The curious case of Imad Wasim

[LordEddardStark]

In yesterday's match, Shadab Khan was dropped in favor of Faheem Ashraf and Imad Waseem. While Faheem Ashraf was a debutant, I found it bizarre that Imad remained untouched and Shadab had to be axed. Though I always knew Imad is as mediocre as it gets, I just went to check his stats and look what I found.

Imad became a permanent in the team in England Tour of '16 and his performance with both bat and ball in that tour and the next tour of WI to UAE remained exceptional. However since then, starting from ODIs against Australia, his batting & bowling performance is as below:

Matches: 14
Runs: 120
Batting Avg: 17.14
S/R: 102.56

Wickets: 9
Bowling Avg: 53.11
Bowling S/R: 64.11
Economy: 4.97

And on top of that, at the risk of causing an uproar on PP, I am pretty certain that IMAD WASEEM IS A FUTURE TTF. Why?

1. He is mediocre to his core. Definition of bits & pieces player. (As like Hafeez)
2. He has too much fake swagger & attitude in him. Someone who feels all TV cameras are always on his face. (As like Shehzad)
3. He is lazy, lacks work ethic and too full of himself. (As like Umer Akmal)

The sooner we realize it, the better it would be for the team.

What do you say?

 

[Xoib]

he was always bound to be found out.

 

[zyrus]

Seems true. He might be good for u19 games but he's true bits n pieces crickter for international cricket. Apart from having experience of English cricket, I cant see any reason for him yo be in team. That too with Hafeez.

 

[proud_pakistani]

In yesterday's match, Shadab Khan was dropped in favor of Faheem Ashraf and Imad Waseem. While Faheem Ashraf was a debutant, I found it bizarre that Imad remained untouched and Shadab had to be axed. Though I always knew Imad is as mediocre as it gets, I just went to check his stats and look what I found.

Imad became a permanent in the team in England Tour of '16 and his performance with both bat and ball in that tour and the next tour of WI to UAE remained exceptional. However since then, starting from ODIs against Australia, his batting & bowling performance is as below:

Matches: 14
Runs: 120
Batting Avg: 17.14
S/R: 102.56

Wickets: 9
Bowling Avg: 53.11
Bowling S/R: 64.11
Economy: 4.97

And on top of that, at the risk of causing an uproar on PP, I am pretty certain that IMAD WASEEM IS A FUTURE TTF. Why?

1. He is mediocre to his core. Definition of bits & pieces player. (As like Hafeez)
2. He has too much fake swagger & attitude in him. Someone who feels all TV cameras are always on his face. (As like Shehzad)
3. He is lazy, lacks work ethic and too full of himself. (As like Umer Akmal)

The sooner we realize it, the better it would be for the team.

What do you say?

How are you aware of this?

Secondly, with Imad the thing is he plays for Pakistan more primarily because our home series are in UAE. And of late he has played in the Windies. In those places he is a decent bowler.

The thing is if Pakistan continue to play on tracks like UAE guys like Imad Wasim and Mohd Hafeez will always get an advantage while guys like Shadab Khan will be considered a risk. The more guys like Imad and Hafeez play selectors will keep them in the team if they keep things tight and have a decent performance every once in a while because that is the expectation from them. As bowlers they are not expected to run through teams or have a great bowling average.

Batting on the other hand Imad is better than what he has shown so far. Perhaps he bats too low down the order and is not good enough in that position. He seems more like a proper batsman rather than a number 7.

 

[New Yorker]

In yesterday's match, Shadab Khan was dropped in favor of Faheem Ashraf and Imad Waseem. While Faheem Ashraf was a debutant, I found it bizarre that Imad remained untouched and Shadab had to be axed. Though I always knew Imad is as mediocre as it gets, I just went to check his stats and look what I found.

Imad became a permanent in the team in England Tour of '16 and his performance with both bat and ball in that tour and the next tour of WI to UAE remained exceptional. However since then, starting from ODIs against Australia, his batting & bowling performance is as below:

Matches: 14
Runs: 120
Batting Avg: 17.14
S/R: 102.56

Wickets: 9
Bowling Avg: 53.11
Bowling S/R: 64.11
Economy: 4.97

And on top of that, at the risk of causing an uproar on PP, I am pretty certain that IMAD WASEEM IS A FUTURE TTF. Why?

