[VIDEOS] Justice for Sahibzada Farhan: what did he do wrong?

[mazkhan]

It was an ok innings but once fakhar went I knew it was over and the innings struggled, saim showed glimpses , but fakhar is the only one capable of taking the game away from the opposition if he clicks

 

[Farabi]

It is simple really. If we want to compete against the top teams is he the answer no. Is he better than the other options in domestics yes. I have watched him play when he made his debut in domestics and his still can't rotate strike and still has very limited footwork.

@Hawkeye
@khyberlion
@Mamoon

Another thing today—his body language was . Took on Pandya with some heated words, went after Bumrah, even did the gun celebration. Finally, some aggression from Pakistan instead of being all meek and “cute.” He was switched on.

I’ve been a huge Babar fan, but man… his body language against India has often been too soft. Rizwan’s better, but still way too friendly against India.

Body language matters because it sets the team’s energy and mindset—confident, aggressive players can intimidate opponents and lift teammates. Poor body language can signal doubt, letting the opposition dominate psychologically before the game even fully unfolds.

Farhan? Limited talent maybe, but he kept Pakistan in the game and didn’t let us fold like usual. If he can improve his strike rotation, he can be a real asset.

Who knows—if the bowling clicked and dew wasn’t a factor, it could have been a game Pakistan won. This was the highest total batting first in Asia cup on this ground…

 

[SportsWarrior]

THis guy seems to like bullying Indian bowlers. Racist. hates the saffron

Excellent bullying at 128 sr

 

[jnaveen1980]

Excellent bullying at 128 sr

Doesn't have a well rounded game. His trigger movement, feet movement, bat swing have no fluidity except when he tries heeve hove the ball down the ground.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

you can't improve strike rotation suddenly. You need finer skills for that. You need to be a stroke player to switch between gears. He has developed his bashing game obviously. These pitches are slow pitches he can whack pacers through the line when theprovide pace. Even there he got a life or two. India provided him pace. But moment Dube started bowling his timing was all over. Dube is bowling in his 5th T20 match ever. He is that irregular bowler. In a way his 45 ball stay helped India similar Rizwan's stays and Babar's stays. He is not a ball striker like peak Fakhar zaman

So what then? He should retire and go home?

He has batted quite well in patches and that should be acknowledged. Especially considering how the rest of the Pakistani batsmen have batted. Feel like you are overanalyzing a bit just because you have formed a certain opinion on him that you don't want to change. Tonking a bowler of Bumrah's caliber by playing some proper cricketing shots is not something you see too often. Also, strike-rotation is not some unattainable skill you are making it out to be. Yes you need to work on it considerably but there is no reason why he can't improve that aspect if he works on his footwork, awareness and adds some more utility shots to his repertoire. He already has alot going from him being such a natural striker of the ball.

 

[SportsWarrior]

Doesn't have a well rounded game. His trigger movement, feet movement, bat swing have no fluidity except when he tries heeve hove the ball down the ground.

His trigger movement is all over the place. Some times it takes his front leg towards offside which limits his horizontal hitting abilities. And other times he seems to open up a bit which restricts him to play mostly legside hits. He is preach 29 and if he hasn’t figured out his basic trigger movement he will struggle to dominate good teams consistently.

He also seems to pre meditate a lot which again restricts his ability to react to balls as it is bowled to him. He won’t go far. He will do fine against lesser teams though

 

[jnaveen1980]

So what then? He should retire and go home?

He has batted quite well in patches and that should be acknowledged. Especially considering how the rest of the Pakistani batsmen have batted. Feel like you are overanalyzing a bit just because you have formed a certain opinion on him that you don't want to change. Tonking a bowler of Bumrah's caliber by playing some proper cricketing shots is not something you see too often. Also, strike-rotation is not some unattainable skill you are making it out to be. Yes you need to work on it considerably but there is no reason why he can't improve that aspect if he works on his footwork, awareness and adds some more utility shots to his repertoire. He already has alot going from him being such a natural striker of the ball.

No i would keep him. But all i am saying is he is very similar to Rizwan in the opposite way in terms of net contribution. Not just againts India even against lesser sides he had issues.

 

[jnaveen1980]

His trigger movement is all over the place. Some times it takes his front leg towards offside which limits his horizontal hitting abilities. And other times he seems to open up a bit which restricts him to play mostly legside hits. He is preach 29 and if he hasn’t figured out his basic trigger movement he will struggle to dominate good teams consistently.

He also seems to pre meditate a lot which again restricts his ability to react to balls as it is bowled to him. He won’t go far. He will do fine against lesser teams though

On sluggish UAE wickets even 45 year old Oman uncles looked like million bucks.

