[VIDEOS] Is Babar Azam the right choice as ODI captain for Pakistan?

[Kianig89]

Stop selling this powder, X would have been better than Y, as a collective unit we have failed

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Don't think Abrar Ahmed would have changed your fortunes whatsoever. He doesn't have enough pace through the air to be effective.

Last time he played PSL, he was bowling pies in the slot at slow pace and friggin David Wiese and Sikandar Raza murdered his pies.

The Saim Ayub selection was spot on but Abdullah has performed so I don't think he's been missed either.

 

[SamNJ]

Both did. Misbah revelated that imad, abrar and saim ayub were being preferred. They were hard on abrar to be added as they knew how crucial spin was in this world cup.

They had reservations with abdullah shafique getting selected, but Abdullah proved them wrong

After India game I think Hafeez sounded very angry on PTV sports about Shadab. He said now I don't want Shadab to be dropped, I want him to play every single match and get exposed and then I will ask people who insisted on his selection.

 

[Major]

Don't think Abrar Ahmed would have changed your fortunes whatsoever. He doesn't have enough pace through the air to be effective.

Last time he played PSL, he was bowling pies in the slot at slow pace and friggin David Wiese and Sikandar Raza murdered his pies.

The Saim Ayub selection was spot on but Abdullah has performed so I don't think he's been missed either.

You are right about him being slow in the air. But atleast he can turn the ball.

But in the psl his captain was shadab and shadab was not playing him on purpose and you know why.

We only needed a spinner that can turn the ball. Iftikhar was grtting turn. Abrar has the ability to turn both ways and he could had been a much better bowler than usama, nawaz and shadab

 

[SamNJ]

Don't think Abrar Ahmed would have changed your fortunes whatsoever. He doesn't have enough pace through the air to be effective.

Last time he played PSL, he was bowling pies in the slot at slow pace and friggin David Wiese and Sikandar Raza murdered his pies.

The Saim Ayub selection was spot on but Abdullah has performed so I don't think he's been missed either.

In ODIs you need a spinner who can turn the ball and land it consistently in one area with a few variations.
Shadab and Usama just can't land ball in right areas.
Anyone can get hit in T20s, I remember Moeen Ali making Kuldeep cry on the ground in IPL. But in ODIs and Tests Kuldeep will win the battle more ofen than not.

 

[Major]

After India game I think Hafeez sounded very angry on PTV sports about Shadab. He said now I don't want Shadab to be dropped, I want him to play every single match and get exposed and then I will ask people who insisted on his selection.

This is pathetic from hafeez. Wana know a funfact?

Usman shinwari was tauted as the nect waseem akram in our domestic cricket. Every coach was talking high of him. Than came a department t20 tournament that SNGPL was cruising. Shinwari faced sngpl and he got banana swing and had SNGPL crawling. He won his team single handedly.

Now Hafeez was the t20 captain and hafeez was reluctant on selecting Shinwari on the basis of one t20 performance, but pcb forced him to select him. Shinwari bowled two overs i think, was not that good and hafeez didnt bowl him more, pcb was not happy with hafeez , so guess what hafeez did.

Next game he made shinwari bowl all four overs, even with shinwari being attacked allround he kpet bowling him to send a msg to pcb. I think this repeated in the next matchim not sure but it was a pathetic move from hafeeZ

 

[Major]

Stop selling this powder, X would have been better than Y, as a collective unit we have failed

We failed cause of Babar. His team his picks and his decisions on the field and off the field

 

[Major]

Zaka Ashraf was keen on picking Mohd Amir as a replacement for Naseem Shah but everyone refused to support the move.

Bro amir has retired.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

You are right about him being slow in the air. But atleast he can turn the ball.

But in the psl his captain was shadab and shadab was not playing him on purpose and you know why.

We only needed a spinner that can turn the ball. Iftikhar was grtting turn. Abrar has the ability to turn both ways and he could had been a much better bowler than usama, nawaz and shadab

Usama Mir was a much better spinner than anyone else in PSL and in Pakistan Cup and in the NZ home series and performed in the Hundred as well.

On what basis could anyone have justified selecting any other specialist spinner over him?

Yes he has failed in 2 matches now but this is hindsight talking .

Back then, he had the strongest case for selection.

Abrar could only have come in, if at all, for one of Shadab/Nawaz.

 

[mominsaigol]

Before the squad anouncement, there was a long meeting between Babar, pcb chairman, selection committee, team managment and the technical committee.

Technical committee made advises to Babar that because this tournament was to be held in India, where spin will play a factor and plus there was no turn by the spinners in Sri Lanka, babar shoud consider dropping the current spinners and going for someone like Abrar Ahmad who is a mystery spinner and each team will play him only once and can be affected.

The committee also recommended that Imad Wasim should also be taken along. They also said that consider Saim Ayub because pakistan plays too much conventional cricket, they can benefit with someone that plays abit attacking and aggressive cricket.

There were reservations with Abdullah Shafique getting selected as they fel he has little experience and can be a risk.

Anyways, Babar paid no heed and said he wants only these guys....


Now let me remind you that during the 2019 wprld cup, Usman Shinwari was coming in as the highest wicket taker, but sarfraz and Arthur knew that he was leaking runs and bowled bad length. They took a hard decision to drop him and have him replaced. They bought someone like Wahab Riaz in.

That gamble paid off as Riaz bowled really well along with the other pacers.

Similarly in 2015 pakistan played sohail khan and haris sohail as an all rounder

2011 pakistan bought in abdur rehman .

