Umar Akmal's Replacement : The Candidates

[Canistani Hero]

Good riddance. Umar Akmal is in the process of being sent back. Sources indicate the PCB has initiated visa processing for three players namely Umar Amin, Haris Sohail and Amir Yamin. Curious to see which of the three will get preference. Since they will likely fill the #6 where Akmal was expected to bat, I would prefer Amir Yamin because he is a handy option with the ball and can strike at a decent rate down the order. Haris Sohail is probably the most complete batsman but his match fitness is still somewhat in the air, Umar Amin had a fabulous Pakistan Cup and finds himself in the reckoning solely on merit as well, plus the PCB has recently used him as a witness in the spot-fixing case, which has helped him establish himself in the good books of PCB's big-wigs.

Which of the three would you prefer to replace U Akmal?

 

[anakwalajinn]

Fawad Alam

 

[Canistani Hero]

No visa processing for him apparently

 

[Syed1]

Ideally all three should have been in the squad from the beginning. In place of players like Azhar, Shehzad and Akmal.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Harryyyyy easily.

 

[phoenix363]

I think we need one of the two batsman.

This is a rare win win situation in Pak as they are both good players and merit selection. I would say Amin just about gets ahead since I think while Haris would be more consistent, Amin can be more aggressive and a match winner on his day.

I would love to see the lineup below starting against India. However, it is almost confirmed that we will see Azhar and Shehzad open, with Hafeez at 4 and Sarfaraz pushed down to 6 despite it being ridiculously clear that all his performances have come at 4/5!

Fakhar
Hafeez
Babar
Amin
Sarfaraz
Malik
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Amir
Wahab/ Junaid

 

[Canistani Hero]

Ideally all three should have been in the squad from the beginning. In place of players like Azhar, Shehzad and Akmal.

Agreed. Or atleast 2 of them

 

[Canistani Hero]

Haris winning with an overwhelming majority at the moment but he can't bat at 6. He can only bat at 4. This means something like

Azhar
Hafeez
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarf

as the top 6

 

[moghul]

Umar Amin is at top of his game at the moment, he can also bowl 3-4 cheap overs as 6th bowler. A much better fielder than Haris , who was not known for fitness and fielding even prior to his injury.

 

[Hasan123]

All 3 should have been in the squad anyway. I'll go with Harris but don't mind which one is selected.

 

[asma_cricfan]

Why not fawad alam. He is already in England hence no problem for him to get use to weather plus pakistan do need a strong bat in the middle.

 

[Ellipsism]

Why not fawad alam. He is already in England hence no problem for him to get use to weather plus pakistan do need a strong bat in the middle.

He's barely scored this season.

An embarrassment seeing that your top domestic performer can't do jack in some obscure league.

 

[Hamza_]

Umar Amin.

 

[Colt]

Ideally it should be between Harris and Amir Yamin but still unsure of Harris's fitness.

Fawad Alam should not be selected for his own good.

ODI's aren't his format and we have tons of accumulators.

His failure in ODI's would mean he wont ever be considered for Test's, that's how our brain-dead selectors work.

They just don't know which player to select in what format and then discard the individual for some Akmal or Daddy's Boy.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Amir Yamin takes over the poll out of nowhere

 

[Justcrazy]

Umar Amin , because his bowling would be more useful than harris Sohail.

 

[idrizzy]

The team needs a pace bowling AR. I'd also have Haris and the team would be so much better but Yamin is needed more so (plus on form):
Hafeez
Azhar
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarfraz
Yamin
Imad
Amir
Hasan Ali
Wahab

However, Haris is gonna get replaced by Shehzad with Hafeez at #4

 

[aloo paratha]

If the new batsmen will have to bat at 6 it's obvious that Yamin should be the one to come in. If it was a middle order bat gone then yes, I'd say Haris.

Bringing in Haris for the #6 spot however, would be foolish. He's not going to play well there and possibly a couple of failures could see him out of the side for two years.

 

[Hamza_]

If the new batsmen will have to bat at 6 it's obvious that Yamin should be the one to come in. If it was a middle order bat gone then yes, I'd say Haris.

