast bowling - Rauf has been good overall in the series. Shaheen has been very decent in only his first over of the game. Muhammad Ali has been unlucky with new ball at times. Me trying to find anything decent from this sorry bunch this is the best I could muster.

Not so positive now, our batting and bowling. Here is my take on our fearless bunch.
1. Hasan Nawaz - The poor lad has got no defensive technique. The guy is made for cement pitches and tape ball. Slight alteration in bounce or movement off the deck he is a lost soul. You know a guy is a gully cricketer when he tries to hit even a short of length balls down the ground. That's Hasan Nawaz, at the moment a gully cricketer who would set sparks in home games against inferior attacks but will not win big games or tournaments.
2. Mohammad Haris - He is completely opposite of Nawaz in the sense that he might actually be type of a player that relishes challenges and big stage to perform. But boy he has got zero application and match awareness. The guy is 200% pre-meditated slogger. Should be discarded from the team for good and hopefully after this series his loud mouth can also take a break for a bit.
3. Salman Agha - Undoubtedly the best of this sorry lot. I don't think he is a long-term option for our T20 side but for the moment he is fine.
4. Shadab Khan - Why is this guy selected? What has changed between Shadab of previous WC vs today? Nothing. He keeps on bowling rank half trackers with pathetic consistency. If he needs to transform his career as a batsman then he needs to pile on big runs to be taken seriously as a batter because as a bowler he is worse than average u19 cricketer.
5. Irfan Niazi - He has potential but he needs at the least 2 seasons in domestic circuit. Even though he is young I believe he much mature and has good game awareness than most of our players. Plus he is an amazing fielder as well. I want him to come back in the side after a break and can be good option for late middleovers batting in T20 and ODIs.
6. Abdul Samad - Might have potential but I saw none of it. He has this weird smile and attitude during the game that suggests he is not taking things as seriously as he should be. Given its his debut series he should have been putting in much more effort and if he is like this now attitude wise then in a year or two time his attitude will be exactly like much of our ex-cricketers.
7. Khushdil Shah - Not cut for international cricket. I'm never fond of such players who either are not capable bowlers nor capable bats. If he had one strong trait you could have made an argument for him but in this case he is not a good bat and not a good bowler so should not be in the team.
8. Shaheen Shah - The guy should realise that he is now mauled in international cricket for fun. Be it a top side or lower ranked side, battering Shaheen has now become norm. On top of that the guy is obsessed with magic deliveries so that once it comes off he can spring into that starfish pose for media and his blind fans but what he fails to realise is that in producing that magic delivery he has already conceded 25 in 2 overs.
9. Haris Rauf - He is a bipolar cricketer. On his day he looks epic and even takes catches like the one we saw in 3rd T20. But most days are not his days unfortunately. Yes he had a good series but if we analyse his performance over a span of 2 years you'd realise he shouldn't even be in the team.
10. Abrar Ahmed - Decent spinner, got battered like rest, not his type of wickets. Obviously is our lead spinner and should continue to be so.
11. Jahandad Khan - Has the ability to swing ball both ways however no control on line and length. Also not sure what his work ethic or attitude is like. I have a feeling he will do well under Rizwan who would get the best out of him.
12. Usman Khan - Still surprised this guy plays cricket for a living. Should be nowhere near international cricket.

Our cricket is dying a slow brutal death. The management at the top is largely responsible for this rot but hey we can't do anything about the management as they aren't selected or elected they are actual descendants of royal Pak families. So we have to live with the fact that we have a lapdog as a chairman who has zero intellect or vision. One can wish we had brains leading our cricket setup rather than rotten guts. One could wish we had a coaching team in place that would actually look to scientific and research driven studies to improve our cricket. One can wish that performance holds more merit in our setup rather than family relationships or political leanings. One can wish that the biggest cricketer this country has produced doesn't languish in jail but can actually lend an idea to take cricket forward.

An overly negative and reactionary take.

Players don’t just fall from the sky—they are developed.

These youngsters played in conditions completely unfamiliar to them. Let’s wait and see how Finn Allen and Tim Seifert handle spin-friendly conditions.

