What's new

The Talent Spotter : Haris Sohail

He is one of the most unluckiest players ib pak domestic. Has been performing in first class for the last few years, but selectors continue to ignore him. Hope this performance secures him a place
 
That one on drive, where he was a bit cramped for room and managed to play the ball with pure timing and not across the line...and went like a tracer bullet to the boundary, that convinced me he is a special talent!

Not that I was not already impressed by the elan and timing in his caressed strokes...all going in the gaps; and at no point, except towards the very end, did he try to slog across.

If we don't bring him in the Test Squad at least, if not in the final XI, we would be doing injustice to Pak cricket. Hopefully his experience in England will do him a world of good too to make him a much rounded player
 
Runs or no runs, you can judge a player by seeing him play a few balls and this guy looks all class........Should be inducted into the ODI first eleven and also should replace Umar Akmal as the spare batsman in the test squad.
 
He has all the shots and looks really good but I am not so sure about his temperament as in both his innings in the semi and Final I felt his partners led him through the difficult periods where he was getting frustrated about not being able to score and would have lost his wicket to a rash shot. You can specially see the difference when you look at his partnership with Nazir and with Malik.
 
am I the only one who feels with his balance he may struggle to handle a good quick inswinger. He looked ok but not anything overly special the batting stocks in Pakistan are so low that even a half decent bat looks like a Lara among them.
 
MMHS can you pease post your list of 25.

I understand saj can't do it as it has been sent to whatmore.


Listing 25 emerging players for a new Coach, in a new country, for someone not watching any of the candidates live is not easy. It needs lot of homework but yet, watching the player live has no alternative. I have selected the list keeping all the positions in mind. My list is a bit batting heavy, because that is the area where I feel Pakistan is really struggling. I am taking AShehzad, UAkmal, Nasir Jamshed, Junaid Khan & Hammad Azam out of this list, because they already are in focus of Dav. My list ‘ll be

4 Openers
Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Zain Abbas

7 Middle Orders
U Amin, Harish Sohel, Ramiz Aziz, Usman Sallahuddin, Afaq Raheem, Umar Waheed, Md. Yasin

2 Keepers
Jamal Anwar, Guhar Ali

4 All Rounders
Md. Newaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Rizwan Haider

2 Spinners
Raza Hassan, Shahzaib Ahmed

6 Fast Bowlers
Rahat Ali, Zia ul Huq, Ehsan Adil, Sadaf Hussain, Md. Imran, Emad Ali


26th Man – Md. Aamir – Dav has to look after him, may be unofficially.
 
Dare I say Haris looks the part

DWAK
 
Listing 25 emerging players for a new Coach, in a new country, for someone not watching any of the candidates live is not easy. It needs lot of homework but yet, watching the player live has no alternative. I have selected the list keeping all the positions in mind. My list is a bit batting heavy, because that is the area where I feel Pakistan is really struggling. I am taking AShehzad, UAkmal, Nasir Jamshed, Junaid Khan & Hammad Azam out of this list, because they already are in focus of Dav. My list ‘ll be

4 Openers
Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Zain Abbas

7 Middle Orders
U Amin, Harish Sohel, Ramiz Aziz, Usman Sallahuddin, Afaq Raheem, Umar Waheed, Md. Yasin

2 Keepers
Jamal Anwar, Guhar Ali

4 All Rounders
Md. Newaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Rizwan Haider

2 Spinners
Raza Hassan, Shahzaib Ahmed

6 Fast Bowlers
Rahat Ali, Zia ul Huq, Ehsan Adil, Sadaf Hussain, Md. Imran, Emad Ali


26th Man – Md. Aamir – Dav has to look after him, may be unofficially.



However, I am not so convinced with the stock of spinners; hardly any Offie coming.
 
Last edited:
How did you compile this list? Personal observation or some other source?

Thanks.



