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Why is Imad Wasim in the team?

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pkwdpassion

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Imad Wasim's use in the team is extremely worrying. His stats are even more appalling, questioning the wisdom behind him being selected regularly.

He is being selected as a bowler in the side.

In last 14 innings he has played, only completed 10 overs once [against WI].

In last 5 innings he has bowled full 5 overs only once [against Sri Lanka]

In yesterdays match he bowled only one over on a good slow wicket for spin [until dew issue early 40 overs] where part-time spinner Malik bowled 5 overs
He has been bowling less than 5 overs for much.

Being anointed as a pinch hitter and finisher,
his batting figures are even more pathetic. His strike rate is below 100.

And this is his last 5 innings [he not getting to bat 2 times helped his figures]
0,4,25,10*,10.

He also flops in coming on the frontline whenever the side needs him. During CT final he limped off after bowling 3 balls knowing he would be hit around the park. Even Zaman and Shadab came to take more responsibility although they arejunior to him. He got himself out on soft dismissals 2 crucial instances [against SL , in CT'17 and yesterday's match in 2nd odi, Abu Dhabi]

Imad was made to captain Islamabad last month in Quaid e Azam Trophy. Against Sui Southern he made 26 and 9 runs, whereas bowling in 1st innings without a wicket for 8 overs, did'nt bowl in the 2nd innings . His team was bowled out for 97 and lost.

In 2nd match against Sui Northern he made 15 and again bowled 8 overs in a 90 over day match. This time he got 1 for 20. In 2nd innings [in middle of the match] due to some issue he was'nt available for his side. His name was removed and Farhan Riaz was made captain. His domestic and international appearances are a point of concern.
He has been off the radar due to other more connected stalwarts in the lineup like Shehzad and Imam ul Haq, but his inclusion is definitely controversial.

Mickey Arthur and Sarfaraz need to respond,
Why is Imad Wasim in the team? What is his utility to keep a place in the side?

Some of the many questions needed to be answered by the team management for keeping him in playing XI.
 
C'mon bahi sahab, you fail to mention the context of him not bowling a full 10 overs. First of all, he is not a front line bowler in ODI cricket...which is different to T20 cricket if you didn't know.

Imad is often 2nd or 3rd change, so he will not always bowl 10 overs. Of the 29 innings he has bowled, he has completed five or more overs 23 times, 20 of those are 7 or more overs. He wasn't really needed in the CT final and had damaged his knee anyway. Against England in the semi, was he really going to get more overs than Ali, Raees and Junaid who all did so well? Only Ali finished his 10 overs.

Against SL and SA in the tournament, he bowled 8 overs a piece, both in innings where the batting side never got going and the pacers, in particular Ali, were unplayable.

That is pretty much what a 2nd or 3rd change bowler is all about.
 
tandapanii said:
C'mon bahi sahab, you fail to mention the context of him not bowling a full 10 overs. First of all, he is not a front line bowler in ODI cricket...which is different to T20 cricket if you didn't know.

Imad is often 2nd or 3rd change, so he will not always bowl 10 overs. Of the 29 innings he has bowled, he has completed five or more overs 23 times, 20 of those are 7 or more overs. He wasn't really needed in the CT final and had damaged his knee anyway. Against England in the semi, was he really going to get more overs than Ali, Raees and Junaid who all did so well? Only Ali finished his 10 overs.

Against SL and SA in the tournament, he bowled 8 overs a piece, both in innings where the batting side never got going and the pacers, in particular Ali, were unplayable.

That is pretty much what a 2nd or 3rd change bowler is all about.
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But that still raises the question, what is his role exactly? And if his role is to bowl 2-3 economic overs and be a slogger down the order, there is someone far superior in both aspects warming the bench.
 
He is a good LOI player but unfortunately the role he usually plays isnt needed at this juncture. In his place Pak needs a reliable natural hitter like Faheem or Amir yamin. As a batsman, Imad is not a natural striker of the ball. He totally relies on power and hence hardly ever connects.
 
he bowled only 1 over for 3 runs last game and Sarfraz dropped a catch in that over. After that he was nowhere to be seen, I didn't get this tactic tbh
 
ManFan said:
But that still raises the question, what is his role exactly? And if his role is to bowl 2-3 economic overs and be a slogger down the order, there is someone far superior in both aspects warming the bench.
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He doesnt bowl 2 or 3 overs. He bowls 7 or 8 in most cases.
 
Pakistan is simply not using Imad properly.He is a talent,a genuine all rounder like Shakib.Sarfraz and team management should understand it first.
 
I think he has a role but mainly against non asian teams.

also i think number 7 is too low for him as he isn’t a genuine power hitter.
 
He is the new Mohammad hafeez who will continue to haunt Pakistan cricket because of bits and pieces batting and bowling, he at least is a clean cricketer who doesn't chuck, so I respect that.
 
Imad is a poor man's Ravi Jadeja. Bowling is nowhere near as good, neither is fielding. And batting is similarly overhyped and underwhelming.

Pakistan would do well to try a few alternatives, or at a minimum, not make him an automatic starter.
 
Mainul said:
Pakistan is simply not using Imad properly.He is a talent,a genuine all rounder like Shakib.Sarfraz and team management should understand it first.
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There’s a huge difference between Imad and shakib. Imad is not even capable of 10% of what shakib can do at the moment.
 
There's no room for Malik, Hafeez and Imad all in the same team. One should make way for Haris or Faheem.
 
I believe he is a cricketer who can win a match in all 3 facets of the game.

Capable of a match-winning bowling performance, capable of a piece of brilliance in the field and more than capable of a quickfire innings to change the course of a match.
 
Saj said:
I believe he is a cricketer who can win a match in all 3 facets of the game.

Capable of a match-winning bowling performance, capable of a piece of brilliance in the field and more than capable of a quickfire innings to change the course of a match.
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lol at capable of brilliance in the field, are you sure about that?? He's the laziest fielder in the side who struggles to chase the ball down. More of a liability than someone who can produce brilliance there.
 
Should strictly only be in the T20 side.

Hopefully Hassan Khan develops quickly so that Imad can get the chop from the ODI side. Now he is a proper gun fielder, probably the best in Pakistan.
 
Saj said:
I believe he is a cricketer who can win a match in all 3 facets of the game.

Capable of a match-winning bowling performance, capable of a piece of brilliance in the field and more than capable of a quickfire innings to change the course of a match.
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When all else fails, let's talk about "potential" and "capability." :))

Here are the cold facts:

He is terrible in the field.

He has a strike-rate of 110 batting at no.7. Tail enders have better strike-rates than that.

Oh, and his bowling average since the start of the year is 61. Yes, 61.

Imad is the definition of a bits and pieces cricketer. Should stick to t20s.
 
Mediocre player, we can do better, I'd rather get Fahim. Shoiab Malik can pretty much do what Imad does in terms of bowling.
 
he's a great 12th man, in the right situation he can be very useful

but he's shouldn't be a regular starter. doesn't do anything exceptionally well
 
from what I've seen he can't even spin the ball, he's basically a slow medium pace bowler
 
After hafeez ban he just become irreplaceable no matter what fans think.
 
Sad to see some very reputable posters having to defend Imad by bringing up his so called potential and how he can win a game for you in all 3 facets of the game.

That is a blatant lie. The only facet he can be a match winner is his bowling. Even that is getting less and less effective against quality opposition because he is a one trick pony.

His fielding is lazy. He won't drop sitters but I have yet to see him do anything spectacular in the field. Someone already pointed out he looks lethargic chasing after the ball.

His batting is terrible. He tries to blindly slog or defend. Doesn't have any other mode. Again, we have yet to witness any fireworks from his so called batting potential.

And lastly, his fitness is becoming more and more questionable by the day. Everytime I see him, it seems like he has gained weight. I have noticed he was much quicker in the field when he first came into the team. But as he has put on a lot of weight, he has become very lethargic in the field.
 
Saj said:
I believe he is a cricketer who can win a match in all 3 facets of the game.

Capable of a match-winning bowling performance, capable of a piece of brilliance in the field and more than capable of a quickfire innings to change the course of a match.
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Somewhat agree with this Saj bhai.

His batting is very good. Problem is he doesn't get a lot of chances at #7. But he has the defensive technique to build partnerships, can score at run-a-ball when required, and is a decent (not great slogger), but he is getting much better in that facet.

His bowling is good too. Somebody who doesn't need spinning conditions to be effective. Ideally he can play the Hafeez role for Pakistan in the coming years. He's probably the best option to play as a sole-spinner outside Asia. Ahead of Shadab and Nawaz.

His fielding is okay. Slow and lazy at times, but he is a very good catcher. I've never seen him drop a catch. Just like Misbah and Inzi back in the day, he has a good pair of hands.

There is the knock on his fitness. He needs to get a bit leaner, but probably the strongest guy in Pakistan team right now.

It's easy to see why Mickey, management and selectors have so much faith in him, he is one of the first names on the team sheet regardless of playing conditions or opposition. I could see him as a potential leadership option in the future, but if not, he can still be a great all-rounder for Pakistan.
 
Why Imad Wasim in team they should include Haris Sohail this will make batting line strong, he , Hafeez and Shoib Malik can completed 10 years over quota also.
 
He's a more than decent player and we do not have nor do we need a replacement for him. The reason he's been bowling so less is because Hasan Ali and the rest of the seamers have been brilliant lately
 
One thing is for settled, whether you like it or not, Imad isn't going anywhere. He's put up some terrific performances off late and gladly, his place in the 15 man squad isn't questioned. I, for one am absolutely adamant about the managements faith in him, and eventually, in a few games, he will come good, as he has multiple times in the past.
 
Its great to argue about these points given at one point in our ODI history, we would have done anything to have a player like Imad in our line-up.
 
ExpressPacer said:
One thing is for settled, whether you like it or not, Imad isn't going anywhere. He's put up some terrific performances off late and gladly, his place in the 15 man squad isn't questioned. I, for one am absolutely adamant about the managements faith in him, and eventually, in a few games, he will come good, as he has multiple times in the past.
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Care to enlighten about some of his terrific performances in the past two years apart from that one series against England.
 
Ellipsism said:
Care to enlighten about some of his terrific performances in the past two years apart from that one series against England.
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The series vs England is in itself an extremely important factor of it so don't know why you would ignore that. But nonetheless, his performance in the Final of the CT and the match vs SA. He goes unnoticed usually, but his economical overs and solid hits down the order without consuming too many deliveries usually end up being the difference between the two sides in the end.
 
All his blind lovers are living off the England series. Once you tell them to name something after that they get into a shell shock and start saying without his lusty blows we would have lost or if he hadn't bowled such tightly in this game we would have lost.

All are lame excuses for Imad's pathetic form and most importantly his fitness over the last few months. Just looking at him these days would tell you he is no where near fit enough to be part of any international level cricket team.
 
He has to learn to spin the ball away from the right hander, i have seen him do it in 1-2 matches and that has made his arm ball even more lethal.
 
ExpressPacer said:
One thing is for settled, whether you like it or not, Imad isn't going anywhere. He's put up some terrific performances off late and gladly, his place in the 15 man squad isn't questioned. I, for one am absolutely adamant about the managements faith in him, and eventually, in a few games, he will come good, as he has multiple times in the past.
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This thread is not about whether he is/will be part of the squad, but rather why.

You are answering another question.
 
MenInG said:
Its great to argue about these points given at one point in our ODI history, we would have done anything to have a player like Imad in our line-up.
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No.

We would have done anything to have a proper spin bowling all rounder. Imad is currently masquerading as one, and is the ultimate bits and pieces cricketer.

Thankfully we have plenty of other options.
 
Need to play Fahim or Yamin in place of Imad considering the next world cup is in England where seam bowling all rounders are gold ! Need to give the guys some games and groom them
 
Imad’s bowling is ok-decent
Imad’s batting is average
Imad’s fielding is poor

I used to rate him but not anymore. He is like the spin bowling Bilawal bhatti
 
His bowling alone merits a place in the playing XI.