What we actually learned:
1. The excuses for RizBabar’s lack of intent—weak middle order, coaching instability—didn’t seem to affect these guys. They played with full intent.
2. A glimpse in Auckland showed how destructive they can be on low-bounce, flat pitches with no movement—the kind they’ll get in Asia, where the Asia Cup and World Cup will be played.
3. Pakistanis don’t understand fearless cricket because we have no patience for player development or risk-taking. We deserve tuk-tuk.

 

[Farabi]

New Zealand’s pitches were tough to bat on, and their bowlers were top-class. It was a good test for young batsmen, but I have a feeling that Nawaz and possibly Samad could be very dangerous on slower pitches. Remember, the World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka, where conditions will be different. Unfortunately, this series did not reveal any standout new talent, but it did help identify players who shouldn't be anywhere near the team. From this lineup, I would retain Nawaz, Samad, and Sufiyan, while keeping Rauf as a backup until a better bowling option emerges.

If Shaheen struggled in New Zealand, imagine how bad he will be in subcontinental pitches. As for Shadab, he has been consistently terrible and should not be part of the squad, let alone serve as vice-captain. His attitude and constant shamelss smirk while getting battered throughout the series, was frustrating to watch.

On a positive note, Sufiyan Muqeem should be a must-pick. Teams are thriving with aggressive left-arm spinners, and Sufiyan has the potential to be exceptional. Unlike Abrar, who is condition-dependent, Sufiyan’s height and control make him a more versatile option across different surfaces. We should keep experimenting with new bowlers and batsmen until we find a gem. It's okay to lose with youngsters than trying to hope for a win against usual suspects (Rauf, Shaheen, Shadab, etc)

Thank you! This is a great, balanced, and positive take.

To add to your point—imagine Tim Seifert and Finn Allen facing Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali on a dry, turning pitch. That’s the kind of challenge these youngsters faced in New Zealand.

It’s easy to sit back and criticize, but right now, the Pakistan team is undergoing a major overhaul, with a new philosophy being introduced. Of course, it won’t be smooth sailing.

Our fans seem to think there’s a magic button that instantly transforms tuk-tuk cricket into fearless cricket—without any growing pains.

 

[Energy]

An overly negative and reactionary take.

Players don’t just fall from the sky—they are developed.

These youngsters played in conditions completely unfamiliar to them. Let’s wait and see how Finn Allen and Tim Seifert handle spin-friendly conditions.

What we actually learned:
1. The excuses for RizBabar’s lack of intent—weak middle order, coaching instability—didn’t seem to affect these guys. They played with full intent.
2. A glimpse in Auckland showed how destructive they can be on low-bounce, flat pitches with no movement—the kind they’ll get in Asia, where the Asia Cup and World Cup will be played.
3. Pakistanis don’t understand fearless cricket because we have no patience for player development or risk-taking. We deserve tuk-tuk.

What we actually learned:
1. The excuses for RizBabar’s lack of intent—weak middle order, coaching instability—didn’t seem to affect these guys. They played with full intent.
Actual learning: Expect 20/4.

2. A glimpse in Auckland showed how destructive they can be on low-bounce, flat pitches with no movement—the kind they’ll get in Asia, where the Asia Cup and World Cup will be played.
Actual learning: Need 50% miscues to compete.

3. Pakistanis don’t understand fearless cricket because we have no patience for player development or risk-taking. We deserve tuk-tuk.
Actual learning: How many youngsters of the CT winning squad 2017 are now the worst players? What does that tell you about the way PCB goes on about developing players? Can you name one player that has been developed in recent times.
This is not advocating for Babar or Rizwan in case you try and deflect. Its high time PCB must look into players who have 5+ domestic seasons, 40-50FC games under their belt at the very least rather than blindly throwing sloggers into the mix under the masquerade of youngsters, aggressions, ruthless, intent - because that's just garbage in = garbage out.

 

[Farabi]

What we actually learned:
1. The excuses for RizBabar’s lack of intent—weak middle order, coaching instability—didn’t seem to affect these guys. They played with full intent.
Actual learning: Expect 20/4.

2. A glimpse in Auckland showed how destructive they can be on low-bounce, flat pitches with no movement—the kind they’ll get in Asia, where the Asia Cup and World Cup will be played.
Actual learning: Need 50% miscues to compete.