1. He is mediocre to his core. Definition of bits & pieces player. (As like Hafeez)
2. He has too much fake swagger & attitude in him. Someone who feels all TV cameras are always on his face. (As like Shehzad)
3. He is lazy, lacks work ethic and too full of himself. (As like Umer Akmal)

The sooner we realize it, the better it would be for the team.

What do you say?

Should be on a short leash. But against England in the semi he is a still a better punt than Hafeez. And the team can't carry two bits and pieces players like these.

 

[ChachaPakistani]

Overrated batsman. He got 2 fifties in the 2016 England tour and disappeared ever since then

 

[MRSN]

His fitness has to be questioned as well. He was pathetic in the field.

 

[MRSN]

Overrated batsman. He got 2 fifties in the 2016 England tour and disappeared ever since then

If you watch PSL both editions you can watch actually how mediocre and overrated he is with the bat. He has no potential. he is even worse than hafeez. Better to invest in Shadab and Faheem who have more potential.

 

[Markhor]

The new Mohammad Hafeez.

 

[Cricket World]

Worst than MoHA.

 

[sabz86]

ive long thought and said that this guy was a very average player.

1. Not good enough with the bat (his shot yesterday was HORRENDOUS - most teams #11 look better than that shot).

2. Not good enough with the ball, a good day for him is his economy rate being <5 with a wicket or two. Having a bowler like that in your team, over a potential match winner (Shadab) isnt the mindset/positive frame id want to be heading in.

Add to that hes an utterly woeful fielder.

Him and Hafeez are the same type bowler, dont need two in the side.

Amir
Junaid
Hassan Ali
Faheem
Shadab

with Hafeez/Malik as your 6th and 7th options.

Id like to actually hear an arguement as to how he merits selection in our side? doesnt fit any criteria of what we need in our team.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Don't understand the hate he gets from fans. I personally rate his bowling very highly, he troubles non Asian sides and gets wickets in quick succession. He is one of the main reasons Pakistan are in the Semi-Final. Go check AB's record vs Pakistan. This was the first duck he got in years. His batting is a bonus and I see him as a better batsman than bowler.

I dearly hope he doesn't turn into another Hafeez because he is a very good cricketer and has a lot of potential.

 

[Syed1]

I don't like Imad either, but I would have him in the next match because of England's weakness against spin. I'd drop Hafeez and bring in Shadab to further exploit that spin weakness. Azhar can be dispatched to the bench to bring in Haris. Open with Fakhar and Babar (lets be honest Babar is flopping at number three, perhaps opening may help him). Fahim showed all the ingredients of a confident number six batsmen. Besides it's not like our present batsmen are doing any better and throwing a youngster in at six might work in our favour.

Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Sarfaraz
Malik
Fahim
Imad
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junaid



England won't know what hit them

 

[Syed1]

Don't understand the hate he gets from fans. I personally rate his bowling very highly, he troubles non Asian sides and gets wickets in quick succession. He is one of the main reasons Pakistan are in the Semi-Final. Go check AB's record vs Pakistan. This was the first duck he got in years. His batting is a bonus and I see him as a better batsman than bowler.

I dearly hope he doesn't turn into another Hafeez because he is a very good cricketer and has a lot of potential.

I feel like a great deal of your support for him stems from the fact that he hails from the same city as you. It is blatantly obvious. I mean that is not a bad thing, I have a soft spot for Saifi too, but I would have expected an excellent poster like you to be a little more objective.

Imad is as mediocre as they come, he shows up once in a 10 matches or so.

 

[ExpressPacer]

I feel like a great deal of your support for him stems from the fact that he hails from the same city as you. It is blatantly obvious. I mean that is not a bad thing, I have a soft spot for Saifi too, but I would have expected an excellent poster like you to be a little more objective.

Imad is as mediocre as they come, he shows up once in a 10 matches or so.

If you want me to be honest with you, I have every reason to have a bias for him. Not only are we from the same city but we also played from the same club in Islamabad and he used to coach the other guys all the time - like a brother. But I don't have a bias for him. Honestly. I think he may become found out or innocuous in the future, but as of now, Pakistan need his darting.

But maybe you're right. But one things for sure, I don't have any soft spot for him.

 

[shaz619]

I don't think [MENTION=141922]ExpressPacer[/MENTION] is biased, am not from Islamabad but I agree with his views on Imad. I think the problem with Imad is maybe he should tone down his charisma a little bit, he tends to make small people insecure and then they go OTT with their criticisms. But if we look at him objectively the guy is another rookie who had a fantastic tour in England, these comparisons with Hafeez are insulting; when has he ever performed in such conditions?

