Waqar Younis: "Azhar Ali should be opening"

[Saj]

So a difference of opinion between Pakistan's former coach and the current coach.

Mickey Arthur "Azhar Ali will be batting at number 3"

Waqar Younis "Given our current openers, Azhar Ali should be opening"

 

[Boi]

Yet only a test ago he was saying that Azhar is better at 3.

 

[shah_1]

I agree with Waqar

 

[Hasan123]

So why didn't he make him open when he was the coach?

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

So why didn't he make him open when he was the coach?

Because he had great openers in Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad.

 

[Markhor]

What is the grand total of matches in which Azhar Ali opened in Tests under Waqar ?

Life is so much easier from the commentary box.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

What is the grand total of matches in which Azhar Ali opened in Tests under Waqar ?

Life is so much easier from the commentary box.

It's typical Waqar. Even after his first stint he said a lot of stuff in the box and implemented none during his 2nd stint.

Once he knew he was going to be removed Waqar started going after the PCB in order to gain sympathy from the media.

 

[IndYeah1]

What is the grand total of matches in which Azhar Ali opened in Tests under Waqar ?

Life is so much easier from the commentary box.

And he hits it out of the park in style.

 

[Abdullah719]

So why didn't he make him open when he was the coach?

Gotta agree with this. Even though I agree with the statement as well.

 

[Hasan123]

Gotta agree with this. Even though I agree with the statement as well.

Had he made open when he was coach, Azhar would have proven himself over a long time as opener and Arthur wouldn't have removed him as opener. Because he played for so long at 3, it was easier to move him back down.

 

[babajee]

If we can find 2 good openers then I think Azhar could be good at 3. Having a batsman of his quality there would add stability to our top order. He could play the same role that Pujara does for India.

Sami is starting to show signs of intent and I back him to succeed in the future. Going forward I think our top 7 should look something like this:

Sami
Imam/Fakhar
Azhar
Haris
Usman
Yamin
Sarfraz

I think Babar should be given time to go back to domestics and work on his game. Its not like he doesn't have the ability its just a matter of mindset and game plan. He's been gifting his wicket.

 

[IndYeah1]

Actually its a bit unfair to make Azhar Ali open the batting in test matches, just because the others suck.

He is really your lynchpin batsman in test cricket, and you shouldn't be risking his wicket with the new ball. Pushing him up the order weakens your batting line-up, it doesn't strengthen it. Here's what I think Pak batting should be in tests

Sami Aslam
Ahmed Shehzad
Azhar Ali
Haris Sohail
Babar Azam
Asad Shafique / Fawad Alam
Sarfraz


Give this lineup a proper run - a minimum of 6 to 8 tests. Weed out the non-performers, especially if they are repeat offenders or older players like Shehzad, Shafique, Fawad.

This is not rocket science. Clearly Pakistan selection is based on more than just merit and ability to play the game.

Inzamam owns this. And also whoever decided to play these 2 tests with only Yasir as the full-time spinner in the XI.

 

[Mamoon]

He is a talker. Just like the others.

 

[hadi123]

I would like him to bat at 3 but only if we find 2 good openers. Sami Aslam is fine; young talent with lots of potential. Shan Masood isn't good enough. I think Imam could be given a chance in tests but if we can't find good openers then we have no choice but for AA to open as can't have likes of Masood playing just so he can play 1 down.

 

[Jabo]

Okay Mr genius but in that case why did you keep Azhar at 3 ?

 

[Abdul]

Azhar needs to go back to the opening. Number three clearly hasn't worked for him.

Hopefully, the clueless management realizes this.

 

[Slog]

So why didn't he make him open when he was the coach?

he did. get your facts straight you ignorant person

Waqar had switched Azhar to opener in his last series after Masood's failure but Arthur switched him back to #3 on England tour before taking him back to opening slot. And now back again

Arthur truly belongs to a circus

 

[Slog]

Azhar needs to go back to the opening. Number three clearly hasn't worked for him.