3. Pakistanis don’t understand fearless cricket because we have no patience for player development or risk-taking. We deserve tuk-tuk.
Actual learning: How many youngsters of the CT winning squad 2017 are now the worst players? What does that tell you about the way PCB goes on about developing players? Can you name one player that has been developed in recent times.
This is not advocating for Babar or Rizwan in case you try and deflect. Its high time PCB must look into players who have 5+ domestic seasons, 40-50FC games under their belt at the very least rather than blindly throwing sloggers into the mix under the masquerade of youngsters, aggressions, ruthless, intent - because that's just garbage in = garbage out.

You make excellent points about the need for a more rigorous and structured selection process, ensuring players have a minimum number of seasons under their belt. I completely agree with that.

That said, it’s not just about intent—it’s also about the natural power-hitting ability that many of these youngsters possess. It’s still raw, but the potential is there.

I don’t expect a collapse like 20/4, and I also don’t agree with the overly negative take that 50% of the shots were miscues. Expecting Duffy and O’Rourke to be this effective in Asian conditions is naive—they would be taken apart by these same batters.

Cricket is highly contextual. Even if you replaced these players with Kamran Ghulam or Sahibzada Farhan, or anyone with “5 seasons”, Pakistan would still struggle in New Zealand under these conditions against these bowlers because our batters simply haven’t developed the skills to handle this type of bowling.
I am a huge proponent of Sahibzada Farhan, and he has 5 FC seasons etc but was an abject failure away in SENA for example.

The morale of the story here is that “AAP nai ghabrana nai hai”. You need patience or you need to go home.

 

[Xoib]

New Zealand’s pitches were tough to bat on, and their bowlers were top-class. It was a good test for young batsmen, but I have a feeling that Nawaz and possibly Samad could be very dangerous on slower pitches. Remember, the World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka, where conditions will be different. Unfortunately, this series did not reveal any standout new talent, but it did help identify players who shouldn't be anywhere near the team. From this lineup, I would retain Nawaz, Samad, and Sufiyan, while keeping Rauf as a backup until a better bowling option emerges.

If Shaheen struggled in New Zealand, imagine how bad he will be in subcontinental pitches. As for Shadab, he has been consistently terrible and should not be part of the squad, let alone serve as vice-captain. His attitude and constant shamelss smirk while getting battered throughout the series, was frustrating to watch.

On a positive note, Sufiyan Muqeem should be a must-pick. Teams are thriving with aggressive left-arm spinners, and Sufiyan has the potential to be exceptional. Unlike Abrar, who is condition-dependent, Sufiyan’s height and control make him a more versatile option across different surfaces. We should keep experimenting with new bowlers and batsmen until we find a gem. It's okay to lose with youngsters than trying to hope for a win against usual suspects (Rauf, Shaheen, Shadab, etc)

No Samad is garbage don’t waste time on him , Niazi has the most potential that played here but I am not sure in his temperament. Nawaz and Haris deserves a series in familiar conditions to decide their fate

 

[Xoib]

Batting is not bad once you get Saim and Fakhar back in the picture, it’s bowling that is real problem .

Barring Haris there is no one you can be sure of starting XI . I guess Abrar and Muqeem is fine for sub cont/ UAE so this gives us three also Abbas could work on dry slow pitches with his pace change but need altelast two more pacers really hoping Akif and Junior show something in Odis.
Also need to remove Shadab and Khushdil I will give Qasim and Minhas a go

 

[Misia]

What were the Pakistan traveling coaches doing during the games, ? I'm asking this because NZ bowers were all pitching at a particular length and pace was varied Pakistan bowlers couldn't even copy nor the length or pace off. Rauf was the only one, Ali only one pace off ball in two overs Jahandad im guessing was struggling with footing

 

[ads101]

It was good to try new players. But this series was a massive failure. 4-1 flattered us honestly we got absolutely demolished by a second string NZ side. Apart from one game we were struggling to even last 20 overs while New Zealand batsmen were so comfortable out there we could stem the flow of runs or even get them out. It was depressing I expect the batsmen to be bad but our bowling looked toothless too. Even this whole intent thing, we actually batted slower on the whole because we struggled to stay in.

