What happens if this new look Pakistan Test squad fails?

[Cric1234]

Most of the players are not top class or don’t have the potential to be world class very few batsmen can average close to 50 in tests and there’s a lack of match winning bowlers aswell.

Although selecting the top performers in domestic is the right way to go and giving them opportunities in home matches and away against lower ranked teams can help build their confidence going forward.

 

[shamaan]

Personally, I don't think that Saud Shakeel is going to turn out to be a good ODI/T20 player for us, but he can be a good test match player.

Rohail Nazir is also important, and I think that we should play him instead of Rizwan on the ODI team, just to see what he's made of and what he can provide, though I believe that if Azam Khan can improve his fitness even more, he can be a really important addition to our ODI team.

I haven't seen enough of Mohammad Haris to put him on that list, and he doesn't have good numbers to support his inclusion.

A final list of the players I'll be looking out for will be:

Haider Ali (aggressive, powerful, some good strokeplay as well, will be a good inclusion for ODI/T20I.)
Abdullah Shafique (fantastic strokeplay but short of confidence, will be a good player in all formats if things go right.)
Zeeshan Ashraf (has the ability to play aggressively and positively, however, numbers don't go in his favor.)
Zeeshan Malik (some pretty decent FC stats but a lack of consistency, can be a useful player if he comes good.)

Azam Khan (explosive and powerful, exactly what we are missing in our MO in T20 and ODI.)
Rohail Nazir (good player around the wicket, has potential, and can be a good choice for a white-ball keeper.)
Danish Aziz (looks to be a good player, has performed well in chases and just need to see him play the whole Pakistan Cup to get a decent sample size of the type of player he is.)
Khushdil Shah (powerful and was given the role of finisher but could not make ends meet, technical issues and over-dependence on leg-side shots.)

Again, for our future in white-ball cricket, one of these players has to come out well. The sad part is that among all of them, I can name technical and temperamental flaws already, so it's a sign that they aren't finished products by any means.

I'm placing my faith in Danish Aziz, I think that he has a really good chance to show what he can do for KK and right now, in the Pakistan Cup, he has a good platform to show some performances. I also think that Haider Ali, despite having some really noticeable problems, can be a useful player for us in T20 cricket. This PSL, he should really aim for the stars, and try to get a good average and SR. If he can get a 35-40 average with a 135+ SR in this edition of the PSL, that will really go a long way for him. Azam Khan needs to improve his fitness even more so that he can really put up some better performances, because he's averaged below 30 right now, and I won't take him on the team with that type of an average.

Again, this PSL will tell us a lot about some of the youngsters, except for Abdullah Shafique, who needs to make the most of domestic cricket to tell his own story.

He can replace haris at number 4 if haider opens but if he is to play he has to bat in the top 4 no lower.

Rohail as decent stats and hes come from the u19s system and is a decent keeper also has a 100 against new zealand A.

I think azam may get into the t20 very soon and if he does well thier he could be in the odi team as a finisher which we don't have baring 1 or 2.

Haris is only 19 hes a wicket keeper who hits the ball hard hes one for the future.

Danish aziz temperament is top notch he hits the ball clean and both sides of the wicket.

I would stil give Khushdil a few more chances before i judge him but he does need to improve his offside game.

Haider ali is here to stay even after the difficult series of new zealand. 30 average is fine becouse he should bat in the lower order 5-7 the strike rate is more important his role should be to attack

 

[shamaan]

Most of the players are not top class or don’t have the potential to be world class very few batsmen can average close to 50 in tests and there’s a lack of match winning bowlers aswell.

Although selecting the top performers in domestic is the right way to go and giving them opportunities in home matches and away against lower ranked teams can help build their confidence going forward.

saud shakeel has the potentional to average close to 45-50

 

[UzmanBeast]

He can replace haris at number 4 if haider opens but if he is to play he has to bat in the top 4 no lower.

Rohail as decent stats and hes come from the u19s system and is a decent keeper also has a 100 against new zealand A.

I think azam may get into the t20 very soon and if he does well thier he could be in the odi team as a finisher which we don't have baring 1 or 2.

Haris is only 19 hes a wicket keeper who hits the ball hard hes one for the future.

Danish aziz temperament is top notch he hits the ball clean and both sides of the wicket.

I would stil give Khushdil a few more chances before i judge him but he does need to improve his offside game.

Haider ali is here to stay even after the difficult series of new zealand. 30 average is fine becouse he should bat in the lower order 5-7 the strike rate is more important his role should be to attack

Personally, I think that playing Haider at 3 is not his natural position, because he finds it hard to restrain himself from going at poor deliveries.

We all know that he can hit the long ball, so I'd rather have him start at 4 or 5 and really strengthen that middle order. That move would allow someone like Shadab (though he is not a good T20 batsman IMO) to move up to 3 as maybe a pinch-hitter or a player who holds on and bats with a good strike rate.

