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[VIDEOS] Pakistan drop Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi for second and third Tests against England [Update at Post#99]

Have the selectors made the right decision in dropping Babar Azam,Naseem Shah & Shaheen Shah Afridi?

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    56
Bewal Express said:
Riz is an excellent WK batsman. His record speaks for himself and whether you or others don't like him makes no difference.
As who is claiming one or 2 players are bigger than the country, well no one claimed they were. I had no problem with Babar or SSA getting dropped. it's a game of statistics and theirs were poor. It's you and your ilk that get angry even when they score.
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Angry when they score?

They avant scored for nearly 3 years lol
 
These 3 guys needed rest. Although Naseem was a surprise here but really, SSA and babar needed to rest. Babar has been a dead weight in tests so he was rightfully rested. Shaheen was poor in every format as well.
 
topspin said:
Never thought I'd say this but I've had enough of Shaheen. The guy is another age fudging fraud. No way is he 24.
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Given how quickly he has regressed, I feel the same. His obsession with becoming an All-rounder is a desperate attempt to prolong his wandering career.
 
topspin said:
Too young? You do realised he turned 30, 2 days ago. Did Misbah and his clone, Ifti, poison your mind and convince you that you can play until you're 45?

Coming to his cricket, the guy is a mental midget. He's never showcased his ability to stamp his authority and he's hardly produced a memorable hundred. He should've been dropped from the white ball formats after his showing in the 2022 WT20 where he produced he unforgivable stats with the bat. He averaged under 20 and scored his runs under run a ball during this tournament.

His game against spin hasn't improved one bit over the last few years and his fitness has gone down. Why? Because he believes in his hype. He doesn't possess the work ethic and desire to be the player to compete with the likes of Ross Taylor, Ian Bell, let alone the legends of the game.

He's finished, just accept it and move on with your life.
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30 is
topspin said:
Too young? You do realised he turned 30, 2 days ago. Did Misbah and his clone, Ifti, poison your mind and convince you that you can play until you're 45?

Coming to his cricket, the guy is a mental midget. He's never showcased his ability to stamp his authority and he's hardly produced a memorable hundred. He should've been dropped from the white ball formats after his showing in the 2022 WT20 where he produced he unforgivable stats with the bat. He averaged under 20 and scored his runs under run a ball during this tournament.

His game against spin hasn't improved one bit over the last few years and his fitness has gone down. Why? Because he believes in his hype. He doesn't possess the work ethic and desire to be the player to compete with the likes of Ross Taylor, Ian Bell, let alone the legends of the game.

He's finished, just accept it and move on with your life.
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Is 30 old? On which planet.
 
Rana said:
Oh yeah the poster also harps on about his MBA and that he’s a cricketer who is educated so the only deserving Chairman in accordance with Khan sab’s vision.


Babar is too young and classy, that too was a vision upon which Khan sab saw him as the only one worthy of leading Pakistan.

Ab daal lo achaar apne vision per!
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Yes, we should pick guys that make 42. Thanks 🤣🤣🤣
 
Bewal Express said:
30 is

Is 30 old? On which planet.
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No one said Babar is old. I just want to know on what basis is 30 "too young"? Please explain.

This is what I would expect someone with Misbah syndrome to say. Would you happen to have Misbah syndrome?
 
topspin said:
No one said Babar is old. I just want to know on what basis is 30 "too young"? Please explain.

This is what I would expect someone with Misbah syndrome to say. Would you happen to have Misbah syndrome?
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In cricketing terms he is too young to fade away. I am not sure that' controversial bar with the likes of
 
Mamoon said:
Ignorant monkeys will keep jumping but at the end of the day, you have to pick your best XI.

Do Babar and Rizwan make the best Pakistan XI? The answer is yes unless your brain is in your knees.

Babar is out of form but he has far more pedigree than any batsman in Pakistan history except a very selective, small group. You would always back him to regain his form and get back among the runs.

Similarly, there is zero threat to Rizwan’s status as the undisputed number one WK in the country because the competition for his place is a joke.

Shaheen’s situation is a little complicated because he is not only in poor form but it also appears that he needs to physically recuperate.

