Openers:
Pakistans Opening Batsman options are horrible, very few options, and these very few options aren't even that good.
1. Abdullah Shafique (Just hope this guy doesn't get hyped to the moon)
2. Imam Ul-Haq (Has the potential, just has to put in more FC performances)
3. Abid Ali (But not for long)
4. Imran Butt to make the comeback?
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Middle Order Batsman
(Azhar Ali must be dropped for good now, he is finished)
Saud Shakeel (at 3)
Babar Azam (at 4)
Fawad Alam (at 5)
Karman Ghulam (at 5, but possibly at 3 and 4?)
Usman Salahuddin is a good middle-order option as well
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Wicket-Keeper:
- Mohammad Rizwan. Simple as that.
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Spin Bowlers:
Currently, the best three-man spin attack IMO would be;
1. Yasir Shah
2. Mohammad Nawaz (as an all-rounder also)
3. Zafar Gohar
Although, Yasir Shah has declined. But he is the only decent leg spinner Pakistan has. And Leg spinners are very valuable players, meaning while they will go for heavy runs a bit more often than not, they have the ability to produce match-winning spells.
As for Zafar Gohar, he is been badly treated, as he made his debut in Christchurch, where even NZ dropped Santner I think. He got smashed, but so did the other bowlers, and then he gets dropped...
Sajid Khan, although being the highest wicket-taker in FC last year, looks trash. I'm not saying to drop him, of course, he deserves his chance, but I am saying that he won't last long. Zahid Mahmood is probably not that good in FC and tests also.
One guy that has to step it up though is Shadab Khan. I'm going to be honest, for the last year I haven't really been impressed by him, simply because from the very beginning of his career, he became heavily favoured due to being one of the youngsters in his first PSL, as well as being a gun fielder. Which meant he became captain of Islamabad united, and secured a LOI spot as well as becoming vice-captain of Pakistan LOI, for doing very little, and performing like a sort of "bits and pieces cricketer". But in this T20 WC, where I didn't expect anything from his bowling, his bowling was brilliant throughout the whole tournament, and he did step it up. So if Shadab can step it up for T20 WC, then (for some reason) I believe he still can be good enough to be a Test bowler. He really should be focusing on First-Class and test bowling over anything else now, as to me it looks like he focuses or puts more attention on batting and fielding.
Nauman Ali and Bilal Asif are too old and only perform in specialist/ specific conditions, which doesn't help in the long run.
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Fast Bowlers
- Our lead bowler is Shaheen Shah Afridi. I think Fitness and bowling with the old bowl are the two biggest issues he faces.
- Hassan Ali has been performing well this year, and as long as he is performing, he stays in the team. Also, he is a good example of 'if you perform in first-class, you improve as a bowler, and will get rewarded'.
- Muhammad Abbas has been found out and performs only in specific conditions, he is too old also, so basically, he is pretty close to being finished with international cricket. But for now, I will still have him in the lineup. Simply because Hassan Ali has never succeeded in any format as an opening bowler, as he takes away all the pressure created by Shaheen. so if Muhammad Abbas plays, he will make a good enough opening pair with Shaheen. But, really, Pakistan should have a replacement opening bowler for him by the middle of next year.
- Shahnawaz Dahani. Best Prospect behind Shaheen at the moment, he is a top bowler, and has a huge passion for the game, and is also a very nice guy. He also is taller than Hassan Ali. I believe he performed well in FC last year. But, the main thing is to not fast-track and overhype him into the team. It will be a huge heartbreak if this guy gets ruined.
- Now for Faheem Ashraf. he has had a very good year with the bat, its a bit shocking actually. When his bowling has been at his very best, he is economical, keeps a tight line and length, but, honestly, I don't see Faheem Ashraf as a top bowler. I think he is more of a fifth bowler / part-time option really. In any conditions, he has never looked like he has the ability to take wickets. And over these years since his debut, he has been a bigger 'bits and pieces' cricketer than Shadab Khan. And with his batting, I think Mohammad Nawaz would be as good a batsman as him, which is why I prefer to have Mohmmad Nawaz as my all-rounder over Faheem.