Saud Shakeel might be able to replace Haris, but it would not be much of an improvement in my opinion. After 69 games, Saud only has 4 List A centuries and 18 half-centuries. Similarly, in 42 ODI games, Haris has 2 centuries and 14 half centuries. Saud is marginally better but he also lacks the ability to convert his 50s into centuries, so he won't really be a match-winner, just a very consistent player in the MO.

Danish Aziz is really impressing me, and though he takes some time to start his innings, I think that we can consider him in the middle order in ODI and T20I. If we play Azam Khan, we can potentially bring in Danish Aziz to play a sort of role Suresh Raina played for India. I really want him to play at least 50 List A games and then assess his stats from then. If by that time he has an average of 40 or above 35 with a SR of near 100, we should really look to him because he could be really useful in run chases and if some hitting is needed.

Khushdil is far to one-dimensional as a player. There were a lot of deliveries in that New Zealand series that were hittable, heck he could have driven along the ground and gotten the runs needed. Unless you bowl in his arc, and on his pads, he won't pose a threat. The delivery that angles across him is such a big weakness for him, and I doubt that he will fix that any time soon. Most players who have a similar problem like this learn how to hit it down the ground, and develop some good cut shots and drives, but Khushdil doesn't do any of that, instead, I see him waiting for the bad ball. I think that he needs to go to the NHPC and work on his off-side game with Mohammad Yousuf.

Rohail has decent stats but doesn't fit the role of a modern day wicket keeper. Look at all teams, their keepers are either explosive or very reliable. India have Rishabh Pant, England has Buttler, South Africa have De Kock, Australia have Alex Carey, New Zealand have Seifert and Latham.

The point is, someone like Azam Khan is crucial for our team given that we have a lot of players who are consistent, but a lack of players who can finish games.

A squad like the one below is the best one when considering modern cricket IMO (ODI):

Sharjeel Khan
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Danish Aziz
Iftikhar Ahmed
Azam Khan
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

That squad contains a mixture of 2 very consistent batsmen (Imam and Babar), along with another formidable and consistent batsman in Haris Sohail. Sharjeel Khan will make sure that our powerplay is utilized, and if he can bat for long, he can really punish the opposition. Danish Aziz and Iftikhar Ahmed will have to be good components in setting and chasing targets, because both will have to build off of the platform set by the top 4. Both can hit the ball and have different strengths and areas where they are confident in. Azam Khan and Shadab Khan will slot down below to ensure that finishing games remains within our game, along with some late hitting if needed when we are setting targets. Hasan Ali's inclusion would mean that there would also be some extra batting.

The only downside to this team is that Usman Qadir can't slot in, but if our batting order can show that they are consistent and reliable, we can drop Shadab for Usman Qadir as Usman is a far better bowler.

The fact that Iftikhar, Haris, and Danish can bowl a bit is also really good, because part-timers are under utilized in ODI cricket.

That's where we should be looking at in the next few years, and the obvious exclusion is Haider Ali. That's because it's too early to bring him into the ODI setup in my opinion, and frankly, we don't really need him to be successful for the next few years. When Sharjeel's time comes, I'll definitely replace him with Haider, and Saud can then come in when Haris's time also comes.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Personally, I think that playing Haider at 3 is not his natural position, because he finds it hard to restrain himself from going at poor deliveries.

We all know that he can hit the long ball, so I'd rather have him start at 4 or 5 and really strengthen that middle order. That move would allow someone like Shadab (though he is not a good T20 batsman IMO) to move up to 3 as maybe a pinch-hitter or a player who holds on and bats with a good strike rate.

Saud Shakeel might be able to replace Haris, but it would not be much of an improvement in my opinion. After 69 games, Saud only has 4 List A centuries and 18 half-centuries. Similarly, in 42 ODI games, Haris has 2 centuries and 14 half centuries. Saud is marginally better but he also lacks the ability to convert his 50s into centuries, so he won't really be a match-winner, just a very consistent player in the MO.

Danish Aziz is really impressing me, and though he takes some time to start his innings, I think that we can consider him in the middle order in ODI and T20I. If we play Azam Khan, we can potentially bring in Danish Aziz to play a sort of role Suresh Raina played for India. I really want him to play at least 50 List A games and then assess his stats from then. If by that time he has an average of 40 or above 35 with a SR of near 100, we should really look to him because he could be really useful in run chases and if some hitting is needed.

Khushdil is far to one-dimensional as a player. There were a lot of deliveries in that New Zealand series that were hittable, heck he could have driven along the ground and gotten the runs needed. Unless you bowl in his arc, and on his pads, he won't pose a threat. The delivery that angles across him is such a big weakness for him, and I doubt that he will fix that any time soon. Most players who have a similar problem like this learn how to hit it down the ground, and develop some good cut shots and drives, but Khushdil doesn't do any of that, instead, I see him waiting for the bad ball. I think that he needs to go to the NHPC and work on his off-side game with Mohammad Yousuf.