The best course of action would be to let him rest for around 6 months because a fit Shaheen is comfortably your best fast bowler and the only one who has the X factor to make an impact.

Naseem gets hyped to the moon and back but the reality is that unlike Shaheen, he has never performed or scaled any heights. With him, it has always been about reputation and potential rather than actual output.

The blueprint for Pakistan in terms of restoring its dignity in Test and producing respectable outcomes is to go with the same team that is playing in the current Test with Babar replacing Masood with KG moving to #3 and Shaheen playing as the sole fast bowler with Jamal supporting him + three spinners including Agha.
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I don't think Shaheen has it in him to be the sole fast bowler in Pakistani conditions for test matches.

Sadly ,he is now at the level of perhaps being included in overseas tours in helpful conditions.

For a very long time he has only been good at bowling the initial two overs in a T20.
 
mazkhan said:
It's a well known fact when the pti movement was engineered and formed its government it led to a preference of corrupt selections ouster of mickey arthur and preferences for certain province as warrior race .
Well known people for preference for clean shave young adonis Greek types like senator javed and murad waxing saeed all provincial type supremacists, saw to it of players fast tracked into team of fake 16yr olds m asif voiced his opinion but was bullied and harassed by the pti online bot team into being a jahil paindoo punjabi he warned of what was happening.
We saw the debacle of 2 fake 16 yr old midgets who led the fast bowling attack down under naseem shah and musa khan.
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Agree with every word.
 
As per reports:

The selection committee is considering resting senior players, including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, for the Zimbabwe tour. Meanwhile, Pakistan will field its full-strength squad for the Australia series.
 
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BouncerGuy said:
As per reports:

The selection committee is considering resting senior players, including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, for the Zimbabwe tour. Meanwhile, Pakistan will field its full-strength squad for the Australia series.
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As much as I love Babar and SSA I think this is an excellent decision. Get some new youngsta beauties on a Zimbabwe tour and I don’t mean Imam or fakhar.
 
BouncerGuy said:
As per reports:

The selection committee is considering resting senior players, including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, for the Zimbabwe tour. Meanwhile, Pakistan will field its full-strength squad for the Australia series.
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Almighty Zimbu's comeback denied 😭

But seriously I hope we see promising players from the Shaheen's squad coming through. Muqeem, Dahani, Minhas and Omair should all be included in the squad. Outside of that maybe even a cap for Ali Raza.
 
Babar Azam's father posted this on his Instagram account:

My days are passing by in your service,
There is no herd, no complaint from friends.
Inshallah, Babar will soon be seen playing in front of you.
The PCB gave him rest to get refreshed.
We were happy and are happy with Allah's will, and forever will be.
Pakistan Zindabad

 
As per reports:

Pakistan's revamped selection committee is set to shake up the team for the upcoming white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, with top players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi likely to be rested. This move aims to blood younger talent in international cricket, part of a broader strategy for long-term success.

Babar and Shaheen, expected to feature in the Australia tour, will reportedly sit out the 3 T20I and 3 ODI series against Zimbabwe. The duo, along with Naseem Shah, was dropped mid-test series against England due to underwhelming performances.

A final decision is expected soon, potentially resulting in a relatively inexperienced Pakistan squad facing Zimbabwe.
 
FearlessRoar said:
As per reports:

Pakistan's revamped selection committee is set to shake up the team for the upcoming white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, with top players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi likely to be rested. This move aims to blood younger talent in international cricket, part of a broader strategy for long-term success.

Babar and Shaheen, expected to feature in the Australia tour, will reportedly sit out the 3 T20I and 3 ODI series against Zimbabwe. The duo, along with Naseem Shah, was dropped mid-test series against England due to underwhelming performances.

A final decision is expected soon, potentially resulting in a relatively inexperienced Pakistan squad facing Zimbabwe.
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That was the best chance for Babar to regain his form against mighty Zimbabwe lol
 
Bewal Express said:
Riz is an excellent WK batsman. His record speaks for himself and whether you or others don't like him makes no difference.
As who is claiming one or 2 players are bigger than the country, well no one claimed they were. I had no problem with Babar or SSA getting dropped. it's a game of statistics and theirs were poor. It's you and your ilk that get angry even when they score.
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Actually Rizwan’s visual batting speaks for himself.

