[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Sahibzada Farhan - First impressions

[Saj]

First time we are seeing him properly in international cricket.

First impressions are that his footwork is very ordinary. Could be nerves, but it looks like an area of his game he needs to work on.

At the moment he looks like a player who likes to plant his foot down the pitch and hit through the line. Hard hands and likes to go hard at the ball.

 

[PakSarZameen]

Terrible batsman

 

[babajee]

We need to see him bat on motorways.

 

[Finisher]

He's good against Spin and ordinary against pace

 

[Tabishbeigh]

Doesn't look like he will play much for Pakistan.

 

[Saj]

He's good against Spin and ordinary against pace

Yes it looks the case.

 

[Abdullah719]

Stance looked better last year.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JwmXgOaxVys" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[KingKhanWC]

He can do well in T20 but will never be a test player.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

People won't spare him on here. Yes you heard it right.

 

[Rayyman]

Excellent hitting technique. One thing weird though, he loses the bat in his hand

 

[Saj]

Reminds me a little bit of Imran Nazir when he started his international career.

One thing is for sure though, when he hits the ball, it stays hit.

 

[Fahdi]

Fix his stance!!!

That crouching stance is seriously hampering him especially against fast bowling. He didn't have this stance when he first burst on to the scene but developed it after a season of domestic cricket.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

Poor defense.
Decent hitting.

 

[Saj]

Regarding his technique against D'arcy Short - he's trying to read it off the pitch instead of reading the ball out of the hand. Risky.

 

[Hamza_]

Jumping around alot.

Needs to get his balance back

 

[Abdul]

He's a hack of the highest order.

 

[Hamza_]

[MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION]

I think normal with players who rely on hand-eye co-ordination.

 

[AliMurtaza]

He is a odi player. He has technical issues but they are magnified in T20 because he is forced to hit.

No one is selecting him for tests so not sure why people are mentioning tests.

 

[Nado_]

Not that impressed as of yet, looks to be very one dimensional where he looks to hit big down the ground, one thing though when he middles it, it clears the ropes nicely.

 

[Tabishbeigh]

Good riddance !

 

[ads101]

Out on 39. Weird innings in a way when you hit 3 6s and 2 4s, which makes up 26 out of 39, you'd expect a batsman to be scoring more than around 100 SR. A slow innings in general. But at least it's a score.

He edged a lot and looked terrible against spin. Doesn't pick up singles. But an impressive thing was his hitting power, he even hit a few badly but because of the power he hit it with it still went to the boundary.

If he indeed is better than the technique what he showed out there today and that was more down to nerves, we might have a real good prospect on our hands because he has the hitting power.

One thing though for sure, batting like that doesn't look like it's going to work in ODIs though. I'd give him a few more T20 games to see if things work out though and he starts playing more fluidly after he's got over the initial nerves.

 

[Bewal Express]

Decent start but looked nervous. Needs to work on strike rotation and foot movement.

 

[IAJ]

Strange player, when he connects well the ball flies way over the rope but most of the times he doesn’t seem to be under control.

 

[shah_1]

Awful innings

 

[Tabishbeigh]

Pakistan's oldest couple on charge . Quite honestly I don't mind them batting together. Sensible cricket expected .

 

[Rana]

This was the beastly opener Pakistani fans (here) were desperately calling for?

I know bowlers who would do a similar if not better job opening the batting than this specialist opener. Pakistan are much better off investing in Bilal Asif as a bowling all-rounder than him

 

[PakLFC]

An ordinary batsman at best with average ability. Seems to get frustrated after a few dock balls, no temperament. To be honest one can't judge a batsman seeing him in a T20 match.

 

[The Viper]

Reminds of Ahmed Shezhad due to his high dot ball percentage. Doesn't really have a great technique and struggled against spin. Though i must say the few times he did connect, they went sailing to the boundary. So he clearly has power but that is not enough. Think he is a t20 player at best. Deserves a few more chances.

 

[Acricfan]

Hack in the mould of Asif Ali

 

[babajee]

He's been at his best in List A and we need to judge him on true wickets where he can hit through the line. Quite similar to Fakhar in this regard.

 

[msb314]

He's a hack of the highest order.

Thats not such a bad thing in the T20 format.

