The SHOCKING criticism leveled at Azhar Ali by SELFISH Pakistan fans

[EliteCynical]

What people fail to understand is you don't need all your bats to score above 100 to get 300. Each player has his abilities and limitations and not playing within them might come off once in a while but more often than not they will get out trying. But if you have a plan and specific roles (and admittedly talent which we lack) even if two of your bats score at 80 for 25 overs (120 runs), the rest can get 180 in 150 (S/R 120). And those two bats are important because they lay the platform for the others to hit out.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[srh]

No will have still lost, but atleast that would have given an impression that he was trying to chase the target rather than play for his fifty.

see the impression is more important than the actual work; style is more important than substance;

 

[IndYeah1]

Exactly!
Something I posted in another thread earlier today.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Avg[/td]
[td]S/R[/td]
[td]4/inns[/td]
[td]6/inns[/td]
[td]Vs top 4[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Azhar[/td]
[td]38[/td]
[td]75[/td]
[td]3.3[/td]
[td]0.24[/td]
[td]32@70[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Shahzad[/td]
[td]33[/td]
[td]72[/td]
[td]3.4[/td]
[td]0.23[/td]
[td]32@67[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hafeez[/td]
[td]33[/td]
[td]75[/td]
[td]3.2[/td]
[td]0.47[/td]
[td]26@69[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

But somehow Azhar is unworthy of playing ODIs, while the other 2 are expected to "come good" at some point. BS.

 

[ExplicitAI]

You people seriously want to DROP the one batsman who displayed more FIGHT and HEART then the entire Pakistani Batting line up combined against India?

Here comes a man who has his deficiencies but did not let the situation consume him and went on to play one of the greatest knocks I've ever seen in a Pakistan/India contest but was let down by his team mates. He maintained a superior RR to start off with compared to Dhawan/Rohit, it was only when Hafeez came to the crease he got into a little bit of a rut which lead to his dismissal but that can entirely be blamed on Hafeez who should be banned from playing cricket based on his ineptness and cowardice.

Azhar Ali for majority of his knock was doing more then what was required and he really was supposed to flop right because his technique is not perfect but I would ask this warrior to bat for my life across all formats if it came to it. This man is by far the most gutsy and mentally strong cricketer to come out of Pakistan in recent times and it's time for the bacha party to wake up and RESPECT and APPRECIATE Azhar Ali.

I couldn't help but laugh at this bit ) ) )
We do not have a single batsman apart from Babar, Malik and Sarfraz who can play MODERN ODI cricket. If people want to know what "modern" is, then it's elongated T20's.

 

[Stewie]

Modern ODI cricket has not even touched Pakistan. I will still value Azhar because he scored runs. It doesn't matter how quickly he scored them. I didn't see anybody else scoring them

 

[Third_Umpire]

I find this thread quite good. OP is right.

I think Pakistani fans would have liked Malik's innings more than him.

Azhar tried his best. It was just not his type of game. He has his limitations but still did well. For me as well hafeez was main culprit. Took too much time and that put pressure on azhar too

Problem is, the world is not too kind to "honest triers who did their best". These kind of people win hearts, but not much else.

To win in the real world, you need to be highly skilled, productive, ruthless, dominant. Azhar is none of these.

So...as much as I admire his effort, it doesn't do my team's chances any good. Off with him.

 

[Ankit007]

Problem is, the world is not too kind to "honest triers who did their best". These kind of people win hearts, but not much else.

To win in the real world, you need to be highly skilled, productive, ruthless, dominant. Azhar is none of these.

So...as much as I admire his effort, it doesn't do my team's chances any good. Off with him.

Yes but I don't think you have too many options nowadays. Azhar is better than Sarfaraz as he doesn't have even skills of winning heart. Fakhar is already in. Who could else have opened. And please don't say Harris as he should come in place of hefeez. Hafeez Should be the one getting axed...

 

[Third_Umpire]

Yes but I don't think you have too many options nowadays. Azhar is better than Sarfaraz as he doesn't have even skills of winning heart. Fakhar is already in. Who could else have opened. And please don't say Harris as he should come in place of hefeez. Hafeez Should be the one getting axed...

Yeah for this tournament we have no other good options. But in general, next tournament onward, I'd rather we try new players than keep playing Azhar since we already know what we'll get from him and it's no good. Same with Hafeez and Shehzad.