His innings in this match were pure cringe. Clueless, plays and misses, near lbw’s, edges not heard by the opposition. Desperate jumping down the crease hoicks. Anyone who knows anything about batting cringes watching him. He’s technically worse than our no10.

Yes he makes some runs, plenty of examples of lower order making runs too. Stuart broad once made a 170.
 
TheSultan said:
Actually Rizwan’s visual batting speaks for himself.

His innings in this match were pure cringe. Clueless, plays and misses, near lbw’s, edges not heard by the opposition. Desperate jumping down the crease hoicks. Anyone who knows anything about batting cringes watching him. He’s technically worse than our no10.

Yes he makes some runs, plenty of examples of lower order making runs too. Stuart broad once made a 170.
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Wks get ugly runs, he averages into the 40s because he scores. He is an old fashioned WK bat and his record speaks for itself. We have been lucky with him and Safaraz, 2 good WK bats. Kami was also excellent as batman but his WK was poor after his finger injuries in 2006.
 
FearlessRoar said:
As per reports:

Pakistan's revamped selection committee is set to shake up the team for the upcoming white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, with top players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi likely to be rested. This move aims to blood younger talent in international cricket, part of a broader strategy for long-term success.

Babar and Shaheen, expected to feature in the Australia tour, will reportedly sit out the 3 T20I and 3 ODI series against Zimbabwe. The duo, along with Naseem Shah, was dropped mid-test series against England due to underwhelming performances.

A final decision is expected soon, potentially resulting in a relatively inexperienced Pakistan squad facing Zimbabwe.
Click to expand...

It's the perfect place to debut players like Ghulman, Mumtaz, Akram, Usman Khan etc in a relatively easy & pressure free tour. On this forum, people will still lose their minds if any loss occurs but this is a how a professional board should be planning and it allows your main players a break to stay fresh.

Another smart move would be for the players who are being rested for this tour to be sent to SA early and prepare tour games to get Test match ready.
 
PCB should not keep thinking about changes for the Zimbabwe tour, there is no need for some experienced players on that tour.

Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan can all be rested.
 
BouncerGuy said:
As per reports:

The selection committee is considering resting senior players, including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, for the Zimbabwe tour. Meanwhile, Pakistan will field its full-strength squad for the Australia series.
Click to expand...
Babar must have been heartbroken after hearing this
 
mominsaigol said:
I don't think you understand the reference.
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I think you want to call him Zimbabar etc etc. Which I do not really believe in.

I have my own opinion and you can have yours. babar should be focusing on his comeback.
 
Pakistan's coach Jason Gillespie speaking to Sky Sports' Ian Ward:

“Well again, I. I cannot answer that because I’m not a selector. But what I will say is that Babar is a fine player. I think he’s one of the best players in the world. And, yeah, he had a bit of a lean, lean patch, but I don’t think, but I don’t think many great players around the world have never had a lean patch.”

“I’m very confident. Babar Will will be back scoring a lot of runs for Pakistan in all formats. He’s just too good a player. He works really, really hard in his game. He’s very precise with his preparation and what he needs to do to get ready. I fully expect him to have a huge role, going forward in the next little while for Pakistan.”
 
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Pakistan would have won many games if they played to their strength like they did this time. Playing Naseem on flat pattas was never gonna bring results. Shaheen was out of form so he was dropped rightfully. babar's test form was also bad so he was also benched.
 
Ramiz Raja compared Babar Azam to Sir Viv Richards in his recent YouTube video:

“I feel Babar has to achieve a lot more in Test cricket. He plays the white-ball format really well, has an average of 50-plus in both the formats (T20I and ODI)…There is so much potential in Babar Azam. Ab unko apne temperament se batana hai duniya mei ke woh ek Viv Richards hain (now he has to prove to the world with his temperament that he is Viv Richards). Bigger the contest, bigger the innings Richards used to play,"
 
Shan Masood speaking about Babar Azam during a BBC Stumped radio programme.

"I think he's one of the best batsmen in the world. I'm nobody to [say he doesn't have] a future. He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket. He's always there or thereabouts in the rankings. Sometimes, people need a break."

