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"We may need Mohammad Rizwan to play as a batter as he has a good track record in Australia": Shan Masood

i know Shan has good communication skills but why didnt he keeps quiet and let the players do the work. he believes Sarfraz has earn the right to play in the XI but then believes Rizwan will play as a batsman, he should know the basics Sarfraz and Rizwan are selected in the squad as keeper primarily and the captain should weigh them as a package before picking out one of them unlike carrying both of them which will take away the spot of specialist batsman
 
Any day any time, I would prefer Rizwan over Sarfaraz as he is a better wicketkeeper and more consistent in batting.
 
Sarfraz was the MOT in the last test series against New Zealand. He cannot be dropped atm. Maybe play both together but not rizwan for sarfraz. Seems unfair.
 
Shan Masood during Pakistan vs Australia 1st Test pre-game presser:

“Look, as a team, we talk about adaptability. Whether we play in Canberra, Karachi, or Perth, how quickly can guys adapt to the conditions, is more important to me. Good cricketers are always adaptable; they adapt very quickly to the conditions, and it will be the same because when we talk about these three venues Perth, MCG, and SCG, all of them are different, and a challenge for our guys would be to adapt as quickly as possible.”

“I think it is best to look at the bigger picture as a side Look at the process, look at how we want to play cricket, and take results as a byproduct. If you play good cricket for 5 days consistently, I am sure we will be on the right end of certain results. So for us right now, how do we grow as a side? How do we go forward as a side? And if we do the right things for a long time, we will be on the right side.”

“The beauty of this game is that you get to do something different, and that is what we want to do as a side. We want to go forward as a side and play attractive Test cricket. If the results come away, yes; if they don't, then we will go back to the drawing board and try to rectify our mistakes. I see a lot of potential in this side, a lot of players that can take Pakistan forward, and again, for us, it is about the bigger picture, playing good cricket, and making sure we can compete against the best, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so.”

“It would mean the world to the US, and like we said when you talk about the bigger picture, this is the World Test Championship, so every test match, every single point counts, and it's a 2-year cycle, so we got a lot of test matches to play as well, so Australia is a perfect place to start and a perfect place to gauge where we are as a team and take it from there.”

“I think as a test side, in terms of personnel, we have been pretty much the same, so it's the same group of players and some additions here or there, so I think the philosophy of the guys is going to be the same, and again, it's a perfect opportunity to try and play a decent brand of cricket against the best of the world, and we are really looking forward to this exciting challenge.”

“Again, you can't be too pushy; you have to take every step in your stride, and you have to take it step by step. Be patient with your players, and with your management, and find the best way forward for the team. Right now, as a team, we can look at the bigger picture and keep making those improvements.”

“I think this is one of the hardest decisions to make. They have both been top-class wicketkeepers for Pakistan over the years. They have played some memorable innings as a batter and had some great performances behind the wicket as a wicketkeeper, so it is a very tough decision to make, and like I said, possibility will always be open. I do not jump to comparisons between the players. I think each and every one of our 18-member squad is somebody that can take the field tomorrow, and in this series, there will be some tough decisions to make, which hopefully we can make the best one in terms of the interest of the team and the result.”

“We all love playing test cricket, it is the ultimate, it is the pinnacle. As I said we don't need any more motivation in terms of the series we are playing in Australia, we are playing against the world test champions but Test cricket for us as a nation has taken a bit of a hit because normally we play 6 test matches are year, if you count these two test matches it will be 5 test matches for this year so it is not enough. We obviously like more test cricket and I think by being a side that is winning side that produces results at home and overseas, we might sort of get more test matches in the future so for us, we want to play more test cricket. We want to play against the best teams in the world and we want to play an exciting brand of test cricket.”

