Wholesale changes after World Cup performances are a recipe for disaster

[Hasan]

More than any other team, Pakistan has a past track record of radically changes to its playing and supporting staff after each and every WC. These changes have resulted in extended periods of uncertainty and lack of progress. And they have never delivered any long term benefits.

In comparison, other teams tend to use this period to review, analyse and evaluate their successes and failures and only make changes where deemed absolutely necessary.

In an emotionally and politically charged environment, like the Pak cricket team, radical change is a recipe for disaster. This results from lack continuity of strategy, fear of failure, political manoeuvring, fragmenting of agenda and a tone from the top that says - we rather replace than to help in achieving our objectives.

Pakistan does not need change at the moment, it needs continuity and stability.

 

[Shafi]

More than any other team, Pakistan has a past track record of radically changes to its playing and supporting staff after each and every WC. These changes have resulted in extended periods of uncertainty and lack of progress. And they have never delivered any long term benefits.

In comparison, other teams tend to use this period to review, analyse and evaluate their successes and failures and only make changes where deemed absolutely necessary.

In an emotionally and politically charged environment, like the Pak cricket team, radical change is a recipe for disaster. This results from lack continuity of strategy, fear of failure, political manoeuvring, fragmenting of agenda and a tone from the top that says - we rather replace than to help in achieving our objectives.

Pakistan does not need change at the moment, it needs continuity and stability.

When did they do that?
Most of the players are still playing.
Hafeez, Malik (Just retired), Sarfraz, Yasir U Akmal, Kamran, Shehzad.......

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Whether people admit it or not this has been Pakistan's best performance at a World Cup in 20 years. Yes even counting the 2011 WC where we made the SFs but in that WC we only really beat 2 good teams. The rest post '99 have all been disasters. In this WC we were good enough to make the SFs but let ourselves down by some horrific errors. But the wins deserve to be praised as does the fighting attitude of this team which is why I think its imperative that the core of this squad is backed to the next WC. This especially includes guys like; Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Haris, Sarfraz, Imad, Shadab, Amir, Shaheen, Hasnain.

For the first time Pakistan has the opportunity lay the groundwork for WC win by building a young new team. The ingredients are all there, the players are talented enough. All they need is time and consistent opportunities at the top level. And if we really want to move past the unpredictability tag and start being a consistent team we should give these guys the long, long rope.

 

[Mercurial]

We have to axe Wahab, Hafeez, Sarfraz and Malik. Wahab averaged 36, which was ok. Look at his age as well. If we don't axe them, then forget about rebuilding or winning WCs.

 

[Kroll]

We have to axe Wahab, Hafeez, Sarfraz and Malik. Wahab averaged 36, which was ok. Look at his age as well. If we don't axe them, then forget about rebuilding or winning WCs.

Exactly, no one is asking to boot out everyone, but these three with Malik already gone need to be removed.

 

[aukhan]

You have lost the World cup. What will be more disastrous than this.

 

[ARK Rafay]

This was the best opportunity for Pakistan to win a WC. Some real tactical errors and brain fade performance against West Indies ensured we finish 5th

 

[Saj]

A few tweaks here and there is what is needed.

What was a bigger issue was the planning, how player's were rested and utilised before the world cup which meant they were simply not ready.

 

[Mamoon]

Whether people admit it or not this has been Pakistan's best performance at a World Cup in 20 years. Yes even counting the 2011 WC where we made the SFs but in that WC we only really beat 2 good teams. The rest post '99 have all been disasters. In this WC we were good enough to make the SFs but let ourselves down by some horrific errors. But the wins deserve to be praised as does the fighting attitude of this team which is why I think its imperative that the core of this squad is backed to the next WC. This especially includes guys like; Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Haris, Sarfraz, Imad, Shadab, Amir, Shaheen, Hasnain.

For the first time Pakistan has the opportunity lay the groundwork for WC win by building a young new team. The ingredients are all there, the players are talented enough. All they need is time and consistent opportunities at the top level. And if we really want to move past the unpredictability tag and start being a consistent team we should give these guys the long, long rope.

People continue to fall into the trap of “this was our best World Cup performance since 99”. No it wasn’t. 2011 was clearly better where we topped a group with Australia, Sri Lanka (they were big contenders) and New Zealand in it. In addition, we looked like proper contenders for the most part.

