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"There's still 2 spots in the bowling department which are undecided (for the WC)" : Azhar Mahmood

Abdullah719

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"There's still 2 spots in the bowling department which are undecided (for the WC)" : Azhar Mahmood

Azhar Mahmood at a presser today:

"Disappointing for us that we lost the series"

"The bowlers today bowled really well, but we must give credit to them. The way Finch is batting, he's been phenomenal and Maxi played well today"

"Positives for us as well, Shinwari came back and bowled well, Junaid did well"

"We're trying to give benched players more chances to play international cricket"

"There's a lot of positives in the batting department, Haris and Rizwan hit hundreds. Unfortunately today, the ball was doing a bit and we weren't good enough"

"We've been playing cricket since the last 6 months so some of the players needed rest and this was the chance for us to provide them rest. It was also a chance to test our bench strength to see how capable they are"

"There's still 2 spots in the bowling department which are undecided, options are Shinwari, Amir, Junaid, Abbas, Hasnain. We need to pick two of these guys so this is an opportunity for them to show their talent and make a spot for themselves in the World Cup squad"

"There is pressure on the team but we know we don't have 7 players of our main team that will go to the WC. Bringing Fakhar, Babar and Hafeez will strengthen the batting but there's 1-2 spots that need players. If we take a third opener, Shan has gotten chances and he's been playing well, he was hitting the ball well in the innings of 40. In bowling also, we know what our main strength is. We're trying some others, like Yasir who can be a wicket-taking option in the middle overs. When we go to England, the pitches are dry at this time so we were thinking we can pick Yasir. So we're trying different combinations to see what are the correct players for the spots in the World Cup squad. If we keep playing our main players then we won't know about the rest who make up the squad"

"Sharjah pitches didn't have much assistance for the bowlers but if you look at our bowlers, they took it to the 48th and 49th over when they were chasing 280"

"OK we lost the match but we know the strengths and weaknesses of our bowlers. We'll work on that at the camp we will set up"

"Amir is a wonderful bowler. But since he returned, he was playing non stop cricket so we have to do work on his fitness. If Amir is fit and bowling well then we know he is a wicket-taker. The reason for that is playing 3 formats, in limited overs you bowl a bit shorter. Amir is a swing bowler and that's what makes him dangerous. On a Sharjah type wicket, you have to bowl a bit shorter so his ball isn't swinging but he's working hard and I hope he'll come back strong"

"When you have experienced bowlers they know how to bowl against a player like Maxwell, like Junaid bowled to him. Hasnain struggled a bit but the more he plays international cricket, the better he'll get. It's very difficult, specially when you drop a batsman like that, to stop a player like that when they're on song. I think we need to learn from our mistakes, we had a plan about where to bowl but he's a good player and you need experience to bowl against these guys"
 
so the 3 confirmed are Hasan, Shaheen and Faheem?

I know pace isn't everything, but at least those three will be able to get 50% of their deliveries around the 140kph mark. I'm not sure I am happy to see the likes of Junaid and Shinwari bowling around 135kph. They bowled a decent line and length today, but in the last 8 overs the Aussie batsmen were able to attack them quite easily when they decided they had to go for it.
 
Putting a gloss on mediocrity both hundreds by the batsmen were too slow and the team was 20-30 runs short they played the most balls should've scored more.
Yasir isn't a wicket taking option or economical bowler in ODIs on flat wickets in England he'll get carted around.
Hasnain has zero experience in 50 over format he should've been played in the last 1-2 matches not the most important ones.
 
I know pace isn't everything, but at least those three will be able to get 50% of their deliveries around the 140kph mark. I'm not sure I am happy to see the likes of Junaid and Shinwari bowling around 135kph. They bowled a decent line and length today, but in the last 8 overs the Aussie batsmen were able to attack them quite easily when they decided they had to go for it.

I would have liked to see Amir instead of Faheem but Amir hasn't been performing to his capabilities which might have something to do with fitness or some other reasons. I for one am not ready to right him off but then again that's purely based on my guts and not based on anything rational.
 
"Bowlers bowled well"

*concedes a score that's only been chased down 5 times in 25 matches*
 
how the hell has faheem ashraf secured a spot.


so wrong.

the five should be

Hasan
Shaheen
Junaid
Amir
Shinwari
 
Take Amir and Junaid. Hasnain is not ready, Abbas is a test bowler and Shinwari (can be very expensive).
The 15 should be
Amir, Junaid, Shaheen Shah & Hasan Ali With faheem as the pace allrounder.

Shadab, Imad & (Harris/ Hafeez ) as the spinners

Fakhar, Imam, Harris Sohail, Babar, Hafeez, Shoaib, Sarfraz, Rizwan (Batsmen)
 
What have you been doing for the past few years if you still have not got a settled wc team? These clowns need to go; we need pro active coaches and Dean Jones is perfect.
 
Take Amir and Junaid. Hasnain is not ready, Abbas is a test bowler and Shinwari (can be very expensive).
The 15 should be
Amir, Junaid, Shaheen Shah & Hasan Ali With faheem as the pace allrounder.

Shadab, Imad & (Harris/ Hafeez ) as the spinners

Fakhar, Imam, Harris Sohail, Babar, Hafeez, Shoaib, Sarfraz, Rizwan (Batsmen)

In what world is Faheem an all rounder?
 
how the hell has faheem ashraf secured a spot.


so wrong.

the five should be

Hasan
Shaheen
Junaid
Amir
Shinwari

I would rather take my grandmother than Shinwari, just not a international level bowler. Even that psl match with the last over he was atrocious before that over
 
Shaheen Shah Afridi is our best fast bowler. He should be the first name on the sheet and the rest the can fight over the remaining spots.
 
Abbass would have bowled well in these conditions today. But I guess he is out of favour for many. He was still my man with the new ball. I dont trust Shinwari one bit.
 
I would rather take my grandmother than Shinwari, just not a international level bowler. Even that psl match with the last over he was atrocious before that over

Nah T20s shouldn't be used to judge ODIs.
 
Amir and Shinwari should go. Junaid is probably the most consistent but we need to take a risk with match winning bowlers given how mediocre the team is in general. Amir also gets the nod through bolstering our lengthy tail a bit.
 
The pitches in England will be dry so we are thinking of picking Yasir. :facepalm: :facepalm:

Do these people have brains???
Please dont torture us with Yasir's toothless bowling in LOIs.Please.
 
Wow Yasir in WC is going to be the most foolish decision and waste of spot
 
Azhar Mahmood upbeat despite series loss

Dubai, 28 March 2019:

Despite the series loss to Australia, Pakistan’s bowling coach Azhar Mahmood was upbeat about finding suitable options and trying various combinations ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which will be played in England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July.

Pakistan lost by 80 runs in the third one-day international against Australia in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, giving the visitors an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Azhar said losing the series was disappointing, but bowlers have done well.

“It is very disappointing for us to have lost the series,” said Azhar. “But, the bowlers have bowled well. You must give credit to Australia. (Aaron) Finch has been phenomenal in this series.”

Finch scored centuries in each of Australia’s eight-wicket wins in Sharjah before missing a third by 10 runs in Abu Dhabi.

Azhar said there were still positives for Pakistan.

“There have been positives like Usman (Shinwari), who bowled well on Wednesday,” said Azhar of the left-arm fast bowler who dismissed opener Usman Khawaja in the first over on Wednesday.

“Junaid has come back well, young Hasnain bowled well. We have a few positives in batting with a couple of centuries in Sharjah. But, in Wednesday’s match, we just did not click.”

Azhar said there were a couple of places up for grabs for the World Cup, for which Pakistan have tried some players as potential options.

“We are trying different combinations keeping the World Cup in mind,” said Azhar, adding: “If we play only our main strength and then someone gets injured, we won’t have any options left. This series is our best chance to test the bench strength.”

Pakistan will take on the Windies in the World Cup opener on 31 May at Trent Bridge. In the lead up to that match, Pakistan will play five 50-over warm-up matches, five ODIs and a T20I (versus England). With Pakistan to play a minimum of nine World Cup matches, the green shirts will feature in a minimum of 20 white ball fixtures in the approximately 10-week period.

Azhar denied there was any pressure ahead of the World Cup.

“We are testing the bench strength. We have seven players who are not here and they give strength to our batting and bowling. We have one or two spots that are up for the taking.

“We are trying bowlers for the World Cup. We know our main strength is bowling, so we have tried Yasir Shah, just in case we need an additional spinner as a wicket-taking option. When we go to England for the World Cup, the wickets will be drier, so we want to see if we can pick Yasir.

“We have tried our options and combinations to be certain and clear on who are our bowlers for the available spots and this was the best occasion to try them.”

Azhar admitted Pakistan have only taken eight wickets in three matches but that was due to unresponsive pitches.

“If you see overall, then we have not taken very many wickets. They also did not get wickets and we lost wickets in the final overs (while batting). Sharjah wicket did not have any assistance for bowlers. When we scored 280 and 284, they chased down in the 49th and 47th overs, respectively.

“Overall, I think we lost matches but we got to know about the strengths and weaknesses of the bowlers and we will work in the camp on those weaknesses.”
 
If he thinks we're not taking wickets due to unresponsive pitches in UAE - he might want to look at the pitches produced in England for ODIs because they're aren't any more responsive.
 
I don't know why people were expecting any other outcome.

Faheem is not a bad choice because he brings variety to a bowling attack dominated by similar left arm bowlers and then there is always a hope that he can score some useful runs in England where pitches will not be slow like the ones in the UAE.
 
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