Yes, Babars gamble on Abdullah Shafique worked, but his bowling gamble did not. Pakistan does not have a single bowler that can help save the team and it stands exposes badly. I wonder who were the other bowlrrs that the committee reccomanded


Babar should had understand that he sucks as a captain, and the technical committee had some experience heads that have played years of cricket andnknow what they were talking about. The last three losses happened due to the issues that were not resolved. The committee proved itself to be right

What we needed was to develop a string of players like every other country is doing. A string of top order, allrounders, spinners, fast bowlers etc, not just relying on the same team over and over.

We have am entire team that won the acc emerging Asia cup. All the players like abrar, Hairs, Saim ayub, omair bin aziz etc, Why weren't they developed? 2 to 4 years to develop these guys and none were developed?

The 2nd thing that needed to be developed a proper management, one that says attack. Even Afghanistan management knows this . People like imam saying their is nothing wrong with me and we shouldn't experiment is the problem.

The captaincy is bad, but it's just 10% of what's wrong. With the exception of chacha and inform fakhar, name a single player who's modern standards? Shaheen and naseem and Rauf can be added as well, despite Rauf bowling bad, he genuinely tries and isn't spineless. Hasan Ali is a joke., so are our spinners.

Cowards this whole lot minus the players I've mentioned.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Set aside poor captaincy, what about the urgency in his own batting? Striking at 75-80 is not good enough in the modern game on flat decks.

He should just treat white ball cricket for what it is - just a fun cricket - and change his play style to one of complete aggression. Basically, Babar 2.0.

And he should focus on his test match career in a more serious manner.

 

[160KPH]

Hahahahaha!

Did I pull a string or what? Drew a series in England?

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. One thing at a time.

I mean, HOLD IT! You can’t even get out one point with honesty.

Roll it back.

So you’re saying was:
“

“

How about comprehending better? Drawing a Test series in England not a novel achievement. And your argument is totally wrong in every facet possible. The whole premise is flawed and incorrect—you should be lucky that I am even responding to you. England were totally not beating every other team at home.

You’re a funny man, seriously.

In 2015, literally a year before, NZ drew a series in England 1-1.

In 2014, literally 2 years before, SL won a series in England 1-0.

In 2016, Misbah apparently should be commended for drawing in England. Which I just proven to be not a novel thing, completely in contradictory to your false claims.

Only one with an obvious agenda is you. And a terrible one that. One which completely falls flat in all aspects of honesty, accuracy, and integrity.

If you’re still not convinced that still think drawing in England is an absolutely phenomenal result. Then Angelo Mathews is captaining phenom as well in your point of view. Obviously you’re not gonna accept that. Because your whole argument has holes.

Misbah is a fringe captain. Case closed.

I don't really know about other teams, but all I can say is that England series and particularly the Test at Lord's where we did push ups after the win was one of my favorite Pakistan cricket memories. That Younis Khan double hundred to take us to a competitive total later on in the series was wonderful as well.

You don't have to disparage our past memories for no reason. It was also a great moment because the last couple of tours to England before that, we got absolutely destroyed. Also at that time, India had a great Test team too that got destroyed in England. It was seen as legitimately hard for subcontinent teams to go play in those conditions with Anderson and Broad steaming in.

 

[ArabKnight]

I don't really know about other teams, but all I can say is that England series and particularly the Test at Lord's where we did push ups after the win was one of my favorite Pakistan cricket memories. That Younis Khan double hundred to take us to a competitive total later on in the series was wonderful as well.

You don't have to disparage our past memories for no reason. It was also a great moment because the last couple of tours to England before that, we got absolutely destroyed. Also at that time, India had a great Test team too that got destroyed in England. It was seen as legitimately hard for subcontinent teams to go play in those conditions with Anderson and Broad steaming in.

The context of the conversation is not how you felt on that day of the Test at Lord’s.

It’s about the captaincy of Misbah.

 

[Slim]

This is pathetic from hafeez. Wana know a funfact?

Usman shinwari was tauted as the nect waseem akram in our domestic cricket. Every coach was talking high of him. Than came a department t20 tournament that SNGPL was cruising. Shinwari faced sngpl and he got banana swing and had SNGPL crawling. He won his team single handedly.

Now Hafeez was the t20 captain and hafeez was reluctant on selecting Shinwari on the basis of one t20 performance, but pcb forced him to select him. Shinwari bowled two overs i think, was not that good and hafeez didnt bowl him more, pcb was not happy with hafeez , so guess what hafeez did.

Next game he made shinwari bowl all four overs, even with shinwari being attacked allround he kpet bowling him to send a msg to pcb. I think this repeated in the next matchim not sure but it was a pathetic move from hafeeZ

Theres nothing pathetic about it. Hafeez’s approach is spot on. Shinwari was is and always will be a terrible t20 player and the plethora of evidence is there to back it up.

Hafeez’s approach is correct for Shadab as well, he is a nothing player and the more he plays, the more he will be exposed.

Same i was thinking about Fakhar, i feel like hes been hiding, i wanted him to play this WC so he gets kicked permanently for good as well.

 

[Slim]

Zaka Ashraf was keen on picking Mohd Amir as a replacement for Naseem Shah but everyone refused to support the move.

And how come thats a big thing? Amir was getting smashed in third class CPL bowling dollies. Not sure what was the point of mentioning this?

 

[160KPH]

The context of the conversation is not how you felt on that day of that Test at Lord’s.

It’s about the captaincy of Misbah.

Yeah and my response is that you're completely rewriting history. Pakistan cricket was in tatters after the spot fixing scandal and not having any more home cricket. He at least made our games in UAE a fortress and managed to draw a very good England team on an away tour. An England team that had literally just wiped the floor with a much more talented Indian team.