No personal observations at all. Normally, I see the starts to a players for few seasons/tournaments & then see under which condition his better performances are coming (from domestic score card). I extensively check the youth level performances, both domestic & internationals. Finally, use my experience & judgment on the level of competition; like I didn't list Tabis Khan - his entire career is mostly in bottom division. On top of that, internet has helped me lot & there is always PP.

This is quite a reliable method; one of my elder cousin was a regular 1st Division Dhaka League player & had very good relationship with the likes of Mansoor Akhter, Main-ul-Atiq, Manzoor Elahi (I am talking about 20-25 years back story, when there was no internet). In a Cricket gossip session (we were the nadan bunch that time, only to listen, open your mouth & you are out for that day) my cousin mentioned that, some Pakistani player has told about a tall young batsman from a small town, how on a green top in a major domestic final smashed a double ton against UBL, having WYounas in their ranks. That young man was from Multan.

If properly taken care off, most of these boys 'll end up playing for senior PAK team & some of them 'll end up as greats. One of my friend watched PAK U19 team in ENG sometimes in 2008/09 & mailed me that there is a Lefti (U Amin), a Right hander (Shehzad) & a left arm fast bowler in that team, who can finish as all time PAK greats.
 
Listing 25 emerging players for a new Coach, in a new country, for someone not watching any of the candidates live is not easy. It needs lot of homework but yet, watching the player live has no alternative. I have selected the list keeping all the positions in mind. My list is a bit batting heavy, because that is the area where I feel Pakistan is really struggling. I am taking AShehzad, UAkmal, Nasir Jamshed, Junaid Khan & Hammad Azam out of this list, because they already are in focus of Dav. My list ‘ll be

4 Openers
Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Zain Abbas

7 Middle Orders
U Amin, Harish Sohel, Ramiz Aziz, Usman Sallahuddin, Afaq Raheem, Umar Waheed, Md. Yasin

2 Keepers
Jamal Anwar, Guhar Ali

4 All Rounders
Md. Newaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Rizwan Haider

2 Spinners
Raza Hassan, Shahzaib Ahmed

6 Fast Bowlers
Rahat Ali, Zia ul Huq, Ehsan Adil, Sadaf Hussain, Md. Imran, Emad Ali


26th Man – Md. Aamir – Dav has to look after him, may be unofficially.

Of your list from the players i have seen, i believe raza hasan, haris sohail, zia ul haq and jamal anwar (pure wicket keeping talent) are perhaps the most talented.

The one who i have seen and who i believe is very far from international standard is shahzaib ahmed (i saw his best bowling, and the batting standard was appaling).

As a leggi i believe one who may has decent prospects of a professional career if not international is usman qadir, he has every delivery in the book from leggies, googlies, flippers, sliders, etc, but he has very poor control and not much of a cricketing brain yet. but he is young.

Sadaf is a good swing bowler but lacks pace.
 
he was in the T20 squad but didnt got any game. I'm sure we'll see him in World T20
 
Looks ok doesn't he?

Played some classy shots particularly the pull shots.

Playing on these sort of wickets in South Africa will do him the world of good.
 
Yes looking good. Dealt with Afridi quite well. Weathered storm of seamers first up.

Big shame is we won't get to see more of Sialkot because of Managements decision to rock up late. Our guys got caught cold on unfamiliar pitches.
 
We badly need a left handed middle order batsman in ODIs and Tests.

Can't see him breaking through the test team any time soon although he can and should replace Misbah in ODIs now.
 
malik is brilliant for guiding young players, when malik becomes captain which he will haris sohail will be 1 of the first names in the loi team.
 