The format of this World Cup where every team is in one group and they all play each other provides opportunities of a couple of upset performances. If teams were divided into groups like 2015, people wouldn’t have bought into the illusion that this is our best World Cup performance in 20 years.

In 2015, Pakistan has India, South Africa, West Indies and minnows like UAE, Ireland and Zimbabwe. There weren’t many opportunities to beat the better sides, but we did beat an excellent South Africa side.

Upsetting England, beating an out of sorts South Africa, beating New Zealand on a sluggish wicket and beating Bangladesh in a dead rubber doesn’t make up for getting embarrassed by West Indies, winning luckily against Afghanistan, getting pounded by India as usual and losing to Australia after having the game in our hands doesn’t make it our best.

It was an average campaign by an average team that at no point looked like a team that could win the World Cup. Our negative NRR, which is third worst in the World Cup sums up our performance.

 

[m.awais]

You have lost the World cup. What will be more disastrous than this.

There are 9 other teams as well who are going to lose the world cup. I dont think all of them are going to make radical changes in their setup.

 

[Hasan123]

Sticking with the same players is not the answer. People are scared of change.

 

[Seamer]

The core of the team is good we just need a few changes and also captaincy makes a huge difference with a good thinking captain I would go with Imad. This would be my squad for the next odi series:

1. Abid Ali
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Rizwan
6. Imad Wasim (c)
7. Zafar Gohar
8. Shadab Khan
9. Shaheen Afridi
10. Amir
11. Haris Rauf

12. Hasnain
13. Saud Shakeel
14. Khushdil Shah
15. Rohail Nazir

 

[hur rizvi]

No one is asking for whole sale changes but investing in Hafeez, Wahab and Sarfraz is going to be counter productive

Rizwan is ready to replace sarf. Wahab can easily be replaced by Hasnain or nasim shah or even shinwari for short term. HAFEez is just a passenger without his old bowling, so we can invest in someone like saud shakil who is a genuine bat and can bowl a bit

Asif ali is also not worth the investment and we should try maybe someone like Amir yamin

Also a genuine spinner needs to be groomed

 

[silentkiller187]

Hafeez sarfraz and riaz will naturally drop off sooner rather than later, my question is instead of calling for names to be dropped lets mention who is ready to step up because at the moment there is a reason we keep going back to Wahab etc.

 

[Pete Rose]

I would change nothing except dropping Malik and Hafeez from all formats. And give Sarfaraz the time to groom a captain with clear direction on what he needs to do to retain his place in the team

 

[Majid Khan]

I would bring back Kamran Akmal as captain and WK, to let Hafeez concentrate on his batting as he’s clearly the best batsman around and let’s not distract him with captaincy.

Meanwhile Fakhar and Imam should be sent back to domestic cricket to discover form for Fakhar and for Imam to learn to play at a decent strike rate. Bring in Ahmed Shezad and Khurram Manzoor to add some solidity to top order.
Babar Azam is a good player but needs to work on rotating the strike and needs to be dropped so he doesn’t become complacent , bring in Sohaib Maqsood, and for extra stability in middle order we have Azhar Ali.

Haris Sohail needs to improve strike rate, replace him with Umar Akmal.

As for bowling , need some quality and experience with Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and Bilawal Bhatti and youngster Rahat Ali.


And then add

Proposed team:

Mohammed Hafeez ( Vice captain)
Ahmed Shezad
Shoaib Maqsood
Umar Akmal
Azhar Ali
Kamran Akmal (Skipper)
Mohammed Nawaz
Bilawal Bhatti
Sohail Tanvir
Umar Gul
Rahat Ali

There you have it, Kamis Boyz, a team for the future.

 

[Abdulm123]

The core of the team is good we just need a few changes and also captaincy makes a huge difference with a good thinking captain I would go with Imad. This would be my squad for the next odi series:

1. Abid Ali
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Rizwan
6. Imad Wasim (c)
7. Zafar Gohar
8. Shadab Khan
9. Shaheen Afridi
10. Amir
11. Haris Rauf

12. Hasnain
13. Saud Shakeel
14. Khushdil Shah
15. Rohail Nazir

Imam out, Imam has been exposed for his selfishness and scoring selfish and soft runs to hog a spot on the team. He is blocking spots for youngsters who are willing to work hard and play for the country.

 

[Bewal Express]

The core of the team is good we just need a few changes and also captaincy makes a huge difference with a good thinking captain I would go with Imad. This would be my squad for the next odi series:

1. Abid Ali
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Rizwan
6. Imad Wasim (c)
7. Zafar Gohar
8. Shadab Khan
9. Shaheen Afridi
10. Amir
11. Haris Rauf

12. Hasnain
13. Saud Shakeel
14. Khushdil Shah
15. Rohail Nazir

Are you serious about Imad? The guy is a spin bowler who is awful at spinning the ball.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Are you serious about Imad? The guy is a spin bowler who is awful at spinning the ball.

He's a good batsmen and an economical bowler. What's not to like?

 

[Chokli]

1.Umar Akmal
2.Imam Ul Haq
3.Babar Azam
4.Mohammad Rizwan (c) (wk)
5.Haris Sohail
6.Saud Shakeel
7.Aamir Yamin
8.Haris Rauf
9.Shaheen Afridi
10.Umer Khan
11.Usama Mir

 

[dildilpak]

Exactly, no one is asking to boot out everyone, but these three with Malik already gone need to be removed.

Add Fakhar Zaman to the list - he needs to go back to the domestics & work out his technical issues. Has been completely found out.

 

[Pakpak]

The core of the team is good we just need a few changes and also captaincy makes a huge difference with a good thinking captain I would go with Imad. This would be my squad for the next odi series:

1. Abid Ali
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Rizwan
6. Imad Wasim (c)
7. Zafar Gohar
8. Shadab Khan
9. Shaheen Afridi
10. Amir
11. Haris Rauf

12. Hasnain
13. Saud Shakeel
14. Khushdil Shah
15. Rohail Nazir

Yes, let's bring a 32 year old opener in the team. (And let's be honest his real age is over that probably). So by the next world cup we'd be moaning again if he fails of having a failed 36 year old hanging around the team.

 

[Bewal Express]

He's a good batsmen and an economical bowler. What's not to like?

He's not a good batsman, he is an 8. He is not a good spinner, infact he is not a spinner at all. If you want him to lead the T20 then that is fine but not the OdI team.

 

[HGhazanfar]

With Babar Azam as captain I see Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad making come backs. Best to go with the below lineup.

Ahmed Shehzad
Abid Ali WK
Babar Azam
Umar Akmal
Iftikhar Ahmed
Khushdil Shah
Zafar Gohar
Shadab Khan
M Amir (Eventually replaced by one of Musa Khan, Mir Hamza)
Shaheen
Haris Rauf

Zafar Gohar and Shadab need to improve their batting and must be genuine contributors to increase depth


Bench
Saif Badar
Shaan Masood
Mir Hamza
M Musa

Development
Umer Khan
Naseem Shah
Hasnain

 

[rockyboy2018]

I think majid khan was being sarcastic there

 

[Amjid Javed]

Wahab, hafeez, malik, sarfaraz, imam all need to go for starters.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

People continue to fall into the trap of “this was our best World Cup performance since 99”. No it wasn’t. 2011 was clearly better where we topped a group with Australia, Sri Lanka (they were big contenders) and New Zealand in it. In addition, we looked like proper contenders for the most part.

The format of this World Cup where every team is in one group and they all play each other provides opportunities of a couple of upset performances. If teams were divided into groups like 2015, people wouldn’t have bought into the illusion that this is our best World Cup performance in 20 years.

In 2015, Pakistan has India, South Africa, West Indies and minnows like UAE, Ireland and Zimbabwe. There weren’t many opportunities to beat the better sides, but we did beat an excellent South Africa side.

Upsetting England, beating an out of sorts South Africa, beating New Zealand on a sluggish wicket and beating Bangladesh in a dead rubber doesn’t make up for getting embarrassed by West Indies, winning luckily against Afghanistan, getting pounded by India as usual and losing to Australia after having the game in our hands doesn’t make it our best.

It was an average campaign by an average team that at no point looked like a team that could win the World Cup. Our negative NRR, which is third worst in the World Cup sums up our performance.

Just because you downplay/label every win differently doesn't make them any less memorable. Fact is Pakistan won against top quality oppositions. A number of which were even in good form like: England, New Zealand, Bangladesh. And this Afghan team is miles better than any associate team in the last World Cups, they had India on the ropes. Also winning 4/4 was an impressive achievement. The 2011 World Cup doesn't compare simply because Pakistan didn't win many games against top sides. Just Sri Lanka and an otherwise strong Australian side on the decline. West Indies were practically minnows and we got hammered against New Zealand.

The tragedy of the 2011 World Cup is that eventhough we reached the semis we in no way deserved to win it because of our horrific fielding which cost big-time against New Zealand and India. When you compare that with the one horrendous performance against West Indies, it hurts but not as much as the fielding in that semi-final. That game exposed Pakistan biggest short-comings and how terrible they were in certain areas. In 2019 Pakistan learned from many of their mistakes and got better

 

[indianpanacea]

Babar(c)
Imad
Haris
Rohail(wk)
Saud Shakeel
Umar akmal/saif badar
Agha salman(batting alrounder)
Husnain
Shaheen
Amir
Umar khan
Reserves
Nasim shah
Shahzad
Hussain talat
Rizwan

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

People continue to fall into the trap of “this was our best World Cup performance since 99”. No it wasn’t. 2011 was clearly better where we topped a group with Australia, Sri Lanka (they were big contenders) and New Zealand in it. In addition, we looked like proper contenders for the most part.

The format of this World Cup where every team is in one group and they all play each other provides opportunities of a couple of upset performances. If teams were divided into groups like 2015, people wouldn’t have bought into the illusion that this is our best World Cup performance in 20 years.

In 2015, Pakistan has India, South Africa, West Indies and minnows like UAE, Ireland and Zimbabwe. There weren’t many opportunities to beat the better sides, but we did beat an excellent South Africa side.

Upsetting England, beating an out of sorts South Africa, beating New Zealand on a sluggish wicket and beating Bangladesh in a dead rubber doesn’t make up for getting embarrassed by West Indies, winning luckily against Afghanistan, getting pounded by India as usual and losing to Australia after having the game in our hands doesn’t make it our best.

It was an average campaign by an average team that at no point looked like a team that could win the World Cup. Our negative NRR, which is third worst in the World Cup sums up our performance.

It would hardly have made a difference which group we were in, in 2015. The team was absolutely terrible and one of the weakest in the tournament. Easily the worst Pakistani side in World Cup history. The South Africa win was impressive but we literally had just one big win all tournament. And the loss to West Indies was pretty embarrassing aswell, just as it was in this WC. Only this time the score didn't look like the scoreline of a football match; 1-4.

 

[Kroll]

Add Fakhar Zaman to the list - he needs to go back to the domestics & work out his technical issues. Has been completely found out.

Fakhar's got a good chance of being dropped just like Hasan, but these guys have shown enough that they can be considered for a comeback if they get back to their best. The other 4 need to go permanently.

 

[farazaidi]

I would change nothing except dropping Malik and Hafeez from all formats. And give Sarfaraz the time to groom a captain with clear direction on what he needs to do to retain his place in the team

Exactly ! I hope they select Amir as his deputy as there are clearly leadership qualities in him. Babar is too softie and Imad doesnt have a permanent place in the team

 

[RameezRambo_Fan]

There is no player on the team right now with "captain" like qualities. Being the best bowler or batter on the team doesn't necessarily translate into leadership qualities. You can be the best at both, and still not lead a group. So please stop saying Babar Azam or Mohammad Amir should be captain. They're not captain material and them being appointed as captain might affect their game (mentally).

The team right now doesn't have a captain, so don't appoint a new one. I say have it on rotation basis and see who picks it up well...PCB can then groom him.

As far as wholesale changes are concerned, the only two names I never want see ever again playing for the team is Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. The rest are a work in progress.

 

[dildilpak]

Fakhar's got a good chance of being dropped just like Hasan, but these guys have shown enough that they can be considered for a comeback if they get back to their best. The other 4 need to go permanently.

True that, both Fakhar & Hasan need to be dropped temporarily till they correct their issues.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Teams make the mistake of randomly removing the players. You have to pick players based on roles. As much as Imam has some support they have to look for another set of openers besides these 2. One is slow and almost crawling. Other one is technically woeful.