Ever since Imad did well vs Eng and WI's he has been average but people seriously want to get rid of him based on this small sample when the likes of Malik and Hafeez have been playing since 100000 BC ? if we continue to chop and change youngsters how do you expect to develop them in time for the World Cup in 2019?

We've seen that Imad can be world class, he just needs to be more consistent and management need to support his development in that regard now am not saying he is immune from criticism and doesn't deserve a kick up the backside because he does!

But it is ridiculous to suggest he should be dropped. His bowling has been fine in the CT thus far and as we've seen he can be very effective against non-asian teams, needs to stand up with the bat more often but I have faith he will come good hopefully. Pakistan fans are the most fickle ever, my word they are going on like Imad has been average for 3-5 years , how many games has he played again?

 

[bilawal666]

His batting is a bonus and I see him as a better batsman than bowler.

You gotta be kidding man, you can hardly call him a batsman considering the kind of shot he got out to. It was probably the worst shot I've ever seen. He was basically giving catching practice to the keeper and just stood there looking like a complete buffoon.

Jeez.

 

[bilawal666]

Overrated batsman. He got 2 fifties in the 2016 England tour and disappeared ever since then

He slogged his way to two 50's and really only has the one shot which is the cross batted slap straight to a cover fielder.

 

[ExpressPacer]

I don't think [MENTION=141922]ExpressPacer[/MENTION] is biased, am not from Islamabad but I agree with his views on Imad. I think the problem with Imad is maybe he should tone down his charisma a little bit, he tends to make small people insecure and then they go OTT with their criticisms. But if we look at him objectively the guy is another rookie who had a fantastic tour in England, these comparisons with Hafeez are insulting; when has he ever performed in such conditions?

Ever since Imad did well vs Eng and WI's he has been average but people seriously want to get rid of him based on this small sample when the likes of Malik and Hafeez have been playing since 100000 BC ? if we continue to chop and change youngsters how do you expect to develop them in time for the World Cup in 2019?

We've seen that Imad can be world class, he just needs to be more consistent and management need to support his development in that regard now am not saying he is immune from criticism and doesn't deserve a kick up the backside because he does!

But it is ridiculous to suggest he should be dropped. His bowling has been fine in the CT thus far and as we've seen he can be very effective against non-asian teams, needs to stand up with the bat more often but I have faith he will come good hopefully. Pakistan fans are the most fickle ever, my word they are going on like Imad has been average for 3-5 years , how many games has he played again?

Ah, Shazzy! Supporting me like a real G.

Seriously though, while no one deserves to be given a golden boy status, some of the criticism for Imad is unwarranted. I mean, 3 ODI innings ago, he smashed a 43 not out at a mighty strike rate of 123 with 2 sixes and 2 fours - finishing off the innings beautifully.

Like you so aptly said, his career has hardly begun, he hasn't even played 25 ODI's yet and even then he's won us numerous games with be it his bowling, batting or the charisma that he possesses in the field. Give the guy a little time and if he fails, you can discard him but as of now, he is definitely needed.

 

[sabz86]

You gotta be kidding man, you can hardly call him a batsman considering the kind of shot he got out to. It was probably the worst shot I've ever seen. He was basically giving catching practice to the keeper and just stood there looking like a complete buffoon.

Jeez.

This.

I feel like the people who find him a good player, are resigned to our odi side being mediocre and not getting back to the heights we were once at (90s/early 00s). I believe you pick guys who have the potential to make the side once if gets back to that quality, guys that would add something to a very good side, not a guy who makes up the numbers a for now "does a job".

Im happy to be proven wrong about him, as i liked him very much at the start, however im still after an arguement as to why exactly he merits selection, and the line of "malik and hafeez have been rubbish.." isnt an arguement for merit. What merit does this guy, individually have..

his batting currently is non existent, and his bowling is not as good as Shadabs. Hafeez and Imad are not occupying the same spot, neither is Malik, so the choice isnt between them. Theres two spots for Shadab/Faheem/Imad - thats where i think the comparisons and merit based arguements should be made..

 

[Ellipsism]

I don't like Imad either, but I would have him in the next match because of England's weakness against spin. I'd drop Hafeez and bring in Shadab to further exploit that spin weakness. Azhar can be dispatched to the bench to bring in Haris. Open with Fakhar and Babar (lets be honest Babar is flopping at number three, perhaps opening may help him). Fahim showed all the ingredients of a confident number six batsmen. Besides it's not like our present batsmen are doing any better and throwing a youngster in at six might work in our favour.

Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Sarfaraz
Malik
Fahim
Imad
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junaid



England won't know what hit them

If England struggle against 'spin' why would play Imad? Despite how mediocre Hafeez is, he is a must against England solely based on his bowling.

 

[ExpressPacer]

If England struggle against 'spin' why would play Imad? Despite how mediocre Hafeez is, he is a must against England solely based on his bowling.

Mediocre is an understatement. Hafeez is the zenith of atrociousness. He refuses to bat anywhere lower than No. 4 and he's bitter about Babar replacing him too. He will single-handedly lose Pakistan an all important Semi Final with his abysmal and selfish batting.

That being said, Imad has been among the wickets and played a HUGE role in us winning vs South Africa and won't do worse than Hafeez with the bat. If Hafeez wants a spot in the team, he needs to be able to replace Imad and he certainly can't.

 

[Ellipsism]

Mediocre is an understatement. Hafeez is the zenith of atrociousness. He refuses to bat anywhere lower than No. 4 and he's bitter about Babar replacing him too. He will single-handedly lose Pakistan an all important Semi Final with his abysmal and selfish batting.

That being said, Imad has been among the wickets and played a HUGE role in us winning vs South Africa and won't do worse than Hafeez with the bat. If Hafeez wants a spot in the team, he needs to be able to replace Imad and he certainly can't.

As I and previous posters have mentioned he only does well against teams that have never faced him before. Two wickets against SA and where has he been after that or before that?

Hafeez the bowler for one flights the ball, and gets some drift and seeing that there are a couple of left handers in the England lineup Hafeez the bowler is a must.

If Hafeez is going to play then he should bat at six, we need him as far way from the new ball as possible.

 

[ExpressPacer]

As I and previous posters have mentioned he only does well against teams that have never faced him before. Two wickets against SA and where has he been after that or before that?

A 45 not out at an SR of 125 with 2 sixes and 2 fours two innings before the SA one.

Hafeez the bowler for one flights the ball, and gets some drift and seeing that there are a couple of left handers in the England lineup Hafeez the bowler is a must.

If Hafeez is going to play then he should bat at six, we need him as far way from the new ball as possible.

Has been pretty much innocuous despite chucking this tournament and we both know the latter will never happen. His seniority is too important for him to bat a spot below 4.

 

[Ellipsism]

A 45 not out at an SR of 125 with 2 sixes and 2 fours two innings before the SA one.



Has been pretty much innocuous despite chucking this tournament and we both know the latter will never happen. His seniority is too important for him to bat a spot below 4.

We are talking about his bowling, let's stick to that.

England's struggles against 'spin' are well highlighted and we need spinners and Imad doesn't fit the bill.

 

[mak36]

In yesterday's match, Shadab Khan was dropped in favor of Faheem Ashraf and Imad Waseem. While Faheem Ashraf was a debutant, I found it bizarre that Imad remained untouched and Shadab had to be axed. Though I always knew Imad is as mediocre as it gets, I just went to check his stats and look what I found.

Imad became a permanent in the team in England Tour of '16 and his performance with both bat and ball in that tour and the next tour of WI to UAE remained exceptional. However since then, starting from ODIs against Australia, his batting & bowling performance is as below:

Matches: 14
Runs: 120
Batting Avg: 17.14
S/R: 102.56

Wickets: 9
Bowling Avg: 53.11
Bowling S/R: 64.11
Economy: 4.97

And on top of that, at the risk of causing an uproar on PP, I am pretty certain that IMAD WASEEM IS A FUTURE TTF. Why?

1. He is mediocre to his core. Definition of bits & pieces player. (As like Hafeez)
2. He has too much fake swagger & attitude in him. Someone who feels all TV cameras are always on his face. (As like Shehzad)
3. He is lazy, lacks work ethic and too full of himself. (As like Umer Akmal)

The sooner we realize it, the better it would be for the team.

What do you say?

Imad has performed well in T20Is but he does not seem to play a clear role in the ODI team. His recent form (batting in particular) has been awful.

So this raises the following questions:

a) Is it a case of Imad simply not being good enough in ODIs? Or
b) Is it a case of him being good enough, and he is just going through a rough patch? or
c) Is it a case of Imad not being given a clear role in the team?

I suspect it is a combination of the three. Imad has potential, but if he does not make the necessary improvements he risks becoming a Hafeez mark 2.