 

[Major]

Excellent bullying at 128 sr

Thats the end number. Because of him pakistan were cruising at 90 for 1 after the 10th

 

[SportsWarrior]

Thats the end number. Because of him pakistan were cruising at 90 for 1 after the 10th

90 for 1 on a flat deck in modern day cricket is par score. This is with sloppy fielding and multiple drops.

 

[Rana]

90 for 1 on a flat deck in modern day cricket is par score. This is with sloppy fielding and multiple drops.

Yes,

Pakistan were 90-1 more often than not with Babar and Rizwan…


In 15 overs

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

No i would keep him. But all i am saying is he is very similar to Rizwan in the opposite way in terms of net contribution. Not just againts India even against lesser sides he had issues.

I believe we haven't seen the best of Farhan yet, which is why I disagree with that comparison. Rizwan for me simply does not have that power game. At his best, Rizwan is more of hustling type, busy cricketer, who can keep the scoreboard ticking during the middle-overs in ODI and and bat well down the order in Tests.

 

[jnaveen1980]

90 for 1 on a flat deck in modern day cricket is par score. This is with sloppy fielding and multiple drops.

90 for 1 is okay. But after 15 overs Pakistan was 10 r uns less than what Oman scored against India

 

[khyberlion]

Again, today was against a top side—the No. 1 team in red-hot form with their full-strength bowling attack. In the last 7–8 years, how often has any Pakistani batter really put India under pressure, especially against Bumrah? Sure, Farhan ended with just a 128 strike rate, but it was his innings that gave Pakistan a real chance in this game.

In the past, we didn’t even manage a competitive total. All we expected from Babar was a 50 at a 130 strike rate—but where was he? Except for one game, he went missing under pressure.

If there was ever a test, this was it. We have to persist with Farhan. For all his alleged limited talent, at least he’s mentally strong and ready to take on the challenge.

This is a decent performance which by the tone of yours is making it sound like an atg knock. Let's not forget he could have gone for a duck. Where did I mention babar? The bottom line is farhan is an average batsmen which is clearly evident from his record in international cricket. The occasional decent knocks here and there won't change that unless he improves his game which he won't due to the lack of ability and skill.

 

[sweep_shot]

Farhan was great today.

He scored the most runs for Pakistan in this Asia Cup (so far).

 

[Vikram1989]

I believe we haven't seen the best of Farhan yet, which is why I disagree with that comparison. Rizwan for me simply does not have that power game. At his best, Rizwan is more of hustling type, busy cricketer, who can keep the scoreboard ticking during the middle-overs in ODI and and bat well down the order in Tests.

He was atrocious in aus tour even mark Waugh was laughing at his footwork. Through out the tour he was struggling with bounce and lack of footwork.even yesterday he scored 38 runs of 8 balls and rest 20 out of 37 balls. He has serious rotation issues. Some alternative should be tried out if any.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I believe we haven't seen the best of Farhan yet, which is why I disagree with that comparison. Rizwan for me simply does not have that power game. At his best, Rizwan is more of hustling type, busy cricketer, who can keep the scoreboard ticking during the middle-overs in ODI and and bat well down the order in Tests.

Regardless of how his future shapes up Pakistan has no choice but to persist with him. HE is not going to be Phil Salt, Travis Head kind of players. But by pakistani standard he belongs to this set up.

 

[jnaveen1980]

He was atrocious in aus tour even mark Waugh was laughing at his footwork. Through out the tour he was struggling with bounce and lack of footwork.even yesterday he scored 38 runs of 8 balls and rest 20 out of 37 balls. He has serious rotation issues. Some alternative should be tried out if any.

This pitch was slow pitch. So Bumrah's normal deliveries came at right speed. Look at his struggles against slower bowlers from other countries and Dube. Bumrah not making adjustment kinda helped him.

 

[Vikram1989]

This pitch was slow pitch. So Bumrah's normal deliveries came at right speed. Look at his struggles against slower bowlers from other countries and Dube. Bumrah not making adjustment kinda helped him.

It was weird from bumrah. He bowled one slow ball but didn't bothered about later.even in first match he got a nick to second slip against farhan.i have not seen much offside play from farhan too.he was going only for few selected areas .

 

[jnaveen1980]

It was weird from bumrah. He bowled one slow ball but didn't bothered about later.even in first match he got a nick to second slip against farhan.i have not seen much offside play from farhan too.he was going only for few selected areas .

He went for glory ball on this slow pitch. I think India should play Arshdeep in the next 2 matches. Bumrah is not in the right frame of mind since England tour where he got troleld for skpping a couple of tests. He never takes part in tournaments like this.

