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Umar Akmal (342) and Khushdil Shah (316) the leading scorers in Pakistan Cup 2019

And some say Salman Butt should be brought back?
 
I doubt Shah gets a shot at the WC given that it will be his ODI cap, but he better get a chance after the WC.

Salman Butt should be brought back and made captain. He clearly is a big time run maker... in his mind.
 
Ilan Bluestone said:
I doubt Shah gets a shot at the WC given that it will be his ODI cap, but he better get a chance after the WC.

Salman Butt should be brought back and made captain. He clearly is a big time run maker... in his mind.
Click to expand...

Abid Ali not the highest but did well in the final....Does that tell us something about big-match temperament?
 
salman24 said:
Surprise Surprise. Wonder what the Umar Akmal haters will say...
Click to expand...

One's an almost 29 year old TTF, played over 200 games without many notable performances, and lots of disciplinary issues. The other is a 24 year old guy who has not yet been tested in the international arena, and deserves a chance.
 
you know there's a problem with domestic cricket when awais zia is one of the highest scorers
 
salman24 said:
Surprise Surprise. Wonder what the Umar Akmal haters will say...
Click to expand...

He didn't do in international matches.

When he does...

He didn't do it against a certain team.

When he does...

He didn't do it in the WC final.

When he does...

He didn't do it when the team was 50-5 chasing 300.

When he does...

Dr Bassim wasn't there to see it happen live.

:moyo
 
Cric1234 said:
He didn't do in international matches.

When he does...

He didn't do it against a certain team.

When he does...

He didn't do it in the WC final.

When he does...

He didn't do it when the team was 50-5 chasing 300.

When he does...

Dr Bassim wasn't there to see it happen live.

:moyo
Click to expand...

We’re talking about Umar Akmal here, not Virat Kohli:yk

There aren’t many occasions when he does score full stop.
 
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If Umar Akmal was any good we would have seen it in the Australian series.

Freaking Rizwan scored more than Umar
 
Umar Akmal is being played with.... play him as opener or one down the requirement of modern cricket.
BEST PAKISTANI again pace bowler.

He score fifty in his last test innings in WI and gets dropped. Then on/off in T20 and ODI... he could have been developed in Test miss opportunity for Pakistan...
 
MenInG said:
Abid Ali not the highest but did well in the final....Does that tell us something about big-match temperament?
Click to expand...

also did it in his debut on short notice, small sample but two hundred and a ninety in his last few innings is a good sign....
 
Umar Akmal is an idiot, players that bat at his number with countless opportunities should have a very high average. He has won Pakistan maybe a handful of games and lost countless others which simply required him to apply the basics. Scoring on flat wickets against B class bowlers doesn't take much. I am pretty confident someone like Kuldeep Yadav would have Umar dancing in the world cup.
 
Says a lot about the quality of that tournament if Akmal is the leading scorer.
 
Cric1234 said:
He didn't do in international matches.

When he does...

He didn't do it against a certain team.

When he does...

He didn't do it in the WC final.

When he does...

He didn't do it when the team was 50-5 chasing 300.

When he does...

Dr Bassim wasn't there to see it happen live.

:moyo
Click to expand...

So lets hear it out.

Before mocking me, show me what he did in 5 ODI's vs Australia in comparison to Rizwan or Haris?

His last INTERNATIONAL performances are for all to see.

Or are you gonna just keep living the "Umar Akmal, the Typist's Dream" story that you keep spinning on every thread?
 
Stats don't lie. Too performer in every format he batted in. On Merit makes the Pakistani National XI. Pardoned fitness and fiasco. Umar will play in England coming summer.
 
Leading strike rate and sixes too. Impressive and exactly what Pakistan need right?

It's a shame he is such an utter crap otherwise his selection wouldn't even need to be a conversation. Unfortunately his wicket in the 4th ODI against Aus and the Akon concert fiasco stick firmly in my mind right now.
 
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MenInG said:
Abid Ali not the highest but did well in the final....Does that tell us something about big-match temperament?
Click to expand...

Big supporter of Abid.

31 is a little old to get your start, but he's a finished product today. Knows how to really construct and innings and take it to the bowling when necessarily. Not getting bogged down when boundaries aren't falling is a key problem for so many of our batsmen for the last fifteen years. Misbah, YK, Shehzad, Imam, even Babar, they all lose the plot and/or don't know when to turn it on, and Abid seems to understand where the match is and what needs to be done.

I am a vehement supporter of Babar, but the fact remains that as the innings goes on, he seems to get anxious about the milestone over the match situation, which to me is between the ears and not ability.

