"Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad are in good form" : Misbah-ul-Haq on T20I squad

[Abdullah719]

Misbah-ul-Haq's comments on his selected T20I squad:

Obviously as there isn’t much time before the T20 World Cup, we are trying to create a pool of players for this tournament

We would like to see all those who have performed well in PSL and try out any others who can fit in any vacant slots in the side

Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad are in good form, with Umar Akmal performing really well in T20s last year

Faheem Ashraf’s T20 performances have also been good

We are looking at Iftikhar Ahmed as a utility player to fill in a gap where we don’t have a off-spinner against left-hander – also at 5-6 position he can play role of finisher which he has also done for Karachi Kings

He is a sensible batsman and we want to see how he can fit in the team, so overall we are checking a few things for the World Cup

Pakistan is number one in the T20 format but in such a short format, anything can happen

They (SL) have an inexperienced batting line-up but bowling line-up is fine

Any one batsman can surprise you with a good innings and we cannot take anyone lightly even though the experienced players are not there

We know about Malik and Hafeez’s capabilities and are aware of his performances in the past, so we will consider their abilities as well as those of other players to know which will be our best team

Our bowling attack is good with a lot of the players who have performed well in whiteball cricket, with Amir and Wahab as experienced and Shinwari has bowled well in the 2nd ODI, Shadab and Imad have also been playing well and we needed a backup so we got in Nawaz who got a 100 in QEA and has good performances in whiteball cricket and in PSL – he will be a backup for the slot of spin bowler and someone who can bat too

Enjoy and come and support both teams, we expect a very enjoyable environment in Lahore and hopefully there will be good atmosphere so come and enjoy and support good cricket

 

[Shafi]

Misbah has no shame at all. Since he doesn't have to answer to anyone he can select whomever he wants.
Soon he will bring Shafiq, Azhar, Rahat in our LOI set up.

We would like to see all those who have performed well in PSL and try out any others who can fit in any vacant slots in the side--- This is a deceptive statement to fool fans. We will see more uncles and grandpas will be selected in PSL team instead of younger players and he will select those oldies.

 

[AdamM97]

Why does PCB persist with players like Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal and Faheem Ashraf? Haven’t they gotten enough chances? Time to move on.

 

[MenInG]

Why does PCB persist with players like Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal and Faheem Ashraf? Haven’t they gotten enough chances? Time to move on.

Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad need to be given a chance under new management.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad need to be given a chance under new management.

I wish these two had betting odds on them to get dropped.

 

[nextover666666]

The way misbah is going about selections so far it's certain that the series to come we will see a lot of old faces
Congratz to the following
Sohail Tanvir
Anwar Ali
Bilawal bhatti
Aizaz cheema
Bilal asif

You guys will be in the squad in the near future

 

[Mercurial]

Can he back it up with stats?

 

[Titan24]

Can he back it up with stats?

Umar Akmal was highest scorer in Pakistan Cup 2019 with avg of 85 and SR of 140, he scored century in QAE final last season and was one of the top performers amongst Pakistani batsmen in PSL too with some impressive knocks.

While Shehzad hasnt put forward the case with same force but lack of decent opening batsmen who can play few shots on his day and are decent in the field arent many. He scored 311 runs @ 51 with SR of 126 in PSL and couple of 50s in 4 matches of Pakistan Cup @45 and SR of 95.

 

[in_cutter]

It was said Misbah ruined Akmal’s career when he was captain.

Myth busted

 

[aloo paratha]

They'll be out of the side again once they inevitably fail.

 

[Major]

It was said Misbah ruined Akmal’s career when he was captain.

Myth busted

where are the haters now

 

[saeedhk]

Similar to his ODI career, his selection is equally mediocre.

 

[Mujtaba2900]

Umar Akmal Is must for t20
When will people realize that why are we treating him like Stepson
Media always bullied him And Umar himself Didn't Do good to his Image
Now it's time he Show Some character like Ahmad Shezad

 

[Mujtaba2900]

Misbah has no shame at all. Since he doesn't have to answer to anyone he can select whomever he wants.
Soon he will bring Shafiq, Azhar, Rahat in our LOI set up.



We would like to see all those who have performed well in PSL and try out any others who can fit in any vacant slots in the side--- This is a deceptive statement to fool fans. We will see more uncles and grandpas will be selected in PSL team instead of younger players and he will select those oldies.

Please Can we Criticize him only After Watching Results
Afte horrendous Years of 2013-2016 and then again 2017 To pre world Cup
New Faces Didn't do much To merit There position
Shadab is medicore(below average For over Year now)
Less said about sarfraz better
Hasan Fading away
Shinwari Inconsistent
Only Babar imam Haris Shaheen Are Winning us matches
So don't think what worse Akmal and Shezad can do
Shezad is certainly better then fakhar in current form

 

[Syed1]

Thank you Misbah, what will we ever do without you?



Pathetic cricketer and human being. First cheats Mickey Arthur out of a coaching position so that he can select himself, and now is being doling out benefits for his friends. It is 2019 and Pakistan just recalled Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal two has-beens (or never-weres) to the T20 format. All the more surprising because WC is next year and T20 top order is pretty much settled.

 

[Shafi]

Please Can we Criticize him only After Watching Results
Afte horrendous Years of 2013-2016 and then again 2017 To pre world Cup
New Faces Didn't do much To merit There position
Shadab is medicore(below average For over Year now)
Less said about sarfraz better
Hasan Fading away
Shinwari Inconsistent
Only Babar imam Haris Shaheen Are Winning us matches
So don't think what worse Akmal and Shezad can do
Shezad is certainly better then fakhar in current form

These twos are serial failures. I am not advocating for Sadab/Hasan.
We need to get rid of any non-performers including so-called big mouth specialist captain and try out new players.

 

[Shazzam]

So Ahmad Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Hafeez, and S. Malik on the same side alongside Sarfraz? Yeah we won’t win the World Cup next year.

 

[Boi]

What a joke. Misbah will take the T20 side back to the dumps as it was under his captaincy.

 

[hadi123]

Thank you Misbah, what will we ever do without you?



Pathetic cricketer and human being. First cheats Mickey Arthur out of a coaching position so that he can select himself, and now is being doling out benefits for his friends. It is 2019 and Pakistan just recalled Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal two has-beens (or never-weres) to the T20 format. All the more surprising because WC is next year and T20 top order is pretty much settled.

I said time and time again Inzi as a selector was one of the best things that happened to Pakistan cricket but everyone thought they knew better and surprise surprise we've ended up with someone worse

 

[Nasty Naz]

Akmal is fine as a selection for T20 only.

Shehzad is not. Because he is just bad.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Akmal makes the T20 team 100% on merit.

 

[szundercover]

Akmal makes the T20 team 100% on merit.

Exactly he can be the finisher that pakistan needs provided he has learned his mistakes from the past.

 

[Mean&Green]

Akmal is fine but honestly I saw him bat in Canada and he was pretty **** in a 40 yard ground

 

[Slim]

Look at how hard Shehzad has worked on his fitness. He was the top peformer in last PSL. Its ridicolous to refuse to give him a chance.

Same goes for Umar Akmal who is better than Asif Ali.

Faheem Ashraf is the most problematic selection, a guy who was kicked out when the WC came shows that he will never be a proper player for us.

 

[Saj]

In good form - where?

Have I missed something?

 

[Maher96]

Both strengthen the T20 team, solid top 5 with them in

Fakhar
Ahmed
Babar
Haris Sohail
Sarfraz
Umar
Imad
Shadab
Faheem
Wahab
Amir

 

[Boi]

Both strengthen the T20 team, solid top 5 with them in

Fakhar
Ahmed
Babar
Haris Sohail
Sarfraz
Umar
Imad
Shadab
Faheem
Wahab
Amir

Yep let’s move Babar away from opening where he’s managed to get to number 1 in the rankings.

Really hope Fakhar fires in the first game so that Shehzad is kept out. Never going to go forward with Misbah in charge.

 

[Savak]

Umar Akmal has regressed very badly from the batsman he was from 2009-2012, 2013 and the last time he looked a good batsman was in the Champions League 2014. Since then he has regressed horribly.

 

[Barragan]

In good form - where?

Have I missed something?

Akmal has had an excellent domestic year.

He was among the top 3 in FC, highest run scorer in the Pakistan cup (one day) and one of the highest run scoring Pak batsmen in the PSL.

Also, all 3 of his teams won the domestic trophies, whether it be Quetta, HBL or Balochistan.

Lastly, he has made a strong start in the FC comp this year as well by scoring 89, which was the highest score in his team and that included the likes of Azhar, Babar, Kami and Shehzad.