[VIDEO] "Don't care about strike-rate in T20Is, I look for the average": Aamir Sohail vs Simon Doull

[IMMY69]

Averages of openers are extremely important for openers in T20's.

That is the bottom line

 

[Rana]

Averages of openers are extremely important for openers in T20's.

That is the bottom line

Maybe in the 19th century

 

[IMMY69]

Maybe in the 19th century

If an opener averages 40+ with a 120-130 strike rate there is greater chance of the team getting a good score.

Novices blame the low strike rate on the openers but neglect the lack of consistent middle order batters who strike at 130-150+ at an average around 30-40. A lack of middle order batters who can take advantage of the consistency at the top.

Cricket 101.

 

[Rana]

If an opener averages 40+ with a 120-130 strike rate there is greater chance of the team getting a good score.

Novices blame the low strike rate on the openers but neglect the lack of consistent middle order batters who strike at 130-150+ at an average around 30-40. A lack of middle order batters who can take advantage of the consistency at the top.

Cricket 101.

Right

So which countries (champion nations) besides Pakistan are following this cricket 101 model?

 

[IMMY69]

Right

So which countries (champion nations) besides Pakistan are following this cricket 101 model?

Every team has a different set up.
Individuals that offer different things make up a team.
Some players have higher strike rates than others but it's down to the team playing as a unit.

But if you average 40+, no matter the format, you will more of then not set up a great platform for the middle and lower order.

This is without even taking the conditions into account.

 

[shamaan]

If an opener averages 40+ with a 120-130 strike rate there is greater chance of the team getting a good score.

Novices blame the low strike rate on the openers but neglect the lack of consistent middle order batters who strike at 130-150+ at an average around 30-40. A lack of middle order batters who can take advantage of the consistency at the top.

Cricket 101.

You can have 1 player averaging 40+ at 120 but all the rest needs to have strike rate at 135+

 

[Dr_Bassim]

I think averages and SR both matter in T20.

Averaging 5 and SR of 250 is useless.

Similarly, averaging 50 and SR of 107 in T20 is also asking for trouble.

But people have missed the entire point in 2 pages of Amir Sohails contentious statement.

Rizwan and Babars problem is not average or SR because if you are building a T20 innings, you can get away with SR of 120 for 5 to 6 overs.

The problem is these DONT HAVE THE ABILITY TO INCREASE SR which is critical in T20.

They both look to play 14 overs before getting out and score is mostly 100/1 in 14 overs.

Then they expect the remaining batsmen to score 60 at SR of 200 in remaining 6 overs.

That sort of platform is destined to fail as either RR soars or pressure on new batsmen is intense.

Rizwan and Babar play the same way irrespective of the pitch barring a few anomalies.

It's okay to have a great average.

But not when it comes at cost of batting 90 balls of 120 balls innings with score of 100.

That's criminal.

 

[IMMY69]

You can have 1 player averaging 40+ at 120 but all the rest needs to have strike rate at 135+

Well then you have to decipher the form of each batter and conditions they're playing on.

Look, it started in the Asia Cup and it continues to this day that we have a pretty pathetic hit or miss middle order, especially once Hafeez retired and Asif decided that averaging 2.5 was the way to go.

 

[IMMY69]

I think averages and SR both matter in T20.

Averaging 5 and SR of 250 is useless.

Similarly, averaging 50 and SR of 107 in T20 is also asking for trouble.

But people have missed the entire point in 2 pages of Amir Sohails contentious statement.

Rizwan and Babars problem is not average or SR because if you are building a T20 innings, you can get away with SR of 120 for 5 to 6 overs.

The problem is these DONT HAVE THE ABILITY TO INCREASE SR which is critical in T20.

They both look to play 14 overs before getting out and score is mostly 100/1 in 14 overs.

Then they expect the remaining batsmen to score 60 at SR of 200 in remaining 6 overs.

That sort of platform is destined to fail as either RR soars or pressure on new batsmen is intense.

Rizwan and Babar play the same way irrespective of the pitch barring a few anomalies.

It's okay to have a great average.

But not when it comes at cost of batting 90 balls of 120 balls innings with score of 100.

That's criminal.

You make very valid points.
But watching them play through last years Asia Cup, you could see they were putting themselves under more and more pressure as there was literally no one left to come after them. This then continued through to the World Cup unless conditions really suited, e.g the game where Babar scored a century against England..

We need to groom a few middle order batsmen and I think we're going in the right direction with Ayub and Haris (maybe even Shafiq)...these three also have it in them to score consistently thereby increasing both their Averages and Strike Rates. But they are not there yet.

 

[TheSultan]

I think averages and SR both matter in T20.

Averaging 5 and SR of 250 is useless.

Similarly, averaging 50 and SR of 107 in T20 is also asking for trouble.

But people have missed the entire point in 2 pages of Amir Sohails contentious statement.

Rizwan and Babars problem is not average or SR because if you are building a T20 innings, you can get away with SR of 120 for 5 to 6 overs.

The problem is these DONT HAVE THE ABILITY TO INCREASE SR which is critical in T20.

They both look to play 14 overs before getting out and score is mostly 100/1 in 14 overs.

Then they expect the remaining batsmen to score 60 at SR of 200 in remaining 6 overs.

That sort of platform is destined to fail as either RR soars or pressure on new batsmen is intense.

Rizwan and Babar play the same way irrespective of the pitch barring a few anomalies.

It's okay to have a great average.

But not when it comes at cost of batting 90 balls of 120 balls innings with score of 100.

That's criminal.

Well said and spot on

 

[TheSultan]

You make very valid points.
But watching them play through last years Asia Cup, you could see they were putting themselves under more and more pressure as there was literally no one left to come after them. This then continued through to the World Cup unless conditions really suited, e.g the game where Babar scored a century against England..

We need to groom a few middle order batsmen and I think we're going in the right direction with Ayub and Haris (maybe even Shafiq)...these three also have it in them to score consistently thereby increasing both their Averages and Strike Rates. But they are not there yet.

This is the problem. You are still trying to shoehorn natural openers like Saim Ayub in to middle order players.

Until you realise that the opening combo needs to change, our fortunes won’t either.

If you truly believe Babar and Rizwan are the best batsmen in Pakistan (some delusionally believe they are the best in the world), then these “heroes” are more likely to play in whatever position they are given. And it’s better not to take the advantage away from natural openers.

 

[shamaan]

Well then you have to decipher the form of each batter and conditions they're playing on.

Look, it started in the Asia Cup and it continues to this day that we have a pretty pathetic hit or miss middle order, especially once Hafeez retired and Asif decided that averaging 2.5 was the way to go.

So if we have a pathetic middle order then surely Babar should
bat at 3 becouse it should strengthen the batting line up as he can get the same amount of runs in this position.

 

[IMMY69]

This is the problem. You are still trying to shoehorn natural openers like Saim Ayub in to middle order players.

Until you realise that the opening combo needs to change, our fortunes won’t either.

If you truly believe Babar and Rizwan are the best batsmen in Pakistan (some delusionally believe they are the best in the world), then these “heroes” are more likely to play in whatever position they are given. And it’s better not to take the advantage away from natural openers.

I'm also for playing players in their positions.
Bi lateral T20's should be for blooding youngsters. But these youngsters need to be guided by a good captain, proper coaches and at least one experienced player ideally in the top three.

 

[IMMY69]

Middle order bats is something that our team sorely lacks. Those that play the situation.

 

[Rana]

Let’s get one thing straight.

If you average 25-35, and strike at 135-145

THATS PERFECT AS AN OPENER

If you average 40, and strike at 130+ as a number 3

THATS WORLD CLASS

If you average 40+ as an opener, have a balls to six ratio of 30+ balls per six and strike at 120-130 overall

THATS MEDIOCRE

 

[topspin]

I think averages and SR both matter in T20.

Averaging 5 and SR of 250 is useless.

Similarly, averaging 50 and SR of 107 in T20 is also asking for trouble.

But people have missed the entire point in 2 pages of Amir Sohails contentious statement.

Rizwan and Babars problem is not average or SR because if you are building a T20 innings, you can get away with SR of 120 for 5 to 6 overs.

The problem is these DONT HAVE THE ABILITY TO INCREASE SR which is critical in T20.

They both look to play 14 overs before getting out and score is mostly 100/1 in 14 overs.

Then they expect the remaining batsmen to score 60 at SR of 200 in remaining 6 overs.

That sort of platform is destined to fail as either RR soars or pressure on new batsmen is intense.

Rizwan and Babar play the same way irrespective of the pitch barring a few anomalies.

It's okay to have a great average.

But not when it comes at cost of batting 90 balls of 120 balls innings with score of 100.

That's criminal.

Good post.

The approach we see from Babar and Rizwan is completely flawed. Both of them are going about their business as if the aim is to bat the whole 20 overs without losing a wicket by playing low risk cricket. This worked well during the 2021 World T20 match against India and also against England last year. But generally speaking, it's not exactly sustainable.

You can't have both openers bat like this from the outset without fully utilising the powerplay especially if you don't have that 6th gear to accelerate later in the innings, as you say.

The Babar and Rizwan opening partnership won't last long.

 

[Rana]

World’s best number 3s in T20 cricket:

Dawid Malan: Average 37, sr 134

Virat Kohli: Average 52, sr 138

Mitchell Marsh: Average 29, sr 127

Rilee Russouw: Average 35, sr 160

Kane Williamson: Average 33, sr 123


*These are Babar’s competition when it comes to average and strike rate. He loses to most of them in this position. At this moment in time, all countries have better options than Babar and Rizwan to open for them, and I would sincerely doubt any of them would replace these players with Babar Azam as their number 3.

Babar chose the cowards way out and stuck to opening yet he is still behind all of these players if today asked to bat in their position for their countries

 

[Rana]

World’s best number 3s in T20 cricket:

Dawid Malan: Average 37, sr 134

Virat Kohli: Average 52, sr 138

Mitchell Marsh: Average 29, sr 127

Rilee Russouw: Average 35, sr 160

Kane Williamson: Average 33, sr 123


*These are Babar’s competition when it comes to average and strike rate. He loses to most of them in this position. At this moment in time, all countries have better options than Babar and Rizwan to open for them, and I would sincerely doubt any of them would replace these players with Babar Azam as their number 3.

Babar chose the cowards way out and stuck to opening yet he is still behind all of these players if today asked to bat in their position for their countries

Babar was busy inflating his stats against Zimbabwe and B string attacks so that guys like Amir Sohail can look like idiots when debating averages matter more as openers

In the 2-3 years since Misbah left, we could have made one of the strongest core teams with Babar at 3 and two proper openers. Instead we wasted our time and made ZERO progress whatsoever

 

[Rana]

Some of the greatest openers in the history of T20 cricket:

Chris Gayle: Average 27, sr 137 (+10 more than Babar)

Martin Guptil: Average 32, sr 136 (+9 MTB)

Colin Munro: Average 31, sr 156 (+29 MTB)

Alex Hales: Average 31, sr 138 (+11 MTB)

Jason Roy: Average 24, sr 137 (+10 MTB)

Jonny Bairstow: Average 28, sr 136 (+9 MTB)

Jos Butler: Average 35, sr 144 (+17 MTB)

Rohit Sharma: Average 31, sr 139 (+12 MTB)


KL Rahul: Average 37, sr 139 (+12 MTB)

*None of these players average more than 40. All of them handsomely strike over Babar. Who in their right mind believes Babar’s average is more valuable than these player’s impact in the game????

 

[topspin]

World’s best number 3s in T20 cricket:

Dawid Malan: Average 37, sr 134

Virat Kohli: Average 52, sr 138

Mitchell Marsh: Average 29, sr 127

Rilee Russouw: Average 35, sr 160

Kane Williamson: Average 33, sr 123


*These are Babar’s competition when it comes to average and strike rate. He loses to most of them in this position. At this moment in time, all countries have better options than Babar and Rizwan to open for them, and I would sincerely doubt any of them would replace these players with Babar Azam as their number 3.

Babar chose the cowards way out and stuck to opening yet he is still behind all of these players if today asked to bat in their position for their countries

The only reason why Kane Williamson gets picked for New Zealand is because he's a good leader. Without his captaincy, he wouldn't make it to his team. Babar Azam as skipper pales in comparison.

As for Mitchell Marsh, he wouldn't be getting picked if he wasn't able to bowl.

The question that has to be asked is other than Babar's brilliance with "batting accumulation", what else does he bring to the party? As a captain the guy is a serial loser, who's never won anything whether it be at U19, domestic, PSL or for Pakistan.

Babar is at the same level as Joe Root and Steve Smith in T20 cricket. As we saw in the WT20 last year, they no longer make the first side of their respective national sides because they have moved on from them as the English and Aussies actually understand the modern demands of T20 cricket.

Babar is ATG material in ODIs and a world class batsman in Tests but in T20Is, Pakistan can ill afford another Asia Cup/2022 WT20 type of tournament from him again especially as an opener.

 

[Rana]

The only reason why Kane Williamson gets picked for New Zealand is because he's a good leader. Without his captaincy, he wouldn't make it to his team. Babar Azam as skipper pales in comparison.

As for Mitchell Marsh, he wouldn't be getting picked if he wasn't able to bowl.

The question that has to be asked is other than Babar's brilliance with "batting accumulation", what else does he bring to the party? As a captain the guy is a serial loser, who's never won anything whether it be at U19, domestic, PSL or for Pakistan.

Babar is at the same level as Joe Root and Steve Smith. As we saw in the WT20 last year, they no longer make the first side of their respective national sides because they have moved on from them as they actually understand the modern demands of T20 cricket.

Babar is ATG material in ODIs and a world class batsman in Tests but in T20Is, Pakistan can ill afford another Asia Cup/2022 WT20 type of tournament from him again especially as an opener.

Ask all the Kiwis now, who would they have at Number 3 for them…Babar or Kane?

I’m 100% sure nobody in their right mind would take Babar over Kane in that position. Kane won’t embarrass himself when Rashid Khan or a bowler of his caliber comes into the attack to take out the king pin of the opposition. Kane knows how to graft when it’s needed and counter when it is needed.

Babar doesn’t. Simple as

 

[topspin]

Some of the greatest openers in the history of T20 cricket:

Chris Gayle: Average 27, sr 137 (+10 more than Babar)

Martin Guptil: Average 32, sr 136 (+9 MTB)

Colin Munro: Average 31, sr 156 (+29 MTB)

Alex Hales: Average 31, sr 138 (+11 MTB)

Jason Roy: Average 24, sr 137 (+10 MTB)

Jonny Bairstow: Average 28, sr 136 (+9 MTB)

Jos Butler: Average 35, sr 144 (+17 MTB)

Rohit Sharma: Average 31, sr 139 (+12 MTB)


KL Rahul: Average 37, sr 139 (+12 MTB)

*None of these players average more than 40. All of them handsomely strike over Babar. Who in their right mind believes Babar’s average is more valuable than these player’s impact in the game????

And the reason why these averages are significantly lower in comparison to Babar and Rizwan is because they didn't stat pad against minnows/B+C string bowling attack.

Also some of these names like Gayle played T20 cricket in the 2000s which was an era where less runs were scored.

 

[giri26]

Ideal T20 opener will probably average 30-35 with a SR of 135-145. Babar on an average scores 50 of 40 balls, which isn't great in T20 cricket. Same with Rizwan, so basically both of them will on average consume 13.2 overs to get to 100 runs which approximately is 7.57/over. If they get out after scoring 50 or less they put enormous pressure on the rest of the batters. The rest of the batting needs to strike at 150+ following both of them to score at least 60-70 in the remaining 6.4 overs.

 

[topspin]

Ask all the Kiwis now, who would they have at Number 3 for them…Babar or Kane?

I’m 100% sure nobody in their right mind would take Babar over Kane in that position. Kane won’t embarrass himself when Rashid Khan or a bowler of his caliber comes into the attack to take out the king pin of the opposition. Kane knows how to graft when it’s needed and counter when it is needed.

Babar doesn’t. Simple as

Absolutely because NZ ex-players and fans actually understand the modern game. When it comes to cricketing IQ, Aamer Sohail is your typical ex-Pakistani player with poor cricketing intelligence. Simon Doull is the contrary.

The gulf between these two in how they read the game is also analogous when it comes Pakistan vs NZ fans as well.

 

[Rana]

Absolutely because NZ ex-players and fans actually understand the modern game. When it comes to cricketing IQ, Aamer Sohail is your typical ex-Pakistani player with poor cricketing intelligence. Simon Doull is the contrary.

The gulf between these two in how they read the game is also analogous when it comes Pakistan vs NZ fans as well.

And it hurts me because I know Aamer Sohail in this modern era would have been that 25-35 averaging opener with a 135+ strike rate. It’s a shame that a player like him is saying nonsense like this!

I am not sure he truly believes it or just wants to be in the headlines by arguing with Simon Doull, the man who owns Pakistan cricket on the mic

 

[topspin]

And it hurts me because I know Aamer Sohail in this modern era would have been that 25-35 averaging opener with a 135+ strike rate. It’s a shame that a player like him is saying nonsense like this!

I am not sure he truly believes it or just wants to be in the headlines by arguing with Simon Doull, the man who owns Pakistan cricket on the mic

This is a problem with virtually every ex-Pakistani player. They haven't kept up from the era when they played cricket.

At this moment, I would have to say Salman Butt has the best cricketing mind in Pakistan right now.

 

[Rana]

This is a problem with virtually every ex-Pakistani player. They haven't kept up from the era when they played cricket.

At this moment, I would have to say Salman Butt has the best cricketing mind in Pakistan right now.

Mohammad Asif always speaks facts and is usually spot on with his analysis too.

He was dismantling Mohammad Yousuf on a talk show for being a ‘salary taker with no guts’ to tell the captain that he and Rizwan are not openers

 

[Zaz]

Ask all the Kiwis now, who would they have at Number 3 for them…Babar or Kane?

I’m 100% sure nobody in their right mind would take Babar over Kane in that position. Kane won’t embarrass himself when Rashid Khan or a bowler of his caliber comes into the attack to take out the king pin of the opposition. Kane knows how to graft when it’s needed and counter when it is needed.

Babar doesn’t. Simple as

Kane the t20 player is better than Babar?

Mate what have u been smoking? I mean hes inferior in every batting dept to him in t20s including stats

There were calls for him to retire from the format not long ago and you are equating him with babar

This is just a nonsense post

 

[shamaan]

Ask all the Kiwis now, who would they have at Number 3 for them…Babar or Kane?

I’m 100% sure nobody in their right mind would take Babar over Kane in that position. Kane won’t embarrass himself when Rashid Khan or a bowler of his caliber comes into the attack to take out the king pin of the opposition. Kane knows how to graft when it’s needed and counter when it is needed.

Babar doesn’t. Simple as

Do you know what kane Williamson strike rate is as a opener or at number 3 in t20s?

 

[Rana]

Kane the t20 player is better than Babar?

Mate what have u been smoking? I mean hes inferior in every batting dept to him in t20s including stats

There were calls for him to retire from the format not long ago and you are equating him with babar

This is just a nonsense post

Babar is an amateur compared to Kane and every proper number 3 batsman in the world.

There I said it again. What are you going to do about it?

 

[Rana]

At number 3

Virat Kohli averages 52, and has a strike rate of 138!

This is why he is the GOAT. This is why he is the KING.

You want to be the King Babar?? Play in the King’s position and produce these numbers little man!

 

[Kianig89]

Aaqib Javed already said Rizbar are not openers/not suited to open in T20s but nobody took him serious

 

[topspin]

At number 3

Virat Kohli averages 52, and has a strike rate of 138!

This is why he is the GOAT. This is why he is the KING.

You want to be the King Babar?? Play in the King’s position and produce these numbers little man!

He doesn’t need to bat at 3 and try to compete with Kohli when he can be the king of the Ramadhan cup instead.

 

[Gullycricket]

Some of the greatest openers in the history of T20 cricket:

Chris Gayle: Average 27, sr 137 (+10 more than Babar)

Martin Guptil: Average 32, sr 136 (+9 MTB)

Colin Munro: Average 31, sr 156 (+29 MTB)

Alex Hales: Average 31, sr 138 (+11 MTB)

Jason Roy: Average 24, sr 137 (+10 MTB)

Jonny Bairstow: Average 28, sr 136 (+9 MTB)

Jos Butler: Average 35, sr 144 (+17 MTB)

Rohit Sharma: Average 31, sr 139 (+12 MTB)


KL Rahul: Average 37, sr 139 (+12 MTB)

*None of these players average more than 40. All of them handsomely strike over Babar. Who in their right mind believes Babar’s average is more valuable than these player’s impact in the game????

Have you looked at other players also in the team of these players. It's easy to bat at these strike rates when you know you are surrounded by top batters. Babar also batted at high SR for PZ when he knows he has Powell, Tkc others to come. Same for Riz in Multan. On the other hand when you have Khushdil, Asif Ali as upcoming batsman ofcourse you will be bit cautious. With the upcoming crop of talented batsman like Haris, Saim you will definitely see an increase in SR of Rizbar due to the cushion provided and also competition.
I hate these comparisons made in thin air. Cricket is a team game and you have to look at entire composition of team to decide how to play.

 

[gazza619]

May be Amir was trying to say that he would take an average of 30 at a strike of 135 over someone who averages 15 at a strike of 160.

Of course both average and strike rate go hand in glove.

 

[Energy]

Strike rate impact without any volume of runs is meaningless. And, you know things are dire, when those opposing have to take examples of other players to compare against Babar and Rizwan, because there's no one to compare to from the Pakistani players. So, you can't even say there's injustice happening and all that jazz.

Such is the miserable batting situation, that it is actually Babar and Rizwan who have held forte to largely get whatever results this team has achieved in the last few years. Without the runs of these two, Pakistan would have lost more matches than it did. And quite frankly, would have never chased down those 200+ targets- period.

Let's break down some stats and assume SR has double the impact compared to averages, so I've done a table showing what our batting 'impact' would be. The last column is the cumulative figures of 2SR x 1AVG. The results are appalling - because there's nobody in that list who is even close.

We have had Akmal, Shehzad, Fakhar, Hafeez, Sharjeel, Nazir who've all played as openers for goodness' sake and been ultra poor. Infact, we don't have a single player in the list who is half of what Babar and Rizwan are. Such is the poor level of form of other batters, for which the top 2 are being made scapegoats. The ground reality is that Pakistan don't have any batsman who has any consistent impact. One off performance, yes, but one-off performances have been provided by Babar and Rizwan as well, many times. But who will give that consistent performance?

Player Name	Average	S Rate	Impact
Babar Azam	41.41	127.8	15.88
Mohammad Rizwan	48.79	126.62	12.36
Mohammad Hafeez	26.46	122.03	6.46
Shoaib Malik	31.46	125.67	7.91
Umar Akmal	26	122.73	6.38
Ahmed Shehzad	25.8	114.74	5.92
Shahid Afridi	18.01	150.75	5.43
Fakhar Zaman	21.73	129.02	5.61
Kamran Akmal	21	119.63	5.02
Sarfaraz Ahmed	27.26	125.26	6.83
Misbah-ul-Haq	37.52	110.2	8.27
Iftikhar Ahmed	26.34	125	6.59
Salman Butt	28.33	107.98	6.12
Shadab Khan	19.57	140.15	5.49
Asif Ali	15.11	133.99	4.05
Imran Nazir	21.73	135.13	5.87
Haider Ali	18.48	126.32	4.67
Younis Khan	22.1	121.42	5.37
Imad Wasim	15.5	130.72	4.05
Mohammad Nawaz	17.79	130.58	4.65
Sharjeel Khan	22.55	133.11	6.00
Shan Masood	30.38	121.91	7.41
Hussain Talat	24.62	118.31	5.83

I'll also show the global players, because obviously we have standout cricketers playing the game and some of them are better than Babar, Rizwan - no doubt. But so what? What is the point in trying to malign your top performers by giving external references, and in process, ignore the actual problem in the team and fix that.

Player Name	Average	S Rate	Impact
Virat Kohli	52.73	137.96	14.55
RG Sharma	31.32	139.24	8.72
MJ Guptill	31.81	135.7	8.63
Babar Azam	41.41	127.8	10.58
PR Stirling	28.55	135.05	7.71
AJ Finch	34.28	142.53	9.77
DA Warner	32.88	141.3	9.29
JC Buttler	34.78	144.07	10.02
Mohammad Rizwan	48.79	126.62	12.36
Mohammad Hafeez	26.46	122.03	6.46
KS Williamson	33.29	123.01	8.19
EJG Morgan	28.58	136.17	7.78
Shoaib Malik	31.21	125.64	7.84
Shakib Al Hasan	23.47	121.87	5.72
Q de Kock	32.52	137.33	8.93
KL Rahul	37.75	139.12	10.50
DA Miller	34.09	144.64	9.86
GJ Maxwell	28.4	150.97	8.58
BB McCullum	35.66	136.21	9.71
Mahmudullah	23.57	117.3	5.53
AD Hales	30.95	138.35	8.56
Mohd Shahzad	30.07	133.62	8.04
KJ O'Brien	21.21	130.92	5.55
JP Duminy	38.68	126.24	9.77
LRPL Taylor	26.15	122.37	6.40
CH Gayle	27.92	137.5	7.68
TM Dilshan	28.19	120.54	6.80
A Balbirnie	22.92	124.88	5.72
DJ Malan	37.7	134.07	10.11

Kohli is the greatest by far, and that's a good thing. Then you've got some proper impact players in Buttler, Miller, Maxwell, McCullum, et al. because they can hit big, while having a good volume of runs per innings aka average. It is an honour that Babar and Rizwan, with all their limitations are able to hold the forte due to amassing large volume of runs that ensures Pakistan often reach a respectable total more often than not.

Pakistan's W/L ratio in the last 3 years is 1.739. India is 2.315. World Cup winners England and Australia have 1.454 and 1.043 respectively. Pakistan made the finals of one of these by the way. So, to say that Pakistan has fallen behind due to Babar and Rizwan being selfish is nonsense. Actually, it's the other way around- the others have not supported Babar and Rizwan enough to take Pakistan to higher places.

Newly invented terms like stat padding, playing B teams, are meaningless. Every country plays its games at home and enjoys advantages of that. That's how they build and blood new players. Pakistan has given opportunities to many players in the last 3 years but none of them have it in them. Now we're trying the next gen, and hopefully a couple of guys from there will stand up and put their foot down, and score runs, so you can apply actual pressure on Babar and Rizwan to dethrone, rather than just blowing bubbles in the air.

Aamir bhai, what you were trying to phrase, was correct and although it looked like Doull had the upper hand, whoever listened to the full conversation will testify him mentioning that he will absolutely have Babar and Rizwan in his team after seeing the others fall like a pack of cards.

Pakistan's ground reality struck him within a matter of minutes.

 

[Rana]

Have you looked at other players also in the team of these players. It's easy to bat at these strike rates when you know you are surrounded by top batters. Babar also batted at high SR for PZ when he knows he has Powell, Tkc others to come. Same for Riz in Multan. On the other hand when you have Khushdil, Asif Ali as upcoming batsman ofcourse you will be bit cautious. With the upcoming crop of talented batsman like Haris, Saim you will definitely see an increase in SR of Rizbar due to the cushion provided and also competition.
I hate these comparisons made in thin air. Cricket is a team game and you have to look at entire composition of team to decide how to play.

What were Harris and Saim’s strike rates in comparison to Babar’s?? Why was Babar still -20 in comparison to all top openers in the league???

 

[Gullycricket]

What were Harris and Saim’s strike rates in comparison to Babar’s?? Why was Babar still -20 in comparison to all top openers in the league???

Yes to compensate that he did score more runs too. And he batted at a higher strike rate. Even in some games he outscored Saim in powerplay with higher SR. Point being if he has the cushion he will go for it. If he bats at 135 plus SR in internationals and keeps his average, then no point replacing him. However i feel now Riz should move down to 4 or 5 to accommodate Saim.

 

[Firebat]

For a top top T20 batter, both are useless without each other.

 

[Ab Fan]

Stupid suggestion from the Pakistani opener as expected.

Hasn't he seen KL Rahul's average in IPL or T20 before coming to that conclusion?

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Current Pakistani batters T20Is Strike rate and BpD on Pace / Spin attack. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvNZ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvNZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Gj0FWx2vvx">pic.twitter.com/Gj0FWx2vvx</a></p>— Rashid Latif | &#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816; (@iRashidLatif68) <a href="https://twitter.com/iRashidLatif68/status/1650413193599279104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Rana]

Ab has a t20i strike of 135
Ab has a t20 strike rate of 150

In internationals he wasnt that far ahead in terms of strike rate of babar and rizwan

Ayub & Haris are not even club cricketers worse openers than Khurram manzoors & masoods

Expect Baba & rizwan to slot nicely back in there positions.

ab and gayle had low strike rates in t20i, it was funny how Simon doul tried to cling on domestic t20 while commentating during an internationla match.

Aamir sohail owned him

Yes Babar and Rizwan sure have been taking a pounding from the top of the PSL charts.

Meanwhile you've been "burying everyone" through your predictions of Sharjeel and Asif Ali as superior?

Who are higher in the rankings?

Averages of openers are extremely important for openers in T20's.

That is the bottom line

What are your views now?

 

[Rana]

Why have Sky Sports decided to torture us with this clown in the commentary?

I know its a low budget bid from them but why are they giving us this low budget commentator too? Just have all English commentators who are impartial! We don't need any Pakistani commentator to destroy the impartiality of the production

 

[RyanRyan10]

What are your views now?

They are still no.4 and no.6 in the rankings. That's all matters.