Why exactly was Shaheen Shah Afridi preferred over Shadab Khan?

[MenInG]

Crucial game, and your best spinner is missing!

How could we make such a huge mistake?

I understand that the pitch is green etc but you have Wahab, Amir and Hasan Ali in your ranks, why throw in Shaheen into the cauldron at such an important time?

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

The bigger question is why did they pick such an inexperienced player for the WC?

 

[KyoOne]

It was the right choice. The pitch had life in it for the seamers, especially first 10-15 overs.

The issue is bowling coach. What kind of instructions did Azhar Mahmood give to the young opening bowler, who instead of bowling full and off-stump/just outside offstump, banged it in for 11 balls out of 12 with fresh red cherry?

That APPROACH removed all pressure Amir was generating at the other end, who was bowling perfect length.

Seriously, Azhar Mahmood has been a great let-down.

 

[Rana]

Only a country like Pakistan has the guts to throw teenagers into the deep end expecting them to swim soon.

This has just turned out to be a failure ploy. Not every teenager is Inzimam, Wasim Akram or dare I say Shahid Afridi. Not every captain is Imran Khan

 

[Omer2002]

it was the right choice...aussies dropped zampa didnt they

 

[PakLFC]

Don't know what they were thinking. It is such a one dimensional attack with three left arm pacemen. Hafeez the only spinner being slaughtered like no one's business. It could be a political decision seeing how Pak Cricket in heavily influenced from behind the scenes. We could be chasing an unachievable 400 plus here.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

Azhar M should be sacked, a trundled by profession teaching his trundling skills

 

[Markhor]

I cannot fathom why a fast bowler would bang the ball in short on a damp pitch.

 

[Abid Z]

It was the right idea. With all the left handlers in the Aussie team, hafeez is likely to be as effective as shadab could have been. Shaheen has understood after the first couple of overs to pitch it up and he’s bowled some threatening balls, though too many pies. But you expect him to do batter later. It is his first wc match.

 

[PakWC'11Champs]

It was a weird call.
Shadab and Amir have proven to be a great combination.

Probably thought Hafeez and Malik could provide some spin.

Big mistake.

 

[KyoOne]

I cannot fathom why a fast bowler would bang the ball in short on a damp pitch.

He's amateur, needs proper guidance. And there is no quality guide in the dressing-room unfortunately.

 

[aloo paratha]

Shadab bowled so well last game and now he gets dropped? Insane decision.

 

[sadida97]

Don't mind the decision… they tried to take a risk but it didn't work out

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I cannot fathom why a fast bowler would bang the ball in short on a damp pitch.

Neither could the think tank clearly. They will get slaughtered for making this decision, but there was juice in the wicket if you have a bowler who can even put half the balls in the right areas. You just can't legislate for such awful bowling.

 

[IMMY69]

I would have picked Shadab 10 out of 10 times, irrespective of the wicket.

I've said this so many times but I truly believe that he was the missing link in our team..Not just for bowling, but batting and fielding too.. of course more so for the bowling and fielding...

Shaheen has been bowling too short throughout the England series and clearly lacks experience.

 

[Ram Shekhar]

4 pacers is justified on this pitch. Shaheen has been woeful but that's another story.

 

[mosh101]

Bizarre decision, one that will prove very costly.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Bizarre decision, one that will prove very costly.

Assuming Shadab wouldn't have been clobbered as well. I think he would to be honest.

 

[LordJames]

Malik should been dropped for Shadab, taking a chance with Shaheen is fine.

 

[aukhan]

Typical Pakistan, as soon as they see the pitch is green, they drop their spinners.

Idiotic Sarfraz.

 

[Khan12]

Hasan should have been dropped for Shaheen not Shadab.

 

[MenInG]

I would have picked Shadab 10 out of 10 times, irrespective of the wicket.

I've said this so many times but I truly believe that he was the missing link in our team..Not just for bowling, but batting and fielding too.. of course more so for the bowling and fielding...

Shaheen has been bowling too short throughout the England series and clearly lacks experience.

You pick your best bowlers. We are not at that level of sophistication that we can pick bowlers based upon pitch type

 

[sjahmed23]

Only a country like Pakistan has the guts to throw teenagers into the deep end expecting them to swim soon.

This has just turned out to be a failure ploy. Not every teenager is Inzimam, Wasim Akram or dare I say Shahid Afridi. Not every captain is Imran Khan

Afridi was not a teenager, others Im not so sure about either.

 

[asfandyar]

4 pacers is justified on this pitch. Shaheen has been woeful but that's another story.

How is that another story when the 4th pace IS Shaheen?