Agha batted well but I wouldn’t call superb. Hasan kind of had a good series but 1 century and basically 4 ducks is worrying. Deserves more chances now, but am worried the century was a one off and he isn’t ready for international cricket yet. And it’s a bit of a mess as we don’t know for sure saim and fakhar are better as openers but it would be absolutely unfair to remove this man from the opening spot. And this is the issue you get when you introduce someone so young who hasn’t even built a domestic record yet, you just don’t know.

Am more just excited to see the next series with changes put in place. Saim and fakhar in, I’d play Sufiyan too just to see too. I’d continue testing out the rest instead of going back to Rizwan-Babar right now. But yeah this is a series to forget and move on. Saim and Fakhar coming back soon are the biggest positives.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Yet another bring back Babar and Rizwan thread. Quit this rona dhona, have the courage to suck up defeats. We can't keep over hauling the squad after every meaningless bilateral series loss. The goal is to build and develop our bench strength and use the T20 format for that purpose atleast

Mate you got the post all wrong. My post is never about Babar or Rizwan. As far as defeats are concerned we as Pak fans very well know how to suck up to them given we have been finding positives or glimmer of hope from defeats for the past 2-3 years now. I agree with your point on having a goal to build your team but there should be an element of common sense involved in building a team. We have likes of Khushdil selected over performances in Bangladesh league, Hassan Nawaz selected over some glimpses in Ramadan T20s, Faheem selected with no glimpses at all. Such selections would not work.

If it were up to me we should try investing in the below T20 players with 2026 WC in mind and also it will be in India / SL.

1. Saim Ayub
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Farhan
4. Agha
5. Shadab
6. Azam Khan
7. Mubasir Khan / Abdul Samad
8. Mohammad Ali
9. Shaheen / Naseem
10. Sufyan Muqeem
11. Abrar

The top 4 speak for themselves and should not need more talking especially with the kind of runs Farhan has made in last 2-3 years. Subcontinent conditions would even suit him further.

I have Shadab at 5 purely as a bat. The reason being Shadab as a middle / lower order bat has frequently outshined normal batsmen in that area. Even in NZ series he had a better tournament with bat than some of our middle order bats like Niazi, Khushdil or Abdul Samad. I do think Shadab can be a very handy bat as he is one of few players who has match awareness and cheeky enough to look for 2s or keep strike rotation going. As a bowler he should be our 6th options, seen enough.

At 6 I have controversial selection of Azam Khan. This selection is purely because the WC will be held in subcontinent conditions and this guy can literally murder spinners. I hope he has not let go of himself enough that his mobility is now affected.

I have a floating position at 7 for someone like Mubasir Khan or Abdul Samad. Even the likes of Qasim Akram can be given a go in this position. Ideally need someone in here who can contribute 3-4 overs in the game and brings energy to the team.

My 2 fast bowlers ideally will be Mohammad Ali and Shaheen / Naseem. The reason Ali is number 1 pick because he is a genuine reverse swing bowler who would do well in Asian conditions. Shaheen or Naseem its the question of who is more bad essentially. Naseem can be decent in death with slow ball bouncers whilst Shaheen can be good in his first over. I might pick Naseem as in Asian conditions slow bouncers are likely to be more effective rather than new ball swing. Please no Haris Rauf in another tournament.

2 spinners will be Abrar and Sufyan with Mubasir and Shadab to provide backup spin options as well.

 

[Extra_Cover]

An overly negative and reactionary take.

Players don’t just fall from the sky—they are developed.

These youngsters played in conditions completely unfamiliar to them. Let’s wait and see how Finn Allen and Tim Seifert handle spin-friendly conditions.

What we actually learned:
1. The excuses for RizBabar’s lack of intent—weak middle order, coaching instability—didn’t seem to affect these guys. They played with full intent.
2. A glimpse in Auckland showed how destructive they can be on low-bounce, flat pitches with no movement—the kind they’ll get in Asia, where the Asia Cup and World Cup will be played.
3. Pakistanis don’t understand fearless cricket because we have no patience for player development or risk-taking. We deserve tuk-tuk.

With all due respect my post is simple observation of what we saw. Its negative because its negative cricket we saw in the series. It would have been positive should we have seen positive cricket.

I'm not judging players on the back of conditions only. For example someone like Hasan Nawaz scored a century yet on the basis of what I saw he is at the moment not ready for international cricket. As I mentioned in my OP the lad got major technique issues and shot selection issues whereby he will be a sitting duck on back of length balls angled into him.

I'm not supporting RizBabar at all, I have said it long time ago after the 2022 WC that the time for RizBabar is done as they had a go at 2 WCs with this combination, they came close but couldn't win. We should ideally have moved onto another pair post that WC perhaps we wouldn't have been eliminated by USA in 2024 then.

Simply by saying we are playing fearless cricket we won't end up playing fearless cricket. The folks out there playing such brand of cricket have ample ability behind them. These lads with limited ability cannot compete with international players. In fact we could very well see fear in their eyes by time of 4th and especially 5th T20 in most these batsmen.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Kamran Akmal speaking on his YouTube channel:

“This is not the standard of Pakistan cricket considering the way this series was played. For the past five or six years, cricket has been handled in a similar way, and no one seems to care about Pakistan's cricket. The focus is only on how to bring in and favor their favorites, irrespective of performance. If a favorite performs, it will be celebrated, but such performances are rarely seen.”

“Look at Mohammad Haris and how he is playing. He is opening in place of Mohammad Rizwan, making a comeback after one and a half to two years. Perhaps the selectors noticed an improvement in technique and performance; this is good. But I believe this entire team formation lacks the required elements, which makes it somewhat of a joke. Such performances are inevitable when decisions are made in this way. The players cannot be blamed, as it was not their personal choice to pick up their kits, travel to New Zealand, and start playing for Pakistan. These players should have been allowed to play domestic cricket, gain experience over three or four seasons, and finish at the top of their domestic circuit. That would have ensured a better performance. But when cricket decisions are made to favor certain individuals, the outcome is predictable.”

“Hassan Nawaz, no doubt is young and needs time, but modern cricket doesn't allow much time. Look at other top teams, like New Zealand, and how they have performed even with a "C" team when facing Pakistan. They consistently defeat us and even dominate when playing here in Pakistan.”

"Our team looked like a local team. It was a shameful performance. The crowd turnout in today's match resembled that of a national-level domestic tournament rather than an international game, which is indicative of how our team's reputation has declined globally due to poor performances.”

 

[mominsaigol]

Kamran Akmal speaking on his YouTube channel:

“This is not the standard of Pakistan cricket considering the way this series was played. For the past five or six years, cricket has been handled in a similar way, and no one seems to care about Pakistan's cricket. The focus is only on how to bring in and favor their favorites, irrespective of performance. If a favorite performs, it will be celebrated, but such performances are rarely seen.”

“Look at Mohammad Haris and how he is playing. He is opening in place of Mohammad Rizwan, making a comeback after one and a half to two years. Perhaps the selectors noticed an improvement in technique and performance; this is good. But I believe this entire team formation lacks the required elements, which makes it somewhat of a joke. Such performances are inevitable when decisions are made in this way. The players cannot be blamed, as it was not their personal choice to pick up their kits, travel to New Zealand, and start playing for Pakistan. These players should have been allowed to play domestic cricket, gain experience over three or four seasons, and finish at the top of their domestic circuit. That would have ensured a better performance. But when cricket decisions are made to favor certain individuals, the outcome is predictable.”

“Hassan Nawaz, no doubt is young and needs time, but modern cricket doesn't allow much time. Look at other top teams, like New Zealand, and how they have performed even with a "C" team when facing Pakistan. They consistently defeat us and even dominate when playing here in Pakistan.”

"Our team looked like a local team. It was a shameful performance. The crowd turnout in today's match resembled that of a national-level domestic tournament rather than an international game, which is indicative of how our team's reputation has declined globally due to poor performances.”

I agree with Kamran to an extent ut he's clearly wrong about a lot of things.

First and foremost these NZ youngsters aren't youngsters.

Tim siefert, Finn Allen, mark Chapman etc have been in the set up for a long time. This is clearly their B team and not their C team. And these are their home conditons lol, if they don't perform in their home den then which team does?

Secondly what does Kami mean by favourites? Who has been brought into this t20 squad team via favouritism?

And lol, Hasan nawaz topped his domestic league which is why he was selected , and guys like omair, Usman are either topping domestic or performing for years in domestic. Don't get the whole favouritism thing.