He was a limited player who made the most of his very limited talent. We also had absolutely horrific fast bowling at the time and our batting was filled with leg side hacks - you can't just blame every single thing on the captain. The same goes for now with blaming Babar, Pakistan has no good spin options right now. That's just a fact and it's harder to admit than just blaming one scapegoat.

 

[ArabKnight]

Yeah and my response is that you're completely rewriting history. Pakistan cricket was in tatters after the spot fixing scandal and not having any more home cricket. He at least made our games in UAE a fortress and managed to draw a very good England team on an away tour. An England team that had literally just wiped the floor with a much more talented Indian team.

He was a limited player who made the most of his very limited talent. We also had absolutely horrific fast bowling at the time and our batting was filled with leg side hacks - you can't just blame every single thing on the captain. The same goes for now with blaming Babar, Pakistan has no good spin options right now. That's just a fact and it's harder to admit than just blaming one scapegoat.

Now you’re accurate. The other dude wasn’t. He straight up lied like England was beating teams left & right. They only beat a couple teams like India.

 

[160KPH]

Now you’re accurate. The other dude wasn’t. He straight up lied like England was beating teams left & right. They only beat a couple teams like India.

I see, fair enough. I think the general consensus at the time was that it was hard for subcontinent teams to tour England because we struggled to play the moving ball. Drawing that series was a really good moment for Pakistan cricket - Misbah does deserve some credit for that.

 

[Savak]

Panoti Babar. Has made the Pakistani team into the Karachi Kings team.

Mickey Arthur now understands what it was like for Wasim Akram having a captain like Babar

 

[Sycamore]

Every game the analysts and fans alike are dumbfounded by his captaincy. I mean one or two games sure, but to make massive blunders which are called out on air, shows it was not the right move to invest in Captain babar last 4 years.

 

[aukhan]

This is why I don't want Shaheen or Rizwan as the captain. It's clear that they are involved in groupings within the team.

I don't want mediocre KPK players like Zaman or Wasim Jr. in the side. Both Shaheen and Rizwan are part of the KPK mafia and will promote their franchise based friends too. PCB needs to break the monopoly and bring someone from outside to lead. The selectors should consider dropping some of these regional friendship-based selections.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

I’m sorry but I can’t buy this nonsense anymore, I didn’t buy it in the first place either.

We were told that Babar Azam is the GOAT captain in Pakistan cricket team that has United a changing room under him, and others in the past have not done so as he has.

Where was this unity today?! In clear instances on the field, we witnessed some of the most disjointed team images I have seen. Why? Because the team is now losing against proper cricket teams on the global stage?

-Imam delivering the team talk during the drinks break, as if he is the leader of the side.

-Rizwan and Shaheen bullying Babar into taking ridiculous reviews time and time again

-Shaheen consulting Rizwan and Shadab for team strategies, Babar not even in the frame for those discussions.

-Fakhar Zaman laughing and joking with the Afghan players when shaming hands with them after they humiliated Pakistan on the field for a critical loss in their campaign.

-Rizwan making frustrated expressions when Babar refused to take a review, when the ball clearly missed everything for a caught behind appeal.

-I didn’t catch this but there were comments about Hassan Ali not getting involved in the team huddle at the drinks break but had to be called in


I feel this lie to make Babar and this team something that they are not (United) has run it’s course! Expect clear fall outs going forward. There is no way this same XI will be employed going forward. Some tough tough decisions need to be made, and if they are made you will see more cry offs

Not sure about the rift but Babar has completely no authority over the team, at least in the last match.
There were multiple times where Rizwan/Shadab/Shaheen were strategizing and in deep discussions, but Babar was no where close to be seen. Just standing on mid-off clueless looking lost.

And What Can I say about the reviews taken, especially from Rizwan and Shaheen.
That was probably the worst review I've ever seen.
He was heading down the leg side and knew the ball would miss the leg stump by a huge margin. The captain is too gutless to say no to the review as well.

Rizwan himself is so clueless with zero game awareness. As a Keeper, he was so far down the leg side for collecting the ball and still he forced Babar to take a review. Absolutely stupid stuff from him. He cannot be captain as well.

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Wasim didn't want to take any names but he was definitely referring to Imam on the topic of fitness and said 'itna bara mooh' on the ARY sports show.

Imam has become a fat joke in the field.

Yes that comment "Itna Bada Mooh" in front of Moin Khan was savage !

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

This is why I don't want Shaheen or Rizwan as the captain. It's clear that they are involved in groupings within the team.

I don't want mediocre KPK players like Zaman or Wasim Jr. in the side. Both Shaheen and Rizwan are part of the KPK mafia and will promote their franchise based friends too. PCB needs to break the monopoly and bring someone from outside to lead. The selectors should consider dropping some of these regional friendship-based selections.

Well this happens every where. Look at MSD how he made sure CSK players play in national side. But they only difference is once they are picked, they do perform.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Hahahahaha!

Did I pull a string or what? Drew a series in England?

Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. One thing at a time.

I mean, HOLD IT! You can’t even get out one point with honesty.

Roll it back.

So you’re saying was:
“

“

How about comprehending better? Drawing a Test series in England not a novel achievement. And your argument is totally wrong in every facet possible. The whole premise is flawed and incorrect—you should be lucky that I am even responding to you. England were totally not beating every other team at home.

You’re a funny man, seriously.

In 2015, literally a year before, NZ drew a series in England 1-1.

In 2014, literally 2 years before, SL won a series in England 1-0.