If his role in the team is as a bowling all-rounder, then he needs to work on his varieties. Currently, he does not spin the ball at all which makes him a little predictable. Teams have now started to clock on to this and play him like a medium pacer. He needs a delivery which turns a little to keep the batsmen guessing.

The bigger concern is his batting. He occupies an important batting position, but unfortunately he has struggled in this position. If Arthur and co see him as a long term 7, then Imad needs to develop his power-hitting.

Imad's career hasn't progressed in the way many were hoping/expecting. If he fails to make these adjustments/improvements in the next six months then it might be time to look elsewhere.

 

[LordEddardStark]

A 45 not out at an SR of 125 with 2 sixes and 2 fours two innings before the SA one.



Has been pretty much innocuous despite chucking this tournament and we both know the latter will never happen. His seniority is too important for him to bat a spot below 4.

If we take that 43 of 35 into context then other than that he has made a total of 67 runs in 8 innings he has played recently. His scores have been 29, 9, 25, 4, 0, 6, 43, 0, 4. Hardly trustworthy, don't you think?

Plus I think comparing him with Hafeez is utterly wrong. That would have been right had anyone praised Hafeez in the first place. If Hafeez is garbage then does it give us license to put our trust in someone who is lesser of garbage? And mind you, he is lesser only because he has played lesser games as of yet.

 

[LordEddardStark]

As I and previous posters have mentioned he only does well against teams that have never faced him before. Two wickets against SA and where has he been after that or before that?

Hafeez the bowler for one flights the ball, and gets some drift and seeing that there are a couple of left handers in the England lineup Hafeez the bowler is a must.

If Hafeez is going to play then he should bat at six, we need him as far way from the new ball as possible.

You are very right. Australia worked him out soon enough. His figures were 2/35 & 2/37 in first 2 games and 0/59 & 0/69 in other 2 games. Heck even Windies batsmen didn't let him take any wickets in 2017 series. His LOI cumulative figures for that tour were 3 for 159 runs. Does anyone really think he has a chance with his darters before this England batting lineup?

 

[LordEddardStark]

Imad has performed well in T20Is but he does not seem to play a clear role in the ODI team. His recent form (batting in particular) has been awful.

So this raises the following questions:

a) Is it a case of Imad simply not being good enough in ODIs? Or
b) Is it a case of him being good enough, and he is just going through a rough patch? or
c) Is it a case of Imad not being given a clear role in the team?

I suspect it is a combination of the three. Imad has potential, but if he does not make the necessary improvements he risks becoming a Hafeez mark 2.

If his role in the team is as a bowling all-rounder, then he needs to work on his varieties. Currently, he does not spin the ball at all which makes him a little predictable. Teams have now started to clock on to this and play him like a medium pacer. He needs a delivery which turns a little to keep the batsmen guessing.

The bigger concern is his batting. He occupies an important batting position, but unfortunately he has struggled in this position. If Arthur and co see him as a long term 7, then Imad needs to develop his power-hitting.

Imad's career hasn't progressed in the way many were hoping/expecting. If he fails to make these adjustments/improvements in the next six months then it might be time to look elsewhere.

I would give him just one more series. Rather I think it'd do him much good to sit at bench for once. Might get that head out of clouds and start using it on ground for a change.

 

[Zabbaz]

In yesterday's match, Shadab Khan was dropped in favor of Faheem Ashraf and Imad Waseem. While Faheem Ashraf was a debutant, I found it bizarre that Imad remained untouched and Shadab had to be axed. Though I always knew Imad is as mediocre as it gets, I just went to check his stats and look what I found.

Imad became a permanent in the team in England Tour of '16 and his performance with both bat and ball in that tour and the next tour of WI to UAE remained exceptional. However since then, starting from ODIs against Australia, his batting & bowling performance is as below:

Matches: 14
Runs: 120
Batting Avg: 17.14
S/R: 102.56

Wickets: 9
Bowling Avg: 53.11
Bowling S/R: 64.11
Economy: 4.97

And on top of that, at the risk of causing an uproar on PP, I am pretty certain that IMAD WASEEM IS A FUTURE TTF. Why?

1. He is mediocre to his core. Definition of bits & pieces player. (As like Hafeez)
2. He has too much fake swagger & attitude in him. Someone who feels all TV cameras are always on his face. (As like Shehzad)
3. He is lazy, lacks work ethic and too full of himself. (As like Umer Akmal)

The sooner we realize it, the better it would be for the team.

What do you say?

Drop Azhar and bring in Shadab. Imad can play for now because of his economy rate, but don't know what the long term solution is