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Who should be Pakistan's #3 in T20Is?

Who should be Pakistan's #3 in T20Is?

  • Total voters
    29
Fakhar and Babar could be interchangeable between 2 and 3.
Malik is the closest to no 4 we have in our setup atm.
 
Currently not in squad. Need to go to domestic and unearth someone
 
Akmal should bat there, once he passes his fitness.

This would have been the best T20 line up:
Sharjeel
Shahzaib
Akmal
Malik
Sarfi/Kami
Latif/Maqsood

Ofc, most them are not available for one reason or the other.
 
#3 is The Vital position. Should be a dynamic player. Hafeez and Akmal are not suited for this. Babar is a good #3 for ODIs but should open in T20Is. Babar isn't a good #3 in shortest format.


Ideally it should be Hussain Talat.

In this squad for WI, it should be Fakhar or Sarfaraz.
 
Hasan123 said:
Babar is fine there.
Click to expand...

yes babar is fine there ... just leave him at 3 in all formats... no need to change his position, problem is hafeez , he is finished as a player ever since mickey came in as coach, he cannot continue with his poor batting technique all round the world...His merry days of UAE has come to an end... Ever since english summer he is exposed blatantly... shouldnt waste time on him, as the CT and CWC is in england, hopefully the WT20 also will be in SA and WT2020 is in Australia..
 
ask_analyse_act said:
yes babar is fine there ... just leave him at 3 in all formats... no need to change his position, problem is hafeez , he is finished as a player ever since mickey came in as coach, he cannot continue with his poor batting technique all round the world...His merry days of UAE has come to an end... Ever since english summer he is exposed blatantly... shouldnt waste time on him, as the CT and CWC is in england, hopefully the WT20 also will be in SA and WT2020 is in Australia..
Click to expand...


Exactly. Babar is still learning, I'm sure he will improve.

Agree on Hafeez. I would rather give Talat or Saad Ali a chance . I'm sure 6 months under Arthur's coaching they'll improve.
 
Barragan said:
Akmal should bat there, once he passes his fitness.

This would have been the best T20 line up:
Sharjeel
Shahzaib
Akmal
Malik
Sarfi/Kami
Latif/Maqsood

Ofc, most them are not available for one reason or the other.
Click to expand...

Against good bowling attack this team will fail 4 out of 5 times..You need atleast one proper batsman like Babar in the team... if he gets to stay till the end to finish matches on his own, he will grew up with more confidence in WT20s too...He needs to make that a habit which is what im concerned of babar...
 
Babar Azam. If he opens, then Shoaib Malik.
Maybe Harris Sohail when he returns.
 
ask_analyse_act said:
yes babar is fine there ... just leave him at 3 in all formats... no need to change his position, problem is hafeez , he is finished as a player ever since mickey came in as coach, he cannot continue with his poor batting technique all round the world...His merry days of UAE has come to an end... Ever since english summer he is exposed blatantly... shouldnt waste time on him, as the CT and CWC is in england, hopefully the WT20 also will be in SA and WT2020 is in Australia..
Click to expand...

Babar should open in T20 and #5 in next 10 tests he plays.

They are being cruel with him at #3 in tests at start of his career. Unless of course if long term plan is to make him open with Azhar Ali.
 
Hasan123 said:
Exactly. Babar is still learning, I'm sure he will improve.

Agree on Hafeez. I would rather give Talat or Saad Ali a chance . I'm sure 6 months under Arthur's coaching they'll improve.
Click to expand...

talat is ready , should have been selected ahead of the hafeez... he is struggling to get runs against any bowler on any less challenging wicket.. surprised saad ali wasnt selected for the u23 squad even to go bangladesh...
 
Babar should be opening.

From the options given, I'd go with Fakhar Zaman considering we know exactly what the other options bring to the table.

Malik should stick to his #4/5 spot. It's ideal for how he plays.
 
Mohammad Hafeez.

General philosophy in AUS cricket is that your best player bats at 3 - Clem Hill, Vic Trumper, Bill Ponsford, Don Bradman, Lindsey Hasset, Neil Hervey, Ian Chappel, Greg Chappel, Dean Jones, Rickey Ponting, Michel Clarke, Steve Smith ......

Arthur is an Aussie now - he should follow the TT Aussie strategy : team's best player bats at 3.
 
Sarfarazian92 said:
People still underrate Sarfraz :facepalm:
Click to expand...

U opened this thread for people to select sarfraz is it... Pak need to fix their 3,4,5 with Babar, Malik and Sarfraz in LOI formats... Opening slot is still vacant, I will try haris as the left hand opener in LOIs who is good against pace , shehzad on his comeback quickly need to adapt and deliver to the modern brand of cricket...but still he has a long way to go fixing his dot ball percentage...
 