 

[AliMurtaza]

The reason he has big scores in one days in domestic and not in T20 becuase 50 overs allow him to take it slow and hit in the middle. I still say that he is a better ODI prospect than a T20 prospect.

That being said, he needs to work on strike rotation and his stance.

 

[Bewal Express]

I think that you get an impression of a player from a game like this but the one thing people forget is that these guys are incredibly nervous and a bad innings could mean your career could be over before its starts. He Needs a few more matches before a more definitive judgement can be made.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Looks like a hybrid of Imran Nazir and Shahzaib Hasan. Relies on boundaries, no strike rotation. Backs away on every delivery from a pacer like Nazir did. Gets stuck in the crease like Shahzaib did. Needs to work extremely hard.

 

[Ahmed216]

Give him some time..

 

[El Generico]

Seeing how big hitters like Finch have struggled on this pitch, its clear that it was not a easy wicket to bat on. So going by that, Farhan was not as bad as some are making him out to be.

 

[Greenstorm]

Needs to improve his technique. He gets in an awkward position while playing the ball.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Fundamentals are missing , not equipped to defend against quality bowling. At best , a hack.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Needs more time before we judge. No one apart from Babar has been comfortable on these pitches from either side. And it was his first game.

Looks like he can play a role - maybe as a replacement for Asif?

 

[ahmadharis1]

Wasn't the best innings overall, but showed some promise, especially with his big hitting. Needs to be persisted with

 

[moghul]

Doesn't look like he will play much for Pakistan.

If we are keeping a worst player than him ( Hafeez ) for 15 years, give this guy some more time.

 

[Usman Chadda]

He looked nervous and twitchy at the crease. Clean hitter, surprising since these pitches aren't conducive to strokeplay.

 

[Atif]

A lot to learn IMO, struggles with pace, don’t think he will be around much.

 

[Minnowbasher]

Give him some time. When Fakhar started he looked worse. I feel he has a lot of talent and potential. Also, despite the ugly innings he still got 39 so he can't be that bad. When playing on motorways I expect him to come good. Pakistan badly needs a hard hitting opener to partner Fakhar Zaman.

 

[The Googly]

I’m sorry but he is a hack. Simply not an international player which is a shame. No foot movement and an extremely limited shot range.

 

[Bullet Drive]

He looked awful tbh.

Couldn't rotate strike, poor technique and looked clueless apart from 3 strokes.

Mukhtar Ahmed is the man who should open the innings for us.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Not a fan of his, we have better openers. No impressed with his front foot game.

 

[Syed1]

Should get more chances but didn't like what I saw.

 

[Hawkeye]

He looked awful tbh.

Couldn't rotate strike, poor technique and looked clueless apart from 3 strokes.

Mukhtar Ahmed is the man who should open the innings for us.

duuuuude long time no see, welcome back.

Going by this thread, people are saying "he's a HACK".

Well, if he really is a hack, he'd be IDEAL for T20s and ODIs. If he can hit and is a hack, GET HIM IN!!!!

Give him straight 10 chances.

We badly need hacks! Enough of Sarfraz, Malik.

 

[gazza619]

Shocked by his technique. And its not like as if he was scoring at strike rate of 150.
I rather have Ahmed Shehzad.

 

[hussain.r97]

Not impressed at all. Looked very ungainly, and he ate too many deliveries, struggled to rotate the strike. He was also very average against the pacers, mainly scored off spin.

 

[Mamoon]

Why are people surprised? 99% of the batsmen coming through our system are out of their depth in international cricket.

 

[Bullet Drive]

duuuuude long time no see, welcome back.

Going by this thread, people are saying "he's a HACK".

Well, if he really is a hack, he'd be IDEAL for T20s and ODIs. If he can hit and is a hack, GET HIM IN!!!!

Give him straight 10 chances.

We badly need hacks! Enough of Sarfraz, Malik.

he is a hack, but a bad hack.

If we want a hack, lets go for the best hack out there... that is Mukhtar Ahmed

 

[Sher Khan]

Man, is this the guy you guys were all glorifying. This guy looked a complete dud today, who had been handed a bat for the first time in his life.

I’m sure we will see very little of this guy. Even ahmed shehzad is an upgrade over him.

 

[Hawkeye]

he is a hack, but a bad hack.