In 2016, Misbah apparently should be commended for drawing in England. Which I just proven to be not a novel thing, completely in contradictory to your false claims.

Only one with an obvious agenda is you. And a terrible one that. One which completely falls flat in all aspects of honesty, accuracy, and integrity.

If you’re still not convinced that still think drawing in England is an absolutely phenomenal result. Then Angelo Mathews is captaining phenom as well in your point of view. Obviously you’re not gonna accept that. Because your whole argument has holes.

Misbah is a fringe captain. Case closed.

So one minute your saying winning at home is easy for every tesm, the next your contradicting urself saying drawing a series away isn't great.

 

[Bewal Express]

A good captain would never pick these bowlers especially when its been clear they have been out of form for a while.

The problem is that the next guy is worse. Many on here that have have gone quiet were calling for Mir. The problems are much deeper than this captain or coach. As I pointed we have been pretty poor since 1999.

 

[Major]

Babar, shaheen, Rizwan and shadab have the same manager. Sk the pr stuff was done by him

 

[Amjid Javed]

@ArabKnight - still waiting for your stats on all the unbeaten test sides at home in home series between "2010-16"

Same time period misbah was captain.

Winning at home is easy? Then why did every other test side including India lose a test series at home during that period

 

[Dr_Bassim]

The context of the conversation is not how you felt on that day of the Test at Lord’s.

It’s about the captaincy of Misbah.

He drew in England as a captain.

You can question Misbah the ODI captain, but his Test captaincy was spot on 90 percent of the time.

If you are going to bash him for losing to Australia in Australia, then bash all the captains since 1995 who lost EVERY single test as well Down Under.

The problem is twofold.

Misbah the ODI cricketer was an average captain and player and people hate him for that. He didnt realize he wasnt good enough to lead ODI team and fair enough should take cop for that. But Misbah the test captain was above average and made UAE his fortress and had good results in England too.


It is the inability to accurately differentiate between a correlation and cause of something happening.

People link to think there is a direct correlation between Misbah becoming captain and Pakistan team struggling 5 years since his retirement. There is no correlation at all between Misbah and Pakistan cricket team failing for last many years now.

The cause of Pakistan not being able to compete is NOT Misbah. However, since no one seems to have any answer why our batsmen supposedly dont hit 6s the easier cop out is because of Misbah effect.

I have had 2nd graders who understand that something happening 5 years from an event is unlikely to have a direct correlation to new event.

And we all know its more easy to blame one person than admit that players might not be all that good as we think they are.

 

[TheSultan]

He drew in England as a captain.

You can question Misbah the ODI captain, but his Test captaincy was spot on 90 percent of the time.

If you are going to bash him for losing to Australia in Australia, then bash all the captains since 1995 who lost EVERY single test as well Down Under.

The problem is twofold.

Misbah the ODI cricketer was an average captain and player and people hate him for that. He didnt realize he wasnt good enough to lead ODI team and fair enough should take cop for that. But Misbah the test captain was above average and made UAE his fortress and had good results in England too.


It is the inability to accurately differentiate between a correlation and cause of something happening.

People link to think there is a direct correlation between Misbah becoming captain and Pakistan team struggling 5 years since his retirement. There is no correlation at all between Misbah and Pakistan cricket team failing for last many years now.

The cause of Pakistan not being able to compete is NOT Misbah. However, since no one seems to have any answer why our batsmen supposedly dont hit 6s the easier cop out is because of Misbah effect.

I have had 2nd graders who understand that something happening 5 years from an event is unlikely to have a direct correlation to new event.

And we all know its more easy to blame one person than admit that players might not be all that good as we think they are.

The team moved on from Misbah pretty well from his ODI retirement in 2015. It wasn’t a great team by any stretch but they finally got out from his mentality.

The problem is he came back in 2019-2021 to indoctrinate his mentality to another generation. He’s the one who made babar captain, he’s the one who promoted Rizwan as an opener in T20s. He continued this “wickets in hand” mentality. His defensive mentality is still visible throughout the team.

What I will say is yes, the captain, team management have the option and are given the responsibility to move on. But who exactly is going to instil a different mindset of the current bunch. With all the changes in coach, chairmen etc, Babar is the only constant in the last few years. But Babar is a simpleton - he isn’t a visionary, he just plays the game on autopilot so he’s just taken the status quo and run with it.

 

[Titan24]

When he was appointed there was no option at that time other than him. Imad was one option but, I dont think there was much backing and Babar's stature as player obviously came into play as well.

Options we have now are Rizwan, Shaheen and Shadab (Only for whiteball). Rizwan has been the most successful captain in PSL with only Shaheen having higher win% but then Shaheen has led for one less season. All are better cricket brains than Babar to be honest. We all expected Babar to grow in the role but unfortunately there isn't any considerable growth which you expect at this level.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He isn't up to the mark but also lacks basic intelligence which means he probably won't improve.

I thought that pairing him with a non mystical coach might help him understand the game a bit better but it's had the no effect.

I actually don't mind that he has selected the side and vetoed othee proposals, but what it does mean is that he has to fully accept responsibility.

 

[Titan24]

Everything else can be debated but throughout the WC every new batter was given a start by Pak team (Babar) by both mid on and mid off outside the circle making it easier for the new batter to settle down and get the runs going as well. Especially when you were under pressure yesterday there was no excuse of having the same field for new batter as we had for the set batter.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

The team moved on from Misbah pretty well from his ODI retirement in 2015. It wasn’t a great team by any stretch but they finally got out from his mentality.

The problem is he came back in 2019-2021 to indoctrinate his mentality to another generation. He’s the one who made babar captain, he’s the one who promoted Rizwan as an opener in T20s. He continued this “wickets in hand” mentality. His defensive mentality is still visible throughout the team.