 

[Ram Shekhar]

How is that another story when the 4th pace IS Shaheen?

Well Shaheen got Maxwell out and almost got Warner only for slip not to be there...

 

[bujhee kom]

He has potential. One for the future.

 

[Majid Khan]

The ‘old’ Shaheen looked so promising - what happened to that kid? This new kid is not the same bowler, neither the same pace or same attacking mindset - he looks scared and bowling a poor length that is just asking to be whacked.

 

[asfandyar]

Well Shaheen got Maxwell out and almost got Warner only for slip not to be there...

Hindsight. Still 58/1 after 8 is pathetic.

 

[asfandyar]

He has potential. One for the future.

Then I'd play him in the future. Never in the present.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Is there any doubt left that Mickey is the worst coach Pakistan ever had?

Dropping a leg spinner against Australia is just plain stupid.

 

[sadida97]

shaheen shah afridi vs hasan ali

Both have been expensive today…


Who would you drop for the next match?

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Shaheen was much better. He came back well

 

[Rayyman]

Drop both, bring in Shadab and Hasnain

 

[Forum363]

I have to say, Amir was brilliant today up front and in cleaning up the lower order.

But Shaheen is the biggest reason Pakistan restricted Australia to 300. He was poor upfront but getting the wickets of Maxwell and Warner was the biggest moment of the match. Those two could have really really hurt us, and turned a 330 total into 380.

In hindsight now, dropping Shadab for Shaheen was justified.

 

[Abdullah]

We got away with it a bit. We should have played both.
Let's keep the positivity. We bowled them out, and raumtonnis know for high scores. They don't have a spinner either, and it's not gloomy like the morning.

 

[asfandyar]

Good second spell, but still doesn't explain why he was preferred over Shadab.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

He didn’t get a chance to clear up the tail in the England match and obviously missed out on the limited chances he would have had in the West Indies match
Still managed to pick up a couple today towards the end of the innings

 

[NauV]

I would drop Hasan for Shadab in the next game!

 

[Titan24]

I think overcast conditions made them to make such a decision.

 

[Mercurial]

Shaheen made a decent recovery. He is a wicket taker, should be guided to bowl good length or full mostly. Imagine if he had bowled full or good length on to the stumps, he would have taken more wickets. He should learn and move away from useless short of length deliveries.

 

[Mercurial]

Wahab should be dropped for Shadab in the next game. Hasan should be persisted with, as he can bat too.

 

[Abid Z]

Good second spell, but still doesn't explain why he was preferred over Shadab.

Because if he learns to bowl good line and length like Starc and Cummins he will be a phenomenal bowler when the wicket assists. Today conditions were tailor made for him but his inexperience let him down in the first spell.

 

[LordJames]

I would drop Hasan for Shadab in the next game!

Drop Malik for Shadab.

Simple

 

[Rana]

Drop Malik for Shadab.

Simple

I feel Malik was picked only for India v Pakistan match

 

[Rana]

SSA picked up the wicket which turned the game really.

 

[asfandyar]

Because if he learns to bowl good line and length like Starc and Cummins he will be a phenomenal bowler when the wicket assists. Today conditions were tailor made for him but his inexperience let him down in the first spell.

Huge IF. The bold part would make it true for any bowler.

 

[Abid Z]

Huge IF. The bold part would make it true for any bowler.

Yes but not every bowler is 6ft5 with pace close to 90mph with ability to swing and seam. He’s just a little wayward sometimes and pitches short but Starc was very similar in early part of career.

 

[asfandyar]

Yes but not every bowler is 6ft5 with pace close to 90mph with ability to swing and seam. He’s just a little wayward sometimes and pitches short but Starc was very similar in early part of career.

Needs 1 or 2 seasons in domestics.

 

[Abid Z]

Needs 1 or 2 seasons in domestics.

He won’t learn anything in domestic.

 

[NauV]

Drop Malik for Shadab.

Simple

I would drop Malik for Haris or Imad . . both are better batsman and bowler than him! take your pick!

 

[mastersaan10]

was a good decision if Shaheen had a brain. All you needed to do was bowl the top of off length here and no one was scoring. forget about the pace, amir was bowling 130s and australia wasn't playing him. Shaheen needs to go back and learn what to do with a new ball.

 

[asfandyar]

He won’t learn anything in domestic.

He should pay more attention then.

 

[shockbound]

it was the right choice...aussies dropped zampa didnt they

They did it because we play spin good. Australians are weak against it. Look at how Indian spinners choked them out.

Its too predictable now.