If we want a hack, lets go for the best hack out there... that is Mukhtar Ahmed

I haven't seen him play but people are saying he can hit big.

If he can, let's give him some more time to settle the nerves.

 

[Bewal Express]

He reminded me of Shazaib in the 2009 T20 World Cup but as I said these guys know that a failure could mean the end and hence we need to see a little more and then judge

 

[ARK Rafay]

He looked very nervous. If he's given confidence and another chance. Only than it is possible to know if that innings was the reality or not.

 

[GreenKhan]

As always there is no middle balance in our observation of a new player on this forum. He is either a hack, or the second coming of Bradman.

From what i saw yesterday, Farhan took his time to get going, which can be down to nerves, the quality of opposition and other factors. But as the innings went on he looked better. He is only 22, and has not even played 60-70 matches in the domestic circuit in limited overs cricket, so obviously he has areas to improve on.

He might get better he might not, but how people are just writing him off beggars belief. We have some seriously delusional people on this forum who have probably never lifted a bat in there life, and expect young players to perform like a dream as soon as they first there first ball.

If all young players were discarded based on there first few innings then we probably would not see half the greats that this game has seen. Give the lad or any other youngster a chance.

Peace

 

[Hawkeye]

As always there is no middle balance in our observation of a new player on this forum. He is either a hack, or the second coming of Bradman.

From what i saw yesterday, Farhan took his time to get going, which can be down to nerves, the quality of opposition and other factors. But as the innings went on he looked better. He is only 22, and has not even played 60-70 matches in the domestic circuit in limited overs cricket, so obviously he has areas to improve on.

He might get better he might not, but how people are just writing him off beggars belief. We have some seriously delusional people on this forum who have probably never lifted a bat in there life, and expect young players to perform like a dream as soon as they first there first ball.

If all young players were discarded based on there first few innings then we probably would not see half the greats that this game has seen. Give the lad or any other youngster a chance.

Peace

You can generally predict how someone will fare if you've seen them in domestics.

If someone shows promise there (not just stats), then yes going calling for their header after just one match is unfair.

I have not seen Farhan bat much, only one or two matches, where he was decent. Did not see him bat yesterday.

But people are saying he can hit big. If he can, it would be an asset for PAK team that has Sarfraz and Malik in T20s/ODIs.

So, let's give him time to settle.

On the other hand there are folks like Mir Hamza who do not have the ingredients to succeed in 80% pitches of the world, so their disappointing debuts do point to more serious issues.

 

[Mamoon]

Imam looks a much better batsman, regardless of their respective domestic record.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Let's give him a few matches before drawing any conclusions.

 

[Hawkeye]

Imam looks a much better batsman, regardless of their respective domestic record.

Can Farhan hit? Pacers?

 

[Mamoon]

Can Farhan hit? Pacers?

Well he has looked like an ugly hack so far.

 

[Pakhs]

You can generally predict how someone will fare if you've seen them in domestics.

If someone shows promise there (not just stats), then yes going calling for their header after just one match is unfair.

I have not seen Farhan bat much, only one or two matches, where he was decent. Did not see him bat yesterday.

But people are saying he can hit big. If he can, it would be an asset for PAK team that has Sarfraz and Malik in T20s/ODIs.

So, let's give him time to settle.

On the other hand there are folks like Mir Hamza who do not have the ingredients to succeed in 80% pitches of the world, so their disappointing debuts do point to more serious issues.

He wont perform in more than 80% of matches judging by his technique just basically slogs which obviously works in domestic sadly due to lower standards.

 

[Hawkeye]

Well he has looked like an ugly hack so far.

Will take an ugly hack in T20s/ODIs if they can hit pace.

Will see him next time.

 

[Savak]

The PCB is doing the right thing by investing in hacks. Need hard hitting players in the modern ODI and T-20 game.

 

[Ummii]

Not impressed at all and I told this before that he got some pathetic batting technique but lots of guy here were talking about to exclude Imam and put him in our ODI opening slot with Fakhar.

 

[Ahmed216]

I liked the ease with which he cleared the boundary.
Can do much better at strike rotation.
Technically, he doesnt have a great footwork but play the ball late right under his eyes which is more important

 

[DeadBall]

He is a 50 overs batsman and not a T20 one. Needs time to get his eye in, although does operate at 85-90 odd SR by rotating the strike during the initial overs. He and Sami Aslam had very good 4-5 consecutive 50 plus partnerships during the second last Pakistan Cup and he can launch once set but I think he is either low in confidence/ or maybe not good enough for Int cricket and being used in the wrong format.