Hopefully, the clueless management realizes this.

ot atleast stick to one

Azhar has been an opener, #3, opener and now #3 again in 18-20 month period

 

[Slog]

What is the grand total of matches in which Azhar Ali opened in Tests under Waqar ?

Life is so much easier from the commentary box.

His final test match

He had seen Masood was too inconsistent and had dropped him and moved Azhar to open

Context helps

 

[Markhor]

His final test match

He had seen Masood was too inconsistent and had dropped him and moved Azhar to open

Context helps

So a grand total of 1 Test match out of necessity after seeing Shan Masood heading Jimmy Anderson's 78mph bouncers in UAE onto the stumps.

Wow Waqar was such a visionary

BTW, according to [MENTION=5495]Boi[/MENTION] and a few others, on commentary in the 1st Test Waqar said Azhar was suited to batting at 3. Now he's flip flops and calls for Azhar to open !

 

[Hasan123]

he did. get your facts straight you ignorant person

Waqar had switched Azhar to opener in his last series after Masood's failure but Arthur switched him back to #3 on England tour before taking him back to opening slot. And now back again

Arthur truly belongs to a circus

He did it for 1 match and that was because Shan was rubbish. Lol what about previous years why didn't he do It?

 

[Mamoon]

he did. get your facts straight you ignorant person

Waqar had switched Azhar to opener in his last series after Masood's failure but Arthur switched him back to #3 on England tour before taking him back to opening slot. And now back again

Arthur truly belongs to a circus

Wow, you need to keep your hormones in check when discussing Waqar. Such infatuation with a stranger is not healthy.

Now before you revise history and peddle further myths, let me repeat (and I have done this many times already).

Guardiola made Azhar open during the England series out of necessity.

Azhar was unfit for the first two Tests and Yasir was also not available for the first one, so Guardiola made Malik (who was the backup batsman and backup spinner) bat at number 3.

That alone exposed Guardiola's stupidity because everyone knows that Malik is not good enough to be a Test number 3. Yes he scored a 200 in the first innings but failed in every other innings of the series, because he was not able to handle the English pacers with the new ball.

If Guardiola had any tactical acumen, he would have moved Younis to 3, Misbah to 4 and played Malik at 5. He would have been more productive at that position because he is very good against spin, and would not have had to face the new ball.

When Azhar was fit, he obviously had to walk back into the team as he was a fixture in the playing XI.

The obviously casualty was Masood who was Anderson's bunny. Malik was not going to get dropped because he had scored a 200 two Tests ago, and was actually looking more threatening with the ball than Zulfiqar.

Hence, the only way Azhar could have fit in was as an opener, since he was the regular number 3 of the team and moved one position up so that Malik can continue to be accommodated at 3.

If Guardiola had the acumen to realize that Azhar would be better suited to opening, he would have done that long time ago. After all, he coached Azhar from 2010 to 2011, and then from 2014 to 2015.

Are you telling me that Guardiola did not realize in 4 years that Azhar is an opener, but somehow conveniently got the idea in his very last Test?

You will obviously continue to peddle the myth that he would have opened with Azhar in England, but since Malik retired, he was also going to play Azhar at number 3.

It is hilarious how you carry the banners for a coach who:

- was one of the worst captains in Pakistan history
- was not good enough to land a coaching job in the first two seasons of the PSL
- was rejected by Australia when he applied for a bowling coach
- has had only one small stint in the IPL in 10 years

A coach who brought our ODI team to its knees, and who had the good fortune of resigning just before our overseas tours cycle started, after conveniently sitting pretty in Asia over the last 2 years.

In comparison, you are slinging mud at a coach who has worked with two top cricket nations and was one of the chief architects of SA's class of 2005 that were the best Test side in the world till 2014.

A coach who managed to win an ICC trophy with Pakistan in his first attempt (flukey it may be) which is something Guardiola was not able to do in 4 attempts. He didn't even make the final once, and let alone the World Cup that he captained in 2003 . . . I don't think I have to explain that.

