Who is under more pressure to score in the 2nd Test, Asad Shafiq or Sarfraz Ahmed?

[GLORY OF '92]

Both have been poor for a while now. Ok Shafiq got a few 50s v WI and a superb century v England but still too inconsistent.

Sarfraz on the other hand has one fifty in the past 11 Tests which is horrible. He is desperate for an impact innings.

 

[Jan Sher]

Sohaib Maqsood is knocking at the door for his Test debut, while Rizwan can be the best option for overseas Tests.

 

[Hasan123]

There is no better keeper in Pakistan than Sarfraz, whilst we have some possible replacements for Asad. Although they have there weakness.

So overall there is more pressure on Asad than Sarfraz but I wouldn't drop either for the Australian tour.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Last 11 tests or last 11 innings ?

If it's 11 tests than its very very poor. We people did not notice it.


Meanwhile ,



Adnan Akmal this season :

7 innings 335 runs at an Ave of 67 with 2 hundreds and 1 fifty


Kamran Akmal this season :

9 innings 750 runs at an Ave of 93.75 with 4 hundreds and 3 fifties.



So Sarfraz is is under huge pressure to perform.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

From memory:

3 v Eng
4 v Eng
3 v WI - 1 fifty
1 v NZ

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

There is no better keeper in Pakistan than Sarfraz, whilst we have some possible replacements for Asad. Although they have there weakness.

So overall there is more pressure on Asad than Sarfraz but I wouldn't drop either for the Australian tour.

Sarfraz should not get relaxed. Ever since getting dropped Adnan Akmal has scored 5 centuries and 16 half centuries at an Average of 40 plus in Fc Cricket.

 

[Hasan123]

Sarfraz should not get relaxed. Ever since getting dropped Adnan Akmal has scored 5 centuries and 16 half centuries at an Average of 40 plus in Fc Cricket.

Adnan Akmal keeping wasn't the problem at international level, it was his batting. Haven't watched his innings at domestic level but he's going to have to be a better batsmen than Sarfraz to replace him. No matter his improvement I doubt he will have the impact that Sarfraz does in tests.

 

[NauV]

Last 11 tests or last 11 innings ?

If it's 11 tests than its very very poor. We people did not notice it.


Meanwhile ,



Adnan Akmal this season :

7 innings 335 runs at an Ave of 67 with 2 hundreds and 1 fifty


Kamran Akmal this season :

9 innings 750 runs at an Ave of 93.75 with 4 hundreds and 3 fifties.



So Sarfraz is is under huge pressure to perform.

You haven't noticed because even though he hasn't made big scores, but he has consistently made very very vital 30s and 40s . . especially in England . . so although I am not defending the fact that he is not scoring more runs . . he is making a valuable enough contribution consistently . . but he does have the ability to score more . . so for me . . he's absolutely under no pressure . . and unless his keeping becomes absolutely abysmal, for me he has earned his place for the next 10 to 15 tests . . he adds a dimension to this side that no one else does! He's a fantastic cricketer . .

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Sohaib Maqsood is knocking at the door for his Test debut, while Rizwan can be the best option for overseas Tests.

2 Fc hundreds in last 4 years along with batting temperament issues in Int Cricket and failure to play more % age of shots along the carpet and


" Knocking at the door for his Test Debut "


?????



He isn't even in the picture and forget about knocking at the door.

 

[Khan12]

2 Fc hundreds in last 4 years along with batting temperament issues in Int Cricket and failure to play more % age of shots along the carpet and


" Knocking at the door for his Test Debut "


?????



He isn't even in the picture and forget about knocking at the door.

The way he is going he soon is not gonna be knocking door of domestic cricket let alone test cricket.

 

[srh]

Both have been poor for a while now. Ok Shafiq got a few 50s v WI and a superb century v England but still too inconsistent.

Sarfraz on the other hand has one fifty in the past 11 Tests which is horrible. He is desperate for an impact innings.

