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"This is not PSL, this is international cricket": Shoaib Malik

Cricket Warrior

Cricket Warrior

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Shoaib Malik recently criticized Pakistan's management for their selection decisions following the loss against England in the 2nd T20I. Malik suggested a few changes in the batting order to create a better combination that could yield improved results. He emphasized that international cricket is entirely different from domestic leagues like the PSL.

Malik recommended opening with Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan, with Babar Azam batting at number 3. He also felt that finishers like Iftikhar Ahmed and Azam Khan should be given ample time in the middle.

What do you think, guys? Is this a combination that could really work for Pakistan?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1794424120265883778
 
Putting Azam Khan at number 4 doesn't make any sense to me. This guy doesn't even deserve to be a part of the team. It's better to play Usman who is a better option at this number.

Azam Babloo can't even defend a straight ball and Malik sahab is making him play at number 4 which is the most crucial position to bat.
 
Rana said:
Guy needs to make his mind up. Not change it every week. This is Pakistan cricket, not some desi celebrity who you can jump onto one after the other
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doing this malik sahab making his case strong to become a next chief selector... analysis without using brain lol
 
Rana said:
Guy needs to make his mind up. Not change it every week. This is Pakistan cricket, not some desi celebrity who you can jump onto one after the other
Click to expand...
I don't see what he said was wrong though?

Rizwan and Babar aren't going anywhere and this squad is weak.

Fakhar at opening is the right call. You could say he could advocate for usman over rizzu and Bobby but if that happens pct will have his head.

Azam at 4 is horrible, but again he's the highest sr player, and t20 is going bang bang.

And this isn't psl.
 
Usman Chadda said:
Malik saab has lost whatever few braincells he did have by recommending Azam at 4. The lad is not fit to play international cricket, he needs to stop being pushed.
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He's talking about the squad in general, their aren't any options besides usman khan at no 4
 
mominsaigol said:
He's talking about the squad in general, their aren't any options besides usman khan at no 4
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So play Usman at 4, don’t advocate for someone who is consistently running off the pitch against pace bowlers in the middle-order.

Then again Malik saab himself is guilty of doing that all his career, so maybe this is normal for him.
 
Usman Chadda said:
So play Usman at 4, don’t advocate for someone who is consistently running off the pitch against pace bowlers in the middle-order.

Then again Malik saab himself is guilty of doing that all his career, so maybe this is normal for him.
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Azam khan has a higher sr that's why. Usman khan has terrible records even in leagues where he plays at no 4 or lower, His record is only good in domestic or leagues when he opens or bats at no 3.

That's probably the reason why he advocated azam.

You guys need to start thinking with empathy aka understand the perspective of others.

Babar is choosing to play saim who's a walking wicket, Azam, Chacha and shadab at no 5 lol. And fakhar at no 4

What malik suggested is superior to what babar currently is playing, the squad is weak regardless.

Their aren't many batsmen and chacha, Shadab, Azam and saim are liabilities with rizzu and babar being liabilities due to slow sr.

Besides fakhar who's in form being pushed to open, no suggestion will make any of you boys happy unless I praise babar and rizwan on cloud 9 lol
 
mominsaigol said:
Azam khan has a higher sr that's why. Usman khan has terrible records even in leagues where he plays at no 4 or lower, His record is only good in domestic or leagues when he opens or bats at no 3.

That's probably the reason why he advocated azam.

You guys need to start thinking with empathy aka understand the perspective of others.

Babar is choosing to play saim who's a walking wicket, Azam, Chacha and shadab at no 5 lol. And fakhar at no 4

What malik suggested is superior to what babar currently is playing, the squad is weak regardless.

Their aren't many batsmen and chacha, Shadab, Azam and saim are liabilities with rizzu and babar being liabilities due to slow sr.

Besides fakhar who's in form being pushed to open, no suggestion will make any of you boys happy unless I praise babar and rizwan on cloud 9 lol
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How about keeping Fakhar at 4 and open with Usman in place of Saim?

That would make much more sense than having Azam at 4.

Drop Azam, play Shadab as a part-timer and bring in Abrar for the specialist spinner spot. We are not going to get runs from Azam against top teams, his technique won’t survive Australia, England, India and South Africa.
 
Usman Chadda said:
How about keeping Fakhar at 4 and open with Usman in place of Saim?

That would make much more sense than having Azam at 4.

Drop Azam, play Shadab as a part-timer and bring in Abrar for the specialist spinner spot. We are not going to get runs from Azam against top teams, his technique won’t survive Australia, England, India and South Africa.
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That's fine, thanks your opinion, all I'm saying is malik is the most experienced cricketer, and making memes about him changing wives doesn't change the fact that ik the way he thinks.

Azam at 4 is because of SR and fakhar at opening is due to fakhar being the best at utilising PP.

And no keeping fakhar at 4 is suicide because it relies on 2 early wickets falling and fakhar coming in PP, statistically fakhar only performs at 4 if 2 wickets fall in PP otherwise he always fails post PP.

Usman khan, Saim and azam have all faiked given their runs, However azam ironically has done better then saim since he bullied an opposition that saim was a walking wicket towards.

Azam also has better league performances across the board then both usman and saim excluding the usman 36 ball 100, that was a very good innings.

I'm not justifying azam, I'm just saying Usman khan at no 4 doesn't really change anything, nor does opening with him.

Usman, Saim, Chacja, Shadab, azam. None of these boys are international players, their all failures but atleast azam has a minnow bash record against Ireland to show a more justifiable selection then Usman and saim.

Seriously look at the facts, Who between usman, Saim and azam has had a better t20 international career? Azam is the only one who's had performance against Ireland while saim and usman have so far failed at every turn.
 
he's basically just saying remove shadab from number 4 or 5 and shove him anywhere else

his line up isn't any different to the one babar currently playing.
 
emranabbas said:
he's basically just saying remove shadab from number 4 or 5 and shove him anywhere else

his line up isn't any different to the one babar currently playing.
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If he is keeping Shadab in the playing XI then his brain cells are working the same as Babar's.
 
I would just drop Azam based on his keeping. But if he had to play, I would rather that he has the ability to face as many balls as possible because he is an impact player. If Azam faces 20 balls, then pak probably has a better chance of winning compared to if someone like Babar faces 20 balls.

Also, I would still persist with Saim. I know its an unpopular opinion but I think he will eventually shine.
 
Wait , so he wants to solve batting issue by dropping one batsmen and continue bowling issue by persisting with shadab. Not sure what I am missing here. If dropping Saim at least play usman.
 
Assume these 3 guys , Shadab, Azam and Chacha are not even in the 15 , make any combination from other 12 and team will be OK,
 
emranabbas said:
he's basically just saying remove shadab from number 4 or 5 and shove him anywhere else

his line up isn't any different to the one babar currently playing.
Click to expand...
What lineup can you possibly experiment with?

Usman is the only back up and judging from the way fakhar is playing, and how stubborn babar and rizwan are, usman can only replace saim or bat at no 5.

What combination can malik suggest besides telling media to boot shadab.

Don't blame malik, blame the squad selection as it's always crap.

Although malik is a fish, dude flops opinions faster then he swaps wives.
 
Asad T said:
I would just drop Azam based on his keeping. But if he had to play, I would rather that he has the ability to face as many balls as possible because he is an impact player. If Azam faces 20 balls, then pak probably has a better chance of winning compared to if someone like Babar faces 20 balls.

Also, I would still persist with Saim. I know its an unpopular opinion but I think he will eventually shine.
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I respect you a lot as a poster. But do you in your right mind think Azam has the capability to face 20 balls without getting out vs a full strength team. Babar can be 20 of 20 not out and still have better impact than Azam who will prob be 3 of 8 out vs a good team in the world cup.
 
kingusama92 said:
"This is not PSL..."

Puts Azam at #4. :yk
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LOL. The way azam and Saim are performing, I would drop them for good. Babar is fine at 3 and Fakhar to open with rizwan, but if Usman comes in, I am not sure if he is going to play at 4, not good spot for him and he will not be able to produce results like fakhar did so I would bring Usman to open with RIz then babar and then fakhar.
 