Listing 25 emerging players for a new Coach, in a new country, for someone not watching any of the candidates live is not easy. It needs lot of homework but yet, watching the player live has no alternative. I have selected the list keeping all the positions in mind. My list is a bit batting heavy, because that is the area where I feel Pakistan is really struggling. I am taking AShehzad, UAkmal, Nasir Jamshed, Junaid Khan & Hammad Azam out of this list, because they already are in focus of Dav. My list ‘ll be

4 Openers
Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Zain Abbas

7 Middle Orders
U Amin, Harish Sohel, Ramiz Aziz, Usman Sallahuddin, Afaq Raheem, Umar Waheed, Md. Yasin

2 Keepers
Jamal Anwar, Guhar Ali

4 All Rounders
Md. Newaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Rizwan Haider

2 Spinners
Raza Hassan, Shahzaib Ahmed

6 Fast Bowlers
Rahat Ali, Zia ul Huq, Ehsan Adil, Sadaf Hussain, Md. Imran, Emad Ali


26th Man – Md. Aamir – Dav has to look after him, may be unofficially.

jusr saw this.
man you have got heck of an eye,
wonderful pick of young upcoming talent.
 
MMHS what do you say about Yasir Shah from abbotabad.
He is brilliant fielder, good leggie, and decent batsman.
 
His cousin lives in Norway, played with him in the nets :)
Who knows, might invite Haris Sohail to Norway next year? :D
 
haris sohail, is bit like nasir jamshed as far as fitness is concerned, saw him breathing too heavily during the later part of his inning.
 
Comming into this tournament, He had an avg. Of 109. Tremendous.
 
Impressed with his temperament and win win attitude but technique wise he is woeful and also not much big hitting strokes either , If he can get a contract to play as an oversea pro for Uk league teams will do him real good.
 
good at nudging singles but didnt look good against pacers outside off moving it away from him. Could be a very good middle order batsmen in odi's.
 
Despite the knock today, he looked completely lost when the pacers were swinging the ball, and you can't blame him for that but he really needs to get the singles quicker in t20 rather than block 4 deliveries then slash the 5th to the boundary.

Needs more time than I first realised.
 
i dont think he should be picked now either, i would have him and usman S play one more full domestic season,

maybe going abroad for boh of them will not be a bad idea
 
around 20 runs came off the edges , overall good though. Its probably the first time he has played on such pitch.
 
I think those expecting the finished article are living in cloud cuckoo land.

The kid has not played in South Africa before, probably never played on such bouncy tracks.

He showed a lot of potential and there is something to work with for the coaches.
 
Never expected a finished article per-say but to expect him to be in the Pakistan team anytime soon is also premature.
 
around 20 runs came off the edges , overall good though. Its probably the first time he has played on such pitch.

but you have to give him some credit for adapting his playing style, once he realised he wasnt going to get runs with the straight bat played a few decent cross batted shots.
 
Never expected a finished article per-say but to expect him to be in the Pakistan team anytime soon is also premature.

You have to measure him against what's already in the team. I don't think he's too far away from some of the middle order batsmen that played for Pakistan in the World T20.
 
I think those expecting the finished article are living in cloud cuckoo land.

The kid has not played in South Africa before, probably never played on such bouncy tracks.

He showed a lot of potential and there is something to work with for the coaches.

But certainly expected a better technique than a tailender.
 
You have to measure him against what's already in the team. I don't think he's too far away from some of the middle order batsmen that played for Pakistan in the World T20.

Middle order? I think we had Umar Akmal and then just a bunch of has been hit or miss all rounders...

Have to set the standards higher.
 
Pakistan future looking very very good. Number 1 team in all formats very soon. Class openers, middle order batsman, class pacers & class spin. Fielding is improving a lot too.
 
Nasir, Jamshed, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal ,Raza Hasan,..are the future of Pakistan cricket and hopefully will replace the last 10-16 years of mediocrity of Pakistan cricket.

The best thing about Sohail, he is left hand middle order bat, which is the missing link in Pakistan batting for long time.
 
There is a lot to like about this guy but he needs more time in the domestic circuit. A stint in county club league will do him a world of good !
 
There is a lot to like about this guy but he needs more time in the domestic circuit. A stint in county club league will do him a world of good !

