Who are the non-deserving players that played the longest for Pakistan?

[Colorblind Genius]

Who are the few non-deserving players who you think played the longest for Pakistan? The players that should've been sent back into domestic after the few international games? The players that were cringe worthy with their international performances but we kept on dragging them?

 

[FreePalestine]

Number one: Kamran Akmal

Then maybe...

- Mohammad Sami, especially in tests.
- Unfortunately Asif Ali as well must be on the list.
- Perhaps, during certain periods of his career, Shoaib Malik.
- Imran Farhat ahead of Taufeeq Umar. Even Yasir Hameed could have been developed better. Not a good investment.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Shadab Khan for the last 3.5 years.

 

[Varun]

Oh, where do we start with this one, in this decade alone.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Asad Shafiq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Sami and Kamran Akmal

 

[Shoaibbtt]

- Asad Shafiq
- Azhar Ali
- Faheem Ashraf
- Asif Ali

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Oh, where do we start with this one, in this decade alone.

I thought the same.

Perhaps Imran Farhat is a good start?

 

[Tabishbeigh]

Shahid Afridi and Asad Shafiq .

 

[Mirpur express]

Shadab Khan for the last 3.5 years.

Lmao u need to get out more often *

 

[moghul]

No one can beat Imran Farhat in this regard, Hafeez comes 2nd.

 

[angrypathan]

Musa Khan tops the list for doing nothing to deserve selection in the first place.

 

[Mirpur express]

Asad Shafiq
Shoaib Malik

 

[Markhor]

Sir Faheem Ashraf.

 

[Zaz]

Shoaib Malik

Cant believe hes played 20 plus years, the majority of them as a top order batsman

How someone so mediocre could have such a career is still puzzling

The guys is a tailender anywhere wheres theres a bit of bounce or movement but he still somehow gets picked time and time again

 

[Rana]

Shadab Khan for the last 3.5 years.

Pensioners super league supporter. Don’t cry when you get trolled here now whenever Shadab Khan performs

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Lmao u need to get out more often *

Why are you all so blind? Shadab is garbage. His line and lengths are awful, he gets slapped against any top team, and he is sluggish batsman. I dearly miss the days of Ajmal, Rehman, etc. When we actually played a proper spinner.

 

[Rana]

Imran Farhat 2013 champions Trophy

Nasir Jamshed 2015 World Cup

Mohammad Irfan 2019 tour of Australia T20

Younis Khan 2015 World Cup

Shoaib Malik 2019 World Cup

 

[Forum363]

Emotionally, we all have players we dislike and will put forward.

But based on facts alone, please can someone explain to me how Kamraan Akmal is by FAR, not the worst cricketer every to play consistently for us in our history.

Check the records of the likes of Farhat and Faisal Iqbal and its far better than Kami but even they played a fraction of matches.

Add to that his atrocious fitness and terrible attitude.

 

[Kaddy]

Emotionally, we all have players we dislike and will put forward.

But based on facts alone, please can someone explain to me how Kamraan Akmal is by FAR, not the worst cricketer every to play consistently for us in our history.

Check the records of the likes of Farhat and Faisal Iqbal and its far better than Kami but even they played a fraction of matches.

Add to that his atrocious fitness and terrible attitude.

If your criteria is minimum 50 test matches then may be yes otherwise I have seen worse players playing for Pakistan. Kami was a terrible wicket keeper and should've been dropped around 2008/09.

And now can you please explain how Faisal Iqbal's record is far better than Kamran Akmal's.

 

[GudduBadmash]

Shadab Khan
Imad Wasim
Mohammad Amir
Umar Akmal
Shoaib Malik

 

[kingusama92]

There are too many.

1. Kamran Akmal
2. Mohammad Sami
3. Umar Akmal
4. Imran Farhat
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Rahat Ali
7. Asad Shafiq
8. Shahid Nazir
9. Shahid Afridi (Long Stretches of Poor Performances)
10. Mohammad Irfan
11. Azhar Ali (Last 2-3 Years)


That's just some of the names I can think of.

Also, Musa Khan from the recent batch is heading down that path.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Shoaib Malik
Irfan

 

[Hitman]

Rameez Raza. Possibly the most undeserving talent to have played cricket for Pakistan. The man has 2 centuries in 59 Tests, and that too against minnows of his time, Sri Lanka.

 

[ads101]

On pure performance, probably Kamran, his keeping was bad, and his batting average even for a wicketkeeper let alone one picked mainly for his batting was poor. Though I guess you can argue that there were few options.

Asad's record isn't exactly terrible, it's not 20s, but pretty mediocre. But he was playing at 6 a position you often groom a youngster, with strong middle order bats in Misbah, YK, even Azhar. And yet never 10 year of consistent test chances without being dropped. Pretty sure we could have picked a middle order bat at 6 who would have done better with those chances, even if there was a lack of batting talent in Pakistan. And that golden opportunity to be able to improve under batting with very good, experienced test batsmen in Misbah and YK has been wasted now.

 

[aloo paratha]

Faheem Ashraf. Batting average of 13, bowling average of 40. If only those numbers were flipped

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Rameez Raza. Possibly the most undeserving talent to have played cricket for Pakistan. The man has 2 centuries in 59 Tests, and that too against minnows of his time, Sri Lanka.

This is actually a good one.

Ramiz wasn’t perhaps a parchi, so it’s very strange that he played for so long.
He was an extremely poor fielder with a very bad throwing arm.

Perhaps Pakistan was at its rock bottom to find a pair of good openers and Ramiz was the only “andho mein kana raja” we had”?
Ironically enough, his last name is also “Raja”, so it fits perfectly.

Or perhaps PCB fell in love and got stuck with him cuz he also has an MBA?

Looks like this third class degree provides a great job security once you reach the Pak cricket team.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Umar akmal

 

[Thunderbolt14]

This is actually a good one.

Ramiz wasn’t perhaps a parchi, so it’s very strange that he played for so long.
He was an extremely poor fielder with a very bad throwing arm.

Perhaps Pakistan was at its rock bottom to find a pair of good openers and Ramiz was the only “andho mein kana raja” we had”?
Ironically enough, his last name is also “Raja”, so it fits perfectly.

Or perhaps PCB fell in love and got stuck with him cuz he also has an MBA?

Looks like this third class degree provides a great job security once you reach the Pak cricket team.

What do you mean Ramiz wasn’t a parchi? I always assumed he had backing because of Wasim Raja

 

[Mamoon]

Shadab Khan for the last 3.5 years.

Totally agree.

He is a clown who got lucky. Shadab is basically Saad Nasim with better fielding skills and much, much better luck.

A nothing cricketer who is completely mediocre in both bowling and batting.

People say he brings balance to the side but he actually weakens the batting and the bowling at the same time.

Pakistan would be better off picking a specialist batsman or bowler instead of him.

He is the perfect player to ensure that Pakistan remains a 6th/7th ranked Test and ODI team while fans celebrate his “talent”.

 

[sindhiboy]

Shadab was pretty good in england this year

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Totally agree.

He is a clown who got lucky. Shadab is basically Saad Nasim with better fielding skills and much, much better luck.

A nothing cricketer who is completely mediocre in both bowling and batting.

People say he brings balance to the side but he actually weakens the batting and the bowling at the same time.

Pakistan would be better off picking a specialist batsman or bowler instead of him.

He is the perfect player to ensure that Pakistan remains a 6th/7th ranked Test and ODI team while fans celebrate his “talent”.

In Tests, I agree. In limited overs though, he is the perfect second spinner.

 

[Mobashir]

There are lot of names but the first that comes to mind :

Younis Khan the One day player. He played around 250 matches when he didn't deserve more than 50.

 

[Mesozoic]

Saeed Ajmal did not deserve to play 200 international games with that throwing action.

 

[Varun]

There are lot of names but the first that comes to mind :

Younis Khan the One day player. He played around 250 matches when he didn't deserve more than 50.

Younis Khan was a pretty up-to-date ODI player in the 2000s, much in the Jayawardene mould.

Its only after the T20-era took over did his flaws come to light.

 

[ChTab]

- Asad Shafiq
- Azhar Ali
- Faheem Ashraf
- Asif Ali

Azhar in tests always justified his position apart from last 2 years probably but still he scored a brilliant century in England this summer on a very tough wicket. Agreed with the rest

 

[ChTab]

My list is based for tests only plus I'm only 25 years old & started watching cricket regularly from 2004 so my list won't include players who played most of their careers in 90's.

1. Hafeez played 55 tests shouldn't have played more than 20.

2. Kamran Akmal played 53 tests, he was promising when he started his career but he was finished in 2006 but somehow managed to play tests till 2010.

3. Imran Farhat played 40 tests IMO he didn't deserved to play for Pakistan at all.

4. Shoaib Malik played 35 tests IMO he also didn't deserved to play for Pakistan at all atleast in tests.

5. Shahid Afridi played 27 tests the less said about him is better.

 

[ChTab]

My list is based for tests only plus I'm only 25 years old & started watching cricket regularly from 2004 so my list won't include players who played most of their careers in 90's.

1. Hafeez played 55 tests shouldn't have played more than 20.

2. Kamran Akmal played 53 tests, he was promising when he started his career but he was finished in 2006 but somehow managed to play tests till 2010.

3. Imran Farhat played 40 tests IMO he didn't deserved to play for Pakistan at all.

4. Shoaib Malik played 35 tests IMO he also didn't deserved to play for Pakistan at all atleast in tests.

5. Shahid Afridi played 27 tests the less said about him is better.

Forgot to mention Asad

Asad Shafiq played 77 tests he deserved to play 50 tests only, he did a brilliant job under Misbah playing at 6th but after his retirement he struggled alot when his position was changed maybe you can blame management as well for changing his position from 6th to middle order.

 

[silentkiller187]

People mentioning Hafeez, he’s probably Pakistan’s best batsmen in the last decade

 

[Colorblind Genius]

What do you mean Ramiz wasn’t a parchi? I always assumed he had backing because of Wasim Raja

Possibly.
But after Wasim Raja’s demise, it was quite less likely that corrupt folks at PCB would support Ramiz for so long.
But more over, Ramiz played under Imran, and Imran wouldn’t bow down to parchies.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Possibly.
But after Wasim Raja’s demise, it was quite less likely that corrupt folks at PCB would support Ramiz for so long.
But more over, Ramiz played under Imran, and Imran wouldn’t bow down to parchies.

At the time, the captain was chief selector. You make a fair point about Imran, but Imran selected Ramiz during his early days. I’m sure Imran saw certain qualities in him (consistent starts, even if they’re not blazing, a strong head) but am unsure Ramiz was the number 1 choice in the country at the time.

Ramiz continued playing long after Imran left, didn’t he pip Saeed Anwar often? I’m fairly certain if his last name wasn’t Raja, he might have been dropped earlier.

 

[Ismailtoca]

Ooh nice.

I'd like to do line ups. Test and ODIs


Tests (min. 15 tests)
1) Imran Farhat
2) Rameez Raja

None of these openers did anything noteworthy to play these many games.

3) Salman Butt

I never understood the fascination of Mr. Butt. I think just because he could speak English he was deemed the next best thing.

4) Basit Ali
5) Faisal Iqbal

Thats a solid 2 middle order Batsmen

6) Adnan Akmal
7) Kamran Akmal (wk)

These two WKing brothers. Kamran couldn't catch the ball (after '06) and Adnan couldn't hold a bat. Both of these guys played when Sarfraz could've taken over the reins. Sarfraz was actually good until recently.

8) Shahid Afridi

I just dont understand the fascination with Shahid bhai.

9) Rahat Ali

Cant field at all. Okish bowler. Losing Asif and Aamer in one go really cost us. Honest trier though.

10) Zulfiqar Babar

He played only a few games, and was good in a couple. However, Yasir Shah would've been much better especially since Zulfi averaged near 40 with the ball.

11) Muhammad Sami

Good One Day bowler. Terrible Test Match bowler. But played tests because of one day form, and was dropped in one days because he couldn't buy a wicket in test matches.

 

[Ismailtoca]

ODIs (min 15)

1) Imran Nazir
Good batsman when he began but never actually improved.

2) Imran Farhat
If only your father in law wasn't a chief selector

3) Younis Khan
4) Asad Shafiq

Good Test players - horrible in ODIs.

5) Hasan Raza

He started waaay too young. Maybe a couple more years to mature in domestics would've done him good.

6) Faisal Iqbal
7) Faheem Ashraf

Faheem could still be a good player. Just needs some time in domestics + coaching.

8) Azhar Mahmood
Good Test player. Not so great at one days.

9) Yasir Shah
Good test bowler (except for the past 2 years) Horrible one day bowler

10) Danish Kaneria
Good test bowler. Horrible one day bowler

11) Tauseef Ahmed
The player at the other end of the Miandad six. Good at tests, bad at one dayers.

 

[CleverSir]

People going after recents seem to be forgetting, Shahid Afridi. Probably the root cause of this current trend of carrying non-performers.

 

[Ismailtoca]

People going after recents seem to be forgetting, Shahid Afridi. Probably the root cause of this current trend of carrying non-performers.

I agree to an extent. Afridi shouldn't have been part of the test team, and he played quite a few too many games in the ODI squad.

However, there were a few years where Afridi made the team.

He made the team initially in his career because our team was super strong. We could afford to have a player who could throw a few overs of leg spin and also increase the net run rate for the later overs.

He was also a good player circa 2005 - and made the team on merit during that time.

However, after say '09 - he was absolutely terrible and shouldn't have been in the team as he didn't make it in as a bowler or a batsman or even a combination of the two. (and we rewarded him with captaincy smh). We had difficulty batting 50 overs and he'd come in at number 7 and get out after 2 balls and not take a wicket all innings.

 

[Hitman]

This is actually a good one.

Ramiz wasn’t perhaps a parchi, so it’s very strange that he played for so long.
He was an extremely poor fielder with a very bad throwing arm.

Perhaps Pakistan was at its rock bottom to find a pair of good openers and Ramiz was the only “andho mein kana raja” we had”?
Ironically enough, his last name is also “Raja”, so it fits perfectly.

Or perhaps PCB fell in love and got stuck with him cuz he also has an MBA?

Looks like this third class degree provides a great job security once you reach the Pak cricket team.

What's surprising is he played 59 Tests back in a time when Pak team was actually good. It's one thing to get to play that many Tests when your team isn't that good.