He starts out often 45 off 36 but then ends with a 100 of 108. This clearly shows he at least to some degree is selfish, and/or he is anxious because a century is coming up and doesn't want to get out.

This fear has plagued Pakistan too long. Babar, Imam, all these new players, they need to understand their places are set and to play with ease and really challenge themselves with regard to match situation and what they need to do.

You will not see Kohli slow down, you will see him get stronger as the innings progresses, whereas our players tend to get complacent and anxious.

This mentality is systemic. Whether it be due to poor role models of past players who they were under or simply fear of losing their spot, either way, it needs to change for any chance at success. Talent is there, but the mental aspect of the 300+ norm of today needs to be accounted for.

This is why Abid Ali I am excited to see because he seems to understand what is required in the modern format. Whether he's 21 or 31 or even 41, to understand what the game has become and what is required to win consistently is something rarely seen in Pakistan these days and possibly not seen since Inzi.

Again not comparing the two, not even close, but the mentality of what is required to win is half the battle, playing for centuries is great, and it shows you have the ability, but playing to score ton win the game is what you really should strive for.
 
Not selecting Abid for WC now will be a travesty. I am still mad at the management for not picking him in SA. He is an even better test batsman.
 
Big positive for me in this tournament has been the overall batting itself. Teams playing confidently and scoring big and surprisingly are confident in chasing down these big total too. I do understand that the conditions were ideal for batting but that is the trend across the world and we really cant complain on that front.

This tournament just emphasizes the fact that its time for international cricket to return to Pakistan. On return of cricket to Pakistan, I see our team going up in ranks within 5-7 years. In this time I can foresee unearthing couple of world class players which we really lack at the tournament.

Now coming to individual performances in this tournament there is one standout performer that is Khushdil Shah. The guy has played couple of monster knocks in this tournament while not doing so good in other 3 matches. He kinds of remind me of Fakhar, the underlying fact being when he clicks the team would win regardless. I would not say that Khushdil is the answer to our middle order problems as we obviously need to see more of him and ideally he should have played PSL for more competitive cricket.

Apart from Khushdil, the other guy I was impressed with was Umar Siddique. PCB should already start targeting this lad and eventually route him into T20s and limited overs. Being a wicketkeeper he is definitely an upgrade over Rizwan. The only issue in the current setup is that he is a top order batsmen while our top 3 picks themselves. Having said that we should be inducted as a replacement for Sarfraz post WC.

Our middle order needs Amin or Akmal. Love it or hate it these 2 have the ability to hit sixes and up the momentum in middle order which we are really lacking at the current moment. These both should be in squads post WC which would beef up our middle order.

For lower order, although Hammad scored some runs, he really scored some uncomfortable runs which included edges, slices and luck in other words. Hammad although I like the lad he is not international material. Amad on the other hand should be looked into on a serious note. Amad has got edge in his bowling and seems like he added a couple of yards of additional pace too. On top of that Amad surprisingly played couple of good knocks in the tournament too. For me Faheem and Amad should fight out for a spot as lower order hitter/bowler post WC.
 
Khushdil is a better option than Umar Akmal , he doesnt seem like that he will throw his wicket away every single delivery and still is able to maintain a high strike rate. On top of that he can bowl 3 4 overs as well if needed.

Abid Ali should be in the squad as third opener.

I dont think pakistan can afford to have malik in the squad at the moment.

Imam
Fakhar
Abid
Babar
Haris
Hafeez
Khushdil
Rizwan
Sarfraz
Imad
Shadab
Faheem
Hassan
Shaheen
Amir

My preferred starting 11

Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Hafeez
Sarfraz
Khushdil
Imad
Shadab
Hassan
Amir
Shaheen
 
I think the actual squad will be

Imam
Fakhar
Abid
Haris
Hafeez
Malik
Sarfraz
Asif ali
Faheem
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Shaheen
Amir
Shinwari
 
JibranAnsari said:
I think the actual squad will be

Imam
Fakhar
Abid
Haris
Hafeez
Malik
Sarfraz
Asif ali
Faheem
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Shaheen
Amir
Shinwari
Click to expand...

You forgot Babar.

Malik is causing all the problems in selecting a balanced squad. I wish he had some selflessness and should have retired himself.

One of the batsman like Abid/Asif will miss out due to Malik/Hafeez.
 
SarfiBabarHaris said:
You forgot Babar.

Malik is causing all the problems in selecting a balanced squad. I wish he had some selflessness and should have retired himself.

One of the batsman like Abid/Asif will miss out due to Malik/Hafeez.
Click to expand...
Lol , how could i forget babar.
 
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