 

[Farabi]

This is a decent performance which by the tone of yours is making it sound like an atg knock. Let's not forget he could have gone for a duck. Where did I mention babar? The bottom line is farhan is an average batsmen which is clearly evident from his record in international cricket. The occasional decent knocks here and there won't change that unless he improves his game which he won't due to the lack of ability and skill.

58 off 45 isn’t ATG stuff, but after ages a Pakistani opener got in India’s face—worth getting excited about! At one point he was 50 off 32 deliveries and India was on back foot after a while.

 

[heddie19]

Babar would be crucified if he played at the SR of 127 after facing 45 balls. Very poor innings from Babar's critics' lens.

 

[jnaveen1980]

For year 2025

Pak Team vs Individual strike rate. HIs strike rate is less than that of Team strike rate.

 

[AZulfi]

Farhan can play big shots, but he needs to improve strike rotation

 

[baba ghazi]

standard of pakistan criucket is so low that even a player with middling stats is being hailed as next great
sahibzada farhan has given decent eprformances in this asia cup but thats it there is nothing gamechanging in his paly

 

[Champ_Pal]

Farhan had a decent game. He got the start to score a rapid fire 70 or 80. But he failed to accelerate against Dube and Varun. That is where Pak lost the game. The inability to press the accelerator from overs 10-15.

Farhan is a decent T20 batsman. He needs someone like Fakhar to take the pressure off of him when it comes to scoring quick runs. Ayub at the moment is not the right guy to partner Farhan. Ayub himself is a fledgling when it comes to T20 cricket.

 

[mango_bite77]

Farhan can never be your main batter. He can play around, slog for few balls and give u momentum but team can never rely upon him. Not to forget he was dropped twice before making half century. He is walking wicket, if opposition starts planning against him. As of now he nobody.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Strike rate among the batsmen who played 50 or more balls in Asia cup.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

For year 2025

Pak Team vs Individual strike rate. HIs strike rate is less than that of Team strike rate.

So the captain is the one holding the team back the most

 

[Ball Blazer]

Sahibzada Farhan's PC after IND vs PAK:

Q: Congratulations on your recent series against India. You broke Abhishek Sharma’s record of 88 sixes in a calendar year in T20 cricket. You also performed well in your two innings against India, but it felt like there was a "missing link." The upcoming match against Sri Lanka is a do-or-die game. How do you plan to address this?

A: Thank you. I have been working very hard on my six-hitting ability because in the past, my boundary count was quite low. Regarding my performance, winning the series against India would have been very significant for me personally. Performing against India is highly rated, and I believe a victory would have been even better.

Q: Do you think winning your upcoming do-or-die match against Sri Lanka will help Pakistan reach the finals?

A: I think the team is very confident after how we played today, especially our batting. The wickets are great, and the ball is coming onto the bat well. We are determined to go for the win because it's a do-or-die match.

Q: We've seen some changes in the opening pair. You opened with Fakhar Zaman in one match, and before that, you were with Saim Ayub. What’s the discussion in the camp? Will we see a consistent pattern going forward, or is the lineup still unsettled?

A: The shuffling was to give Saim Ayub a chance to build his confidence. Fakhar Zaman plays his natural game, and having a senior player at the non-striker’s end provides a lot of confidence. I enjoyed playing with Fakhar today, and I think we will continue with this combination.

Q: Besides your record for the most sixes this year, your celebration after hitting a six is being widely discussed. What was the thinking behind it, and what was your argument with Hardik Pandya?

A: My celebration was a spontaneous moment. I usually don't celebrate much even when I reach a fifty, but I just felt like celebrating today. I don't care what others think about it. As for aggressive cricket, I believe every team, not just India, should play with that mindset. We played aggressively today, and that's the kind of cricket we should be playing.

Q: Pakistan fans are very hopeful for the team to reach the final after the two wins against India. What is your preparation like for the Sri Lanka match?

A: The team's preparation is excellent. All the boys are confident, and we are determined to reach the final. God willing, we will win the match against Sri Lanka. The way we batted and bowled today, we took the match to the very end and it was a good, competitive fight.

Q: You batted very well today. With tougher matches ahead and Sri Lanka giving a hard time, what strategies will you adopt in batting and bowling to ensure Pakistan wins in the Super 4 stage?

A: I believe we missed a key point in our previous matches: we didn't utilize the power play effectively and lost wickets early. It’s crucial for a batsman to handle the pressure by performing well in the power play and not giving away wickets. Today, our power play was much better; we didn't lose early wickets apart from Fakhar, and we had over 90 runs in 10 overs. I think if we can improve our performance a little bit in the middle overs, we will be successful.