Leaving in the domestic circuit means, he will catch all the bad habits and become more frustrated. The other argument for leaving him out in domestic makes sense, if there is no room in the playing eleven.

At the moment, 2-3 Haris Sohail can walk into the team to replace the tried and tested failures.
 
Leaving in the domestic circuit means, he will catch all the bad habits and become more frustrated. The other argument for leaving him out in domestic makes sense, if there is no room in the playing eleven.

At the moment, 2-3 Haris Sohail can walk into the team to replace the tried and tested failures.

In the T20s may be but he is nowhere close in the ODIs. Sure starters for now are

Hafeez
Jamshed
Azhar
Asad
Umar
Misbah

now unless Misbah retires (unlikely) or is sacked (even more unlikely), he cant squeeze in there and two more capable and seasoned players are already waitings in the wings there, Fawad and Salahuddin. Then there is Hammad Azam too who prefers the no.6 position
 
also he has major problem with rising balls. Its not easy to handle the short stuff, most batsmen struggle with that but he looked absolutely clueless against domestic level bowlers. A struggling debut at this stage might just dampen his chances even further. I think selectors made a wise decision not to select him for world T20, he needs more time !
 
Nasir, Jamshed, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal ,Raza Hasan,..are the future of Pakistan cricket and hopefully will replace the last 10-16 years of mediocrity of Pakistan cricket.

The best thing about Sohail, he is left hand middle order bat, which is the missing link in Pakistan batting for long time.

Completely agree + don't forget to add Ahmed Shehzad into that list. Guys an amazing batsman.
 
ahmed shehzad, fawad alam, hammad azam, asad shafiq, and azhar ali are much superior and should all be given extended runs in the team welllllll before this guy even gets the idea that he has a chance.


i dont think haris sohail is half as good as some people think he is. definitely wasnt that impressed by what i saw today. a very garbage bowling attack he faced as well and didnt look convincing.
 
^if you're talking about T20s specifically, then Fawad, Asad and Azhar are nowhere close. He does merit a chance there since we're relying on lallus like Malik.

For ODIs, sure he is behind all the players you've mentioned plus Usman Salahuddin
 
Malik played beautifully today , I don't know what happens to him in the international games. The best thing about Haris Sohail is that he does not give up and has a mind to build up his innings. Yes a few shots today were ugly and a few runs came of the edge but the overall package is a good sell.
 
In the T20s may be but he is nowhere close in the ODIs. Sure starters for now are

Hafeez
Jamshed
Azhar
Asad
Umar
Misbah

now unless Misbah retires (unlikely) or is sacked (even more unlikely), he cant squeeze in there and two more capable and seasoned players are already waitings in the wings there, Fawad and Salahuddin. Then there is Hammad Azam too who prefers the no.6 position

Azhar and asad in the same odi team- oh dear
 
Malik played beautifully today , I don't know what happens to him in the international games. The best thing about Haris Sohail is that he does not give up and has a mind to build up his innings. Yes a few shots today were ugly and a few runs came of the edge but the overall package is a good sell.

Malik is unable to take the pressure plus he is also sometimes unlucky in internationals and the fielding is better. Unlucky in the sense that his plans don't work out normally he just keeps rotating the strike and then gambles for a big shot in an over against india in WT20 he tried to hit over a player but was unable to clear the infield.
Was really pissed at Sialkot for not chasing in the first match as they are the best at chasing.
Sohail is a good player hope he gets his chance in the international side. But I do think he needs to try and get a county or club contract to improve his game against seam and swing. He has all the shots but I think he is not used to disciplined fast bowling. In Pakistan we might have good bowlers but most of the time they spray the ball rather than bowl line and length. So most of our batsman get used to getting bad balls in an over and are able to score. They don't have the concentration levels needed to leave 15-20 good balls in a row and wait for the bad ball.
I think that is the major reason despite having good technique many of our players that come into international cricket are unable to survive for after leaving a few balls they have to waft at the ball outside the off stump. You can practice leaving the ball all you want but doing it in match conditions is different ball game.
 
Saw him yesterday at champions league.Didn't look that impressive against medium pacers.Played spin superbly.
 
MMHS what do you say about Yasir Shah from abbotabad.
He is brilliant fielder, good leggie, and decent batsman.


Have seen his stats, but never seen him in action live. He might be a very good talent, but my only concern is he doesn't come from any major Cricket Cities of Pakistan, don't know the level of competition or the wickets.

However, the 3 qualities you mentioned, on that, I probably 'll pick Mansoor Amjad ahead, still in mid 20s. In 2004, U19, I watched him from club house in Dhaka Stadium, looked to be as good as anybody with conventional leggi, don't know why he didn't developed (probably his path was blocked by a cheap clap slogger, with official similar qualities)
 
I'm not convinced, far from it... azhar ali and asad shafiq are a lot better at the moment.
 
Have seen his stats, but never seen him in action live. He might be a very good talent, but my only concern is he doesn't come from any major Cricket Cities of Pakistan, don't know the level of competition or the wickets.

However, the 3 qualities you mentioned, on that, I probably 'll pick Mansoor Amjad ahead, still in mid 20s. In 2004, U19, I watched him from club house in Dhaka Stadium, looked to be as good as anybody with conventional leggi, don't know why he didn't developed (probably his path was blocked by a cheap clap slogger, with official similar qualities)

mansoor has fallen way behind yasir shah, mansoor hardly even bowls any more, and i dont think he even has a first class contract this season for the pres trophy and neither was he selected for the champs league for sialkot.

the primary difference is physicality, too bowl leg spin you must be fairly strong, yasir has a stocky strong build, which imo will give him the fitness to continue to play and improve. yasir also has decent variation and will end up playing test cricket for pak if he can keep taking wickets like he is.
 
He averages 46.46 in FC, 32.45 in List A and 97.66 in T20. (I know the T20 avg is inflated because he has 5 not outs in 8 innings but that shows what a capable finisher he can be, something we have been missing in recent times) Should be drafted into LOI sides as quickly as possible.
 
Played some good shots yesterday, didn't seem to have too many problems with the bounce. Guy's got talent ! Needs some polishing.
 
But certainly expected a better technique than a tailender.

Fawad Alam having one of the worst techniques played 52 games for Pak just on the basis of his good fc record..why not this lad?He has done well in FC..at one time he too used to average 50+ in FC.Deserves a fair chance if domestic cricket has any meaning.
 
I really loved his sixes over the midwicket boundary.Those were some classy shots.
 
Last edited:
If that was batting like a tailender, then I'm afraid you've not watched a lot of cricket.

Actually worse than a tailender , just imagine him on a green bouncy track against the likes of Steyn ,Pattinson bowling with the new ball , with this technique it will impossible to him to score more than 10runs.
 
Actually worse than a tailender , just imagine him on a green bouncy track against the likes of Steyn ,Pattinson bowling with the new ball , with this technique it will impossible to him to score more than 10runs.

how many players in the world can? Pakistan doesnt even have any decent flat track bullies bar misbah
 
Actually worse than a tailender , just imagine him on a green bouncy track against the likes of Steyn ,Pattinson bowling with the new ball , with this technique it will impossible to him to score more than 10runs.

Actually imagine most batsmen in the world on a green bouncy track against the likes of Pattinson and Steyn. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying.

Nobody is calling him the next Saeed Anwar, nobody is saying he is a world beater, but there is potential there and if he continues to improve and work on his batting then we could see him playing for Pakistan in the future.

To say he batted worse than a tailender yesterday is frankly disrespectful and inaccurate.
 
Last edited:
He looks like a really good prospect but I don't think he's international level yet, needs to learn and show a lot more to be able to come in ahead of other talented blokes , nevertheless one to keep an eye on
 
Actually imagine most batsmen in the world on a green bouncy track against the likes of Pattinson and Steyn. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying.