What I will say is yes, the captain, team management have the option and are given the responsibility to move on. But who exactly is going to instil a different mindset of the current bunch. With all the changes in coach, chairmen etc, Babar is the only constant in the last few years. But Babar is a simpleton - he isn’t a visionary, he just plays the game on autopilot so he’s just taken the status quo and run with it.

I agree that he shouldnt have been allowed to coach his thoughts to the team.

But our team seem like muppets who have no radical thoughts of how to play the game.

Dont think its just cause of Misbah.

 

[Ahmad i]

Him being a bad captain isn’t even a question right now. The real question is who is a better option?

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Everything else can be debated but throughout the WC every new batter was given a start by Pak team (Babar) by both mid on and mid off outside the circle making it easier for the new batter to settle down and get the runs going as well. Especially when you were under pressure yesterday there was no excuse of having the same field for new batter as we had for the set batter.

Cant blame Babar for that.

For years, Inzimam was criticized for the same mid off and mid on outside immediately as fielding restrictions were removed.

Then Shahid "aggressive" Afridi got a chance to captain the team.

First match, lo and behold.

Mr Shahid put his mid on and mid off back exactly as Inzi had done and was criticized for doing.

This has to do with lack of thinking and innovation and less with new or old captain as I saw this happening over generations.

 

[hitthestump]

Him being a bad captain isn’t even a question right now. The real question is who is a better option?

There is only one or two options. Realistically…

Arise, Sir Rizwan.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

There is only one.

Arise, Sir Rizwan.

This will only end in tears.

You can mark this post.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Babar should be removed as captain, not least because it is impacting his batting and he, along with SSA, are the only two world class players in the team.
Tendulkar was a truly great batsman but an average captain and had the wisdom to accept this.

Ultimately, just as will undoubtedly be the case with Jos Buttler, the captain takes the fall in cricket (cf football, where’s it’s the manager).

However, it will not make a blind bit of difference and it is truly delusional to think otherwise.
Rizwan, Sarfraz, SSA etc will also fail — until there is a fundamental reset of structures and governance this will all be like moving deckchairs on the Titanic…

 

[adi_62941]

Babar, shaheen, Rizwan and shadab have the same manager. Sk the pr stuff was done by him

Yes yahya hussaini from geo news pointed this thing during asia cup. And its was eye opener that how these dosti yari group is destroying our national cricket. Never seen such dosti yari in Pakistani team before. We used to have groupings before and they fight with otherselves. But this time all these players are so close that they have built their own small empire in national team which is untouchable and even the board chairman has to obey their decisions. Incredible

 

[hitthestump]

The problem is that the next guy is worse. Many on here that have have gone quiet were calling for Mir. The problems are much deeper than this captain or coach. As I pointed we have been pretty poor since 1999.

The same would happen for those calling for Abrar or Saim.

But it would be even worse because we’d be putting their young careers on the line. Even Mir has been kind of hard done by here and destroyed his reputation when really we gave him too big a role too soon.

The problems are a lot deeper than just the personnel in the XI.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

A team built on politics and nepotism can never be truely united

 

[Usman Chadda]

The problem is that the next guy is worse. Many on here that have have gone quiet were calling for Mir. The problems are much deeper than this captain or coach. As I pointed we have been pretty poor since 1999.

The calls for Mir were because Shadab was not bowling well, which would mean giving a chance to the next best spinner on the bench. Unfortunately, he has been rubbish too.

I remember @Major making a thread, which I completely agreed with at the time, where he rightly pointed out that the World Cup is in India and we had no specialist spinner ready for these conditions. Shadab was never the answer and Babar's repeated arrogance of playing Shadab and Nawaz as the lead spinners has blown up in his face, which was expected. We have no specialist finger spinner to exert control during the middle overs and nobody to pick up wickets once Naseem got injured.

Babar's four year planning has derailed due to injuries, loss of form and the without any solid foundation, the team has been found lacking.

 

[Major]

The calls for Mir were because Shadab was not bowling well, which would mean giving a chance to the next best spinner on the bench. Unfortunately, he has been rubbish too.

I remember @Major making a thread, which I completely agreed with at the time, where he rightly pointed out that the World Cup is in India and we had no specialist spinner ready for these conditions. Shadab was never the answer and Babar's repeated arrogance of playing Shadab and Nawaz as the lead spinners has blown up in his face, which was expected. We have no specialist finger spinner to exert control during the middle overs and nobody to pick up wickets once Naseem got injured.

Babar's four year planning has derailed due to injuries, loss of form and the without any solid foundation, the team has been found lacking.

I disagree with the injury part. Only naseem got injured rest of the bowlers are same.

Babars captaincy was an issue the day he was made the captain of the australian tour. His fans defended him and kept on defending him.

You dont win an icc tournament with poor captains. His poor captaincy was evident in every icc tournament we played.

 

[Inzi_fan_No_1]

Babar is not a leader of men. He is a nice guy and a world class batsman but he can't lead a team. His body language is poor when under pressure and he lack the tactical brain to think outside the box. My proposal would be:

Tests - Sarfaraz (short term)
One dayers - Rizwan
T20s - Shaheen

 

[Energy]

As a captain you can do a lot even if you have a weak squad. You can set good fields, you can get the best out of part-time bowlers, you can make inspired bowling changes, you can bat aggressively for once and set the tone.

Babar is doing the bare minimum. Absolute bare minimum. And that is not good enough as even teams like Afghanistan and Netherlands have progressed in their reading of the game and situations.