But carry on, continue to enlighten us how Mickey is responsible for everything that's wrong with Pakistan cricket. I am sure he was also behind Guardiola's comedic captaincy tenure in the early 2000's.

 

[Markhor]

Wow, you need to keep your hormones in check when discussing Waqar. Such infatuation with a stranger is not healthy.

Now before you revise history and peddle further myths, let me repeat (and I have done this many times already).

Guardiola made Azhar open during the England series out of necessity.

Azhar was unfit for the first two Tests and Yasir was also not available for the first one, so Guardiola made Malik (who was the backup batsman and backup spinner) bat at number 3.

That alone exposed Guardiola's stupidity because everyone knows that Malik is not good enough to be a Test number 3. Yes he scored a 200 in the first innings but failed in every other innings of the series, because he was not able to handle the English pacers with the new ball.

If Guardiola had any tactical acumen, he would have moved Younis to 3, Misbah to 4 and played Malik at 5. He would have been more productive at that position because he is very good against spin, and would not have had to face the new ball.

When Azhar was fit, he obviously had to walk back into the team as he was a fixture in the playing XI.

The obviously casualty was Masood who was Anderson's bunny. Malik was not going to get dropped because he had scored a 200 two Tests ago, and was actually looking more threatening with the ball than Zulfiqar.

Hence, the only way Azhar could have fit in was as an opener, since he was the regular number 3 of the team and moved one position up so that Malik can continue to be accommodated at 3.

If Guardiola had the acumen to realize that Azhar would be better suited to opening, he would have done that long time ago. After all, he coached Azhar from 2010 to 2011, and then from 2014 to 2015.

Are you telling me that Guardiola did not realize in 4 years that Azhar is an opener, but somehow conveniently got the idea in his very last Test?

You will obviously continue to peddle the myth that he would have opened with Azhar in England, but since Malik retired, he was also going to play Azhar at number 3.

It is hilarious how you carry the banners for a coach who:

- was one of the worst captains in Pakistan history
- was not good enough to land a coaching job in the first two seasons of the PSL
- was rejected by Australia when he applied for a bowling coach
- has had only one small stint in the IPL in 10 years

A coach who brought our ODI team to its knees, and who had the good fortune of resigning just before our overseas tours cycle started, after conveniently sitting pretty in Asia over the last 2 years.

In comparison, you are slinging mud at a coach who has worked with two top cricket nations and was one of the chief architects of SA's class of 2005 that were the best Test side in the world till 2014.

A coach who managed to win an ICC trophy with Pakistan in his first attempt (flukey it may be) which is something Guardiola was not able to do in 4 attempts. He didn't even make the final once, and let alone the World Cup that he captained in 2003 . . . I don't think I have to explain that.

But carry on, continue to enlighten us how Mickey is responsible for everything that's wrong with Pakistan cricket. I am sure he was also behind Guardiola's comedic captaincy tenure in the early 2000's.

A superb and brilliantly argued post busting all of the myths perpetuated by the anti-Arthur brigade.

Couple of things to add - Waqar himself on commentary said Azhar was suited to 3 during the First Test ! He only then did a U-turn in the Second Test saying Azhar should've been opening all along so there goes Waqar's credibility on this subject.

Also, the anti-Arthur brigade say anyone could've taken South Africa to #1 in the world with those players. I'd like those posters to actually look up South Africa's record under his predecessor Ray Jennings which was disasterous, even with big names like Smith, Gibbs, Kallis, Pollock etc.

 

[Savak]

Wasim has already helped Islamabad United to a PSL Title. Let's see what Islamabad United's fortunes will be under Waqar.

 

[Hasan123]

Wow, you need to keep your hormones in check when discussing Waqar. Such infatuation with a stranger is not healthy.

Now before you revise history and peddle further myths, let me repeat (and I have done this many times already).