“We have been very fortunate to play at this amazing venue in 2019. We played a pink ball day and night test match. Pink Ball obviously behaves a bit differently; there was a nice carry and some pace in The Wicket. A lot of our guys got runs it was a three-day first-class match against and decent Australia A team, and we got them out of fairly cheap in the first innings but the match went down to a draw. Then we play two T20 games where you have to go from the word go and getting used to the face and bounce can be a bit challenging but I don't see anything different from those two occasions that we have been here and it will offer some pace and bounce and a decent amount of grass coating. We have also looked at the test match between Australia and West Indies again it is about how can we adopt to these conditions and how do we sort of respond as a batting and bowling side.”
​
 
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Will Pakistan regret playing Sarfaraz instead of Rizwan in the 1st Test?

Currently Rizwan:

1702620770331.png
 
Rizwan is a far better option than Sarfraz, but the delusional Karachi Walay will cry of ziyadti again if the mediocre wicketkeeper gets dropped.

Rizwan is a better keeper and a better batsmen.
 
aukhan said:
Rizwan is a far better option than Sarfraz, but the delusional Karachi Walay will cry of ziyadti again if the mediocre wicketkeeper gets dropped.

Rizwan is a better keeper and a better batsmen.
Click to expand...

Your story will change if Sarfaraz hits 50+
 
Rana said:
He should be at home. Learning how to bat in Red ball cricket
Click to expand...
Rizwan has way better batting stats than Sarfraz in every SENA country in Test cricket. He’s also a 100x better wicket keeper in any conditions.
 
160KPH said:
Rizwan has way better batting stats than Sarfraz in every SENA country in Test cricket. He’s also a 100x better wicket keeper in any conditions.
Click to expand...
Oh right….

But then he should have made sure that he didn’t get dropped. No one asked him to play like a night watchman at number 5 for Pakistan in the lead up to him being dropped. Who’s fault is it? Sarfaraz’s?
 
Rana said:
Oh right….

But then he should have made sure that he didn’t get dropped. No one asked him to play like a night watchman at number 5 for Pakistan in the lead up to him being dropped. Who’s fault is it? Sarfaraz’s?
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I don’t know why you think that liking one player means you have to hate the other. Sarfraz batted good in the recent series. Plus, out of all the SENA countries, Australia has been Sarfraz’s best performances and I hope he has a great series.

But yeah, Rizwan has better wicket keeping skills and he played only one match in Test cricket recently and in it he scored 50*. Sarfraz is 36 and at this point Rizwan is clearly better in all formats.
 
Sarfaraz out by a pretty classic inswinging delivery by Mitchell Starc.
Good ball but bad technique.
Too early in the series but wonder whether Rizwan could have faired better.
 
Project Sarfraz who piled runs in domestic just lasted 6 balls, Alas! there aint any Starc in our domestic cricket
 
Kianig89 said:
Project Sarfraz who piled runs in domestic just lasted 6 balls, Alas! there aint any Starc in our domestic cricket
Click to expand...

why does every one assume Rizwan would score 100 here?
 
MenInG said:
why does every one assume Rizwan would score 100 here?
Click to expand...
I am not sure that he would have scored 100, but he is clearly better at playing fast bowling than Sarfraz is and he is also a better wicket keeper.
 
Never mind Sarfaraz, I'd pick him over Faheem Ashraf any day.
 
Although Riz is more suited to these conditions, Sarfi needs to play out the series. This constant chopping and changing helps no one.
 
Bewal Express said:
Although Riz is more suited to these conditions, Sarfi needs to play out the series. This constant chopping and changing helps no one.
Click to expand...

No proper runs for him in this game - Riz may well get a chance - depends on the practice game outcome.
 
Sarfaraz fails in one Test…the knives are out

Rizwan failing series after series…”koi baat nahi Rizzi you are GOAT keeper in south Asian history…you are out Dosti Yaari Chummi saviour!”
 
Sarfraz is a sitting duck in SENA

Only in Melbourne placid pitch has he got any chance

Hilarious
 
Rana said:
Sarfaraz fails in one Test…the knives are out

Rizwan failing series after series…”koi baat nahi Rizzi you are GOAT keeper in south Asian history…you are out Dosti Yaari Chummi saviour!”
Click to expand...

Knives will be out for each failure.

Sarfaraz is not being brought in for a free holiday.
 
MenInG said:
Knives will be out for each failure.