MMHS said:
Mohammad Hafeez.

General philosophy in AUS cricket is that your best player bats at 3 - Clem Hill, Vic Trumper, Bill Ponsford, Don Bradman, Lindsey Hasset, Neil Hervey, Ian Chappel, Greg Chappel, Dean Jones, Rickey Ponting, Michel Clarke, Steve Smith ......

Arthur is an Aussie now - he should follow the TT Aussie strategy : team's best player bats at 3.
Click to expand...

yes and that is babar azam only...babar for no.3 in all formats fixed...roll in other players to bat around him..
 
ask_analyse_act said:
U opened this thread for people to select sarfraz is it... Pak need to fix their 3,4,5 with Babar, Malik and Sarfraz in LOI formats... Opening slot is still vacant, I will try haris as the left hand opener in LOIs who is good against pace , shehzad on his comeback quickly need to adapt and deliver to the modern brand of cricket...but still he has a long way to go fixing his dot ball percentage...
Click to expand...

No. But I thought people would've realized Sarfraz's worth by now. Unfortunately, people still prefer stylish players over him.
 
Malik deserves it more than Sarfraz. The former is a better overall batsman.
 
ask_analyse_act said:
Against good bowling attack this team will fail 4 out of 5 times..You need atleast one proper batsman like Babar in the team... if he gets to stay till the end to finish matches on his own, he will grew up with more confidence in WT20s too...He needs to make that a habit which is what im concerned of babar...
Click to expand...

No it won't fail 4 out of 5 times.

Sharjeel and Latif bashed the Eng attack.

Sharjeel even bashed Aus, Eng and NZ attack by himself.

Akmal has done well against most of them, except Ind.

Malik, Sarfi and Latif will handle the Ind attack of spin.

Shahzaib has improved a lot and can be like Sharjeel.

Don't need Babar in T20's.
 
Sarfarazian92 said:
No. But I thought people would've realized Sarfraz's worth by now. Unfortunately, people still prefer stylish players over him.
Click to expand...

he s perfect for a no.5 and should stick to that....dhoni also made good scores at no.3 but he stick to no.5 and it worked for him..
 
No. 3 is the most dynamic spot in the team. If I go by deduction method -

Malik is too weak against pace bowling to bat at 3, but more importantly, he is the best player to bat at 5.

Sarfraz has better range of improvised shots & spin playing capacity to bat at 4. Besides, as WK & Captain, it's too much to ask him at 3 - it might happen that after fielding, he is in to bat on 2nd ball

Kamran is short term solution - just that PAK has lost 2 hitters in the top. But, one shouldn't invest No. 3 for a 38 years old & 38 stone player...............

Fakhar is a hack - great hitter in fielding restriction, but even in PSL his scoring range became limited after PP. His best use is as opener, that too only in T20.

Ahmed is a specilaist opener, his spainplaying capacity & strike rotation doesn't suggest that he is going to do better at 3 than 1/2.

That leaves only 2 names - one is playing now & will do so as long as Arthur is there. Other one should have batted there from 2011 - Umar Akmal, but the ship has left the dock sadly.
 
MMHS said:
No. 3 is the most dynamic spot in the team. If I go by deduction method -

Malik is too weak against pace bowling to bat at 3, but more importantly, he is the best player to bat at 5.

Sarfraz has better range of improvised shots & spin playing capacity to bat at 4. Besides, as WK & Captain, it's too much to ask him at 3 - it might happen that after fielding, he is in to bat on 2nd ball

Kamran is short term solution - just that PAK has lost 2 hitters in the top. But, one shouldn't invest No. 3 for a 38 years old & 38 stone player...............

Fakhar is a hack - great hitter in fielding restriction, but even in PSL his scoring range became limited after PP. His best use is as opener, that too only in T20.

Ahmed is a specilaist opener, his spainplaying capacity & strike rotation doesn't suggest that he is going to do better at 3 than 1/2.

That leaves only 2 names - one is playing now & will do so as long as Arthur is there. Other one should have batted there from 2011 - Umar Akmal, but the ship has left the dock sadly.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the national treasure has occupied that spot and will continue to do so as long as he chips in with a 20 odd here and there.
 
Sarfarazian92 said:
Unfortunately, the national treasure has occupied that spot and will continue to do so as long as he chips in with a 20 odd here and there.
Click to expand...

Even that's mushkil laag raha hai these days - in last 15 innings - both in domestics & International LO, how many times he has crossed 20?
 
Impatient Pakistani fans. Babar is gonna become a gun t20 player at 3. Sarfraz is fine at 5 and Malik at 4. Those 2 aren't good enough against pace
 
Babar can be a better T20 player as opener. He lacks the power game and can utilize the powerplays effectively by finding the gaps and punching through point-cover region with his drives. Once the powerplays are over he can can capitalize on the spinners and string together partnerships with the incoming batsmen. If he plays 8-10 overs and scores 40(30) he would have done his job.

The other opener has to be Fakhar. As we saw today Shehzad and Kami are just not good enough for the modern game. We have tried them countless times and the result has always been the same. They are failures and will always remain failures. Players like them should be left to rot in domestic cricket since we have already seen what they are capable of in international cricket. The jury is still out on Fakhar and if he goes the Kami/Shehzad route then we discard him and bring some other youngster who is doing well rather than going back to TTFs. This simple logic is amiss on thick minded Inzi.

The best candidate for one-down in my humble opinion is Hussian Talat at the moment. The kid has shown what he is capable of and can strike them big when required. He has also displayed a keen sense of finding gaps to pinch singles and doubles which is a basic tenet of batting but unfortunately quite uncommon within our batsmen. Like Fakhar, the jury is still out on him but Talat can flop like no tomorrow and still do better than Shehzad, Kami and Hafeez combined.

My top three going forward will be:

Fakhar
Babar
Talat
 
Barragan said:
No it won't fail 4 out of 5 times.

Sharjeel and Latif bashed the Eng attack.

Sharjeel even bashed Aus, Eng and NZ attack by himself.

Akmal has done well against most of them, except Ind.

Malik, Sarfi and Latif will handle the Ind attack of spin.

Shahzaib has improved a lot and can be like Sharjeel.

Don't need Babar in T20's.
Click to expand...

not sure which akmal you are talking about, however both of them are terrible now..

Sharjeel was improving in his game which I agree, but shahzaib improved in domestics is not a certainty that he will score in int'l cricket too.. Anyhow both of them are gone for good 5 years if proven guilty..

babar is the only proper batsman you have and you dont want him in the team lol...

Yesterday's match was another example if you dont have a proper batsman who can stay there to calm things around and also can play proper cricket shots... he was striking at 50 initially then slowly and steadily picked up his pace to run a ball SR without any heart pumping slogs and inched the game towards victory...im 100% sure UA would have got out for his brainfade of wild slogs after Hafeez got out...
 
Babar at 3, it's not even a discussion. Your best bat comes in at 3, end of discussion.

In fact Babar at 3, Malik at 4 and Sarfaraz at 5 should be locked into all line up sheets for LOI until 2019. Stop messing about with the utterly useless Hafeez.

Line up:
1. Shehzad - he's back in the team and I would like him to get a long run in LOI's.
2. Fakhar/Kamran - Ideally should be Fakhar, as he can bowl the token Hafeez over too. But lets just acknowledge Kamrans form in domestic and PSL. Ideally Kamran doesn't make the team, absolutely shameful in the field after the whole sermon about fitness and fielding that was given before selection.
3. Babar
4. Malik
5. Sarfaraz
6. Shadab - I'd like to give Shadab an extended run here. We all know he can bat and at a pace. Give him this slot and let him do his thing. Not at number 8 once and number 10 once and at number 6 once. He's an all rounder, let him develop like one.
7. Yamin/Ashraf/Hammad/Whoever - The needs for a pace all rounder is clear and apparent.
8. Imad - can be interchangeable with the guy at 7.
9. Hasan Ali
10. Amir/Wahab/Ruman
11. Asghar/Usama (or third pacer depending on conditions)
 
aliasad1998 said:
Impatient Pakistani fans. Babar is gonna become a gun t20 player at 3. Sarfraz is fine at 5 and Malik at 4. Those 2 aren't good enough against pace
Click to expand...

Babur is not a T20 player...
check his %age of dot balls, 45%+ dot balls...
If included, best he can do for team...is to get out first ball...more he plays, more he wastes...

even on best batting tracks, he would score much less than the par run rate.
 
aliasad1998 said:
Impatient Pakistani fans. Babar is gonna become a gun t20 player at 3. Sarfraz is fine at 5 and Malik at 4. Those 2 aren't good enough against pace
Click to expand...

Sarfraz and Malik can't get a spot early unless the hack hafeez is removed from 4
 
Babar is fine at 3. Shehzad and Kamran will not be dropped after their performances in PSL and domestic tournaments. Fakhar should definitely play instead of Hafeez.
 
MMHS said:
No. 3 is the most dynamic spot in the team. If I go by deduction method -

Malik is too weak against pace bowling to bat at 3, but more importantly, he is the best player to bat at 5.
.
Click to expand...

failed in the PSL because of the number 5, he is a partnership builder and can groom Babar very well. Need both of them at the same time on the crease but unfortunately not in t-20's since babar is no less than a mediocre in this format.
 
ask_analyse_act said:
not sure which akmal you are talking about, however both of them are terrible now..