Rohail has decent stats but doesn't fit the role of a modern day wicket keeper. Look at all teams, their keepers are either explosive or very reliable. India have Rishabh Pant, England has Buttler, South Africa have De Kock, Australia have Alex Carey, New Zealand have Seifert and Latham.

The point is, someone like Azam Khan is crucial for our team given that we have a lot of players who are consistent, but a lack of players who can finish games.

A squad like the one below is the best one when considering modern cricket IMO (ODI):

Sharjeel Khan
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Danish Aziz
Iftikhar Ahmed
Azam Khan
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

That squad contains a mixture of 2 very consistent batsmen (Imam and Babar), along with another formidable and consistent batsman in Haris Sohail. Sharjeel Khan will make sure that our powerplay is utilized, and if he can bat for long, he can really punish the opposition. Danish Aziz and Iftikhar Ahmed will have to be good components in setting and chasing targets, because both will have to build off of the platform set by the top 4. Both can hit the ball and have different strengths and areas where they are confident in. Azam Khan and Shadab Khan will slot down below to ensure that finishing games remains within our game, along with some late hitting if needed when we are setting targets. Hasan Ali's inclusion would mean that there would also be some extra batting.

The only downside to this team is that Usman Qadir can't slot in, but if our batting order can show that they are consistent and reliable, we can drop Shadab for Usman Qadir as Usman is a far better bowler.

The fact that Iftikhar, Haris, and Danish can bowl a bit is also really good, because part-timers are under utilized in ODI cricket.

That's where we should be looking at in the next few years, and the obvious exclusion is Haider Ali. That's because it's too early to bring him into the ODI setup in my opinion, and frankly, we don't really need him to be successful for the next few years. When Sharjeel's time comes, I'll definitely replace him with Haider, and Saud can then come in when Haris's time also comes.

This team will field like a pack of zebras.

Sharjeel, Haris, Danish, Iftikhar, that’s too many liabilities in the field just because they’re marginally better batsmen than the other options available.

I would keep only Iftikhar from these 4 for the next 2 years then replace Iftikhar with Danish Aziz after the 2023 world cup.

Haris is almost equivalent to Saud as a batsman but Saud is three times the fielder. Sharjeel is marginally better than Fakhar on current form but Fakhar is 10 times the fielder.

So if you aren’t going with Haider Ali for the opening spot, then your fallback should be Fakhar, not the convicted spot fixer.

1. Imam ul Haq
2. Haider Ali
3. Babar Azam
4. Mohamamad Rizwan (wk) // Saud Shakeel
5. Iftikhar Ahmed // Azam Khan (wk)
6. Faheem Ashraf
7. Shadab Khan
8. Usman Qadir // Imad Wasim
9. Hassan Ali
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Mohammad Hasnain

This is the team I would field in the ODIs against England.

 

[zn426]

I do. Pakistan will never be a top team again.

Here we go again.

Firstly, you harp on this over and over. You seriously think this is impossible.
How many Tests, ODIs, and T20Is did Bangladesh lose before they finally become a competent team? Yes! It took 16 years of building! But they built it! I am not saying that they are world beaters, but they also don't have what Pakistan has had-a history and major wins, wins as recently as the 2017 Champions Trophy with players that can be looked up to, and dare I say it mentored.
There is another point you are ignoring-Pakistan's economy is finally starting to come together. Yes, it is still weak, but the right pieces are steadily coming together. No, it will not happen over night. It might take ten years, but given that time Pakistan will rise to being once again, a rising economy in Asia as they were in the 60s and mid-2000s. A better economy will mean more resources and more competent people overall.
last point-we have the second highest population base in the cricketing world behind India. Simple numbers means that with a more competitive first class structure as we are developing, there will be more competition for each spot, and the best players will rise to the top.
Now, to respond to the claims you will no doubt make-
"Pakistan's leadership is incompetent"-how do you know this? Are you meeting with Wasim Khan, Ehsan Mani, or anyone in Pakistani leadership on an ongoing basis? I will admit the mistake of letting Mickey Arthur go without having a competent replacement, but so far, coaching selection is the only mistake that has been made. This can be resolved with a better hire. The structural changes they are making to Pakistan cricket are far more important.
"Pakistani players place no emphasis on fitness"-and yet, it has been shown that with good leadership, they have been able to get fit before. what exactly is your proof that they cannot achieve fitness again? It will take a concerted effort and a cultural change, but it can be done.
"Other teams will need to stand still"-This is not the first time we have seen such a situation. England had let the game pass them by as well to the point that they got destroyed in the 2015 world cup-where are they now again? Today England is one of the teams that has achieved significant success. Pakistan can get there, maybe it will take a decade since the economy in PK is not as strong as England's economy, but Pakistan can most certainly get there.

Accepting your lot in life as inevitable is the act of a impoverished beggar, or a gas station cashier who sees no way out. Your comments about simply giving up enrage me. If I had given up, I would have not made it to where I am today and would instead be languishing in my parents house, a drain upon the world. Is that what you want Pakistan and Pakistan cricket to be? A drain upon the world? For Shame!!!