Sarfaraz is not being brought in for a free holiday.
Click to expand...
You think he doesn’t know that? What about the 4 years of his career pointlessly wasted by a guy making everyone feel that they are on a all expenses paid holiday? He has earned his right to continue in this format has Sarfaraz. Why is Babar getting a free ride for continuously poor performances but Sarfaraz is the glaring hole that you all can see?
 
Rizwan couldn't have done any worse with the bat. Sarfaraz scored what 10 runs in total? Rizwan would've made up for that with his keeping on just the first day.

Also someone tell this experienced keeper, that when the ball is keeping low you move up. Khawaja again shouldve been caught but dropped right infront of sarfaraz.
 
I will always have a soft spot for Sarfraz and do feel that he doesnt get the respect he deserves, but it was bleedingly obvious from the get go that Rizwan was the better pick for these conditions
 
If both rizwan and sarfaraz are in for next match, rizwan should be the wicketkeeper for better skills. Sarfaraz can play as a middle order batsman.
 
Rana said:
You think he doesn’t know that? What about the 4 years of his career pointlessly wasted by a guy making everyone feel that they are on a all expenses paid holiday? He has earned his right to continue in this format has Sarfaraz. Why is Babar getting a free ride for continuously poor performances but Sarfaraz is the glaring hole that you all can see?
Click to expand...

Because Sarfaraz has a ready international replacement, Babar does not.
 
Rana said:
You think he doesn’t know that? What about the 4 years of his career pointlessly wasted by a guy making everyone feel that they are on a all expenses paid holiday? He has earned his right to continue in this format has Sarfaraz. Why is Babar getting a free ride for continuously poor performances but Sarfaraz is the glaring hole that you all can see?
Click to expand...
A lot of your posts make sense, but I do not see the logic in this one. Looking at Sarfaraz crouched technique its very obvious that he will not get passed 30 in Australia, Rizwan probably will.

Horses for courses. Sarfaraz is a walking wicket on this tour and not even a great keeper. He also does not have much time left and has reached his ceiling.
 
MenInG said:
Because Sarfaraz has a ready international replacement, Babar does not.
Click to expand...
How do you make a ready international replacement for Babar? Tell me, what do you say to those guys in your domestics, who average 50 or close to it year in year out. When they see Babar Azam continuously getting a free ride whilst they cannot even be looked before Rizwan who has done nothing whilst sitting on the bench since last year?
 
Rana said:
How do you make a ready international replacement for Babar? Tell me, what do you say to those guys in your domestics, who average 50 or close to it year in year out. When they see Babar Azam continuously getting a free ride whilst they cannot even be looked before Rizwan who has done nothing whilst sitting on the bench since last year?
Click to expand...

Bro we are talking about this series.

In this series, Sarf and Riz are equivalents.

For BA you have no replacement, unless you want to put Saim for the 2nd Test?

For the longer term, you make a fair point and I have started a thread for that.
 
I can't believe people still think Sarfraz is a good player, he's the same guy that used to hide behind Hasan Ali and the tail enders in limited over matches. Rizwan is a better batsman, better wicketkeeper and a better athlete.

There is no reason why Sarfraz should be playing over him.
 
iPakistani said:
I can't believe people still think Sarfraz is a good player, he's the same guy that used to hide behind Hasan Ali and the tail enders in limited over matches. Rizwan is a better batsman, better wicketkeeper and a better athlete.

There is no reason why Sarfraz should be playing over him.
Click to expand...

Sarfaraz Ahmed since his comeback

1702893874124.png


Rizwan in his last 5 Tests

1702893932070.png
 
Sarfraz playing is a joke. The bar is very low for sarfraz and kept very high for rizwan.

Sarfraz can score a 50 on a flat track and that will be good enough for him to get a spot in the test team.

Meanwhile for rizwan they have kept the bar high.

Anyways, rozwan was also overlooked for captaincy by PCB so it suggests that thr pcb is against him aswell
 
Major said:
Sarfraz playing is a joke. The bar is very low for sarfraz and kept very high for rizwan.

Sarfraz can score a 50 on a flat track and that will be good enough for him to get a spot in the test team.

Meanwhile for rizwan they have kept the bar high.

Anyways, rozwan was also overlooked for captaincy by PCB so it suggests that thr pcb is against him aswell
Click to expand...
Rizwan has been setting extremely low standards without question for a long time himself, and was protected by his Dosti Yaari supremo Babar Azam, who has pretty low standards himself.

Makaafaat-E-aml

Take that!
 
Rana said:
Rizwan has been setting extremely low standards without question for a long time himself, and was protected by his Dosti Yaari supremo Babar Azam, who has pretty low standards himself.

Makaafaat-E-aml

Take that!
Click to expand...
What's this nonsense that Rizwan is in the team because of his connections?

Rizwan averages more in every single format of the game, domestic AND international in comparison to Sarfraz.

Test, ODI, T20I, FC, List A, T20 Rizwan averages 40+ in almost ALL of them.

Rizwan has 33 centuries, Sarfraz has 25. Sarfaz is 5 years older and has played over 100 matches more.

This is just batting alone, if we factor in the fact that Rizwan is undeniably a miles better wicket keeper than Sarfraz it blows this nonsense that you've tried to peddle completely out the water.

Rizwan is a better batsman, a better wicketkeeper, a better athlete, a better fielder and he's not a racist behind the stumps too.
 
160KPH said:
I don’t know why you think that liking one player means you have to hate the other. Sarfraz batted good in the recent series. Plus, out of all the SENA countries, Australia has been Sarfraz’s best performances and I hope he has a great series.

But yeah, Rizwan has better wicket keeping skills and he played only one match in Test cricket recently and in it he scored 50*. Sarfraz is 36 and at this point Rizwan is clearly better in all formats.
Click to expand...
Rizwan isn't fit as he was, come on the guy ends up with cramps in t20 and odi's how is he meant to last for 5 days
 
iPakistani said:
What's this nonsense that Rizwan is in the team because of his connections?

Rizwan averages more in every single format of the game, domestic AND international in comparison to Sarfraz.

Test, ODI, T20I, FC, List A, T20 Rizwan averages 40+ in almost ALL of them.

Rizwan has 33 centuries, Sarfraz has 25. Sarfaz is 5 years older and has played over 100 matches more.

This is just batting alone, if we factor in the fact that Rizwan is undeniably a miles better wicket keeper than Sarfraz it blows this nonsense that you've tried to peddle completely out the water.

Rizwan is a better batsman, a better wicketkeeper, a better athlete, a better fielder and he's not a racist behind the stumps too.
Click to expand...
This is test we are talking about so I don't know why you would have to combine all 3 formats

Rizwan played 28 tests for Pakistan and only managed 2 centuries art an average of 39
Sarfraz has played 54 and manged 4 centuries at an average of 37

to be fair both are as bad as each other and are on par.

but in cricket what matters is current form some players get better some players regress.
Sarfraz haven't improved one bit but however Rizwan has regressed

if we look at the stats from the past 2 years

Rizwan played 9 tests 1 century and 1 50's at an average of 34.69
Sarfraz played 9 tests 1 century and 3 50's at an average of 46.46

Sarfraz is the better option currently
 
Jazx said:
If both rizwan and sarfaraz are in for next match, rizwan should be the wicketkeeper for better skills. Sarfaraz can play as a middle order batsman.
Click to expand...
We're are you going to hide Sarfraz?
 
emranabbas said:
This is test we are talking about so I don't know why you would have to combine all 3 formats

Rizwan played 28 tests for Pakistan and only managed 2 centuries art an average of 39
Sarfraz has played 54 and manged 4 centuries at an average of 37

to be fair both are as bad as each other and are on par.

but in cricket what matters is current form some players get better some players regress.
Sarfraz haven't improved one bit but however Rizwan has regressed

if we look at the stats from the past 2 years

Rizwan played 9 tests 1 century and 1 50's at an average of 34.69
Sarfraz played 9 tests 1 century and 3 50's at an average of 46.46

Sarfraz is the better option currently
Click to expand...
Yes better options in Asia not in SENA.
 