"I think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he'll come back a stronger player. There's no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He's played a lot of cricket and gone through a lot, and he'll always be one of the main batsmen to play for Pakistan."
 
Ponting on Pakistan’s major Babar Azam concern

Australia legend Ricky Ponting on Babar Azam’s troubles and the Virat Kohli approach that could remedy his form.

ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting has suggested Babar Azam could take a page out of Virat Kohli’s book to help rejuvenate his Test form and career, and also had his say on Mohammad Rizwan’s appointment as captain of Pakistan’s white-ball teams.

Following a big defeat in the first Test to England in Multan – Pakistan's third-successive Test defeat at home in the season – the selection panel made the big call of resting star batter Babar, who was in a run-scoring rut with a Test average of 20.7 since 2023, along with pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Babar has since returned to a new-look white-ball outfit led by Mohammad Rizwan and Pakistan's team management have reiterated that the decision to rest him from the Test series, which Pakistan eventually won 2-1, was a strategic call amidst a packed international calendar.

Babar impressed in the first ODI against Australia, scoring a brisk 37, and has displayed good touch in the white-ball format, but Ponting remains concerned about his return to the Test outfit.

“The biggest challenge is how they get Babar back into their side,” Ponting said in the ICC Review. “They've got to find a way to get Babar back into form and back into their [Test] team.”

Ponting went on to suggest that Babar should attempt Kohli’s approach in a bid to find his form again.

Earlier this year, Kohli stepped away from the game during India’s home series against England citing personal reasons. After his return, he went on to play a match-winning knock against South Africa in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 – India’s first ICC trophy in 11 years.

In 2022, Kohli had taken a similar break from the game after a barren streak with the bat. After his return, he scored his first international hundred since 2019, and delivered breathtaking performances across the formats over the next 12 months, including a match-winning knock against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, and a golden run in the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup at home - where he scored a record 765 runs, and was named Player of the Tournament.

“You know, when you look at (Babar’s) numbers, it's been a bit like the stuff that we were talking about with Virat [Kohli] earlier on,” Ponting said. “Sometimes – and I think Virat was on record saying this – that little bit of a break that he had, he took himself away from the game for a while to freshen up and sort out some things that he needed to sort out.

“This might be exactly what Babar needs. Maybe Babar needs to get away for a while and stop trying too hard. Lock the kit bag away for a while, and think about something else and then hopefully come back recharged, because we know at his best he's as good as anyone going around. Hopefully we get to see that in the back half of his career again.”

After the ODI World Cup in 2023, Babar resigned from leadership positions across all formats. Pakistan then switched leaders multiple times, including going back to Babar as the skipper ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, before recently settling on Mohammad Rizwan.

To Ponting, the decision-making indicated that Pakistan were pushing all buttons till they made the right call.

“They're continually changing leaders, (Shaheen) Afridi one day, Babar one day, Rizwan another day.

“Lots of changes going on around their white-ball stuff. You don't like to see that instability, but I guess they're trying to find something that works and they're willing to make changes until they find something that works and they start getting the right outcomes.”

A lookback at Mohammed Rizwan's vital knock against Australia | T20WC 2021

Pakistan’s latest white-ball captain Rizwan had an encouraging start to his stint in Melbourne, his side running the reigning ODI World champions Australia close before losing the first ODI by two wickets.

Ponting said the ongoing Australia tour would provide a good indication of Rizwan’s leadership skills. “He's the sort of player that I love watching,” said Ponting. “Aggressive player that takes the game on, and wears his heart on his sleeve a little bit.

“I reckon you can see he gets quite emotional out on the field, out on the ground as well, which I think is a good thing. It tends to show that you really care about what you're doing and what your team's trying to achieve.

“So the proof will be in the pudding. I mean, we won't know (until they) give him a decent run at it. They obviously feel he's the right man for here and now. So I think in a few months time, or maybe in a few weeks time, even here in Australia with the one-dayers, the T20Is coming up, we might have a better idea in three or four weeks time.”

ICC
 
Compare Babar to Kohli is like compare tomato with apple. No Comparison to start with
 
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