Sharjeel was improving in his game which I agree, but shahzaib improved in domestics is not a certainty that he will score in int'l cricket too.. Anyhow both of them are gone for good 5 years if proven guilty..

babar is the only proper batsman you have and you dont want him in the team lol...

Yesterday's match was another example if you dont have a proper batsman who can stay there to calm things around and also can play proper cricket shots... he was striking at 50 initially then slowly and steadily picked up his pace to run a ball SR without any heart pumping slogs and inched the game towards victory...im 100% sure UA would have got out for his brainfade of wild slogs after Hafeez got out...
Click to expand...

What do you mean by proper batsmen?

If you're talking about plodders, then Azhar Ali is by far the best proper batsman and would be the 1st name in the T20 line up.

Sharjeel also improved in domestics and did well, but kept on improving under Arthur.

Same with Shahzaib, he has improved and would keep on improving under Micky.

Btw, Malik's innings was better than Azam's.
 
This assumes Babar shouldnt open.

Babar should open but the next best spot for him is number 3.
 
For Me.

Naveed Malik. He has lost weight too late but is much fitter now.

He and Ali Khan are big hitters. Naveed usually opens or bats at number 3.
 
super hitter said:
failed in the PSL because of the number 5, he is a partnership builder and can groom Babar very well. Need both of them at the same time on the crease but unfortunately not in t-20's since babar is no less than a mediocre in this format.
Click to expand...

4/5 is similar spot in LO cricket. There are actually 6 different role profile in a LO batting -

Opener 1-2
No. 3
Middle order 4-5
late middle 6-7
lower order 8-9
tail 10-11

Here, only 4 specialist batsmen can be accommodated (can bat from 1 to 7 any where, doesn't matter - but specialist bat, who fields well) & just 2 bowlers who should be selected on absolute bowling merit (but not Ajmal standard fielder).

With the change in the context, 4-5 are the accumulator these days. For T20, there is not much difference in 1-3, while 6 to 9 are also similar. But, 4-5's role is unique even in 10 overs game - their shot productivity (100% minus dot ball %) has to to be 80%+. No point hitting a 6 & then consume 3 dots, with men on line.

Between 4 & 5 Malik & Sarfy are both capable, but I like Sarfy at 4. Can swap as well, but if some days No. 4 is to come at 31/2 - I won't back Malik against 2 balls.
 
Barragan said:
What do you mean by proper batsmen?

If you're talking about plodders, then Azhar Ali is by far the best proper batsman and would be the 1st name in the T20 line up.

Sharjeel also improved in domestics and did well, but kept on improving under Arthur.

Same with Shahzaib, he has improved and would keep on improving under Micky.

Btw, Malik's innings was better than Azam's.
Click to expand...

Proper batsman is the one who can play pace and spin comfortably. Also doesn't have to slog wild or open up show all your wickets before the bowler even lands to bowl to hit a boundary shot. Is he the one who can easily get a boundary at will with proper cricket shots and less to no risk.
Well your choice deserve to have UA at #3 , accompanied by his failures, hope they have him for another decade to get vanished from the top10 ranking list
Players like BABAR shouldn't be playing for pak, if he is to be valued much lesser than SLOGGY UA and SLOPPY shahzaib
 
Last edited:
Ideally Zaman but if he isn't in the team than I would go with Sarfaraz at 3.If Sarfaraz is going to be in the T20 side , he needs to bat in the top 4.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
For Me.

Naveed Malik. He has lost weight too late but is much fitter now.

He and Ali Khan are big hitters. Naveed usually opens or bats at number 3.
Click to expand...

Ali Khan is not good against pace. But brutal against medium pace and spin.
 
Good aggressive opener as no 3 - Zaman is my choice
 
Babar should open, Sarfraz should bat at 3. though i reckon we should be fluid with the batting order
 
ask_analyse_act said:
Proper batsman is the one who can play pace and spin comfortably. Also doesn't have to slog wild or open up show all your wickets before the bowler even lands to bowl to hit a boundary shot. Is he the one who can easily get a boundary at will with proper cricket shots and less to no risk.
Well your choice deserve to have UA at #3 , accompanied by his failures, hope they have him for another decade to get vanished from the top10 ranking list
Players like BABAR shouldn't be playing for pak, if he is to be valued much lesser than SLOGGY UA and SLOPPY shahzaib
Click to expand...

Babar has struggled against spin, so there goes your theory of proper batsmen.

His own franchise made him open and Micky himself was the coach.

Clearly, there is a reason why he didn't bat for KK at no. 3, despite being a proper batsman.

Sloggy and sloppy are better.
 
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