If Rizwan must play, please don’t drop Sarfaraz, what did he do to deserve such punishment? he has never given me a Dhoka and he wont ever do it again
 
emranabbas said:
but in cricket what matters is current form some players get better some players regress.
Sarfraz haven't improved one bit but however Rizwan has regressed

if we look at the stats from the past 2 years

Rizwan played 9 tests 1 century and 1 50's at an average of 34.69
Sarfraz played 9 tests 1 century and 3 50's at an average of 46.46

Sarfraz is the better option currently
Click to expand...
Sarfraz did badly four years in a row in tests from 2016-2019. With the gloves too. And was finally dropped. Rizwan on the other hand averaged over 40 for 3 consecutive years before having just 1 bad year and dropped. Which is why it’s kind of difficult to believe Sarfraz has truly turned it around. Or Rizwan has truly lost it especially given how he’s performing in other formats.

Now that Sarfraz is back in the team he doesn’t exactly deserve to lose his place yet though. I wouldn’t judge on this tour either, I would give him next series too, Australia is just a place where I don’t think either of them will do well.
 
Sarfraz cannot be judged on just a 1 test match in Australia since he has returned to the team, he was the player of the series against Kiwis. Rizwan no doubt has some good record but his inclusion for Sarfraz is not justified atm. He can play as a batter though in place of Salman but then we will be left with no spin option at all.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Sarfraz cannot be judged on just a 1 test match in Australia since he has returned to the team, he was the player of the series against Kiwis. Rizwan no doubt has some good record but his inclusion for Sarfraz is not justified atm. He can play as a batter though in place of Salman but then we will be left with no spin option at all.
Click to expand...
The issue is that Sarfraz Ahmed has a horrible record in almost all SENA countries. His record in Australia is not horrible, but he’s bad at playing quality fast bowling and he’s also aging and only going to get worse as his reflexes decline. Beyond that, his wicket keeping ability has been horrible for a long time.

I like Sarfraz and he can probably play a few more series in Asia but horses for courses applies here and Rizwan is clearly the better the choice for our overseas tests.
 
Sarfaraz's batting technique doesn't allow him to play on bouncy tracks.

I would never take any chance with him when you already have Rizwan sitting on the bench.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Sarfraz cannot be judged on just a 1 test match in Australia since he has returned to the team, he was the player of the series against Kiwis. Rizwan no doubt has some good record but his inclusion for Sarfraz is not justified atm. He can play as a batter though in place of Salman but then we will be left with no spin option at all.
Click to expand...

This level of thinking needs to change. Conditions are everything and a mediocre team like Pakistan needs to play players best suited to the conditions to maximize them. Sarfraz is a completely rubbish player outside of Asia, that is a fact whereas, Rizwan has been quite good outside of Asia.

These are simple logical decisions.
 
Nasty Naz said:
This level of thinking needs to change. Conditions are everything and a mediocre team like Pakistan needs to play players best suited to the conditions to maximize them. Sarfraz is a completely rubbish player outside of Asia, that is a fact whereas, Rizwan has been quite good outside of Asia.

These are simple logical decisions.
Click to expand...
Rizwan is good outside Asia but don't you think that playing Rizwan instead of Sarfraz is a bit harsh on Sarfraz because he was the POS in the last test series, even though it was at home?
 
This 2-day practice match against Victoria is a perfect opportunity for Rizwan to show that he deserves a spot in the playing 11. Playing in 30s ATM.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Rizwan is good outside Asia but don't you think that playing Rizwan instead of Sarfraz is a bit harsh on Sarfraz because he was the POS in the last test series, even though it was at home?
Click to expand...

Wasn't it harsh to drop Rizwan after a couple of poor Test matches for Sarfraz who had been out of the team for years and could barely hold a bat by the time he was put out of his misery?

If Pakistan were playing in Sri Lanka like their last series and Sarfraz started over Rizwan, it wasn't much of an issue because everyone knows how great Sarfraz is vs spin so alternatively, it shouldn't make sense to start Sarfraz over Rizwan in SENA conditions where Rizwan is much better suited.