Last edited:
I fully understand why Malik has Azam at 4, he regularly crosses paths with Moin Khan doing similar media circuits, events etc.. etc...

Sohaib Malik is playing it safe by avoiding the awkwardness. Not too long ago the same guy ridiculed Azam's diet on TV, that must have not gone down well with Moin, Sohaib playing it safe, just like how he batted!
 
"This is not PSL, this is international cricket" -
wow exceptional aggression shown by Shoaib. Should be immediately hired by PCB in a support role before he's pouched by Aussies or Poms.

Fakhar
Rizwan
Babar
Azam
Iftkar
Imad
Shadab

This no doubt should be the strongest top 7 batting line up the world of T20 cricket has ever seen.
:inti
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Shoaib Malik recently criticized Pakistan's management for their selection decisions following the loss against England in the 2nd T20I. Malik suggested a few changes in the batting order to create a better combination that could yield improved results. He emphasized that international cricket is entirely different from domestic leagues like the PSL.

Malik recommended opening with Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan, with Babar Azam batting at number 3. He also felt that finishers like Iftikhar Ahmed and Azam Khan should be given ample time in the middle.

What do you think, guys? Is this a combination that could really work for Pakistan?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1794424120265883778
Click to expand...
Good batting order but i would recommend one change Shadab above Imad infact SSA could also be promoted up the order.
 
Sher Khan said:
I respect you a lot as a poster. But do you in your right mind think Azam has the capability to face 20 balls without getting out vs a full strength team. Babar can be 20 of 20 not out and still have better impact than Azam who will prob be 3 of 8 out vs a good team in the world cup.
Click to expand...
I personally think Azam should be dropped because of his fitness & keeping. But if he has to play I would like to see him bat a more than 10 balls per match. Which is what he does because he bats at 6/7.

I don't think he has played much against good teams for me to form a proper opinion of his batting yet. All I know about T20 is, is that if you want to give youself a shot at winning, your more destructive players need to face the majority of the innings.

In Pakistan's case we have Riz and Babar (sr 128 and 130 respectively) playing like 50% of the innings. That is a recipie for disaster (unless we are chasing a small score). If we want to give ourselves a shot at winning, the guys with a sr of 150+ need to face more deliveries and should bat higher up.

Look at England's top 5 vs ours:

England: Bulter (sr 145), Salt (165), Jacks (151), Bairstow (137), Brook (144)
Pakistan: Ayub (128), Rizwan (128), Babar (130), Fakhar (134) Shadab (141)

Because their top 5 is packed with hitters, they give themselves a chance of crushing whoever they play. We play too defensivly and should ideally try to pack our top 5 with people who can actually hit. This is what mordern cricket is about. Azam's physique is not mordern, but at least he tries to hit.
 
Malik wants Azam at no.4 so that when he fails his media mafia will again start narrative "we need experience in middle order" and Malik makes comeback in world cup 24 team :P
 
Asad T said:
Look at England's top 5 vs ours:

England: Bulter (sr 145), Salt (165), Jacks (151), Bairstow (137), Brook (144)
Pakistan: Ayub (128), Rizwan (128), Babar (130), Fakhar (134) Shadab (141)
Click to expand...

A shame for PCT fans
 
Cric_lover4487 said:
Malik wants Azam at no.4 so that when he fails his media mafia will again start narrative "we need experience in middle order" and Malik makes comeback in world cup 24 team :p
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actually thats a most stupid thing to use Azam Khan at number 4 position, this guy cant run and u know in the middle overs singles and doubles are always Important... so i will give Azam only last 4 overs because he can only smash like a hulk but steer the game is out of his capabilities.
 
What about making Azam and Iftikhar open? Pump a rapid 60-80 in the PP. Then Rizwan and Babar can do their tuk tuk and it won't hurt as much.

Fakhar and Saim in for the last 6 overs.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
actually thats a most stupid thing to use Azam Khan at number 4 position, this guy cant run and u know in the middle overs singles and doubles are always Important... so i will give Azam only last 4 overs because he can only smash like a hulk but steer the game is out of his capabilities.
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I am not hater of fat people but Azam shouldn't be playing international cricket with his fitness. His selection is disrespectful to other upcoming cricketers who are toiling hard and being told they need to improve their fitness scores.
 