For Pakistan, it ultimately goes down to poor basic education which deprives you of critical thinking. Anyone who says cricket isn't linked to education/intelligence is wrong. Maybe 30 years back it was. But now, it's all about the analytics and Pakistan has a lot of catching up to do there.

 

[IAJ]

I simply don't understand why he keeps talking about 280-290 runs before and after every match? He is a young modern day batsman but his brain is still stuck in 1990s. You don't have a bowling attack to defend that sort of total against aggressive batsmen, short boundaries and flat wickets. Can someone please tell him this.

He is a very fine batsman but he comes to the ground with a negative mindset. No confidience at all. You have selected your friends and now start giving us results as we support your team.

 

[Rana]

This will only end in tears.

You can mark this post.

As if he cares

Rizwan fans were never Pakistan fans

 

[Mamoon]

Just a while ago

Babar, Imam and Fakhar were in the top 5 ICC ODI batter rankings

Only because they play every ODI that too against B and C teams. There are two loopholes with the ranking system:

1. Players miss out on ranking points when they don’t play.
2. Scoring runs against Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood would yield the same ranking points as scoring runs against a reserve Australian attack

At no point in their careers have Babar, Fakhar and Imam been among the top players in the world.

They are only good for Pakistani standards and I have no hesitation in admitting that they will go do as among the best top-order ODI players in Pakistan history, but that little to do with how they good they are and everything to do with how pathetic Pakistan’s standards are because none of them are amongst the best in class in their respective positions.

If all teams play same number of matches against each other with their full-strength teams, these three would be nowhere near the top of the rankings.

They have not lost their form in this World Cup. They are exposed because they are playing a level-playing field after exploiting B and C attacks for 2 years.

T20 World Cup 2022 and the ongoing World Cup has showed that Babar’s status as the so-called number 1 batsman in the world is a joke but I am sure he will look number 1 if you give him a series against a B and C attack today.

Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf were considered the best fast bowling trio by multiple ex-cricketers from around the world

Only fools thought so. Rauf has always been garbage and Naseem is highly overrated. Shaheen was fantastic especially with the new ball but he has lost a lot of zip after his injury.

Collectively, they are nothing special and far from the best trio in the world. They have been smashed too frequently to deserve that title. There is a reason why I called them the most overrated attack in the world in September 2022 and 11 months later, my assessment is vindicated.

They are not even among the top 3 pace units and never have been and never will be.

Rizwan and Shadab were seen as one of the best wicketkeepers and all-rounders in the world

There are 6-7 better WK batsmen than Rizwan and that has been the case throughout the last 2-3 years. If that makes him one of the best then sure he is one of the best.

There is nothing special that Rizwan does that others cannot do. The whole narrative around Rizwan was built around his performance as a T20I opener but any half-decent batsman would be prolific if you ask him to open in T20Is and take minimal risks.

He has only recently started performing in ODIs and that too mostly against weaker attacks. He couldn’t even hold his place in the Test team in spite of Pakistan playing on absolute highways at home where he kept failing.

There is not a shred of truth to the narrative that Rizwan is the best WK batsman in the world or has been at any point. He has no chance when you look around and see the talent in this department around the world.

Shadab one of the best all-rounder? Only people who don’t know the first thing about cricket would say so. I have been calling it since 2018.

This guy is a scam, a glorified tail-ender with the bat and a glorified part-timer. I agree he is an all-rounder. An all-round failure. He should have never been given a free run all these years because he is not good enough but better late than never. His stock has fallen big time and he might not survive the post-World Cup cull.

3 losses do not signify them. When we are still NOT out of the tournament

My point is: reserve this criticism for when we are actually out. Right now, we can easily win the next 4 matches and qualify for semis InshAllah

Pakistan will not win all the remaining matches, they will not qualify for the semifinals and I will criticize them.

They will lose a series to any of the top sides as long as the top sides are at full-strength. This is the true reflection of this mediocre team who are in the class of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and West Indies but have the egos and attitude of a world beating side.

Pakistan has no talent, no skill, and no mental application. Just big egos, big mouths and delusional fans.

Once the World Cup is over, they will start playing B and C teams again, the rankings will soar and everything will be forgotten before the next reality check.

The players have pathetic attitude, their fitness levels are atrocious and their fielding is total shambles. There is no excuse for bad attitude, bad fitness and bad fielding. You don’t have to be a great talent to be good at these thing.

It is all down to your work ethic and their work ethic is zero. 35 year old Kohli with grey hair who no doubt has more talent and skill in his little toe than all these guys put together will still outrun these so-called young players because his desire and commitment to the game and his country is far and beyond what these failures have.

Our players are laughing and smiling after getting smashed because they have no shame and no sense of responsibility and fans like you are the reason why there is no accountability.

It is not just the players though. PCB itself has no idea what they are doing. They have appointed Mickey in a bogus Team Director role because he wasn’t interested in coaching Pakistan and will laugh all the way to the bank after this shambles of a World Cup and not look back.

It is a complete circus show from top to bottom and as fans you people should be calling it as it is and holding them accountable instead of walloping in your delusion, pretending everything will be fine because that is what a supporter does etc.

No. This is who you develop a culture and society with no accountability and appraisal. This is the culture that has allowed Shadab to play the World Cup when he should have been dropped from the squad.

The fans are part of the problem because of the narrative that they build. Start with yourselves and demand excellence from the team and maybe PCB will take some corrective measures and wake up.

 

[Bewal Express]

You can say it was Babars arrogance if he had better options. But we know that isn't true. Imad is awful when it comes to spinning the ball. And look in domestic cricket and you see awful, club spinners

 

[Abid Z]

People like you never learn

Talked trash about us when we lost against Zimbabwe last year, and then we almost won the t20 WC after that

We just need to win the remaining 4 games. Those same opponents we beat in 2019 as well, with a much weaker team that was thrashed by West Indies

Once we are mathematically or logically out of the tournament, then such criticism looks valid

Right now, we are pretty much in the tournament and will win the remaining 4 games and qualify for semis InshAllah

I don’t see how you can believe what you write. The team in every respect looks awful. The problem is that in other world cups the bowling can click because conditions help but here it won’t. If you are an inch either way with your line and length you are gonna get hammered. I’ve only really seen bumrah, Henry and boult bowl immaculate length. Everybody else has been slaughtered. It’s not the fault of SSA or Hasan I think they just were a little undercooked. The less said about the spinners the better.

No way do I see Pak coming back from this, though I do envisage a big score from Babar. The WC campaign is pretty much over.

 

[Usman Chadda]

The solution is to have some self reflection first of all, and ask yourselves the difficult questions.

We have had four changes in the cricket board since the last World Cup, four different regimes who have their own mindset and their own people. The issue starts from the top, where people who have no business running cricket get to appoint a chairman of their choice and that particular individual proceeds to undo everything the previous regime has worked for. There is no continuity and no accountability, starting from the top. Who will question the Prime Minister for the random appointments done? Where is the accountability for that? Does the Prime Minister of Pakistan even have the time to review the absolute mess they make every time they bring in their own chamcha for their own political gain? That's where it all starts and then trickles down to the bottom.

Sarfraz's incompetence and weakness during Mickey's tenure was highlighted all over the media, and when he was kicked out, everyone wanted Babar to get his own team. The narrative was so strong that any time Misbah or Mohammad Wasim 'reportedly' went against Babar's recommendation, they were ripped apart on social media ruthlessly. Rameez comes in, and gives Babar complete authority over the daily affairs of the team. Babar had the opportunity to do something good, instead he ended up wasting precious ODIs (how many ever few we played) on the likes of Usman Qadir and Zahid Mahmood. Again, no accountability for such a blatant mis-use of authority.

PCB and Babar knew the World Cup is in India, and we wasted four years on mediocre spinners who have pathetic List A records in the first place.

This performance was coming and now that the team is riddled with injuries, poor form, infighting etc, it's just snow-balling into one big blow out. The signs were always there, and it just needed one spark that was Naseem Shah's injury to start this downward spiral.

I am specially interested in that scam analyst that's part of the team right now. The guy is raking in money for contributing absolutely nothing. There is no planning whatsoever and Babar's incompetency on the field gives the impression that full authority is never the answer in Pakistan cricket.

 

[TheSultan]

The solution is to have some self reflection first of all, and ask yourselves the difficult questions.

We have had four changes in the cricket board since the last World Cup, four different regimes who have their own mindset and their own people. The issue starts from the top, where people who have no business running cricket get to appoint a chairman of their choice and that particular individual proceeds to undo everything the previous regime has worked for. There is no continuity and no accountability, starting from the top. Who will question the Prime Minister for the random appointments done? Where is the accountability for that? Does the Prime Minister of Pakistan even have the time to review the absolute mess they make every time they bring in their own chamcha for their own political gain? That's where it all starts and then trickles down to the bottom.

Sarfraz's incompetence and weakness during Mickey's tenure was highlighted all over the media, and when he was kicked out, everyone wanted Babar to get his own team. The narrative was so strong that any time Misbah or Mohammad Wasim 'reportedly' went against Babar's recommendation, they were ripped apart on social media ruthlessly. Rameez comes in, and gives Babar complete authority over the daily affairs of the team. Babar had the opportunity to do something good, instead he ended up wasting precious ODIs (how many ever few we played) on the likes of Usman Qadir and Zahid Mahmood. Again, no accountability for such a blatant mis-use of authority.

PCB and Babar knew the World Cup is in India, and we wasted four years on mediocre spinners who have pathetic List A records in the first place.

This performance was coming and now that the team is riddled with injuries, poor form, infighting etc, it's just snow-balling into one big blow out. The signs were always there, and it just needed one spark that was Naseem Shah's injury to start this downward spiral.

I am specially interested in that scam analyst that's part of the team right now. The guy is raking in money for contributing absolutely nothing. There is no planning whatsoever and Babar's incompetency on the field gives the impression that full authority is never the answer in Pakistan cricket.

Full authority should not be the answer, but with a corrupt board, incompetent and unworkable appointments, it is the only thing that works in Pakistan cricket.

The problem is we gave full authority to a guy who has no clue about cricket strategy and mentality.

Babar in 2019 was the boy who would become king. He’s still a boy. A very spoilt boy.

 

[pakistani pride]

Teams always unite when they win. These are individuals who are thrown together by circumstances. Each will fight for his career and when losses mount, each man for himself. Its the nature of professional Sport

These guys are not professionals. They look like a friends 11 on a Sunday afternoon. No fitness, no skills, no desire.

Attitude is so poor, they are on a paid holiday.

 

[Rana]

They were never truly United

It was all a front. As usual, they were all in it for themselves

 

[mominsaigol]

Full authority should not be the answer, but with a corrupt board, incompetent and unworkable appointments, it is the only thing that works in Pakistan cricket.

The problem is we gave full authority to a guy who has no clue about cricket strategy and mentality.

Babar in 2019 was the boy who would become king. He’s still a boy. A very spoilt boy.

I don't think anything will happen. Rizzu will get praised as a goat and will be made captain lol.