 

[shazia9000]

shaheen was awful in my opinion today

 

[dildilpak]

Sarfaraz & team management completely misread the pitch - there was dryness in the pitch which a good spinner could have exploited. Plus Aussies barring Smith & Warner don’t play spin well.

 

[Junaid_ahmed]

Good decision, there was nothing in the pitch for half spinners, though shaheen get smashed in his first two overs but he recovered well & took 2 important wickets.

 

[Bonafide Hustler]

It was the right choice. The pitch had life in it for the seamers, especially first 10-15 overs.

The issue is bowling coach. What kind of instructions did Azhar Mahmood give to the young opening bowler, who instead of bowling full and off-stump/just outside offstump, banged it in for 11 balls out of 12 with fresh red cherry?

That APPROACH removed all pressure Amir was generating at the other end, who was bowling perfect length.

Seriously, Azhar Mahmood has been a great let-down.

No it wasn't the right choice. You are forgetting that leg spinners actually thrive on wickets with some juice, the ball zips through and they get that extra bounce with top spin. Shadab should have been an automatic selection and a leg spinner is invaluable on most surfaces. It was a bad decision.

 

[The Viper]

Shadab is a wicket taking bowler and Shaheen is low on confidence, so i was surprised by the decision.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Shaheen totally gave it away against Warner.

Thing is, if Shadab is one of your stars, why drop him? Would Australia drop Warne in a similar match? No way.

 

[IMMY69]

Two massive mistakes.

Dropping Shadab and picking Malik.

 

[TAK]

Probably thought Hafeez and Malik could provide some spin.

Hafeez span his tash, he gave it a right twirl...

 

[Ronaldo7]

Talking about this is just redundant.

As long as we have Malik, sarfaraz type of players in our lineup we'll not succeed.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Shaheen totally gave it away against Warner.

Thing is, if Shadab is one of your stars, why drop him? Would Australia drop Warne in a similar match? No way.

Doesn’t make any sense
Only explanation is that Australia worked out his weaknesses and would have capitalised on them

 

[MMHS]

It cost PAK lot - Asif was placed at 1st slip, because Babar had to be posted at point .....

 

[Boi]

It cost PAK lot - Asif was placed at 1st slip, because Babar had to be posted at point .....

Babar did drop a fairly straight forward chance of Root last game tbf so there’s no guarantee he would’ve caught this lol

 

[MMHS]

Babar did drop a fairly straight forward chance of Root last game tbf so there’s no guarantee he would’ve caught this lol

He is a good slipper - since he dropped one in last game, probability of him dropping another sitter is much, much lower, around half of his usual average. Asif is a horrible catcher - if he is put at slip again, that probability maths won't work - he is likely to drop again.

 

[nads_rocks]

Because Captain Safraz thought Australia play spin like kings and Shadab is better warming the bench.
Afridi has been tonked for 80+ consecutively whereas Shadab creates pressure.
Another blunder from the long list of blunders by useless captain

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Shaheen bowled well in his third spell, but still a blunder by Pak to drop someone well established like Shadab.

Shadab not being there also effects our fielding efforts. Also you get another poor fielder in.

 

[cririri]

Asif over shadab and malik (especially against aussie's pace) was rubbish.
Haris is much better than malik and plays pace very well and shadab is a better bat than asif.

 

[Abid Z]

He won’t learn anything in domestic.

He’s too good for domestic tournaments right now (I mean a few easy wickets won’t help much)
And he’s too raw for ODI cricket. Right now the best he can do is be thrown in on the odd match and t20’s. What our management lack is real player development. Many players don’t appear to make progress.

 

[hadi123]

I can understand the logic, it was a gamble that didn't pay off. Overcast conditions, 4 seamers could have proved lethal, presumably the game plan was to get lots of early wickets and build pressure. But Shaheen's first spell was bad and so that plan failed. But overall, it was a bad idea, as it's general cricketing knowledge that Australians tend to struggle against spin, as well as the fact Shadab has never played an ODI against Australia so he probably would have been handy, as well as the fact he is a great fielder and could have scored 20 odd runs. Good thinking to try and be smart and try something unexpected/outside the box, but Australia isn't the right team to omit a spinner against.

 

[AFM]

I understand the decision. Shaheen needs to learn that his true strength is in pitching the ball full. With his height, he should still get good bounce from a full pitch ball, and still get some movement from the air.

What the Australia match highlighted is that we cannot afford poor fielders. Malik has been useless and Asif is a big liability on the field and how occasional batting brilliance isn't enough to cover the deficit. Hassan Ali has proven to be a more consistent clean hitter and with the inclusion Wahab and Amir, the tail isn't so weak.

For the next game, I would bring in Haris and Shahdab in for Malik and Asif.