 

[UzmanBeast]

This team will field like a pack of zebras.

Sharjeel, Haris, Danish, Iftikhar, that’s too many liabilities in the field just because they’re marginally better batsmen than the other options available.

I would keep only Iftikhar from these 4 for the next 2 years then replace Iftikhar with Danish Aziz after the 2023 world cup.

Haris is almost equivalent to Saud as a batsman but Saud is three times the fielder. Sharjeel is marginally better than Fakhar on current form but Fakhar is 10 times the fielder.

So if you aren’t going with Haider Ali for the opening spot, then your fallback should be Fakhar, not the convicted spot fixer.

1. Imam ul Haq
2. Haider Ali
3. Babar Azam
4. Mohamamad Rizwan (wk) // Saud Shakeel
5. Iftikhar Ahmed // Azam Khan (wk)
6. Faheem Ashraf
7. Shadab Khan
8. Usman Qadir // Imad Wasim
9. Hassan Ali
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Mohammad Hasnain

This is the team I would field in the ODIs against England.

The tail in that playing XI almost starts at 6, meaning that one collapse from the top order gives the game to the opposition.

You made some good points though, that there are quite some liabilities in the field, however, there are other ways to fix that issue.

With the feedback you've given, I'd instead go with this team:

Imam-ul-Haq
Fakhar Zaman
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Haider Ali
Danish Aziz/Iftikhar Ahmed
Azam Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Usman Qadir
Mohammad Hasnain

The way I see it, England pitches are always flat, so we need a combination of consistency and actual hard-hitting batsmen. The pitches being flat means that I don't expect a collapse to happen frequently, so we can drop Shadab and bring in Usman Qadir which will work for us as we will be playing the better spinner. The quicks will have to be good, it was our bowling that let us down last time, and hopefully, we understand how to bowl in these conditions. From a bowling point of view, the power-play is extremely important. We need to bowl good deliveries and understand that their batsmen will come after us, so there's no need to bowl in their strong zones or in areas where they can easily hit us around. Yorkers should be used extensively, and our skiddy bowlers will have to be very careful about how they bowl, as the ideal line should be top of off stump.

The batting point of view means that Fakhar and Imam will give us a sturdy start to the innings. If they can get solid opening partnerships, it allows the rest of the middle order to play with a lot more freedom and they can bat at high strike rates. Our middle order will have to be very aggressive and play positively. They must bat at strike rates near or even over 100. The last 10 overs should bring a lot of runs due to the combination of Haider, Iftikhar, and Azam Khan. We learned last time that posting scores of 300+ is fundamental, because the bowlers will need runs to play with.

I see one counter-argument with what I've said, being the exclusion of Shadab Khan. England pitches don't tend to spin much, and while that argument is correct, Shadab is in a very confusing state. He's half a batsman, and has regressed to becoming 3/4ths of a bowler. What I mean is that his batting performances are below par for an all-rounder, what his averages will tell you, whereas his bowling statistics in recent times are below par compared with a genuine front-line spinner. He's caught between two minds, and he needs to make his decision soon. The decision he makes will determine his own future, because if he goes down the line of a batting all-rounder, he should be sent into domestic to show if he can even bat to the level we expect. That could take months, and Iftikhar or another domestic batting all-rounder would have solidified and taken the spot for themselves. A lot of posters of Shadab will criticize me for what I've said, and I don't like saying it either. I think that he's a really good talent and something to look forward to, but his decision to slowly convert himself into an all-rounder is starting to show on his bowling, and I will never compromise a frontline spinner, they are crucial.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

The tail in that playing XI almost starts at 6, meaning that one collapse from the top order gives the game to the opposition.

You made some good points though, that there are quite some liabilities in the field, however, there are other ways to fix that issue.

With the feedback you've given, I'd instead go with this team:

Imam-ul-Haq
Fakhar Zaman
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Haider Ali
Danish Aziz/Iftikhar Ahmed
Azam Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Usman Qadir
Mohammad Hasnain

The way I see it, England pitches are always flat, so we need a combination of consistency and actual hard-hitting batsmen. The pitches being flat means that I don't expect a collapse to happen frequently, so we can drop Shadab and bring in Usman Qadir which will work for us as we will be playing the better spinner. The quicks will have to be good, it was our bowling that let us down last time, and hopefully, we understand how to bowl in these conditions. From a bowling point of view, the power-play is extremely important. We need to bowl good deliveries and understand that their batsmen will come after us, so there's no need to bowl in their strong zones or in areas where they can easily hit us around. Yorkers should be used extensively, and our skiddy bowlers will have to be very careful about how they bowl, as the ideal line should be top of off stump.

The batting point of view means that Fakhar and Imam will give us a sturdy start to the innings. If they can get solid opening partnerships, it allows the rest of the middle order to play with a lot more freedom and they can bat at high strike rates. Our middle order will have to be very aggressive and play positively. They must bat at strike rates near or even over 100. The last 10 overs should bring a lot of runs due to the combination of Haider, Iftikhar, and Azam Khan. We learned last time that posting scores of 300+ is fundamental, because the bowlers will need runs to play with.

I see one counter-argument with what I've said, being the exclusion of Shadab Khan. England pitches don't tend to spin much, and while that argument is correct, Shadab is in a very confusing state. He's half a batsman, and has regressed to becoming 3/4ths of a bowler. What I mean is that his batting performances are below par for an all-rounder, what his averages will tell you, whereas his bowling statistics in recent times are below par compared with a genuine front-line spinner. He's caught between two minds, and he needs to make his decision soon. The decision he makes will determine his own future, because if he goes down the line of a batting all-rounder, he should be sent into domestic to show if he can even bat to the level we expect. That could take months, and Iftikhar or another domestic batting all-rounder would have solidified and taken the spot for themselves. A lot of posters of Shadab will criticize me for what I've said, and I don't like saying it either. I think that he's a really good talent and something to look forward to, but his decision to slowly convert himself into an all-rounder is starting to show on his bowling, and I will never compromise a frontline spinner, they are crucial.

Your tail’s the same as mine! You just swapped Qadir with Shaheen number wise and subbed Shadab for Azam (if anything, Shadab has greater staying power at the wicket right now)

 

[Thunderbolt14]

By the way Qadir can bat. He’s an ODI number 9. Better than Shaheen

 

[UzmanBeast]

Your tail’s the same as mine! You just swapped Qadir with Shaheen number wise and subbed Shadab for Azam (if anything, Shadab has greater staying power at the wicket right now)

Shadab might have better staying power, but he is not an ideal finishing batsman. I don't back Shadab to be of use when the team needs 84 from 41, a situation where Azam Khan could perform well.

Statistically speaking, if you go by List A statistics, Shadab averages around 26 with a strike rate of the mid 70s. Azam Khan almost averages 30 with a strike rate of 130. That's the difference, I'd rather have Azam than Shadab.

Secondly, Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Haris, and Iftikhar all have FC averages of near 50 or more. Danish Aziz is there for support and can finish games well, though Imad Wasim is also a good option.

I left a detailed explanation on dropping Shadab, meaning that Qadir would be of better use.

In your XI, you were playing Faheem Ashraf at 6, when he has a List A average of 16.4.

Let's be honest, we're highly likely to play the same XI we played against Zimbabwe in England, unless there is a sudden spark in the management to try new players.

 

[shamaan]

Personally, I think that playing Haider at 3 is not his natural position, because he finds it hard to restrain himself from going at poor deliveries.

We all know that he can hit the long ball, so I'd rather have him start at 4 or 5 and really strengthen that middle order. That move would allow someone like Shadab (though he is not a good T20 batsman IMO) to move up to 3 as maybe a pinch-hitter or a player who holds on and bats with a good strike rate.

Saud Shakeel might be able to replace Haris, but it would not be much of an improvement in my opinion. After 69 games, Saud only has 4 List A centuries and 18 half-centuries. Similarly, in 42 ODI games, Haris has 2 centuries and 14 half centuries. Saud is marginally better but he also lacks the ability to convert his 50s into centuries, so he won't really be a match-winner, just a very consistent player in the MO.

Danish Aziz is really impressing me, and though he takes some time to start his innings, I think that we can consider him in the middle order in ODI and T20I. If we play Azam Khan, we can potentially bring in Danish Aziz to play a sort of role Suresh Raina played for India. I really want him to play at least 50 List A games and then assess his stats from then. If by that time he has an average of 40 or above 35 with a SR of near 100, we should really look to him because he could be really useful in run chases and if some hitting is needed.

Khushdil is far to one-dimensional as a player. There were a lot of deliveries in that New Zealand series that were hittable, heck he could have driven along the ground and gotten the runs needed. Unless you bowl in his arc, and on his pads, he won't pose a threat. The delivery that angles across him is such a big weakness for him, and I doubt that he will fix that any time soon. Most players who have a similar problem like this learn how to hit it down the ground, and develop some good cut shots and drives, but Khushdil doesn't do any of that, instead, I see him waiting for the bad ball. I think that he needs to go to the NHPC and work on his off-side game with Mohammad Yousuf.

Rohail has decent stats but doesn't fit the role of a modern day wicket keeper. Look at all teams, their keepers are either explosive or very reliable. India have Rishabh Pant, England has Buttler, South Africa have De Kock, Australia have Alex Carey, New Zealand have Seifert and Latham.

The point is, someone like Azam Khan is crucial for our team given that we have a lot of players who are consistent, but a lack of players who can finish games.

A squad like the one below is the best one when considering modern cricket IMO (ODI):

Sharjeel Khan
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Danish Aziz
Iftikhar Ahmed
Azam Khan
Shadab Khan
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

That squad contains a mixture of 2 very consistent batsmen (Imam and Babar), along with another formidable and consistent batsman in Haris Sohail. Sharjeel Khan will make sure that our powerplay is utilized, and if he can bat for long, he can really punish the opposition. Danish Aziz and Iftikhar Ahmed will have to be good components in setting and chasing targets, because both will have to build off of the platform set by the top 4. Both can hit the ball and have different strengths and areas where they are confident in. Azam Khan and Shadab Khan will slot down below to ensure that finishing games remains within our game, along with some late hitting if needed when we are setting targets. Hasan Ali's inclusion would mean that there would also be some extra batting.

The only downside to this team is that Usman Qadir can't slot in, but if our batting order can show that they are consistent and reliable, we can drop Shadab for Usman Qadir as Usman is a far better bowler.

The fact that Iftikhar, Haris, and Danish can bowl a bit is also really good, because part-timers are under utilized in ODI cricket.

That's where we should be looking at in the next few years, and the obvious exclusion is Haider Ali. That's because it's too early to bring him into the ODI setup in my opinion, and frankly, we don't really need him to be successful for the next few years. When Sharjeel's time comes, I'll definitely replace him with Haider, and Saud can then come in when Haris's time also comes.

Bearing in mind his ability of haider he should be batting in the top 4 same as peshawar and nothern.


no way Shadab should be batting in the top 4 in odis.


Danish aziz needs to give consistent performance in pakistan cup and psl but he does look good with a top notch temperment and hits both sides of the wicket.

Saud is a much better fielder .harris is a liability in the field.

Am willing to give Khushdil a few more opportunities to prove himsrlf but he does look like a leg side hack but occasionally does his offside.

You havent included haider becouse its to early but you have brought in danish aziz ?

My team would be for odis
Imaam
Haider
Babar
Rizwan wk/saud
Azam Khan wk
Iftikhar
Shadab
Wasim
Hassan ali
Rauf/husnain
Shaheen

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Bearing in mind his ability of haider he should be batting in the top 4 same as peshawar and nothern.


no way Shadab should be batting in the top 4 in odis.


Danish aziz needs to give consistent performance in pakistan cup and psl but he does look good with a top notch temperment and hits both sides of the wicket.

Saud is a much better fielder .harris is a liability in the field.

Am willing to give Khushdil a few more opportunities to prove himsrlf but he does look like a leg side hack but occasionally does his offside.

You havent included haider becouse its to early but you have brought in danish aziz ?

My team would be for odis
Imaam
Haider
Babar
Rizwan wk/saud
Azam Khan wk
Iftikhar
Shadab
Wasim
Hassan ali
Rauf/husnain
Shaheen

I don’t know about Saud being an odi player, I reckon he’s more fitted for tests but could be wrong.

 

[Khan12]

I don’t know about Saud being an odi player, I reckon he’s more fitted for tests but could be wrong.

Agreed like saud but he has no use in odis if he doesn't open. In fact i am of the idea of him opening. At 4 he just cant hit the big shots at all.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Agreed like saud but he has no use in odis if he doesn't open. In fact i am of the idea of him opening. At 4 he just cant hit the big shots at all.

We need someone who has aggressive intent and for me that ain’t Saud. However, he’s a great no.4 test batsman in my eyes all day. I reckon Kamran Ghulam could be a viable option as a middle order batsman as well as Tayyab Tahir as an opener who’s done quite well.

 

[Khan12]

We need someone who has aggressive intent and for me that ain’t Saud. However, he’s a great no.4 test batsman in my eyes all day. I reckon Kamran Ghulam could be a viable option as a middle order batsman as well as Tayyab Tahir as an opener who’s done quite well.

I have seen tayyab tahir and hes is a poor mans Ahmed Shehzad. I know saud is not a hitter but aomeone who can pierce the gap and plays spin well yoo which will be beneficial for next world cup. I like haider but he needs to get his game in order another option is Abduallah Shafique provided he gets games under his belt. Fakhar is history.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Bearing in mind his ability of haider he should be batting in the top 4 same as peshawar and nothern.


no way Shadab should be batting in the top 4 in odis.


Danish aziz needs to give consistent performance in pakistan cup and psl but he does look good with a top notch temperment and hits both sides of the wicket.

Saud is a much better fielder .harris is a liability in the field.

Am willing to give Khushdil a few more opportunities to prove himsrlf but he does look like a leg side hack but occasionally does his offside.

You havent included haider becouse its to early but you have brought in danish aziz ?

My team would be for odis
Imaam
Haider
Babar
Rizwan wk/saud
Azam Khan wk
Iftikhar
Shadab
Wasim
Hassan ali
Rauf/husnain
Shaheen

Danish Aziz has a very good record in run chases, an aspect of our game where we are lacking severely. Every time a team hits above 300, it is almost guaranteed that we won't be able to chase that target down.

I left out Haider Ali because in my opinion, he's too young and inexperienced to be an opener for us in ODIs. However, I don't like bringing Sharjeel back, so my first pick for the opener would have to be Fakhar Zaman. He's performed well for us, and I think that Danish takes a spot ahead of Haider because of the position he plays. According to what you said, we shouldn't play Haider lower than the 4th position, and I slotted Danish in at 5, so there isn't really an issue. He has almost 30 List A games, which is a much better sample size when compared with Haider Ali. Ideally, I'd want Danish Aziz to finish this Pakistan Cup and get as many games as he can. If he can raise his average to about 44 or so with a strike rate above 90, he'd be a really good pick for ODI cricket.

I mentioned somewhere else that replacing Haris with Saud won't make a big impact on the performances, because both lack the ability to convert half-centuries into centuries. However, Saud will be better on the team due to his fitness and fielding. However, would you still drop Haris Sohail who has solidified his position in the middle order, and is averaging 45 with a strike rate of 85?

Haider also needs to improve his stats in List A. Averaging 43 is simply not good enough even if you are a young player, which is why I'd wait on him. Either way, in my eyes, there's no open slot in the top 4 in ODI right now, so there's two options for a batting lineup:

Option A (conservative):

Fakhar Zaman
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Imad Wasim
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf/Usman Khan Shinwari
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

That's probably the XI we're likely to go with against England, because I doubt that the management will remove the likes of Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Fakhar Zaman from the team setup.

Option 2 (riskier, but in some ways better)

Haider Ali
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Azam Khan (wk)
Imad Wasim
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf/Usman Khan Shinwari
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

Each XI has something that the other doesn't. Option A goes in with tried and tested players who have put up some good performances, but the lower middle order is leaving things to chance, assuming that Shadab carries his T20 form to ODI cricket. Option B has more longevity with two new inclusions with Azam Khan and Haider Ali, meaning that if both don't fire, a lot of pressure is on the rest of the team. It now depends on what our management goes with, and I am predicting that they will go in with the first XI as Haider was unable to produce the desired results in the ODI series against Zimbabwe despite being given a lot of freedom to perform.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Danish Aziz has a very good record in run chases, an aspect of our game where we are lacking severely. Every time a team hits above 300, it is almost guaranteed that we won't be able to chase that target down.

I left out Haider Ali because in my opinion, he's too young and inexperienced to be an opener for us in ODIs. However, I don't like bringing Sharjeel back, so my first pick for the opener would have to be Fakhar Zaman. He's performed well for us, and I think that Danish takes a spot ahead of Haider because of the position he plays. According to what you said, we shouldn't play Haider lower than the 4th position, and I slotted Danish in at 5, so there isn't really an issue. He has almost 30 List A games, which is a much better sample size when compared with Haider Ali. Ideally, I'd want Danish Aziz to finish this Pakistan Cup and get as many games as he can. If he can raise his average to about 44 or so with a strike rate above 90, he'd be a really good pick for ODI cricket.

I mentioned somewhere else that replacing Haris with Saud won't make a big impact on the performances, because both lack the ability to convert half-centuries into centuries. However, Saud will be better on the team due to his fitness and fielding. However, would you still drop Haris Sohail who has solidified his position in the middle order, and is averaging 45 with a strike rate of 85?

Haider also needs to improve his stats in List A. Averaging 43 is simply not good enough even if you are a young player, which is why I'd wait on him. Either way, in my eyes, there's no open slot in the top 4 in ODI right now, so there's two options for a batting lineup:

Option A (conservative):

Fakhar Zaman
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Imad Wasim
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf/Usman Khan Shinwari
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

That's probably the XI we're likely to go with against England, because I doubt that the management will remove the likes of Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Fakhar Zaman from the team setup.

Option 2 (riskier, but in some ways better)

Haider Ali
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Azam Khan (wk)
Imad Wasim
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf/Usman Khan Shinwari
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

Each XI has something that the other doesn't. Option A goes in with tried and tested players who have put up some good performances, but the lower middle order is leaving things to chance, assuming that Shadab carries his T20 form to ODI cricket. Option B has more longevity with two new inclusions with Azam Khan and Haider Ali, meaning that if both don't fire, a lot of pressure is on the rest of the team. It now depends on what our management goes with, and I am predicting that they will go in with the first XI as Haider was unable to produce the desired results in the ODI series against Zimbabwe despite being given a lot of freedom to perform.

Good XIs for the most part bit I genuinely can’t take any XI with Haris Sohail seriously. He won’t last until the 2023 world cup fitness wise.

Even if he does, he will be a liability on the field.

Even if he isn’t, somehow, he has been out of form for a year and even been a little impactless in domestics (though he’s about to start batting for Balochistan as I write this, so he might prove me wrong).

Even if he is in form, he does not have the stamina to continue long after crossing 50-80 odd runs.

There are so, so many reasons to not play Haris Sohail (who I actually love as far as natural ability goes).

He’s just incredibly lazy, has no work ethic, chickens out of important tours, and is made fun of his teammates for sleeping a lot.

 

[naseem]

At least Misbah will no more near PCB set up....hope Saud gets chance it will give him exposure.... But Tabish is late on his career.........more poor performance lead to more droppings of Fawad Abid....

 

[UzmanBeast]

Good XIs for the most part bit I genuinely can’t take any XI with Haris Sohail seriously. He won’t last until the 2023 world cup fitness wise.

Even if he does, he will be a liability on the field.

Even if he isn’t, somehow, he has been out of form for a year and even been a little impactless in domestics (though he’s about to start batting for Balochistan as I write this, so he might prove me wrong).

Even if he is in form, he does not have the stamina to continue long after crossing 50-80 odd runs.

There are so, so many reasons to not play Haris Sohail (who I actually love as far as natural ability goes).

He’s just incredibly lazy, has no work ethic, chickens out of important tours, and is made fun of his teammates for sleeping a lot.

There's nothing stopping him from gaining some full fitness, and I was left disppointed by some of our players who came out of the pandemic looking like bowling balls.

He has natural ability, and in recent times has played well for us. I believe in the year 2019, he was averaging 50 with a strike rate of 90, which is very good for our standards.

If the rest of the team is good in fielding, we can just put him somewhere like third man where he won't be exposed too badly. However, he needs to improve his fielding, and will probably get a development plan from Mohammad Yousuf and co.

Let's see how he performs in the Pakistan Cup, where everyone is playing at good strike rates except for the likes of Shan Masood.

 

[shamaan]

Danish Aziz has a very good record in run chases, an aspect of our game where we are lacking severely. Every time a team hits above 300, it is almost guaranteed that we won't be able to chase that target down.

I left out Haider Ali because in my opinion, he's too young and inexperienced to be an opener for us in ODIs. However, I don't like bringing Sharjeel back, so my first pick for the opener would have to be Fakhar Zaman. He's performed well for us, and I think that Danish takes a spot ahead of Haider because of the position he plays. According to what you said, we shouldn't play Haider lower than the 4th position, and I slotted Danish in at 5, so there isn't really an issue. He has almost 30 List A games, which is a much better sample size when compared with Haider Ali. Ideally, I'd want Danish Aziz to finish this Pakistan Cup and get as many games as he can. If he can raise his average to about 44 or so with a strike rate above 90, he'd be a really good pick for ODI cricket.

I mentioned somewhere else that replacing Haris with Saud won't make a big impact on the performances, because both lack the ability to convert half-centuries into centuries. However, Saud will be better on the team due to his fitness and fielding. However, would you still drop Haris Sohail who has solidified his position in the middle order, and is averaging 45 with a strike rate of 85?

Haider also needs to improve his stats in List A. Averaging 43 is simply not good enough even if you are a young player, which is why I'd wait on him. Either way, in my eyes, there's no open slot in the top 4 in ODI right now, so there's two options for a batting lineup:

Option A (conservative):

Fakhar Zaman
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Imad Wasim
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf/Usman Khan Shinwari
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

That's probably the XI we're likely to go with against England, because I doubt that the management will remove the likes of Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Fakhar Zaman from the team setup.

Option 2 (riskier, but in some ways better)

Haider Ali
Imam-ul-Haq
Babar Azam (c)
Haris Sohail
Iftikhar Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Azam Khan (wk)
Imad Wasim
Hasan Ali/Haris Rauf/Usman Khan Shinwari
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Mohammad Hasnain

Each XI has something that the other doesn't. Option A goes in with tried and tested players who have put up some good performances, but the lower middle order is leaving things to chance, assuming that Shadab carries his T20 form to ODI cricket. Option B has more longevity with two new inclusions with Azam Khan and Haider Ali, meaning that if both don't fire, a lot of pressure is on the rest of the team. It now depends on what our management goes with, and I am predicting that they will go in with the first XI as Haider was unable to produce the desired results in the ODI series against Zimbabwe despite being given a lot of freedom to perform.

Yes haider should not play lower than 4 if he is to play he has to bat in the top 4 otherwise no point playing him.

But haider has played for u19s psl and some doesmtic games hes actuallh come throw a system.

Yes i would still drop haris based upon that saud and haris have similar abilities but one is better fielder by a mile and is way younger.

As for haider i would play him at 4 but due to not having an decent opener i would give him a shot at the top.if he had a decent opener then id drop him at 4 becouse he can play spin better than pace i think.

If i had to pick 1 line up that u was come up with i would defonitely go with option 2 as you have 2 decent hitters down the order in Iftikhar and azam khan in option 1 you only really have iftikhar.

But i would 100 percent drop haris sohail due to fitness

 

[Cric1234]

If you want some chance of winning high scoring games in ODIs against the best teams you need a batting line up close to this:

Fakhar/Sharjeel
Haider
Babar
Akmal
Haris
Rizwan
Imad

 

[ask_analyse_act]

It depends on who Misbah will play.

According to Misbah , this is a new look bench team.

The most defensive and conservative Misbah will not give chance to any one unless he is forced to do so.

The 11 for the first test would probably be

Imran butt
Abid Ali
Azhar
Babar
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Yasir
Hasan Ali ( wouldn’t be surprised if Tabish Khan plays , as the love for 35+ cricketers Misbah have)
Nauman Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi