Who should open alongside Sharjeel Khan in the ODI format?

[Mr bloach]

my vote goes to umar akmal like majority of people here
give him free hand from word go

 

[Syed1]

What's wrong with opening with Shahzaib Hasan??

The dude has scored a lot of runs recently at 90+ SR. I'd have him open with Sharjeel in LOIs.

Because I have seen him bat and I'm not relying on just stats to aid me. He is the hackiest of hacks that I've ever seen. Awais Zia would be proud if he could bat like Shahzaib Hasan.

 

[saeed5646]

Because I have seen him bat and I'm not relying on just stats to aid me. He is the hackiest of hacks that I've ever seen. Awais Zia would be proud if he could bat like Shahzaib Hasan.

same was said for khalid latif look where is he now permanent in t20 squad and also pushing for odi selection

 

[Bilal7]

Sami Aslam should be given another go. A List A average of 50+ is nothing to scoff at. Sharjeel himself may get found out soon if he doesn't improve because English pitches are not as flat as the ones he's had the luxury of playing on.

 

[Statsman]

Sami Aslam should be given another go. A List A average of 50+ is nothing to scoff at. Sharjeel himself may get found out soon if he doesn't improve because English pitches are not as flat as the ones he's had the luxury of playing on.

English pitches aren't flat enough? How do you explain the recent scores there then?

Iirc England recently broke the record for the highest ODI total against a much famed attack.

 

[Hadi Rizvi]

Because I have seen him bat and I'm not relying on just stats to aid me. He is the hackiest of hacks that I've ever seen. Awais Zia would be proud if he could bat like Shahzaib Hasan.

That's exactly what people said when Warner/Gayle/Rohit came onto the scene. ODIs nowadays require openers to get their teams off to a rapid start of around 6.5-7 RPO in order to have a chance of getting to 300.

Look don't act as if all of our domestic players have been groomed for the international level. It's a fact that most of our players learn their craft at the international level. I'd say let's give Shahzaib a series against WI. He's surely not a TTF. Now that Azhar is almost set to be removed from LOIs, it's the perfect time to have a dynamic opening pair who can get us off to flyers consistently. I can't think of a more dynamic and big hitting Pakistani opening pair atm.

 

[Pete Rose]

Sami Aslam should be given another go. A List A average of 50+ is nothing to scoff at. Sharjeel himself may get found out soon if he doesn't improve because English pitches are not as flat as the ones he's had the luxury of playing on.

You saw the Pak odi series against England: surely you dont blv what you are saying.

 

[Pete Rose]

Because I have seen him bat and I'm not relying on just stats to aid me. He is the hackiest of hacks that I've ever seen. Awais Zia would be proud if he could bat like Shahzaib Hasan.

Its not as bad as you make it sound. The point is you need aggressive openers: so you have to scout the domestic scene and look for them

 

[hadi123]

Sami Aslam should be given another go. A List A average of 50+ is nothing to scoff at. Sharjeel himself may get found out soon if he doesn't improve because English pitches are not as flat as the ones he's had the luxury of playing on.

no way. He is way too slow. He was awful against England which pains me to say because he is one of my favourite players and there's no player I want to get a big score more than I do Sami Aslam

 

[Pete Rose]

no way. He is way too slow. He was awful against England which pains me to say because he is one of my favourite players and there's no player I want to get a big score more than I do Sami Aslam

I think he has lost his test spot as well. Sharjeel will start against the windies in tests

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Shahzaib when in form doesnt hack madly, actually has timing to go with his power

 

[Bilal7]

English pitches aren't flat enough? How do you explain the recent scores there then?

Iirc England recently broke the record for the highest ODI total against a much famed attack.

Exceptions, not the rule. Don't tell me you only started watching cricket post-2015 or that your memory doesn't allow you to remember events from more than a few months ago.

 

[Bilal7]

no way. He is way too slow. He was awful against England which pains me to say because he is one of my favourite players and there's no player I want to get a big score more than I do Sami Aslam

Yes, he was out of his depth in England but we must remember that he is a very young player right now and will keep improving. One poor series should not close the door on ODI cricket for Sami Aslam.

 

[DRsohail]

Because I have seen him bat and I'm not relying on just stats to aid me. He is the hackiest of hacks that I've ever seen. Awais Zia would be proud if he could bat like Shahzaib Hasan.

he is much better timer of the ball...better than awis zia,,,his fitness has improved..did u see his 171???he was tming the ball sweetly..

 

[Uzair Tariq]

Only Shahzaib Hasan looks like a suitable candidate. Scored a big hundred today in the National one day cup.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

any video of shahzaib's inns of 171 today.... looks like he will be the suitable candidate, PSL will give him more opportunity to crack into the ODI squad...

 

[srh]

We have Sharjeel, and we need a good partner for him

The choices are
TTF'S:1.Hafeez,2. Shezi, 3.Azhar, 4.Salman
New players:5.Sami, 6.Fakhar,7. Imam

All together there are 7.

Except Fakhar, no one can play as per the modern game.

Even Fakhar isn't good against pace.

If haris returns, middle order is already packed.

Can he play as an opener?

He has a good technique, good against pace and can even hit when required.

He can be a good partner for Sharjeel

1.Sharjeel
2.Haris
3.Babar
4.Malik
5.Sarfraz(C)
6.???
7.Imad

Sharjeel's partner should not be as crazy as Sharjeel. Hafeez is a very good candidate if he improves his batting.

 

[cricketInsight]

Sharjeel's partner should not be as crazy as Sharjeel.

Agreed. We will be hard pressed to find options better than Azhar at the moment.

Hafeez is a very good candidate if he improves his batting.

Hafeez is not going to improve especially at this late stage in his career. Better to use him in the middle order.

 

[Mamoon]

Exceptions, not the rule. Don't tell me you only started watching cricket post-2015 or that your memory doesn't allow you to remember events from more than a few months ago.

It is not a coincidence. Post 2015, England started to produce extremely flat ODI pitches because it suited their powerhouse batting lineup. We will see the same flat wickets in the Champions Trophy as well as the World Cup.

Seaming pitches in ODIs worked for them at a time when they Trott, Cook, Bell, Anderson, Broad etc. in their ODI team, but now they will be counterproductive.

 

[SaadAliG]

In order of preference.
-Sami( biased because I really like the work ethic and attitude of this kid)
-Saifi
-Khalid Lateef.
-Ahmad Shehzad
-Khurram
-Fakhar
-Azhar
-Shan
-Jamshed
-Butt

 

[Sarfarazian92]

People need to watch Shahzaib Hasan before commenting on him.

The definition of a hack varies from person to person but Shahzaib Hasan isn't a hack imo. The guy was hitting sixes over cover and mid-off with a straight bat.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

People need to watch Shahzaib Hasan before commenting on him.

The definition of a hack varies from person to person but Shahzaib Hasan isn't a hack imo. The guy was hitting sixes over cover and mid-off with a straight bat.

Shahziab is the Answer Bro....He's the Answer !!

 

[sarmad1983]

y is no one mentioning sarfaraz as an option to open the innings besides sharjeel?? the most important thing nowadays on flat tracks is not to see off the new ball but to punish the slightest error from the bowlers and put them under pressure. Sarfu did that so well in the WC.

 

[Syed1]

y is no one mentioning sarfaraz as an option to open the innings besides sharjeel?? the most important thing nowadays on flat tracks is not to see off the new ball but to punish the slightest error from the bowlers and put them under pressure. Sarfu did that so well in the WC.

I wanted Sarfaraz to be an option as an opener, but I realized it is just TOO much responsibility for one man.

He would be keeper, captain and then opener. He is good but he is no superman.

 

[sarmad1983]

I wanted Sarfaraz to be an option as an opener, but I realized it is just TOO much responsibility for one man.

He would be keeper, captain and then opener. He is good but he is no superman.

Physically it might be a toll especially if we chasing and hes already kept wickets for 50 overs but i still think, mentally, he'd rather give his team a great start and control the innings from the get go then to come in at 45/3 in the 15th over chasing 300+. what about if we are setting the target?? surely then he can open and have the rest of the innings to rest before he has to keep... one of my biggest grudges with misbah in odis was that he never promoted himself in the order even though thats what the team needed; i hope sarfu leads from the front...

 

[sarmad1983]

Physically it might be a toll especially if we chasing and hes already kept wickets for 50 overs but i still think, mentally, he'd rather give his team a great start and control the innings from the get go then to come in at 45/3 in the 15th over chasing 300+. what about if we are setting the target?? surely then he can open and have the rest of the innings to rest before he has to keep... one of my biggest grudges with misbah in odis was that he never promoted himself in the order even though thats what the team needed; i hope sarfu leads from the front...

Also, if we can find a decent ODI keeper/batsman; sarfu can play as a batsman/captain alone...

 

[yasir]

He is a middle order no.4 batter.

Babar and Haris should be your numbers 3 and 4. If you add Sarf and Malik at 5 and 6 then it becomes a very one dimensional middle order.

I'd much rather that Sarf is asked to move up and open the batting. That way we can play a dynamic bat at 6, or you can drop Malik, keep Sarf at 5 and play a dynamic bat at 6.

I don't agree, Harris should open in ODIs, I have mentioned my reason in the below post


http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...he-National-One-Day-Cup&p=9071678#post9071678

 

[TalhaSyed]

The balance of our ODI is way off at the moment.

No solid opener (Sharjeel has been promising recently, but let's see how he gets on)
No reliable power hitters down the order
No stable spin option

Let's look at the options we have:

Opening Batsman: Sharjeel Khan, Azhar Ali, Shahzaib Hassan, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal

Middle Order: Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail

Lower Order: Sarfraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Rizwan

Spin Bowlers: Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar

Pace Bowlers: Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Tanvir, Rahat Ali

I say after this tour - Sarfraz becomes ODI captain and make a couple of gutsy decisions that may or may not pay off - but at least they will give you a chance.

Sharjeel can open either with Kamran, Malik or Hafeez

Bring Shahzaib back but put him lower down the order to use as a power hitter. Also, get Amir to work on his batting - in recent times he's been our best chance of scoring quick runs down the order.

Give Junior a chance since he NEEDS to step up now for Pakistan

Something like this is what I imagine:

Sharjeel
Kamran/Hafeez
Malik
Babar
Umar Akmal/Haris Sohail (if fit)
Shahzaib
Sarfraz
Imad Wasim
Mohammad Amir
Sohail Khan
Wahab Riaz/Junaid Khan/Yasir Ali

From the players we currently have I think this is the best we can do.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Shahzaib is not the answer. He'll be worked over very quickly with the new ball. He might have a few games which will deceive people but eventually his deficiencies will start to show. Then people will start calling for his head and start suggesting more technically correct limited openers who are not the answer either.

However, Shahzaib is not useless. He can be an option at 5-6 when the ball loses its shine. Even someone like Latif is an option down the order on Asian pitches. But they're not openers.

 

[Seamer]

Why not try Rizwan as opener

 

[Syed1]

Shahzaib is not the answer. He'll be worked over very quickly with the new ball. He might have a few games which will deceive people but eventually his deficiencies will start to show. Then people will start calling for his head and start suggesting more technically correct limited openers who are not the answer either.

However, Shahzaib is not useless. He can be an option at 5-6 when the ball loses its shine. Even someone like Latif is an option down the order on Asian pitches. But they're not openers.

Number 6 is not always a "swing the bat and hope for the best" kind of a position. Often times the number 6 is coming in when the score is 40-4 (more so for Pakistan than other teams). Do you think Shazaib or Latif have the capability to flourish in such a situation?

If you have to play technically inadequate players then the only place they can play is in the opening spot where they can make use of not many boundary riders.

I'm sceptical about Shazaib and feel like he would be a major failure in ODIs.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Number 6 is not always a "swing the bat and hope for the best" kind of a position. Often times the number 6 is coming in when the score is 40-4 (more so for Pakistan than other teams). Do you think Shazaib or Latif have the capability to flourish in such a situation?

If you have to play technically inadequate players then the only place they can play is in the opening spot where they can make use of not many boundary riders.

I'm sceptical about Shazaib and feel like he would be a major failure in ODIs.

Yes, they're quite capable of constructing an innings when in their comfort zone.

 

[coy0607]

Sami Aslam should be given another go. A List A average of 50+ is nothing to scoff at. Sharjeel himself may get found out soon if he doesn't improve because English pitches are not as flat as the ones he's had the luxury of playing on.

Sami had his shot- he was not only terribly in ODIs, but seemed pretty lost in the test matches as well

he needs to actually improve before getting a recall

we can't just continue recalling players without actual evidence that they have worked on their deficiencies

 

[Hamza_]

Shahzaib is not the answer. He'll be worked over very quickly with the new ball. He might have a few games which will deceive people but eventually his deficiencies will start to show. Then people will start calling for his head and start suggesting more technically correct limited openers who are not the answer either.

However, Shahzaib is not useless. He can be an option at 5-6 when the ball loses its shine. Even someone like Latif is an option down the order on Asian pitches. But they're not openers.

Agreed. Shahzaib isn't convincing.

Another option is if Umar Amin could open, He also can bowl 3-4 overs.