And while I agree we showcased a club level performance, does Kamran even know how difficult it is for Pakistani people to travel to NZ just for a local t20 odi series . New Zealand and Iceland are the most remote countries in the world. Even more remote then Australia.

No one from Pakistan is just going to ditch their jobs and work life to travel to NZ for one game

 

[SportsWarrior]

The Mohammad Haris delusion needs to end. A terrible batsman who is not half as good as Rizwan in any format of the game and never will be.

People who think he is an alternative, let alone a superior one, are circus clowns. There is a very good chance he is supplanted by another WK batsman in the coming years before Rizwan hangs his boots.

Harris is not just an inferior batsman compared Rizwan but more importantly also a very inferior wicket keeper. Rizwan is pretty average in T20 and probably won’t walk into any major team as a player but Harris won’t even walk into any decent T20 team at regional levels.

If PCT is looking for an alternative to Rizwan they have to keep looking. Harris doesn’t seem to the answer. I am sure there are others who can atleast keep well and slog a few sixes

 

[jnaveen1980]

Batting is not bad once you get Saim and Fakhar back in the picture, it’s bowling that is real problem .

Barring Haris there is no one you can be sure of starting XI . I guess Abrar and Muqeem is fine for sub cont/ UAE so this gives us three also Abbas could work on dry slow pitches with his pace change but need altelast two more pacers really hoping Akif and Junior show something in Odis.
Also need to remove Shadab and Khushdil I will give Qasim and Minhas a go

Pakistan has played Fakhar and Saim together in 10 matches against NZ. Lost 6 Won 3. That too 6 at home 4 away. Fakhar zaman for some is way over-rated in T20. He averages 22@132. His median score is 14. Basically more than half the time he scores 14 or less runs in an innings. This included runs he scored when he was relatively young. He is almost 35. Real age may be 36 which is the same as Kohli's age. He may play a few cameos. But he is not your long term option.

 

[Josh]

Biggest take away is Pakistan has no quality pacers who could ball the same troubling length repeatedly even for 2-3 consecutive balls and opposition can expect minimum 2-3 hit me balls every over.

 

[Aami]

Kebab roll, chips and s drink

 

[Farabi]

With all due respect my post is simple observation of what we saw. Its negative because its negative cricket we saw in the series. It would have been positive should we have seen positive cricket.

I'm not judging players on the back of conditions only. For example someone like Hasan Nawaz scored a century yet on the basis of what I saw he is at the moment not ready for international cricket. As I mentioned in my OP the lad got major technique issues and shot selection issues whereby he will be a sitting duck on back of length balls angled into him.

I'm not supporting RizBabar at all, I have said it long time ago after the 2022 WC that the time for RizBabar is done as they had a go at 2 WCs with this combination, they came close but couldn't win. We should ideally have moved onto another pair post that WC perhaps we wouldn't have been eliminated by USA in 2024 then.

Simply by saying we are playing fearless cricket we won't end up playing fearless cricket. The folks out there playing such brand of cricket have ample ability behind them. These lads with limited ability cannot compete with international players. In fact we could very well see fear in their eyes by time of 4th and especially 5th T20 in most these batsmen.

You say you’re not being negative, yet you keep repeating the same point:

1. Young players are like seeds—you plant them and give them time to grow. You don’t pass definitive judgments this early. Look at the New Zealand players you’re comparing them to—how many games have they played? Tim S was a complete failure at first, and it took him years to find his rhythm.
2. Your negativity is judging on results, not approach. Negative cricket was playing for personal milestones. At least this group is playing for the team. They’re positive because they’re embracing the way white-ball cricket should be played instead of making excuses.

 

[UP]

The focus was more on opening fasts this tour.

You’ll continue seeing an odd rare surprise though like 3rd T20.

Pakistan cricket died 10 years ago, now it’s buried. Thank you ‘establishment’.

 

[Extra_Cover]

You say you’re not being negative, yet you keep repeating the same point:

1. Young players are like seeds—you plant them and give them time to grow. You don’t pass definitive judgments this early. Look at the New Zealand players you’re comparing them to—how many games have they played? Tim S was a complete failure at first, and it took him years to find his rhythm.
2. Your negativity is judging on results, not approach. Negative cricket was playing for personal milestones. At least this group is playing for the team. They’re positive because they’re embracing the way white-ball cricket should be played instead of making excuses.