Bringing in Haris for the #6 spot however, would be foolish. He's not going to play well there and possibly a couple of failures could see him out of the side for two years.

Replacement will bat at #5.

 

[Hawkeye]

Like others have said, let's go with Fawad Alam - he's the best option to partner other batsmen who are similar in batting prowess: Malik, Shehzad, Azhar, etc.

 

[Hamza_]

Like others have said, let's go with Fawad Alam - he's the best option to partner other batsmen who are similar in batting prowess: Malik, Shehzad, Azhar, etc.

Bhai agay hi din main Bari nind aati Hai match dikha kar kia planning kar rahe ho?

Fawad, Azhar etc in one line up would be a good test XI but not for Onedays

 

[hadi123]

I think Haris Sohail is probably the best like for like replacement but wouldn't mind Aamer Yamin either. Just don't want Amin as he apparantely is crap

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Haris Sohail is flying out.

 

[Savak]

Aamir Yamin, better to have a pace bowling all rounder for English Conditions.

 

[Syed1]

Bhai agay hi din main Bari nind aati Hai match dikha kar kia planning kar rahe ho?

Fawad, Azhar etc in one line up would be a good test XI but not for Onedays

Give [MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION] bhai benefit of the doubt today, he is going through sadmaa of U.Akmal being sent back due to "aggressive and explosive" fitness.

 

[nextover666666]

Agree 100 percent that they should go with aamer Yamin bowling all arounder would be cricital

 

[Square Drive]

Wait, what's the source for the fact that PCB is considering Yamin? [MENTION=130124]Canistani Hero[/MENTION]

 

[Syed1]

Agree 100 percent that they should go with aamer Yamin bowling all arounder would be cricital

They already sent Fahim Ashraf as a bowling alrounder

 

[Hamza_]

Give [MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION] bhai benefit of the doubt today, he is going through sadmaa of U.Akmal being sent back due to "aggressive and explosive" fitness.

[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] Oh, He too is a Junior fan?

 

[Poutine]

Why is Hussain Talat not being considered as an option? He is better suited to the number 6 spot than Sohail or Amin. Talat bowls a bit of medium pace as well.

 

[Hamza_]

Why is Hussain Talat not being considered as an option? He is better suited to the number 6 spot than Sohail or Amin. Talat bowls a bit of medium pace as well.

Interesting.

He could be an even better option.

 

[MMHS]

Kamran Akmal - Inzi has to maintain his standard. Also, it keeps one Akmal in squad.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Haris Sohail.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Team should be now:

Fakhar Zaman
Mohammed Hafeez
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Sarfraz Ahmed(C)(WK)
Shoaib Malik
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Mohammed Amir
Hasan Ali
Junaid Khan

 

[Brilliance]

Umar Amin is way too inconsistent. I'd prefer Haris Sohail or even Yamin but I don't think they will be ready to play Yamin at 6.

Azhar.
Fakhar.
Babar.
Haris.
Malik.
Sarfaraz.
Shadab.
Imad.
Amir.
Hassan.
Riaz.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Yamin will have the most utility in this team. Pakistan need a fast bowling all-rounder who can also bat fast at #6.

 

[Square Drive]

Voted Haris but on second thought, I'd say Yamin.

Will be tough to fit Haris in the XI whereas Yamin can start every game.

Our middle-order from #3-5 seems solid from the current squad and it should be left that way, with Hafeez opening.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Should be hussain talat.

 

[QalandarFan]

I'm a fan of haris no doubt but if we select him our top 5 will be way to one dimensional therefore I think we need either Umar Amin or Amir Yamin as the replacement.

 

[arehaan]

I dont think Amir Yamin can get in given that we have Fahim Ashraf in the squad so it has to be between Umar and Harris.

Umar Amin will be the better choice given his ability to bowl few overs of seam ups. Moreover we can slot him as an opener as well.

 

[Pete Rose]

I would rather they Sahibzada Farhad.

 

[ocfan]

As Umer Amin has performed well in Pakistan, I shall go with him. Yamin is allrounder so he cant replace a proper batsman.

 

[ChinMusic]

I think we need one of the two batsman.