While Sarfraz is showing he can still bat well in sub-continent conditions, it is fine to rotate the WK based on conditions.
 
Rizwan has now scored 50 that too at a good rate and it took him just 70 balls to score these 50 runs against Victoria. Good stuff by him. Certainly looking to make his way into the team.
 
Rizwan is the greatest wicketkeeper in the history of Pakistan cricket.

Thanks to Sarfaraz’s failures this debate has been well and truly put to bed now.

Sarfaraz’s international career should now be over but his Karachi lobby is too strong, so I expect his corpse will be carried around as reserve WK for a while longer.
 
Rizwan scored a 50 (Retired Not out) while Sarfraz scored 35 runs in the 2-day practice game against Victoria. Who should be the wicket-keeper in the next Test match at Melbourne?
 
Both did ok:
Rizwan 50 retired (73 balls)
Sarfaraz 35 (33)

Rizwan is the better keeper so I'd go for Riz. I don't see the point in playing both of them.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Rizwan scored a 50 (Retired Not out) while Sarfraz scored 35 runs in the 2-day practice game against Victoria. Who should be the wicket-keeper in the next Test match at Melbourne?
Click to expand...
How rubbish is this bowling attack if Sarfaraz scored 35?

What difference will Rizwan make?
 
For other players, they must work hard in the domestics to get back in the team.

For Rizwan, he must work hard on PR to get back into the team.
 
Yes rizwan scored a 50 vs the might Victoria team of Australia

Rizwan is known for bullying minnows and b c d teams he will go missing vs any full strength team
 
What is the case for Sarfaraz over Rizwan for the Seccond test? Anyone?
 
Sarfaraz Ahmed was awfully poor in the first Test. Now, Mohammad Rizwan is already playing a practice match against Victoria, increasing the likelihood that he will play in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne. If we look at the latest stats, they are as follows:

Sarfaraz Ahmed
10 Innings
239 Runs
29.87 Average
50×2

Mohammad Rizwan
4 Innings
177 Runs
44.25 Average
50×1
 
Rana said:
Just like the case of Babar over Kamran Ghulam for the last year or so.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but if you compare their stats in Australia, it paints a different story.
Rizwan has only played 1 test in 2023, so I don't think we can base batting stats from the last year.
 
Pressure is mounting to bring Rizwan back in the team over Sarf, and is only fueled by the practice game now.

I think Shan will crack and make the change
 
shamaan said:
We're are you going to hide Sarfraz?
Click to expand...
Sarfaraz can still play as a batsman in this team as there are no bradmans warming the bench. But it would be even better if sarfaraz is benched in place of saim who can be the bright prospect in future. Still it will not make any difference to this series result but saim can be groomed for future.
 
I think Rizwan deserves a spot over Sarfaraz and don't think playing both together makes sense.
Rizwan's in good batting touch and is a superior keeper to Sarfaraz.
To me it's a no brainer if Rizwan is fit.
 
If Rizwan had played 1st test at Perth and flopped , Sarfraz would have been backed for MCG test. First test blue then conditions were tougher than it is going to be at the MCG where bounce will be true and manageable
 
So it looks like Rizwan will not just play as a specialist batter but as a keeper too for the Boxing Day test.
Good move for once!
 
Thank God the better wicket keeper and batsman is going to play.
 
Pakistan Test Captain Shan Masood explaining the choice of Rizwan over Sarafraz in the 2nd Test

"Rizwan just came from the World Cup, a lot of white ball cricket. And he also had a gap in red-ball cricket since Sarfaraz took over from him for the New Zealand series. Sarfaraz had an outstanding performance there and Rizwan hadn't played a lot of red-ball cricket. So there was a method to it. He's been there, he played red-ball cricket. Karachi had a very good season where he was the tournament's MVP, and that allowed us to get a player like Rizwan into shape. If I had it my way, I'd ideally like both to play but that's not possible. Now we think Rizwan is ready and we can give Saifi that little bit of break to recuperate and come back."
 
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