I will not repeat what's earlier said. In my opinion international cricket is not where you throw someone to see if they'll float or swim, that assessment should be done well before international cricket through domestics. Only on rare occasion a good talent might get a long rope like Babar got in tests.

You can argue that our domestic circuit is rotten is not the best breeding ground for talent but that does not take away the point that its still responsibility of PCB to fix it rather than use international circuit to test new talents that catch the eye.

I have not passed definitive judgements against the young ones. I want Hasan Nawaz to have a proper defensive technique or he won't last how is that negative criticism? I want Haris to have better match awareness and not play totally pre-meditated shots, hows that negative criticism? I want Niazi to spend 2 seasons in domestic so he can come back for a longer and hopefully sweeter return, hows that negative?

 

[Farabi]

I will not repeat what's earlier said. In my opinion international cricket is not where you throw someone to see if they'll float or swim, that assessment should be done well before international cricket through domestics. Only on rare occasion a good talent might get a long rope like Babar got in tests.

You can argue that our domestic circuit is rotten is not the best breeding ground for talent but that does not take away the point that its still responsibility of PCB to fix it rather than use international circuit to test new talents that catch the eye.

I have not passed definitive judgements against the young ones. I want Hasan Nawaz to have a proper defensive technique or he won't last how is that negative criticism? I want Haris to have better match awareness and not play totally pre-meditated shots, hows that negative criticism? I want Niazi to spend 2 seasons in domestic so he can come back for a longer and hopefully sweeter return, hows that negative?

I get your point, but where I think you're mistaken is in expecting immediate, consistent performance right after a player's debut. The reality is that a player needs time to keep developing even after breaking into the international team. Patience is essential, and it's reasonable to expect progress over the course of 30-50 games following a debut. Take Tim Seifert, for example debuted in 2018 and has only recently started to hit his stride.

Hassan Nawaz, Haris could become TimS, Fin Allen, but it would be a difficult journey of 2-3 years.

Also, it's not enough to only look at FC stats. If we focused solely on FC numbers, players like Azhar Ali or Fawad Alam could be contenders. You need to consider both FC and T20I stats. Can you suggest 5 batters who have had 5 great FC seasons and should have been selected for this T20I team instead? Who are the players that should have been preferred?

 

[BouncerGuy]

Bazid Khan speaking during a TV show:

“The reality is that we feel entitled to win World Cups, but how many have we actually won? We are not at Australia's level, nor India's level, as Pakistan has only won three ICC tournaments in total. Almost every second year there is an ICC event, yet this sense of entitlement persists, believing that we should win World Cups and ICC events.”

“The truth is our team is simply not at that world-class level. For instance, Shaheen Shah Afridi's performance is always discussed, but if he is unavailable, who else do we have to rely on? Leave aside T20 cricket—are there any new bowlers emerging in Test matches? No. Are there new bowlers coming in ODIs? No. The development of players has stagnated, while other teams have progressed.”

“The situation has reached a point where we are now comparing ourselves to New Zealand, whereas, in the past, New Zealand was considered below us. Now, we are no longer competing against elite-level teams. If someone claims our team's performance should be world-class, the harsh truth is that it simply is not.”

 

[kingusama92]

Yes but these guys are hacks.

Someone like saim ayub should be backed because he is a proper batsmen with a proper technique.

Same case for omair bin yousaf. I don't mind omair being backed either.

Problem is the rest are all hacks.

The best t20 players of all time kohli, Kp, Warner and gayle were all proper batsmen with proper techniques.

Hacks don't survive in test cricket. Even the SKY bubble burst. Sky is a great t20 player however he's clearly not no 1.

Jaiswal, Sanju, Abhishek, prime kohli, Prime rohit, tilak varma are better batters then he is.

It's a fair point.

I am against playing hackish cricket in any format. Pakistan will need to rework the players they choose over time or develop these guys more, but the first step is positive intent so not the worst position to be in moving forward.

They will eventually find good players, whether it's from the current guys or someone else.