 

[DHONI183]

I´d make the point again that in an ideal world, in this era, I´d want my team´s batting line-up to be similar to England, Australia or South Africa and hence not play someone like Azhar Ali. However, one thing that has always struck me about him is that he´s a trier, he tries to fight his limitations. Give me him over Shehzad and the like any day, any day. And if guys like Shehzad, Malik and Hafeez are going to get decades of opportunities in the team, then I´m literally going to arrange a sit-in in Islamabad as a protest if Azhar is dropped. Also, in an another ideal world, he could be Pakistan´s Williamson with hitters batting around him. His innings wouldn´t look as bad on the scorecard if others around him had batted at better strike-rates.

Yes, his inning was a bad one because he has the same problem. He can't rotate the strike that well and mainly relies on big shots. Not everyday teams score 70-80 runs in the last few overs. One thing going for him is that he has big shots and if he plays long then he often makes up for his slow start. Ali doesn't have big shot so two different situations.

Ali may be least of Pakistani problem, but he is still a problem. He is not a solution to problem.

One of the sanest post on Rohit. Given the kind of near perfect day India had on Sunday, I was reluctant to point it out as it might´ve looked harsh, but Rohit´s innings against one of the top teams could´ve in the end proven to be a very bad one. I admire his ability to make up by going on a leather hunt in the last overs, but I´d like to know a few more examples (than just two or three) of that having actually happened in an ODI. I saw someone post here that Rohit would´ve gone berserk seeing the required run-rate had he been in Azhar´s place, but that is more of a fantasy based on his two double centuries than anything else. The guy once made 150 as opener with his team chasing 304, batted till the 47th over, and left his team still requiring 35 off 23 when he got out.

And who can forget Maxwell taunting Indian batsmen for playing for themselves in an ODI series in Australia in 2016, a target of which comment was Rohit obviously, who in one match batted all 50 overs for 171 off 163!

I don´t mind batsmen wanting to get an eye in, many great batsmen from the past and even nowadays still follow that approach, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere. An opener should bat at a healthy strike-rate past the 15th over or so, especially if there aren´t any wickets falling at the other end.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Ugly hoicks is all he can. He is not a big hitter. Don't know where you have got that.

I didn't say he is a big hitter, he's a test player. But ugly or not, I said he doesn't lack power, he can hit hard when he needs to. But it's not his natural game so he shouldn't be playing ODI cricket in any case. That is the problem, he's not a natural stroke player. But in this game he did better than most of the other losers, that was the point.

 

[UN talkz]

[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION]
completely agree with u..... we all know what his natural game is but despite that he was the only player apart from malik who showed some intent.....
it is not azhar's fault if he scores at a lesser SR it is the management's fault who have selected him despite knowing wat kind of a player he is....
but i certain about one thing if azhar would hav been given as many chances as hafeez or even selfie he would hav been a great shorter format player.

 

[Amir]

It was a decent knock but lets be honest. He is not a one day player. He can't rotate strike well. His running is atrocious. He should have been run out two times. Ran out his partner. Slowed down just for his fifty. And to be frank, because of his poor strike rotation, he would just end up throwing his bat and get a boundary to alleviate some pressure but that does not always work (I remember he played a cut to Yadav or Kumar and it was very pre-meditated).

He was not the worse of the lot that day but he is no one day player. Accept it . Move on.

 

[Savak]

A player like Azhar Ali can only survive if there are atleast 5-6 Sharjeels who can make up for his slow batting. But Pakistan does not have this luxury. Many times we have seen with Azhar's batting that whenever he has been under pressure to accelerate, whenever he has to play a get out of jail shot, he falters and ends up losing his wicket and is therefore unable to accelerate and has an ending strike rate of early to mid 70's.

In contrast a batsman like Gayle or Sharma who is on 3-4 runs of 20 plus deliveries, you know full well they have the class, talent to really make up for it in the end with 4's and 6's but the sad reality is that Azhar Ali does not have this class or ability.

This is not a knock on Azhar Ali, he did his best but we have to acknowledge reality that even his best is out dated and not going to help Pakistani in ODI Cricket and certainly not against the best bowlers, the best teams. His performances in ODI Cricket dipped the moment he started facing better and better bowling attacks.

 

[Spidy201]

6s per innings? Really? That's an odd way to criticize a player. You do know that in cricket all the runs count, not just the 6s.

Sure, Azhar Ali is no Rohit Sharma. But why bash him for that. Compare him to the likes of Hafeez, even Shehzad. He's yards better than those losers. Pakistan should USE his abilities to the best benefit of the team, not be fixated on what he can't do. Fans are desperate for quality ODI batsmen who can score big and hit boundaries - I can understand that - the top teams all have at least 2-3 of such players while Pakistan seems to have only Babar, who's still developing. But given the situation, Ali is still a useful player. Focus on eliminating the dead-wood, not the limited but still useful players. Else you will be stuck in this same "rebuild" cycle forever.

Some Pakistani posted on twitter that Pak team has a losing record against the top 4 cricket teams for the last 12 years. This is not a new problem. Its a systemic one, and the reasons are obvious. Azhar Ali is not one of them.

you didn't get the context of the post. my point was unlike Rohit Sharma ali cannot afford too many dot balls, as Rohit makes up for dot balls by hitting 6s, so neither he takes singles nor he can smack boundaries, then how can he be a good ODI Batsman? Pakistan having no other option is different issue, and that issue doesn't make Ali above criticism.

 

[Misia]

its high time the powers that be grew a pair and took drastic measure. bring new faces in let them showcase there tallents instead of playing the usual regualrs, dont worry if you loose the match or series give the new faces chance to settle .. the norm is not working its always gets realy bad before it get better

 

[Spidy201]

Exactly!
Something I posted in another thread earlier today.

[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td][/td]
[td]Avg[/td]
[td]S/R[/td]
[td]4/inns[/td]
[td]6/inns[/td]
[td]Vs top 4[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Azhar[/td]
[td]38[/td]
[td]75[/td]
[td]3.3[/td]
[td]0.24[/td]
[td]32@70[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Shahzad[/td]
[td]33[/td]
[td]72[/td]
[td]3.4[/td]
[td]0.23[/td]
[td]32@67[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hafeez[/td]
[td]33[/td]
[td]75[/td]
[td]3.2[/td]
[td]0.47[/td]
[td]26@69[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Strange, isn't it? Azhar and shehzad have identical statistics, while Shehzad gets all the flak and Azhar Ali is above criticism coz he is better Test player

 

[shaz619]

Either way I agree with you. It seems like Malik was the only guy who wanted to purposefully accelerate while others tried to play in. Azhar was doing the 'playing in' part so others have to step on the gear - like Hafeez.

It's just the team dynamic is all wrong. Too many people who can stay in, not enough who can bat and push ahead.

Malik was run out and displayed intent while he was there so I excuse him from my criticisms. But Azhar Ali comes out of the match looking even worse then he went in despite the fact that he outperformed the rest I mean how on earth does that even work it's like defying the laws of gravity, free fall in reverse No way am I suggesting Azhar is perfect but how dare pathetic fans criticise the one man who fought while the others quit against India

 

[shaz619]

It was a decent knock but lets be honest. He is not a one day player. He can't rotate strike well. His running is atrocious. He should have been run out two times. Ran out his partner. Slowed down just for his fifty. And to be frank, because of his poor strike rotation, he would just end up throwing his bat and get a boundary to alleviate some pressure but that does not always work (I remember he played a cut to Yadav or Kumar and it was very pre-meditated).

He was not the worse of the lot that day but he is no one day player. Accept it . Move on.

That's not the point which is being debated but his individual knock on that day he was an ODI batsman and looked the part in comparison to the others who surrendered, how can Azhar be criticised in that scenario?

 

[Lynx]

Most of the Pakistani fans fail to put things into context. Nothing against their golden boy Babar Azam who played a MAIDEN in a shortened chase. There are far bigger problems in our batting lineup than Azhar, the only guy who wasn't a mental midget that day. That despite his limitations he was 36 (33) at one stage, and if only he didn't have pathetic excuses for batsmen in Shehzad at the other end, followed by Hafeez, he wouldn't have to put that big a prize on his wicket and slow down.

He wasn't the one who asked to be selected for the CT. Blame the selectors if anything. Why blame a guy who at least tries and shows more fight than any batsman, if selected, despite his limitations as an ODI batsman? It's NOT his fault.

The OP's right, you lot are pathetic. Any argument without context is null.

 

[shaz619]

I´d make the point again that in an ideal world, in this era, I´d want my team´s batting line-up to be similar to England, Australia or South Africa and hence not play someone like Azhar Ali. However, one thing that has always struck me about him is that he´s a trier, he tries to fight his limitations. Give me him over Shehzad and the like any day, any day. And if guys like Shehzad, Malik and Hafeez are going to get decades of opportunities in the team, then I´m literally going to arrange a sit-in in Islamabad as a protest if Azhar is dropped. Also, in an another ideal world, he could be Pakistan´s Williamson with hitters batting around him. His innings wouldn´t look as bad on the scorecard if others around him had batted at better strike-rates.



One of the sanest post on Rohit. Given the kind of near perfect day India had on Sunday, I was reluctant to point it out as it might´ve looked harsh, but Rohit´s innings against one of the top teams could´ve in the end proven to be a very bad one. I admire his ability to make up by going on a leather hunt in the last overs, but I´d like to know a few more examples (than just two or three) of that having actually happened in an ODI. I saw someone post here that Rohit would´ve gone berserk seeing the required run-rate had he been in Azhar´s place, but that is more of a fantasy based on his two double centuries than anything else. The guy once made 150 as opener with his team chasing 304, batted till the 47th over, and left his team still requiring 35 off 23 when he got out.

And who can forget Maxwell taunting Indian batsmen for playing for themselves in an ODI series in Australia in 2016, a target of which comment was Rohit obviously, who in one match batted all 50 overs for 171 off 163!

I don´t mind batsmen wanting to get an eye in, many great batsmen from the past and even nowadays still follow that approach, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere. An opener should bat at a healthy strike-rate past the 15th over or so, especially if there aren´t any wickets falling at the other end.

Good post and really can't highlight that point in particular from your post enough! totally agree with you brother, it's beyond me how anyone can justify throwing knives at him coming out of that game; while I was watching him bat he surprised me to! I was like wow, he's batting like a man possed and is trying his utmost to go for the win while others just literally lay down and begged India to apply the ankle lock; on that day Azhar Ali refused to tap out! much like Austin when Bret put him in the sharpshooter at mania 13 [MENTION=141093]big_gamer007[/MENTION]

 

[shaz619]

This was the entire Pakistan Batting line up minus Azhar Ali literally:

And you want to criticise Azhar Ali of all people? the man who actually cared about his origins.

Shame on you people, am absolutely SHOCKED; this criticism of Azhar is a bigger shock then if Jeremy Corbyn was to win the election.

 

[Third_Umpire]

^^ That was the batting line with Azhar included.

What do you mean "care about his origins"?

 

[shaz619]

Most of the Pakistani fans fail to put things into context. Nothing against their golden boy Babar Azam who played a MAIDEN in a shortened chase. There are far bigger problems in our batting lineup than Azhar, the only guy who wasn't a mental midget that day. That despite his limitations he was 36 (33) at one stage, and if only he didn't have pathetic excuses for batsmen in Shehzad at the other end, followed by Hafeez, he wouldn't have to put that big a prize on his wicket and slow down.

He wasn't the one who asked to be selected for the CT. Blame the selectors if anything. Why blame a guy who at least tries and shows more fight than any batsman, if selected, despite his limitations as an ODI batsman? It's NOT his fault.

The OP's right, you lot are pathetic. Any argument without context is null.

Am not sure if people actually watched the game? if they did then I just can't comprehend their inept logic on any level, it has to be blind hatred and nothing else

 

[Lynx]

Am not sure if people actually watched the game? if they did then I just can't comprehend their inept logic on any level, it has to be blind hatred and nothing else

It has always been the Pakistani logic to criticize the guy who performs. Making them see sense is futile, I'd rather I conserved my energy than trying to talk sense to these thick headed fans. Forget it. Most posters here are biased and can't see objectively to save their lives.

 

[amvbfm]

Strange, isn't it? Azhar and shehzad have identical statistics, while Shehzad gets all the flak and Azhar Ali is above criticism coz he is better Test player

No one is above criticism. However, there should be good reason for criticizing someone. Azhar was not the culprit against India and yet he is being blamed for everything that went wrong. I don't see entire threads complaining about Shehzad, Hafeez, Wahab, or Imad's performance. Thing is Azhar would have been criticized regardless of what he might have done. Had he played aggressively and gotten out people would've said that's not his role in the team, he threw away his wicket. Also I don't see how those stats are identical. Azhar has a far better average and a better strike rate in the limited opportunities that he has been given.

 

[Favbutt]

Agreed, he is a fine batsman, remember he started of as a leg spinner, therefore to change from that to a frontline batsman (a frontline batsman that has shown the capacity to score runs globally)takes dedication and mental strength.
He is not helped by the Pakistani selection committee, ODI batting is all about forming a unit, nothing wrong with having a batsman with a sub 100 run strike rate, as long as you have others who can exceed that. The Hafeez's et al are not going to help a cause of a batsman who has the ability to blunt quality bowling attacks. Inclusion of a couple of left handlers would also help as this would challenge bowlers who bowl tight lines, as is the case with most international bowlers. It is a fundamental fact of cricket that no bowler has the control not to give width when faced with rotating right/left handed batsmen.

 

[amvbfm]

It has always been the Pakistani logic to criticize the guy who performs. Making them see sense is futile, I'd rather I conserved my energy than trying to talk sense to these thick headed fans. Forget it. Most posters here are biased and can't see objectively to save their lives.

Indeed. Complete lack of cricketing sense. They want a team of 11 Afridiesque hacks.

 

[LordEddardStark]

Finally some sanity in between all that wrist cutting mania. I totally agree with OP that Azhar gets some unnecessary criticism whereas apart from our best or second best batsman, he is the one who tries his heart out in every match. Granted, he should not be in an ideal ODI team of today, yet the beggars are not choosers. It's not like we have Saeed Anwers in waiting to replace him. I sincerely wish that he shows the same intent that he showed in other match come tomorrow. We want some stability now more than anything.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Huge Azhar (Test Batsman) fan. Lovely attitude off the field, no drama's.


The Criticism was absolutely Justified. At one point he was 37*(40) which was still slow given the match situation and than He started that Dot Ball Galore once again.


Besides Jadega only Yadav bowled well but Azhar & Co treated Bhuvi, Pandya as if they are World number 1 & 2 bowlers. Pitch was flat.


I hope he learns quickly and atleast Strike at 95 vs SA.

Yes he played well compared to others... as u said he was 37(40) which is good even in the modern game as an opener u need one batsman possibly the opener to make a 100 at SR 90+..

he started to tuk tuk after he lost babar and the field is spread out which is a major concern as he cant rotate strike when the fielders are spread out.... also when hafeez came in he took off his shoes of the pedal completely making a match losing partnership between them......

 

[JibranAnsari]

Nope, Hafeez is the one who deserves it. And perhaps we as fans deserve players like Hafeez if we cant appreciate good cricket.

The partnership was poisonous.

 

[PakLFC]

Azhar is not a one day player. He is to negative and slow especially for an opener. If he can't take criticism then should retire. If need be he should bat in the middle order but not as opener where getting off to a fast start is ever so important. It is the openers who set the momentum for the rest of the innings, Azhar just comes and blocks for ten overs then his running between the wickets is nothing great either.

 

[coy0607]

But somehow Azhar is unworthy of playing ODIs, while the other 2 are expected to "come good" at some point. BS.

who exactly is saying Shehzad and Hafeez will come good.. pretty much all Pakistani fans want all 3 out

 

[Mamoon]

Azhar had an okay game, but the tragedy is that he played out of his skin only to have a substandard performance. He simply does not have the capability to play modern ODI cricket, but sure, keep him in the team. When you have a bunch of mediocre fixtures in the team, one more won't make a difference either way.

 

[IndYeah1]

Azhar had an okay game, but the tragedy is that he played out of his skin only to have a substandard performance. He simply does not have the capability to play modern ODI cricket, but sure, keep him in the team. When you have a bunch of mediocre fixtures in the team, one more won't make a difference either way.

I've lurked for a while and seen a lot of sense from you, although quite pessimistic. Haven't watched Azhar Ali play that much, because I don't watch that many Pak games. But is he really that hopeless as an ODI player? DIdn't look that way in the last game. Dropping Hafeez and Shehzad creates plenty of openings to audition new younger batsmen already, especially in the absence of Sharjeel Khan. There's no reason why Azhar can't anchor the new Pakistan batting lineup from #3 or as one of the openers, given the pathetic state of the batting unit.

 

[shah_1]

We need to just pick players that's right for the format, even though he is not scoring runs at all. Youngsters need to have modern batsman characteristics to play for this format. There are no barometers set, so youngsters are clueless and start following their seniors like Hafeez, Shehzad and Azhar Ali.

 

[Third Man]

Well he didn't have Sharjeel by his side so this quite a dumb point to make that he would have been fine had Sharjeel been there. Shouldn't he have played regarding the prevailing conditions and team selection or he will play for a hypothetical scenario where Sharjeel is blasting from the other end. And scoring 50(65) when you need to go at 7-8 rpo from the word go is a match losing effort which ever way you look at it.

Also we should keep in mind that if Sharjeel was playing and blasting it at the other end, I'm sure Azhar would have been playing much slower than he was. This is the quickest he can play.

 

[shah_1]

I've lurked for a while and seen a lot of sense from you, although quite pessimistic. Haven't watched Azhar Ali play that much, because I don't watch that many Pak games. But is he really that hopeless as an ODI player? DIdn't look that way in the last game. Dropping Hafeez and Shehzad creates plenty of openings to audition new younger batsmen already, especially in the absence of Sharjeel Khan. There's no reason why Azhar can't anchor the new Pakistan batting lineup from #3 or as one of the openers, given the pathetic state of the batting unit.

He was pathetic once the powerplay was over, he doesn't have game to rotate the strike or hit the boundaries when the field is spread out.

Just because he was better than those clowns doesn't hide his deficiencies.

 

[Mamoon]

I've lurked for a while and seen a lot of sense from you, although quite pessimistic. Haven't watched Azhar Ali play that much, because I don't watch that many Pak games. But is he really that hopeless as an ODI player? DIdn't look that way in the last game. Dropping Hafeez and Shehzad creates plenty of openings to audition new younger batsmen already, especially in the absence of Sharjeel Khan. There's no reason why Azhar can't anchor the new Pakistan batting lineup from #3 or as one of the openers, given the pathetic state of the batting unit.

Thanks for the compliment.

Look there is no doubt that Azhar is a top batsman. You need to be a batsman of special pedigree to score a mountain of runs in Australia as an opener in weak lineup, and he is expected to score a ton every time he walks to the crease in Tests.

However, ODI batting requires its own skills. He has his scoring zones and if you don't bowl there, he will have to force the pace which he cannot do. He can find boundaries in the PP overs, but once the field is spread out, he lacks the skill to manipulate the field and bisect the fielders, since both timing and power are lacking in his game.

Nonetheless, he is not selfish like Hafeez and Shehzad, and he doesn't value his wicket over the requirements of the team. If he wants, he can bat all day against all teams because he has the pedigree to do so, but he knows that it is not going to help the team. He spent two years trying hard to score quickly instead of accumulating selfish runs, and that cost him his captaincy, for which I do admire him.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Azhar had an okay game, but the tragedy is that he played out of his skin only to have a substandard performance. He simply does not have the capability to play modern ODI cricket, but sure, keep him in the team. When you have a bunch of mediocre fixtures in the team, one more won't make a difference either way.

Mamoon bhai how do you see the azhar hafeez partnership? Azhar was 36 on 33 at one stage and scored only 14 of next 32 deliveries despite trying hard and looking like a clown.

 

[Mamoon]

Mamoon bhai how do you see the azhar hafeez partnership? Azhar was 36 on 33 at one stage and scored only 14 of next 32 deliveries despite trying hard and looking like a clown.

It comes down to his inability to bat fluently when the field is spread out. As I said in my previous post, he does not have the timing and power to beat the fielders once the PP is over, and a smart captain can restrict his scoring areas and block his singles. The end result is what we saw against India.

Anyway, Hafeez against a top team is the absolute worst batting partner you can imagine. His nervousness rubs onto you and so does his haphazard running between the wickets.

 

[Abdullah]

This is the logic where Misbah has made a ODI career out of and as predicted Azhar is heir to Misbah's throne of tuk tuk.


What use is a garbage innings like 50(65) when it doesn't even bring you close to the target, or even allow other batsmen to chase the target.

Yaar it's a team game and u need to make use of the resources you have.
Today chasing 312 Williamson was 7 off 25 balls but NZ were exactly where they wanted to be after 25 overs.

Azhat is willing to progress unlike shehzad ( read dobells piece in cricinfo)

He got the first part of his innings right which is where he normally would struggle so he is making progress overall I feel

 

[Abdul]

Pretty good thread Shaz. He was the best performer in the game and it was pretty shameful to see so much criticism against him, when nobody even said any words against choker like Babar Azam. On top of this, these are the same people who continue to religiously pray that Sharjeel is brought back into the team despite the fact that he is a disgusting cheat.

 

[Abdullah719]

But somehow Azhar is unworthy of playing ODIs, while the other 2 are expected to "come good" at some point. BS.

I don't think there are many who subscribe to this point of view. All three have SRs in the low-mid 70s and that's not acceptable.

 

[saeedhk]

Following the footsteps of Sir Misbah; playing useless and feeble knocks. Both are very similar batsmen. Azhar needs to realise modern day ODI cricket is not for him.

 

[OmaIR1]

Playing to your ability but still not being good enough is not what we want.

Azhar Ali is a test player and should stay clear of the ODI side. This is like trying to get Mark Richardson or Rahul Dravid to be a permanent fixture in the T20 side. It just won't work

 

[Itachi]

Honest trier etc are just to win hearts. Real world is hard

Even dravid was kicked out of the of the team. He could return only because of his keeping but still then, he was criticised.

You are here to win matches, not to win hearts.

If the players are like hafeez, kick them out.

If it is player who are unsuitable for odi like azhar, kick them out.

Two wrongs doesn't make it right. Both needs to he kicked out. One can't be justified with references to other because both shouldn't be in the team in the first place.

 

[PennOne]

Azhar Ali knock was good..... in the 1980s

Not even in the 90s
Not even in the 00s
And def not in the 10s

Fighting hard for a under 90 sr is not going to win you matches it's going to increase the required rate. Fawad Alam is an exceptional test match talent but he failed because he failed to score fast in odis. I don't know why the same rule is not applied on Azhar

 

[hailian]

Am not even Azhar's biggest fan's but watching him bat against India you'd have thought a lot of you would have egg on your faces and would just say "you know what Azhar ali is not perfect but he wears his heart on his sleeve and gives his all" while Azhar was at the crease he gave Pakistan a chance against our greatest rival and you guys spit in his face? Pakistan fans are beyond selfish and ungrateful.

And I'd have thought an experienced poster like you [MENTION=16]Amjid Javed[/MENTION] would not be among the bacha party sadly they have brainwashed you as well

+1 thoroughly agree with you! Azhar was the only one who put up some fight but this phateecher Afridi imran Nazir loving nation is critizing him the way they used to criticize Misbah and Fawad. Listen idiots you can't bat the full 50 overs . Again you can't. If there is someone who stay on the crease and was playing faster than Rohit Sharma with his limited ability then respect him. There are very few honest cricketers left in Pakistan. But I know you guyz can't love a person unless some dirt comes attach with it.

 

[kingusama92]

It's not a selfish knock because he isn't capable of better.

Those who put him in that position are at fault. He's simply doing what he's always done and it's not good enough in the 21st century.

Things become even worse since he's an opener wasting PP overs with the field in.

 

[ftbno1]

As an Indian fan I was sad when Azhar Ali got out because he and Hafeez were taking RRR to unassailable height.Had both or one of them got out earlier when RRR was 7.4 their may have been a chance that someone down the order might have played a blinder.
As an Indian fan I was most relaxed when Azhar-Hafeez were tuktuking.

 

[sshakir411]

If you can't win the game you can never get love from Pakistanis like Misbah no matter what you do.

 

[todfod 11]

You people seriously want to DROP the one batsman who displayed more FIGHT and HEART then the entire Pakistani Batting line up combined against India?

Here comes a man who has his deficiencies but did not let the situation consume him and went on to play one of the greatest knocks I've ever seen in a Pakistan/India contest but was let down by his team mates. He maintained a superior RR to start off with compared to Dhawan/Rohit, it was only when Hafeez came to the crease he got into a little bit of a rut which lead to his dismissal but that can entirely be blamed on Hafeez who should be banned from playing cricket based on his ineptness and cowardice.

Azhar Ali for majority of his knock was doing more then what was required and he really was supposed to flop right because his technique is not perfect but I would ask this warrior to bat for my life across all formats if it came to it. This man is by far the most gutsy and mentally strong cricketer to come out of Pakistan in recent times and it's time for the bacha party to wake up and RESPECT and APPRECIATE Azhar Ali.

Ì agree with u 110% bro.. i argued to few poster few days back when threads were created to blame azhar for his approach realising after going thru other threads that they wanted to proctect shehzad and hafeez by blaming other. shame on people who r corrupt to the core. no wonder pakistan is going down day by day and dying a slow torturous death

 

[Dr_Bassim]

He doesn't deserve a lot of criticism and at the start he was playing fine.

Enter Hafeez and he lost all fluency.

He deserves to be criticized for 2nd part of his innings which took Pakistan nowhere.

 

[ToeCrusher2]

He doesn't deserve a lot of criticism and at the start he was playing fine.

Enter Hafeez and he lost all fluency.

He deserves to be criticized for 2nd part of his innings which took Pakistan nowhere.

The powerplay ended and then he lost all fluency

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Azhar may well not have Shehzad's inherent talent in this form of the game. He might not have his range of stroke or his easy timing. But you can feel Azhar trying to improve; you can feel him buying into Arthur's desire to show more aggression at the top of the order. To see him driving Jasprit Bumrah, on the up, over mid-on or upper cutting him for four, or skipping down the pitch to Hardik Pandya and attempting to hit him over the top, was to see a man who has been prepared to develop his game; a man who was prepared to risk his wicket for the good of the team; a man who had bought in to everything his coach and captain had asked of him. He's not the ideal ODI opener - of course he isn't - but he's trying his best. Coaches and captains respect that. Spectators, too.

Source: Cricinfo

 

[ask_analyse_act]

The powerplay ended and then he lost all fluency

lost 2 wickets and with hafeez eating balls from other end, i think he relaxed a bit...

Hafeez is like a infectious virus in the team..

 

[Ultimate]

What shocking criticism? He is not cut for modern cricket, as simple as that.

 

[IM NOT YOU]

You are right, he didn't let the situation consume him and instead he continued to play like it was a test match that Pakistan is trying to save.