Another pace allrounder that should be slowly brought up into test side is Muhammad Wasim Jr. First of all, Muhammad Wasim Jr. has already played more first-class matches than quite a few of the players on the Pakistan side, and I believe Abdul Razaq was also talking about how he does have a good potential. Plus after watching his bowling in the T20s against Bangladesh, he looks like he has the willingness to work hard and improve, and his action looks improved.
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- Young Players (who are decent prospects)
- Rohail Nazir. back up keeper to Mohammad Rizwan. But let's be realistic, Rohail should start playing at middle order (actually I think he already bats at 3 for Shaheens) because no way is Rizwan going to be dropped for a very long time.
- Omair Bin Yousuf. He has been playing FC and Shaheens for a while now I think, which is good considering the few options we have for openers. I don't actually how good he is though.
- Naseem Shah. Yes, I said Naseem Shah. Even though he had horrible performances in Australia, England, New Zealand, and perhaps he may not be the next 'Legendary talent at 17 years old'. But he still is good talent. When his pace, his confidence was at his best, he bowled very well against Australia A, and although he was average in the end against Australia, some of the balls he delivered were fantastic. The main thing for him is not to lose confidence, and to not be fast-tracked, hyped and he can't be arrogant himself by saying stuff like 'I see fear in batsmen eyes' which is just stupid. And he can't be bear people like Waqar, and Sarafarz too. Look how good he performed under DJ bravo in CPL. But Pakistan never learns as he has been chosen for this Bangladesh tour?? which means he is skipping first-class matches.
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The main thing is for these young prospects to stop skipping chunks of first-class and Shaheens Matches by being selected for first and carrying drinks... As well as being far away from 'coaches' like Waqar. And stop with the fast-tracking.
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So in 2023, at the end of 21 - 23 WTC, I hope the test 11 and squad is something like this;
1. Abdullah Shafique
2. Imam Ul-Haq
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam
5. Kamran Ghulam
6. Mohammad Rizwan (c) (wk)
7. Mohammad Nawaz
8. Shadab Khan
9. Hassan Ali
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi
11. Shahnawaz Dahani
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12. Rohail Nazir
13. Naseem Shah
14. Zafar Gohar
15. Usman Salahuddin
16. Muhammad Wasim Jr.
17. Omair Bin Yousuf
18. Faheem Ashraf
Why Have I chosen Mohammad Rizwan as the captain? Although Babar has been fine (so far), Mohammad Rizwan is the fittest in the team, and one of the fittest players form all teams, one of the most hardworking form all teams, one of the most humble players, if not the most humble, a very positive person also. What I am trying to say is, Mohammad Rizwan has so many great aspects about him, he is a huge gift for Pakistan. Of course Babar, Shaheen and others are gifts also, but Mohammad Rizwan is just on another level. It wasn't good to see Babar Panicking in that T20 WC semi-final, (shades of Sarfaraz there
). Babar should just focus on Batting IMO. I really do feel that if Mohammad Rizwan isn't made captain, Pakistan will miss out. We have already seen Mohammad Rizwan produce some big pressure knocks.
Lastly, with regards to the players Pakistan selects for the team, they need to be players that will make Pakistan fans interested in the team, i.e select the players that are closest to 'superstars'. Because this will make Test cricket better to watch for next generation. If all these 30 +, 35+year-olds, Azhar Ali, Nauman Ali, Bilal Asif, Fawad Alam, Muhammad Abbas, Zahid Mehmood, Sajid Khan, Abid Ali, keep getting selected, who will watch the test matches (apart from those who have enough passion to watch test cricket)?
The good thing is there is already a good start, as Shaheen, Rizwan and Babar, the three players that were superstars in that win against India, are already playing Test cricket. We just need a majority of test players so the playing is limited overs as well, and I can see that happening with that squad I listed. However, at the same time, we can't go too overboard with this (and so the right balance must be found).