 

[Third Man]

He's a hack of the highest order.

Agreed. I’ve always said this. Ordinary as they come.

 

[Third Man]

Will take an ugly hack in T20s/ODIs if they can hit pace.

Will see him next time.

Unfortunately, he can’t. In fact, he’ll be an embarrassment against real fast bowlers on livelier pitches. Mark this post.

 

[Savak]

Best to not judge him on UAE pitches

 

[Rayyman]

Khalid Latif was a hack and he did okay in T20Is before his ban so...

 

[gazza619]

Khalid Latif was a hack and he did okay in T20Is before his ban so...

Latif had a better technique.

 

[CadPakFan]

Has a good hitting ability, needs to work on rotating the strike more.

 

[Rayyman]

Just some stats from other batsman in UAE:
PSL 2018:
McCullum (4th most runs) 218 runs at 111 SR
Fletcher 86 runs at 119 SR
Tamim 161 runs at 105 SR
Duminy 251 runs at 101 SR

Guptill (Ranked #6 and 1st most runs) in UAE T20Is, SR 107
Morgan (Ranked# 20) in UAE T20I, SR 115
Hales (Ranked #8) in UAE T20I, SR 95

WI (champs) 2016:
Bravo 84 runs at 106 SR
Samuels 47 runs at 71 SR
Pollard 43 runs at 91 SR
Fletcher 40 runs at 66 SR
Lewis (Ranked #11) 4 runs at 44 SR

AUS (Ranked #2) 2018:
Finch (Ranked #2) 4 runs at 25! SR
Maxwell (Ranked #7) 58 runs at 112 SR
Short (Ranked #11) 16 runs at 55 SR

Showing that most good batsmen have struggled in UAE. Not just against spin either, we have all seen Faheem Ashraf, Rumman Raees, and Usman Shinwari dominate on these pitches and get obliterated elsewhere.

 

[Darkrai]

Just some stats from other batsman in UAE:
PSL 2018:
McCullum (4th most runs) 218 runs at 111 SR
Fletcher 86 runs at 119 SR
Tamim 161 runs at 105 SR
Duminy 251 runs at 101 SR

Guptill (Ranked #6 and 1st most runs) in UAE T20Is, SR 107
Morgan (Ranked# 20) in UAE T20I, SR 115
Hales (Ranked #8) in UAE T20I, SR 95

WI (champs) 2016:
Bravo 84 runs at 106 SR
Samuels 47 runs at 71 SR
Pollard 43 runs at 91 SR
Fletcher 40 runs at 66 SR
Lewis (Ranked #11) 4 runs at 44 SR

AUS (Ranked #2) 2018:
Finch (Ranked #2) 4 runs at 25! SR
Maxwell (Ranked #7) 58 runs at 112 SR
Short (Ranked #11) 16 runs at 55 SR

Showing that most good batsmen have struggled in UAE. Not just against spin either, we have all seen Faheem Ashraf, Rumman Raees, and Usman Shinwari dominate on these pitches and get obliterated elsewhere.

Good post. People sometimes forget it's not easy batting in UAE. You have guys like Finch, Maxwell, and Lynn struggling, and these guys are absolute monsters in T20I. Which is why i support Babar, he can bat in UAE with a good SR and he can also bat in places like NZ with a very good SR. It's good to have a player like him, who will be consistent everywhere.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Reminds of Ahmed Shezhad due to his high dot ball percentage. Doesn't really have a great technique and struggled against spin. Though i must say the few times he did connect, they went sailing to the boundary. So he clearly has power but that is not enough. Think he is a t20 player at best. Deserves a few more chances.

no need of another shehzad.

 

[Destroyer88]

Good for t20s only if he can stick around 4-5 overs. Can strikr the ball good but in moving conditions... seems like a walking wicket. But then i hope he proves me wrong. Pretty much was said about fakhar zaman before the nz series and suprisingly he did well in that

 

[Saj]

Let's see how he goes against New Zealand. I guess some of the debut nerves will now have gone.