50(65) while batting in the powerplays and chasing 289 off 41 overs. Mashallah. What would we ever do without this level of "grit and fight"

LOL so true.

Our run rate was 4 after 7 overs. The match was already lost when u chase 320 and you havr RR of 4 after 7.

What a hero. LOL. How low can our standards get?

Kick this guy out the team and get somebody in who can hit a boundary in a powerplay. Its a joke watching him.

 

[mbilalk90]

South Africa should drop David Miller for his extremely poor batting. He scored at a strike rate of 72 which is criminal for modern day cricket. If SA lose today, it is because of him. Who cares if he scored a 50 and was their highest scorer.

 

[heddie19]

South Africa should drop David Miller for his extremely poor batting. He scored at a strike rate of 72 which is criminal for modern day cricket. If SA lose today, it is because of him. Who cares if he scored a 50 and was their highest scorer.

Thats the mentality of most of the posters here.

 

[CricketCartoons]

Those who blamed Azhar Ali for the innings against India just don't understand cricket. They should pick up some other sport to follow.

 

[OmaIR1]

Surely, if a new guy like Zaman can get 30 from 20 there is no reason for a Azhar Ali to be 3 from 13 right now?

This is why he should NOT be in the ODI team. It just creates pressure for the others and does nothing for Pakistan.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Just a horrible horrible LOI batter.

 

[Mamoon]

Great innings.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Openers like him have no place in modern ODI cricket

 

[Madplayer]

Should be dropped from Odis forever.

 

[Black Zero]

Azhar needs to be dropped.

 

[OmaIR1]

I love how both of them got out at almost the same time. This is PERFECT for a comparison.

Zaman got out with a SR of 130+% giving his team a chance of chasing the total.

Azhar Ali gets out with a SR of 40%, leaving the team in a bit of bother and giving the others no opportunity to settle down.

Now, luckily we are only chasing 220. But doing the former is always better than doing the latter regardless of the score one is chasing.

 

[Saj]

Terrible shot today by a batsman who has been playing for Pakistan for many years.

What was he thinking by playing that shot?

 

[Anwar_194]

Azhar brought pressure on Zaman....Should be kicked out Immediately... I would bring Sharjeel with Fakhar and that will be one solid openers.

 

[shah_1]

We are all selfish and you are a genius for supporting a pathetic ODI batsman like him.

 

[DHONI183]

Today, Pakistan needed Azhar Ali to bat like Azhar Ali, to be what he is, but he played an absolutely atrociously stupid shot. Needless, absolutely needless attempt at adventure puts South Africa right back into the game, thanks to a double-wicket over. I expected better from him in a situation like this where they´re chasing 220, and had had cracking start.

 

[Savak]

He is not cut out for Modern ODI Cricket. Pakistan cannot afford to many of these defensive players. Should just stick to test cricket.

 

[MRSN]

Lol amazing knock from a tailender. He should retire himself from ODIs and not destroy his legacy of test cricket.

Today he was needed to hold one end and take all the pressure chasing a low total and he comes with that stupid shot? He was forced to play that shot since bowlers found his weaknesses and kept bowling short and he had no way to rotate the strike.

Should be dumped forever.

 

[MRSN]

It's amazing some people actually claimed he has scoring shots.

 

[Mamoon]

South Africa should drop David Miller for his extremely poor batting. He scored at a strike rate of 72 which is criminal for modern day cricket. If SA lose today, it is because of him. Who cares if he scored a 50 and was their highest scorer.

Miller is the reason why the match is still on. He played a vital hand.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Brilliant knock by azhar again.

 

[Mamoon]

Lol amazing knock from a tailender. He should retire himself from ODIs and not destroy his legacy of test cricket.

Today he was needed to hold one end and take all the pressure chasing a low total and he comes with that stupid shot? He was forced to play that shot since bowlers found his weaknesses and kept bowling short and he had no way to rotate the strike.

Should be dumped forever.

We were told by [MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION] that he has the shots, but he is just smart enough to realize that he does not need them.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Pakistan top 4 so far

Azhar 59(87). Sr 67
Shehzad 12(21) sr 57
Babar 39(63) sr 63
Hafeez 58(94) Sr 61

Amazing performance.

 

[MRSN]

We were told by [MENTION=865]Big Mac[/MENTION] that he has the shots, but he is just smart enough to realize that he does not need them.

how many times you have seen Azhar playing a pull shot in test? He doesn't have any answer to short pitch bowling as he always leave it in tests. But in ODIs he has to score off these short pitch bowling which he can't so he shouldn't be in the ODI side.