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Why doesn't Sarfaraz Ahmed just open?

mastersaan10

Tape Ball Regular
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Runs
397
Many times, when Pakistan plays good sarfraz doesn't even get to bat as he promotes the hitters, which is the right call. But if you look at his stats, he averages 43 with 84 sr, which is very good. Imam is ok but lacks a power game, as his innings against Bangladesh proved in the Asia cup, he was set on 84 and still couldn't hit convincingly. Also imam averages 37 with 70 Sr against the good teams he has played against so far, just think about it Pak is chasing 300 in the world cup in England, do you really see Imam scoring at 💯+ Sr.

This way Harris gets to play who looked the best batsman in NZ and we use Hafeez as a hitter batsman, bc be can't construct longer innings.

Sarfraz
Fakhar
Babar
Haaris
Malik
Hafeez
Imad
Shadab
Amir/shinwari/best in form wicket taking fast bowler
Hasan
Shaheen

Fahim may come in for Imad if he doesn't perform but honestly this side would have a better chance of winning games than with Imam in it. I have no personal grudge against him, I like him but if a batsman does not have the power game after he is set then there is no use of him. We can't have a team of nudgers, and even then they don't strike at run a ball who can't hit when they get set. Imam needs to work on boundary hitting before he can play in Odis and also his pull shot.
 
Because he is a selfless player who has sacrificed personal milestones for the betterment of the team.
 
So playing as a specialist captain is helping the team? He could give the team some fast runs up the order, 20-40 runs in quick time which would help Pakistan more than imams 50 off 80 balls. Sarfraz's keeping is not that good that he can play as a specialist keeper.
 
Valid question but I think captaining, keeping and then opening the innings is gonna be tough and he will be fatigued.
 
Sarfraz is not the long term solution which he himself also knows unless we keep playing minnows.

If Babar wants to score more hundreds he needs to open the batting in ODI. Otherwise he will get stuck in the death overs trying to score a hundred.

Fakhar and Babar is Pak's ideal limited overs opening partnership. It also gives Haris the chance to bat at 3 and make the most of the new ball against fast bowlers.

Fakhar
Babar
Haris

A very strong top order in ODI's. After that Sarfraz could come in and keep the run flow going.
 
This lineup will score 300+ with ease in every match,

01. Sarfraz
02. Fakhar
03. Babar
04. Haris
05. Hafeez
06. Malik
07. Asif Ali
08. Shadab
09. Hasan
10. Shaheen
11. Shinwari

Bench:
12. Talat
13. Saud shakeel
14. Aamer
15. Imad
 
No. You need 4 specialist bats in the Top 4 in ODIs. This is not T20 or T10.
 
Dhoni could have scored 30+ ODI tons, but he demoted himself down the order for the betterment of the team and evolved himself into a legendary finisher. India had plenty of top-order players, so Dhoni sacrificed personal interests for the sake of the team.

Looks like Sarfraz has taken excessive inspiration - he has decided to not bat at all for the betterment of the team.
 
Sarfraz has a 43 average and unbeaten 101 as an opener in 9 innings.

I've been saying this for the longest time that Sarfraz is who you should open with Fakhar, He can play pretty quick too unlike most other options Pakistan have and it allows Pakistan to keep Haris at 4 with Malik/Hafeez batting 5/6 which is ideal. Hafeez is at his best when he's trying to score quickly instead of aiming to play a long innings.
 
We don't need a long term solution right now. World cup is next year, sarfraz should ideally retire from Odis after the world cup, as should hafeez and then we can build towards the next world cup with a long term opener. I don't want sarfraz to open so he has better stats, he needs to open bc there is no other better opener who can give us quick runs and fits into the team.
 
His average as opener is boosted by a hundred against Ireland, a 49 against South Africa where he scored the bulk of his runs against Duminy and a half-century against Australia in the UAE where he was sweeping pacers and got hit on the head twice.

He is clearly not good enough to open the innings. Let's not look too much into his inflated average as opener because of his 2014-2015 purple patch. Simply not good enough against pace and movement to be a long-term option as an opener. After the World Cup, he continued to open for a couple of games in Bangladesh but was getting bounced out.
 
He's simply not an opener, his ideal slot is 4 or 5 where he can milk the bowlers in the middle overs.

With Fakhar, Babar, Hafeez and Imam, there's enough batsmen who can open the innings
 
Why do people always insist on him batting up the order? He isn't good enough against pace and he has shown in the last few months he doesn't have the ability or stamina to bat for long periods.

Specialist captain for a reason.
 
So playing as a specialist captain is helping the team? He could give the team some fast runs up the order, 20-40 runs in quick time which would help Pakistan more than imams 50 off 80 balls. Sarfraz's keeping is not that good that he can play as a specialist keeper.

Wait...is he a specialist captain or a specialist keeper?
 
Opening, keeping and being captain is too much for him. I suggest him batting at 4/5.
Team for wc should be:
Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Sarfraz
Hafeez
Malik
Imad
Shadab
Hasan
Amir/Junaid
Shaheen
 
I think it's worth a try theirs no harm in trying it he opened a bit In the World Cup 2015 as well
 
One of the worst batsmen in the world right now.

Adnan Akmal is probably better with gloves and equally torrid with the bat for comparison.

Hope some miracle happens and we get an able captain and player for the World Cup.

Hafeez, Malik and Sarfraz have got to go. Imam as well, but he is the golden bhanja:inzi2
 
These are just the kind of threads I look for when going to sleep, nothing like going to bed with a loud laugh.
 
The line up needs to be
Harris
Fakhar
Babar
Sarfaraz
Malik
Hafeez

That gives 6 proper bowling options and our best bats in their best positions.
It is pointless sarfaraz coming at 6 or below. It is pointless hafeez opening in England.
It is pointless risking Babar moving from 3.
It is pointless having Malik facing pace, so he need to come in when the lesser bowlers /spinners are operating (ie 5)
It is pointless having Harris on the bench and he is our most natural player of fast bowling
 
Sarfaraz needs to bat at 4 or 5 because he is useless as a lower order batsmen. At least Hafeez has the capability to play the big shots. Sarfaraz can nudge the bowlers for singles and keep the scoreboard ticking.
 
No Sharjeel should open. Right now give Zeeshan a chance as opener as now he has sscored in domestic too so no excuses of not picking him.

Sarfraz should bat after Babar and Haris as he is best at strike rotation in Pakistan so probably around no 5 and should never come to the crease after 44 overs.
 
The only place where he can do somewhat better is at 4, but we have much better players for those positions such as Babar, Haris, Malik and Hafeez.

You cannot ruin the balance of the team just to accommodate a glorified nudger in the middle order. The only good thing is that Sarfraz is well aware of this and avoids batting due to this very reason.
 
This may well be one of those peculiar instances of an idea becoming more preposterous the more evidence there is for it. We know from the careers of Yasir and Abbas that when Mamoon tells us that a player's inability is "obvious," that player may well go on to greatness. Sarfraz has been very handy and innovative opening the batting in most chances which he has had at that positions, which is as much as anyone could ask of him. We also know that this "glorified nudger" has the highest career SR of any batsman in the Pakistani side, far ahead of the Akmals of the world, and is an excellent strike rotator, so it makes plenty of sense to give him as many overs as possible. If there are no better options, or, to put it differently, if we don't want to risk Babar opening, I'd say it is worth a shot.
 
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