 

[Farabi]

I get your point, but where I think you're mistaken is in expecting immediate, consistent performance right after a player's debut. The reality is that a player needs time to keep developing even after breaking into the international team. Patience is essential, and it's reasonable to expect progress over the course of 30-50 games following a debut. Take Tim Seifert, for example debuted in 2018 and has only recently started to hit his stride.

Hassan Nawaz, Haris could become TimS, Fin Allen, but it would be a difficult journey of 2-3 years.

Also, it's not enough to only look at FC stats. If we focused solely on FC numbers, players like Azhar Ali or Fawad Alam could be contenders. You need to consider both FC and T20I stats. Can you suggest 5 batters who have had 5 great FC seasons and should have been selected for this T20I team instead? Who are the players that should have been preferred?

@Extra_Cover as expected, you couldn’t give 5 names. It’s easy to criticize than it is to provide solutions.

 

[mazkhan]

Takeaway is

Pakistan cricket is finished

There might be an odd victory here and there but I'm beginning to rate afghanistan and bangladesh above us.

 

[Extra_Cover]

@Extra_Cover as expected, you couldn’t give 5 names. It’s easy to criticize than it is to provide solutions.

You can refer to post 59 where I have suggested a potential XI for next T20 WC.

I don't agree with domestic players who excelled in just one tournament be drafted straight into the team neither am I in favour for a constant performer to be warming the benches. In case of Pakistan cricket we get ahead of ourselves way too quickly. We have selected players in XI simply on one or two performances or recency biases. Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Khushdil, Usman Khan are just some names that are bought into a lineup on back of very few domestic performances which I'm not in favour of.

I'm also a big believer or players who meet the eye test. For any player to succeed in international cricket as a bare minimum they need to have compact defense and stable position whilst playing shots. At least players with correct technical ability there is a potential for improvement whilst in international cricket however when we have players with not great or unconventional techniques then chances of international success is pretty slim. Therefore guys like Abdullah Shafique will always outperform guys like Hasan Nawaz in the long run.

 

[Farabi]

You can refer to post 59 where I have suggested a potential XI for next T20 WC.

I don't agree with domestic players who excelled in just one tournament be drafted straight into the team neither am I in favour for a constant performer to be warming the benches. In case of Pakistan cricket we get ahead of ourselves way too quickly. We have selected players in XI simply on one or two performances or recency biases. Hasan Nawaz, Abdul Samad, Khushdil, Usman Khan are just some names that are bought into a lineup on back of very few domestic performances which I'm not in favour of.

I'm also a big believer or players who meet the eye test. For any player to succeed in international cricket as a bare minimum they need to have compact defense and stable position whilst playing shots. At least players with correct technical ability there is a potential for improvement whilst in international cricket however when we have players with not great or unconventional techniques then chances of international success is pretty slim. Therefore guys like Abdullah Shafique will always outperform guys like Hasan Nawaz in the long run.

In your post 59, you mention
5. Shadab
6. Azam Khan
7. Abdul Samad

What is their FC performance?

You are contradicting yourself again and again. You said players should have 5 FC seasons, how many seasons have they played

 

[Extra_Cover]

In your post 59, you mention
5. Shadab
6. Azam Khan
7. Abdul Samad

What is their FC performance?

You are contradicting yourself again and again. You said players should have 5 FC seasons, how many seasons have they played

Ok here we go given you are consistently tagging me here. Where have I said you need 5 FC seasons before you can play for Pakistan? Please don't make stuff up.

Read my post where I have already said in my opinion Shadab has been more useful with the bat than most of our lower order bats of late hence should be playing in that position solely as a batter and not a bowler. Azam Khan is a wk bat, no other wk bat at the moment inspire confidence and this lad has a knack of hitting spinners which would be effective in India/SL conditions. Abdul Samad, I have never said he has a bad technique and I haven't said he hasn't done well in domestics, he has recently. All I said was that this guy's attitude in the game wasn't up to scratch that's it.

If you are going to harp on about domestics then at least bring those players up where I said they haven't done much in domestics. Literally going around the circles and repeating the same thing I have posted above so not sure what you trying to unearth here.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Biggest Takeaway is tulla batting is tulla batting. you cannot trust that stuff too much. It may work once in a while but will be a poor show most of the time.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Akif and sufiyan have been the only positive so far on this tour.. Rest of the team was beyond mediocre