This is a rare win win situation in Pak as they are both good players and merit selection. I would say Amin just about gets ahead since I think while Haris would be more consistent, Amin can be more aggressive and a match winner on his day.

I would love to see the lineup below starting against India. However, it is almost confirmed that we will see Azhar and Shehzad open, with Hafeez at 4 and Sarfaraz pushed down to 6 despite it being ridiculously clear that all his performances have come at 4/5!

Fakhar
Hafeez
Babar
Amin
Sarfaraz
Malik
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Amir
Wahab/ Junaid

Think this is best XI but might want to change order. I think Amin shld bat at 5 with malik at 6 and shadab shld bat above imad as he is more complete a batsman than imad

 

[JattMaula]

This the time for BOOM BOOM!!!!!

 

[bilalmasaud]

I see alot of people riding the fawad alam bandwagon! i am surprised that they don't see hes not good enough for international cricket! he might have been ok a couple of decades back... the game has changed the one day game that is ... fawad in test i am indifferent to that ... fawad in one days a definitely NO ... he won't get out but will loose you matches by choking any life and energy out of the innings ... he has done it time and again .... his inflated averages are just that inflated ..

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Most Competitive FC season of last 7 years was this one.

Only Sadaf (due to Pindi) & Ali Imran due to Injury were missing. All departments teams. Conditions were very difficult for batting.

This was best FC season of Shoaib Minhas, Ali Waqas, Umar Amin, Haris Sohail, Imran Nazir etc.


Some pitches in England might assist pacers so there should be someone who can hold his end so that we don’t lose wickets all of a sudden as has been the case.


Hence I voted for Haris Sohail with a If. If he passes fitness Test.


Fahim Ashraf might surprise all of Us. In his presence Tallat & Yamin are not needed unless we play them at number 6 only.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

This is the One I mentioned.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...most_runs_career.html?id=7672;type=tournament

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Most Competitive FC season of last 7 years was this one.

Only Sadaf (due to Pindi) & Ali Imran due to Injury were missing. All departments teams. Conditions were very difficult for batting.

This was best FC season of Shoaib Minhas, Ali Waqas, Umar Amin, Haris Sohail, Imran Nazir etc.


Some pitches in England might assist pacers so there should be someone who can hold his end so that we don’t lose wickets all of a sudden as has been the case.


Hence I voted for Haris Sohail with a If. If he passes fitness Test.


Fahim Ashraf might surprise all of Us. In his presence Tallat & Yamin are not needed unless we play them at number 6 only.

This is the One I mentioned.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...most_runs_career.html?id=7672;type=tournament

And again Haris is far superior to others. I am sorry but it should not be even a debate that who is technically the best and best player of fast bowling in Pakistan. You just have to watch Haris and others. Even coming from injury after 2 years he looked comfortable.

This match when the conditions were unplayable in 1st 2 days Haris scored a 120 when the second highest scorer from both sides is 33. Probably the best Pakistani domestic innings.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/584294.html

 

[Markhor]

Specialist batsman should replace a specialist batsman. Our batting is weak as it is and we have multiple ARs in the squad already.

Haris Sohail depending on fitness.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

And again Haris is far superior to others. I am sorry but it should not be even a debate that who is technically the best and best player of fast bowling in Pakistan. You just have to watch Haris and others. Even coming from injury after 2 years he looked comfortable.

This match when the conditions were unplayable in 1st 2 days Haris scored a 120 when the second highest scorer from both sides is 33. Probably the best Pakistani domestic innings.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/584294.html

I still think he has some technical issues against Fast Medium or Fast bouncers. Swivel issues. But No technique is Copy Book for me. Ideal technique like Ideal Gas doesn't exist. If he improves his overall fitness where sadly its a fact that naturally He is one of those who are lazy, laid back not every agile.... than he can become best left hand batsman produced by Pakistan ever but I wish & pray that his knees give his Saath. Only fitness can beat him.


You can see massive difference in batting averages. The match you have pointed out is from the same FC season.


Haris Sohail has missed 7 years of International Cricket as per me. For this blame goes on him aswell.


7 years means thousands of runs. Very dissapointing.


PCB has incompetence, inefficient, underqualified Medical panel. They mishandled Waqar, Zahid, Ali Imran, Gul, Junaid, Sohaib, Haris, Usama's injuries. Pakistan suffered.


But PCB won't improve unless Pakistan improves. When Pakistan's national institutions will improve only than PCB will improve.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Haris Sohail I hope. He is the father of modern day batting for Pakistan.

 

[Pete Rose]

I still think he has some technical issues against Fast Medium or Fast bouncers. Swivel issues. But No technique is Copy Book for me. Ideal technique like Ideal Gas doesn't exist. If he improves his overall fitness where sadly its a fact that naturally He is one of those who are lazy, laid back not every agile.... than he can become best left hand batsman produced by Pakistan ever but I wish & pray that his knees give his Saath. Only fitness can beat him.


You can see massive difference in batting averages. The match you have pointed out is from the same FC season.


Haris Sohail has missed 7 years of International Cricket as per me. For this blame goes on him aswell.


7 years means thousands of runs. Very dissapointing.


PCB has incompetence, inefficient, underqualified Medical panel. They mishandled Waqar, Zahid, Ali Imran, Gul, Junaid, Sohaib, Haris, Usama's injuries. Pakistan suffered.


But PCB won't improve unless Pakistan improves. When Pakistan's national institutions will improve only than PCB will improve.

yes, two issues i see with haris (if you can ignore his fitness) he is late on the short ball and his head is way out side offstump. A good bowler should be able to mess with his thinking. Short ball, shortball outside off-stump, full pitched deliver on legstump, or inswing on middle stump.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

yes, two issues i see with haris (if you can ignore his fitness) he is late on the short ball and his head is way out side offstump. A good bowler should be able to mess with his thinking. Short ball, shortball outside off-stump, full pitched deliver on legstump, or inswing on middle stump.

I agree with your Observation completely and with your analysis partially.

Yes head position is an issue but some how like Ganguly he has managed well atleast uptil now. So I wouldn't want him to make changes wrt that since it's working well for him. For Short Ball I hope he has worked on this at NCA with Mudassir.

Still I would say fitness is the biggest problem.

 

[Hamza_]

I agree with your Observation completely and with your analysis partially.

Yes head position is an issue but some how like Ganguly he has managed well atleast uptil now. So I wouldn't want him to make changes wrt that since it's working well for him. For Short Ball I hope he has worked on this at NCA with Mudassir.

Still I would say fitness is the biggest problem.

Haris needs slight work on his power hitting.
Gets in poor position while hitting out and some shots lack power maybe he is unable to get full force into his shots.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Haris needs slight work on his power hitting.
Gets in poor position while hitting out and some shots lack power maybe he is unable to get full force into his shots.

Every player is not powerhitter and you don't need power hitters from 1 to 6.


Even if he averages 40 with a SR of 85 with only singles or few fours he is acceptable to me and would be worthy for the team.


Currently only consistent batsman in middle order are Babar & Malik. Malik fails 8/10 times against Top 4 pace bowling units on wickets which assist pacers even slightly. Babar had mixed Odi Series of England & Australia.


So what our team needs is a player who is consistent and reliable rather than a Power Hitter.

Power hitting isn't his domain. If he hits a six or two every 2nd 3rd game that's fine. With modern bats and field restrictions if you have grip over timing and placement than you can scores boundaries relatively easily.


Guys like Imad, Fahim & Amir need to focus on Power Hitting.

 

[Hamza_]

Every player is not powerhitter and you don't need power hitters from 1 to 6.


Even if he averages 40 with a SR of 85 with only singles or few fours he is acceptable to me and would be worthy for the team.


Currently only consistent batsman in middle order are Babar & Malik. Malik fails 8/10 times against Top 4 pace bowling units on wickets which assist pacers even slightly. Babar had mixed Odi Series of England & Australia.


So what our team needs is a player who is consistent and reliable rather than a Power Hitter.

Power hitting isn't his domain. If he hits a six or two every 2nd 3rd game that's fine. With modern bats and field restrictions if you have grip over timing and placement than you can scores boundaries relatively easily.


Guys like Imad, Fahim & Amir need to focus on Power Hitting.

Fahim might be a good hitter. But teams these days have players who can hit big, Consider England or South Africa, Who have destructive players in line up.

Also we have Babar Azam, Sarfraz and Shoaib who play anchor game. I'm taking nothing away from Haris, I'm a big fan and huge supporter but he needs to push up some power game to get his game further, With his work ethic and approach it won't be too difficult for him, There is always some area of improvement and it would only do good to Haris as an overall batting package.
He has basics of batting covered very well just needs a bit of competitive advantage.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Get Haris sohail back in the side.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

As crap as Umar has been, there is no obvious replacement.

People who say Haris are being short sighted, and im no Haris hater, i wanted him in the team 2 years before his debut.

The issue is that our current batting is top heavy, Haris is a top 4 player, its hard to see him get there.

Our lower firepower hopes are all on Imad Wasim right now, let that sink in. Given how our top order plays there will be even greater strain on the lower order.

Its all a mess really. I'd rather keep Haris out of this for his own good, he has 2 major operations, brining him back in a tournament is a big risk

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

People are going to regret this. We don't have many players in our domestic system who can score quick in the last phase. I thought this was the reason Inzi still selected an overweight Umar Akmal.

It's really embarrassing to select him and then send him back after a few days. We have shown the world yet again that our people are a joke.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Umar Amin should be the front runner for me as he is fit, improved his power game,he is the batsman to have hit more sixers in the pak cup, two centuries, In all the matches he played despite of the situation he kept scoring runs from playing proper cricket shots...

In comparison to Haris Sohail, i feel he is rusty and his fitness to be managed well before return from injury to top level int'l cricket...

 

[Bilal7]

No matter who is selected, we'll still have people crying and whining about the "dishonesty" of the selectors. Good on the PCB for never taking these ignorant fans seriously.

 

[aloo paratha]

Umar Amin should be the front runner for me as he is fit, improved his power game,he is the batsman to have hit more sixers in the pak cup, two centuries, In all the matches he played despite of the situation he kept scoring runs from playing proper cricket shots...

In comparison to Haris Sohail, i feel he is rusty and his fitness to be managed well before return from injury to top level int'l cricket...

Which tournament were you watching????

Edit: I thought you said all this about Umar akmal, was about to doubt your mental ability

 

[msb314]

Haris Sohail all day - every day.

Easily our best batsman - even better than Babar IMO.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

People suggesting classy left domestic bully should see highlights of last CT2013, Amin batted like a lamb caught in front of a freight train. Shell Shocked and pathetic . No thanks.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

Haris Sohail all day - every day.

Easily our best batsman - even better than Babar IMO.

better than babar

 

[Dubawi]

People suggesting classy left domestic bully should see highlights of last CT2013, Amin batted like a lamb caught in front of a freight train. Shell Shocked and pathetic . No thanks.

 

[ChachaPakistani]

Watching a Left and Right hand bat partnership in Babar and Harris would be awesome. I've been waiting for solid partnerships with both of them for a while. Hoping they develop into a quality batting tandem for years to come.

We lucked out so much with Umar Akmal's lack of fitness. Pick Fakhar Zaman over Shehzad and Azhar, and keep Shadab, and I feel a lot better about potential lineups on this team.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Which tournament were you watching????

Edit: I thought you said all this about Umar akmal, was about to doubt your mental ability

I was talking about the recently concluded pak one day cup where Amin scored two centuries and one of them was a 150+ score.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

People suggesting classy left domestic bully should see highlights of last CT2013, Amin batted like a lamb caught in front of a freight train. Shell Shocked and pathetic . No thanks.

If the form of 2013 has to be the measuring criteria then hafeez and Malik should be out now. More pathetic were they as seniors in he team where Malik even reviewed a plumb lbw decision against India to try his luck.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Haris Sohail wins the poll by an overwhelming majority and finds his way into the squad!

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

View attachment 74241

prime ezamplke of stats not showing the picture. He batted horribly and anyone who saw him live can testify to that. Mnetally shot and just trying to survive.


Also one not out make it 40+ that performance is still pathetic.. with highest of 27... good enough for a left hand power house?