People keep talking about Azam smashing bowlers, but can anyone give me evidence of him ever taking a top tier bowler to task? He hits irrelevant bowlers in B-grade leagues but imagine him facing the likes of Cummins, Archer, Starc, Wood, Ferguson, Bumrah, Boult etc? The boy will be all at sea!
 
The only thing he got right is that OP title thread. International cricket is a big step up from PSL, but not sure there is any solution to that. Pakistan cricketers don't lack talent, they need more exposure to high quality cricket. Most of them can handle the PSL level at home, but they look confused and bewildered by different conditions and a step up in class when facing the top sides abroad.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
The only thing he got right is that OP title thread. International cricket is a big step up from PSL, but not sure there is any solution to that. Pakistan cricketers don't lack talent, they need more exposure to high quality cricket. Most of them can handle the PSL level at home, but they look confused and bewildered by different conditions and a step up in class when facing the top sides abroad.
Click to expand...
Agreed there's a big gulf in the quality of cricket, but it's the selectors job to recognise and differentiate the players who are b-league superstars and the ones good enough to play international cricket. If the selector does not have that competence then do not do the job.

Look at the difference in which the openers played Wood and what happened to Azam Khan. Babar's first 4 of wood, pinged of his legs was sheer class, that is a batsman who can boss international cricket. Then comes Azam Khan who has absolutely no clue as to what exactly happened after Wood released the ball, he was in pure shock. Both players play in the same cricket circuits.

It's understandable when fans go ga-ga over Azam Khan because he hit some domestic nobody in a league in Wakanda, but a selector must be able to recognise the true potential of a player. Don't want to body shame anyone, but no serious sportsman who regularly practices and trains will look like that.
 
Within 2 weeks,

Malik has changed his opinion on 3 occasions.

I would like to remind him, this is the Pakistan national team your opinion especially regarding a World Cup has to be Monogamous/Monotonous. You can’t keep changing it as if it’s a celebrity’s DMs
 
shortbread said:
Agreed there's a big gulf in the quality of cricket, but it's the selectors job to recognise and differentiate the players who are b-league superstars and the ones good enough to play international cricket. If the selector does not have that competence then do not do the job.

Look at the difference in which the openers played Wood and what happened to Azam Khan. Babar's first 4 of wood, pinged of his legs was sheer class, that is a batsman who can boss international cricket. Then comes Azam Khan who has absolutely no clue as to what exactly happened after Wood released the ball, he was in pure shock. Both players play in the same cricket circuits.

It's understandable when fans go ga-ga over Azam Khan because he hit some domestic nobody in a league in Wakanda, but a selector must be able to recognise the true potential of a player. Don't want to body shame anyone, but no serious sportsman who regularly practices and trains will look like that.
Click to expand...

Azam Khan is getting picked because he is Mohsin Khan's son, not because he is better than the other domestic performers. That tells you all you need to know about selectors, unfortunately they don't seem to come under the microscope much and even on here we get more fans moaning it's the captain's fault.
 
Azam Khan, Iftikhar, Imad and Shadab.

USA and Nepal can come up with a more resolute middle-order.
 
Perhaps PCB should have asked Malik to come back for the World Cup instead of washed up Amir.

You can’t argue over the fact that Malik is still a better middle-order option than Azam Khan, Shadab and probably Iftikhar as well.
 
Say that to Ifthikhar where his psl performance in International! Been saying it since day 1 Ifthikhar is not a International player. He is 🥚 in international! Kick him out Pakistan cricket
 
Cricket Warrior said:
We cant have too many buzurgs in the team, most probably Ifti bhai also going to be retired soon maybe right after the world cup.
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I don't want malik back, I'm just saying he's younger then chacha.

Sooner you accept that chacha lost the war of independence for us in 1857, sooner you'll realise he'll lose the war for us In 2024.

As the saying goes, he truly has withstood the test of time.
 
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