Both are failures. If any of them fail in 2nd test as well then he should be dropped from the team; if Sarfraz failed then drop him for Rizwan; if Asad failed then drop him for Nawaz/Rizwan

 

[moghul]

Everyone not scoring runs, whether its Sarfaraz or Shahiq would be under pressure but not Yunis Khan. YK has no obligation to perform to stay in team.

 

[Mamoon]

Neither. They are not going to be dropped in the near or distant future.

 

[Bouncer]

Both have been poor for a while now. Ok Shafiq got a few 50s v WI and a superb century v England but still too inconsistent.

Sarfraz on the other hand has one fifty in the past 11 Tests which is horrible. He is desperate for an impact innings.

Neither...They both are part of protected species. All they both need is one good inning in a year to get picked up for next two seasons.

Asad already had given that in UK tour and according to some sarfraz had a great inning (like kamran hundred against India in 06 ) couple of years ago in SL so he is good for another season or two.

 

[Syed1]

We should let youngsters find their feet in international cricket before pressurizing them to perform....... oh wait

 

[Jabo]

The golden boy shafiq

He needs to know and learn

 

[Bouncer]

Last 11 tests or last 11 innings ?

If it's 11 tests than its very very poor. We people did not notice it.


Meanwhile ,



Adnan Akmal this season :

7 innings 335 runs at an Ave of 67 with 2 hundreds and 1 fifty


Kamran Akmal this season :

9 innings 750 runs at an Ave of 93.75 with 4 hundreds and 3 fifties.



So Sarfraz is is under huge pressure to perform.

I really feel bad for adnan..He was performing well but fell victim of politics.

 

[moghul]

Neither...They both are part of protected species. All they both need is one good inning in a year to get picked up for next two seasons.

Asad already had given that in UK tour and according to some sarfraz had a great inning (like kamran hundred against India in 06 ) couple of years ago in SL so he is good for another season or two.

Sad , but true. And in case of Younis Khan even that is not required, he can stay in team as long as he wishes to.

 

[salih]

Shafiq will be essential to the team once the big 2 retire so it's impossible to drop him. And you can't really expect score hundreds at 6 when Pakistan has the tail that it has (at number 3, despite the pair, he was averaging in the high 40s I believe).

As for Sarfraz, he's batting well, but he is throwing his wicket away in the 40s way too often. Neither are under pressure, they are both too important to the team to be dropped.

 

[Moiza]

Sohaib Maqsood is knocking at the door for his Test debut, while Rizwan can be the best option for overseas Tests.

There isn't a door for Maqsood to knock on. Mickey Arthur will never let a player like Maqsood with non existent batting technique play for Pakistan.

And sikander bakht has a better chance of debuting than Shafiq being dropped. The guy is a class player although he when he fails he makes sure that he does that in both innings. Either way there is no chance of Shafiq getting dropped nether does he deserve to be dropped.

 

[Abdullah719]

There are under pressure in the sense that they need to score runs, but I don't think their spots are under threat. Far too much has been invested in them.

Barring a long run of disastrous failures, both will (and should) remain in the team.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

I really feel bad for adnan..He was performing well but fell victim of politics.

Adnan was a average or below average batsman averaging in low 20's in Fc Cricket when he made Test Debut for Pakistan. His batting improved in his last 4-5 months of Test Cricket. Than he got a fractured finger and Sarfraz replaced him and performed quite well actually.

Adnan improved his batting further and the Adnan who was averaging in low 20's in his First 5 Fc seasons has averaged 40 plus in his last 4-5 Fc seasons.


There was no Politics involved.


Sarfraz is safe for now. I just said that He should not relax since both Akmals are performing. Sarfraz was Averaging 48-50 an year ago and now his average has dropped to 41 so he must pick his performances like before.


God forbid if Sarfraz gets injured I will pick Adnan ahead of Rizwan and Kamran because Adnan is a better keeper than Sarfraz, Kamran & Rizwan, has Int Cricket experience and is a improved batsman while Rizwan is the poorest keeper amongst them all and hasn't kept in 90 % of list A & Fc matches he has played in last 3 years for SNGPL.

 

[Junaids]

They are both pretty safe.

The biggest positive about the Misbah era has been stability and loyalty towards players - arguably a bit too much loyalty.

 

[MMHS]

They are both pretty safe.

The biggest positive about the Misbah era has been stability and loyalty towards players - arguably a bit too much loyalty.

So true - this actually is good for team bonding, which eventually results in temporary success; but inthe long run it actually creats a generation gap. Now, PCB is in a situation that they are almost forced to carry on YK, Misbah & even MoHa; as it's easier to justify their failure (after his horror show at CChurch, any young cricketer, would have carried drinks for rest to the tour, even if it was for 5 Tests - YK'll go to AUS as well for his "Experience" & "Legacy").

I do argue with you lot, but one thing for sure - if I were in charge, by now Umar, Babar, Sallahuddin, Haris, Amin, may be Fakher would have counted Test Caps in double digit. Hopefully, they'll pick 2 players in their mid 20s after the AUS tour.

 

[srh]

Adnan was a average or below average batsman averaging in low 20's in Fc Cricket when he made Test Debut for Pakistan. His batting improved in his last 4-5 months of Test Cricket. Than he got a fractured finger and Sarfraz replaced him and performed quite well actually.

Adnan improved his batting further and the Adnan who was averaging in low 20's in his First 5 Fc seasons has averaged 40 plus in his last 4-5 Fc seasons.


There was no Politics involved.


Sarfraz is safe for now. I just said that He should not relax since both Akmals are performing. Sarfraz was Averaging 48-50 an year ago and now his average has dropped to 41 so he must pick his performances like before.


God forbid if Sarfraz gets injured I will pick Adnan ahead of Rizwan and Kamran because Adnan is a better keeper than Sarfraz, Kamran & Rizwan, has Int Cricket experience and is a improved batsman while Rizwan is the poorest keeper amongst them all and hasn't kept in 90 % of list A & Fc matches he has played in last 3 years for SNGPL.

Good post. We should remember that Adnan Akmal was not selected on merit in Test team while Sarfraz was selected on merit in Test team.

But now if Sarfraz is dropped from Test team then it will be on merit. And if Adnan is selected in test team then it will be on merit too.

 

[moghul]

One Akmal ( Kami ) going great guns in batting but an awful keeper, other Adnan, the safest keeper in Pak but no so great a batsman. At current form, with his improved batting Adnan is not a bad option for tests only, if Sarfraz keep messing up his chances.

 

[The_Odd_One]

I think they are both under equal pressure. However, Shafiq is a specialist batsman with whom people have higher expectations.

 

[Junaids]

So true - this actually is good for team bonding, which eventually results in temporary success; but inthe long run it actually creats a generation gap. Now, PCB is in a situation that they are almost forced to carry on YK, Misbah & even MoHa; as it's easier to justify their failure (after his horror show at CChurch, any young cricketer, would have carried drinks for rest to the tour, even if it was for 5 Tests - YK'll go to AUS as well for his "Experience" & "Legacy").

I do argue with you lot, but one thing for sure - if I were in charge, by now Umar, Babar, Sallahuddin, Haris, Amin, may be Fakher would have counted Test Caps in double digit. Hopefully, they'll pick 2 players in their mid 20s after the AUS tour.

You can have stability and loyalty without creating a generation gap.

I would love Mickey Arthur and Inzamam to host a media conference and make the following announcement:

"The PCB thanks Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez for many years of dedicated service".

"We understand that we are reaching the end of this road and that a transition needs to take place to groom a younger team."

"Mohammad Hafeez is today announcing his retirement from Test cricket, and we thank him for his service. We can also announce today that Misbah will be retiring after the Australia series and that Younis Khan has graciously agreed to continue until the end of the West Indies series in May 2017."

"Obviously we need to plan better for the future to avoid several legends of the game retiring in such close succession. As such, the following selection policy will apply from 15 January 2017"

1. Only 1 batsman over the age of 34 can be selected in a Test squad for a position in the Top Six of the batting order.

2. Only 1 bowler over the age of 32 can be selected in a Test squad.

3. No more than three bowlers over the age of 30 can be selected in a Test squad.

4. All Test squads are to feature at least one quick bowling all-rounder and at least one spin bowling all-rounder.

5. No player may continue to be selected beyond his 33rd birthday if he fails to meet certain consistency standards:

a) any batsman aged over 33 must make a half-century in at least 40% of his innings over the last three series aggregated.

b) any spin bowler aged over 32 must have a bowling average of less than 35 over his last three series aggregated.

c) any quick bowler aged over 32 must have a bowling average of less than 35 over his last three series aggregated.

 

[Junaids]

You can have stability and loyalty without creating a generation gap.

1. Only 1 batsman over the age of 34 can be selected in a Test squad for a position in the Top Six of the batting order.

2. Only 1 bowler over the age of 32 can be selected in a Test squad.

3. No more than three bowlers over the age of 30 can be selected in a Test squad.

4. All Test squads are to feature at least one quick bowling all-rounder and at least one spin bowling all-rounder.

5. No player may continue to be selected beyond his 33rd birthday if he fails to meet certain consistency standards:

a) any batsman aged over 33 must make a half-century in at least 40% of his innings over the last three series aggregated.

b) any spin bowler aged over 32 must have a bowling average of less than 35 over his last three series aggregated.

c) any quick bowler aged over 32 must have a bowling average of less than 35 over his last three series aggregated.

In terms of these parameters:

YOUNIS KHAN has scored 50 or more in 5 out of 19 innings in his last three completed series, and a recent interview confirms him to be 42 years old.

Younis is ineligible for selection having failed the consistency test.

MISBAH UL HAQ has scored 50 or more in 9 out of his last 20 innings across three completed series.

Misbah is eligible for continued selection, having passed the consistency test.

ZULFIQAR BABAR averages 39 as a Test bowler.

He is ineligible for further Test selection.

 

[Bilal7]

They're very reliable and dependable players usually and have played some outstanding innings for us recently so not under too much pressure. Need both of them back in form though.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Kami is coming.

Akmals should not even be selected even in domestics. The amount of damage that family has done to Pakistan is massive. I am pretty sure only politicians have done worse than them.....

 

[Suleiman]

Akmals should not even be selected even in domestics. The amount of damage that family has done to Pakistan is massive. I am pretty sure only politicians have done worse than them.....

karachi 2004 and dhaka 2014 has outweighed anything bad they may have done if ever.

 

[Amjid Javed]

With Misbah missing for the 2nd test both these players need to improve their game with the bat if we are going to have a chance to level the series. Shafiq in particular has been a major let down with the bat.

 

[Jan Sher]

2 Fc hundreds in last 4 years along with batting temperament issues in Int Cricket and failure to play more % age of shots along the carpet and


" Knocking at the door for his Test Debut "


?????



He isn't even in the picture and forget about knocking at the door.

His FC batting average is 45.

 

[Jan Sher]

There isn't a door for Maqsood to knock on. Mickey Arthur will never let a player like Maqsood with non existent batting technique play for Pakistan.

And sikander bakht has a better chance of debuting than Shafiq being dropped. The guy is a class player although he when he fails he makes sure that he does that in both innings. Either way there is no chance of Shafiq getting dropped nether does he deserve to be dropped.

It's not about technique always. Maqsood's FC batting average is 45. Better than the likes of Azhar and Shafiq. He deserves a shot. And Shafiq doesn't own a spot in the team, if he continues to be inconsistent, then he should be dropped.