And rizzu will be 100x worse lol.

 

[Bewal Express]

These guys are not professionals. They look like a friends 11 on a Sunday afternoon. No fitness, no skills, no desire.

Attitude is so poor, they are on a paid holiday.

Drop them and find 11 others. The problem is our cricket culture and that can be never changed until the PCB changes to a full professional body, not some nobodies rewarded for services rendered

 

[Kroll]

Its astonishing that with our competitors smacking 350+ in games Babar is aiming to score 280?! That with a toothless bowling attack to boot. Has he been talking to Misbah recently?

He really needs to get out of this timid mindset and show a bit more positivity or we'll probably lose the rest of the games with this scared and cautious approach.

Fearless cricket, they said they would play...

 

[TheSultan]

I don't think anything will happen. Rizzu will get praised as a goat and will be made captain lol.

And rizzu will be 100x worse lol.

I just want them to get this over and done with. I know the cult won’t rest until he’s made captain, write off the next couple of years and get this out of their system so we can finally look forward

 

[Rana]

I just want them to get this over and done with. I know the cult won’t rest until he’s made captain, write off the next couple of years and get this out of their system so we can finally look forward

Agreed

The sooner the better

 

[mominsaigol]

I just want them to get this over and done with. I know the cult won’t rest until he’s made captain, write off the next couple of years and get this out of their system so we can finally look forward

It's crazy how you and rana had the foresight for the way things were gonna go entire months on end. You fr predicted the future. Are you some time traveller .

 

[Desprado123]

"It's Babar Azam fault that he selected this kind of team and Inzi as well is to be blamed to give a go ahead with it" Misbha Ul Haq.

Misbha also said he does not see 5 to 6 in playing 11 in the future as PCB is master to save own skin and drop players like Rat. So said bluntly that Babar has take the blame for this as he forced Inzi for these players. Whatever, happening inside the dressing is Babar fault because he wanted this crap lot.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

The knives, they are out.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Misbah cutting babar like a piece of cake

 

[emranabbas]

The knives, they are out.

the swords should be out not knives

funny its coming from misbah he's the engineer of all this Tamasha

 

[lazy cricketer]

i remeber babar saying something like this to nawaz " tu hi mera match winner hai" when he got smashed by pandya lolll i agree with misbah he needs to be accountable for all of it

 

[Desprado123]

the swords should be out not knives

funny its coming from misbah he's the engineer of all this Tamasha

Yes and Babar as well to help Misbha and Waqar to remove Sarfarz as captain by doing politics.

 

[Desprado123]

I saw it 4 years back Babar Azam end will be same or worse than Azhar Ali but why you did not saw it what i saw?

 

[Desprado123]

Was it only me who saw that Babar Azam end will be worse than Azhar Ali 4 years by because they way they removed Sarfarz nature takes revenge.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Was it only me who saw that Babar Azam end will be worse than Azhar Ali 4 years by because they way they removed Sarfarz nature takes revenge.

worse than the Babar fanclub is this annoying Sarfraz fanclub which is trying to take advantage of this situation and bringing their hero everywhere.

Pakistan cricket is suffering here

 

[castortroy]

Nothing about babar has ever made me think he would be a good captain.

He doesn't have the personality to command that position.

He has also turned into a very very defensive captain.

There is no coincidence teams are raking up 350 v pak for fun

 

[Saj]

He's never really been much of a tactician, but support from within the Board and dressing room has got him through.

Now that support is gone, his days are numbered as skipper.

 

[Bewal Express]

He's never really been much of a tactician, but support from within the Board and dressing room has got him through.

Now that support is gone, his days are numbered as skipper.

He will gone and let's hope he eases up and starts to play. But the issues he faced will still be there for the next guy. We don't play the big teams, we lack talent and the decline has been coming and will continue.

 

[Kianig89]

Zaka Ashraf was keen on picking Mohd Amir as a replacement for Naseem Shah but everyone refused to support the move.

Their lies the problem who the hell is Zaka to pick players

 

[Rana]

worse than the Babar fanclub is this annoying Sarfraz fanclub which is trying to take advantage of this situation and bringing their hero everywhere.

Pakistan cricket is suffering here

Sarfaraz fan club?

You are wrong. It’s a group of honest individuals who speak up for justice.

Injustice was served to Sarfaraz, and these people have always voiced the truth.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Sarfaraz fan club?

You are wrong. It’s a group of honest individuals who speak up for justice.

Injustice was served to Sarfaraz, and these people have always voiced the truth.

Non performing captain and someone who lost a T20 series to a depleted Sri Lanka side, how was he not to be sacked?

 

[Rana]

Non performing captain and someone who lost a T20 series to a depleted Sri Lanka side, how was he not to be sacked?

If that’s the case, why was Babar not sacked for drawing 2-2 against New Zealand c earlier this year? Why? Because he is performing??

 

[Savak]

Everyone who saw how Babar Azam led the Karachi Kings Franchise in the 2022 season could tell it was only a matter of time before he would bring his leadership skills to the national team. That should have sent alarm bells ringing in the PCB but they were delusional that he would turn out to be a good captain for the national team.

 

[Usman Chadda]

If that’s the case, why was Babar not sacked for drawing 2-2 against New Zealand c earlier this year? Why? Because he is performing??

Unfortunately, yes.

 

[Rana]

Unfortunately, yes.

So your parameter is wrong.

South Africa have a non performing captain, but the team is looking like they are winning the World Cup. If Pakistan had stayed patient with Sarfaraz, you would most probably have had a side today that would be competing for top 4 after 5 games in India, not looking hopelessly out of it