Guardiola made Azhar open during the England series out of necessity.

Azhar was unfit for the first two Tests and Yasir was also not available for the first one, so Guardiola made Malik (who was the backup batsman and backup spinner) bat at number 3.

That alone exposed Guardiola's stupidity because everyone knows that Malik is not good enough to be a Test number 3. Yes he scored a 200 in the first innings but failed in every other innings of the series, because he was not able to handle the English pacers with the new ball.

If Guardiola had any tactical acumen, he would have moved Younis to 3, Misbah to 4 and played Malik at 5. He would have been more productive at that position because he is very good against spin, and would not have had to face the new ball.

When Azhar was fit, he obviously had to walk back into the team as he was a fixture in the playing XI.

The obviously casualty was Masood who was Anderson's bunny. Malik was not going to get dropped because he had scored a 200 two Tests ago, and was actually looking more threatening with the ball than Zulfiqar.

Hence, the only way Azhar could have fit in was as an opener, since he was the regular number 3 of the team and moved one position up so that Malik can continue to be accommodated at 3.

If Guardiola had the acumen to realize that Azhar would be better suited to opening, he would have done that long time ago. After all, he coached Azhar from 2010 to 2011, and then from 2014 to 2015.

Are you telling me that Guardiola did not realize in 4 years that Azhar is an opener, but somehow conveniently got the idea in his very last Test?

You will obviously continue to peddle the myth that he would have opened with Azhar in England, but since Malik retired, he was also going to play Azhar at number 3.

It is hilarious how you carry the banners for a coach who:

- was one of the worst captains in Pakistan history
- was not good enough to land a coaching job in the first two seasons of the PSL
- was rejected by Australia when he applied for a bowling coach
- has had only one small stint in the IPL in 10 years

A coach who brought our ODI team to its knees, and who had the good fortune of resigning just before our overseas tours cycle started, after conveniently sitting pretty in Asia over the last 2 years.

In comparison, you are slinging mud at a coach who has worked with two top cricket nations and was one of the chief architects of SA's class of 2005 that were the best Test side in the world till 2014.

A coach who managed to win an ICC trophy with Pakistan in his first attempt (flukey it may be) which is something Guardiola was not able to do in 4 attempts. He didn't even make the final once, and let alone the World Cup that he captained in 2003 . . . I don't think I have to explain that.

But carry on, continue to enlighten us how Mickey is responsible for everything that's wrong with Pakistan cricket. I am sure he was also behind Guardiola's comedic captaincy tenure in the early 2000's.

Thank you for explaining this to him. Just ignored it the personal comments. His response will ignore your points and talk about something about Arthur being an awful coach)

 

[Mamoon]

A superb and brilliantly argued post busting all of the myths perpetuated by the anti-Arthur brigade.

Couple of things to add - Waqar himself on commentary said Azhar was suited to 3 during the First Test ! He only then did a U-turn in the Second Test saying Azhar should've been opening all along so there goes Waqar's credibility on this subject.

Also, the anti-Arthur brigade say anyone could've taken South Africa to #1 in the world with those players. I'd like those posters to actually look up South Africa's record under his predecessor Ray Jennings which was disasterous, even with big names like Smith, Gibbs, Kallis, Pollock etc.

The likes of de Villiers, Amla and Steyn all became regulars during Mickey's reign and he helped them develop into world class players, but it is surely Mickey's fault that we do not have talents of that caliber.

 

[Mamoon]

Thank you for explaining this to him. Just ignored it the personal comments. His response will ignore your points and talk about something about Arthur being an awful coach)

It will go over his head like a six. The funniest bit was Waqar realizing that Azhar is an opener in his last Test after coaching him for four years.

 

[Hasan123]

It will go over his head like a six. The funniest bit was Waqar realizing that Azhar is an opener in his last Test after coaching him for four years.

Where would be without the Pep Gurdiola of cricket ? [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION])