[VIDEO] “If you pick youngsters, at least give them a proper chance “: New Zealand vs Pakistan T20I Series Review by Saj

[MenInG]

One could say that Pakistan ended the T20I series against New Zealand on a high as they avoided the ignominy of a whitewash and as Saj explains in his detailed analysis, Pakistan made some strange mistakes and have some huge issues to fix as they look ahead to the T20 World Cup later on this year.

Join us as Saj delves into Shaheen Afridi's challenges in his debut series as T20I captain, questioning key decisions and analysing the series dynamics, standout moments, and explore his perspective on the missed opportunities for young talents.

Don't miss this comprehensive review of the thrilling T20I series!

 

[Cricket Warrior]

That is the problem that we have only 3 match winners Babar, Rizwan and Fakhar on which we are relying these days and 1 of them Fakhar is also a fluke, he performs once in a blue moon, we need some other players to step up as teams can't win matches relying only on 2 or 3 players.

 

[pakdude]

Anyway, I'm liking his opinions and views. This was a well put summary of the series and the state of Pakistan team.

Shaheen Shah Afridi said before the series that they have 17 games to prepare before the T20I WC. I dunno where he came up with that number. Other than the 5 against NZ, there are 4 T20Is in England and that's it. That's 9 games, not 17.

With 9 games, it's more challenging to test your bench. But with 17, there's no excuse. To Saj's point, Saim, Azam, Sahibzada, and Haseebullah should have been given a full run of all 5 games. However, with 3 of those 4 being openers, there's always going to be this challenge of playing openers as middle order. Haseebullah's selection was flawed to begin with. Unlike Saim and Sahibzada, he simply does not have the weight of runs to back his selection. So it was bad planning to begin with.

One thing I don't agree with Saj on, however. You may say Iftikhar is not Saeed Ajmal (maybe because he doesn't have the weight of wickets behind him or because he can't bowl a doosra). But an ER of under 6 runs per over in both white ball formats over the past 12 months is a record Saeed Ajmal would be proud of, especially in this day and age. If Chacha is the best spinner in Pakistan's white ball side, then so be it. Call him a spinner who can occasionally smack the ball (he has a T20I SR of 144 over the past 12 months as well).

 

[greatest]

I think the management and captain can't handle the media pressure. The media always need someone to criticize: Why was he picked? His technique is faulty. He is the captains favorite etc etc.
Our team management and especially recent captains have not been just bold enough. They pick a youngster and after severe criticism drop him. Imran Khan also used to get a lot of flak from the press and journalists but despite that he always used to pick a youngster and give him plenty of opportunities.

 

[Misia]

They pick new players due t media pressure
Then the don't revolve the players because the pick their friends

When the chose the order they pick players out of order eg opener Fukher batting at No4 ludicrous!

Chacha only bewling 4/20 overs why is he even in the team


Jamal why was he dropped/rested for Rauf , what did Jamal do wrong That Rauf did right apart from Rauf didn't take any wickets


Why did Shaheen Babar Rizwan Ifti fakhar have to play every game
Why didn't they rest and play the the other players and give them an chance, hopefully these 5 matches could show how those new players could/would fair in world cup



The captain or whoever is tells the captain what to do is at fault !

 

[Cric1234]

An interesting review but I don’t agree on Babar and Rizwan being match winners.

In high scoring matches where 170 plus is a par score I can’t even remember one match they have helped win against full strength teams.

Scoring 50s that end up losing matches does not make them match winners match losers more so and one look at their strike rates in the last T20 World Cup tells a story.

 

[gazza619]

The main issue is that we pick 2 dozen players on most tours. All seniors are always picked and therefore youngsters do not stand a chance.

The best thing is to not take the seniors at all on such tours and pick a focussed squad of 15-16 playersz

 

[pakdude]

An interesting review but I don’t agree on Babar and Rizwan being match winners.

In high scoring matches where 170 plus is a par score I can’t even remember one match they have helped win against full strength teams.

Scoring 50s that end up losing matches does not make them match winners match losers more so and one look at their strike rates in the last T20 World Cup tells a story.

Just use CricInfo's StatGuru to check and you'll find dozens of occasions. Now you may argue that those weren't against full strength teams, but rather the likes of Netherlands, Zimbabwe, and Nepal. But then you find someone else who did perform in those games and won them for Pakistan.

Even when Babar & Rizwan were rested against Afg for the bilateral T20I series last year, the replacements flopped and we lost. The mistake we made then was to not persist with those replacements to build the bench. We don't have the luxury of A-team tours like India does.

So either you chase results or you chase building bench strength. You can't have it both ways in Pakistan. And that's the fact.

 

[Saj]

The main issue is that we pick 2 dozen players on most tours. All seniors are always picked and therefore youngsters do not stand a chance.

The best thing is to not take the seniors at all on such tours and pick a focussed squad of 15-16 playersz

There has to be the right combination.

But if you are picking new players, they have to be given a fair and proper chance, instead of the current merry-go-round.

 

[Saj]

An interesting review but I don’t agree on Babar and Rizwan being match winners.

In high scoring matches where 170 plus is a par score I can’t even remember one match they have helped win against full strength teams.

Scoring 50s that end up losing matches does not make them match winners match losers more so and one look at their strike rates in the last T20 World Cup tells a story.

What I was referring to is the fact that very rarely do other players step up and win matches for Pakistan other than the 'Big 3'.

It's about time that changed.

 

[Saj]

One thing I don't agree with Saj on, however. You may say Iftikhar is not Saeed Ajmal (maybe because he doesn't have the weight of wickets behind him or because he can't bowl a doosra). But an ER of under 6 runs per over in both white ball formats over the past 12 months is a record Saeed Ajmal would be proud of, especially in this day and age. If Chacha is the best spinner in Pakistan's white ball side, then so be it. Call him a spinner who can occasionally smack the ball (he has a T20I SR of 144 over the past 12 months as well).

Iftikhar is in the team for his batting.

In New Zealand he scored 44 runs in 5 innings, that is not acceptable.

Once in a blue moon batters don't really appeal to me.

 

[MenInG]

A series to forget for the fans

A series which should have sent major alarm bells ringing for PCB management.