Nobody is calling him the next Saeed Anwar, nobody is saying he is a world beater, but there is potential there and if he continues to improve and work on his batting then we could see him playing for Pakistan in the future.

To say he batted worse than a tailender yesterday is frankly disrespectful and inaccurate.

Never said that , Just made an accurate remarks about his general technique against movement and bounce which is definitely not better than any tailender averaging more than 12 to 15 in Test Cricket.
 
In the T20s may be but he is nowhere close in the ODIs. Sure starters for now are

Hafeez
Jamshed
Azhar
Asad
Umar
Misbah

now unless Misbah retires (unlikely) or is sacked (even more unlikely), he cant squeeze in there and two more capable and seasoned players are already waitings in the wings there, Fawad and Salahuddin. Then there is Hammad Azam too who prefers the no.6 position
Azhar and Misbah should not be in the ODI squad. The problem pak has at the moment, is that none of the experienced players are good ODI players. And you cant go in with an all new batting lineup. That's what's keeping the likes of Misbah in the ODI team. But Azhar I would most certainly no play in LOIs. He is a genuine test match player
 
He should be selected for Pakistan A team for foreign tours; if he performs there then select him in the national team.
 
mansoor has fallen way behind yasir shah, mansoor hardly even bowls any more, and i dont think he even has a first class contract this season for the pres trophy and neither was he selected for the champs league for sialkot.

the primary difference is physicality, too bowl leg spin you must be fairly strong, yasir has a stocky strong build, which imo will give him the fitness to continue to play and improve. yasir also has decent variation and will end up playing test cricket for pak if he can keep taking wickets like he is.


Yasir might be, but he 'll have to improve his leggi. By the way, Yasir is a brilliant fielder, but he is not a cheap clap slogger. I was pointing someone with much larger fan base & the greatest of egos.
 
Never said that , Just made an accurate remarks about his general technique against movement and bounce which is definitely not better than any tailender averaging more than 12 to 15 in Test Cricket.

1) it was the FIRST time he played in such conditions
2) he did adapt very quickly
3) he does know how to hang around when things dont go his way
4) to call his technique worse than a tail ender IS disrespectful to him and untrue as someone mentioned already
5) how many pakistani batsmen can u name who dont have problems with seaming and bouncing pitches?
 
Never said that , Just made an accurate remarks about his general technique against movement and bounce which is definitely not better than any tailender averaging more than 12 to 15 in Test Cricket.

Keep digging deeper, because that hole you are digging is getting bigger.
 
what problem do people have with Azhar Ali in the ODI team? he averages 49 in this format and has already played more meaningful innings than Imran Nazir has done in his entire life. Some utter numpties we have on this forum !

Azhar and Asad are the solution to our ODI team, not the problem !
 
Azhar and Misbah should not be in the ODI squad. The problem pak has at the moment, is that none of the experienced players are good ODI players. And you cant go in with an all new batting lineup. That's what's keeping the likes of Misbah in the ODI team. But Azhar I would most certainly no play in LOIs. He is a genuine test match player

tell me one good reason why Azhar should be dropped from the ODI team !
 
He still has a lot of developing to do but needs exposure on faster, bouncier tracks. Perhaps A Team is the way to go for a couple of seasons.
 
He is a left hander as well, wait a minuite a middle order left hand.....just what we need:14:
 
The most important ingredients are in place, technique and temperament.

he is not a natural T20 player, very much a proper, orthodox batsman.

watched him at length last year in the QeA Trophy final where he made a fantastic fighting 100 for ZTBL, the boy has nerves of steel.
 
The most important ingredients are in place, technique and temperament.

he is not a natural T20 player, very much a proper, orthodox batsman.

watched him at length last year in the QeA Trophy final where he made a fantastic fighting 100 for ZTBL, the boy has nerves of steel.

True, remember that knock, though happened in a losing cause



Also has good looks:))
 
Back
Top