Imad and Shadab can both play in the same team.
 
Saj said:
I believe he is a cricketer who can win a match in all 3 facets of the game.

Capable of a match-winning bowling performance, capable of a piece of brilliance in the field and more than capable of a quickfire innings to change the course of a match.
Click to expand...
Capability is there however serious doubts about his attitude, commitment and passion.
 
ExpressPacer said:
The series vs England is in itself an extremely important factor of it so don't know why you would ignore that. But nonetheless, his performance in the Final of the CT and the match vs SA. He goes unnoticed usually, but his economical overs and solid hits down the order without consuming too many deliveries usually end up being the difference between the two sides in the end.
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The series in England is a less important factor now. It was an age ago and since then he hasn't really made an impression. The surprise element in his bowling doesn't really exist any more. Just look at how he performed in Australia- they worked him out pretty easily.

What performance in the Final? He didn't really contribute. He bottled it and wasted so many deliveries playing silly shots. He was batting in the last ten overs and faced 21 deliveries to score 25 runs. Let's not forget he only managed to hit two boundaries which at that stage of the game is criminal. Sarfaraz, Hassan Ali and Shadab would have done better. Like I have written elsewhere, the idea Imad is a "finisher" is not based on reality.
 
He's entering that stage where he is becoming undroppbale . Somehow he has become an untouched senior when his performances with bat and ball haven't been entirely convincing.

Must improve his batting and with his bowling he must become more threatening and offer some variety. Shadab has a much higher ceiling to be honest and I would rather see Shadab play if I had too choose between the 2.
 
Imad is a fantastic T20 player for his bowling only. Long back, we had a bowler who was quite good for the standard of the team - Md. Rafique. He had Test doubles in 33 Tests, had 7 5fors, a Test century and he had the ODI doubles as well in just about 100 matches. Key to his bowling was that, he could use the bowling crease to maximum - bowling from cross angle, bowling from close to stamps, bowling from 1 step behind, bowling from wide ..... not the biggest turner, but his unique strength was that in a 50 overs spell (that was his standard 1st innings work load), no matter from where he is releasing the ball or pitching it, probably 290 times he'll end up in between the sticks. I haven't seen a SLAO spinner attacking the stick so much, with immaculate accuracy - he exactly knew how much he is going to turn on a wicket and at what pace.

Imad is very much similar to Rafique in his bowling tactics. This is very effective when batsmen attacks him, because he blocks their free swing and always a threat for LBW/Bowled, but I am not sure how good he is in "working a batsman out". Sarfraz didn't give him more than 1 over in 1st 2 ODIs, when PAK was defending and I actually can explain that, particularly 2nd ODI. On such sluggish wicket, Imad can end up with a fantastic figure like 10-1-29-0, but that probably won't defend 220 on any wicket. Rather Sarfraz used Malik and got a vital wicket, could have got 2.

Classic example of Imad's (& MoHa's) limitation was the WACA ODI - PAK was defending 263 under lights and the pacers did gave early break through, kept RR well below 4 in PP. But, once settled, Aussie pair kept milking both darters for 4-6 singles at will and chased the target comfortably. I am sure, had 2 genuine spinners been there (say Shadab & Raja Hasan), Aussies would have found it really difficult to win that game.

I don't think Imad has any role in ODI game; but he is an asset in T20 definitely and selectively in Test matches as well. For dead wickets like Abu Dhabi, his fastish dart can be effective in Test, while on rank turners like the BD-AUS Mirpur or IND-AUS Pune track, he can be deadly with his accuracy. But, ODIs are mostly played on good batting surface, where spinners role should be to get settled batsmen out in between 15-40 overs - I don't see him to be effective at all there.

In terms of batting, again the same story - he is decent bat on flat batting belters, where ideally his batting shouldn't be required; rather what would be required on such condition is Pandeya, Butler, Maxi or Russell like blasting, someone capable of 20+ runs over; which Imad isn't, won't be either in future. His batting might be required is on few of those low scoring matches these days, where coming at 120/5, a 58 from No. 7 can post a match winning total - he failed to do that in 2nd ODI, which Shadab did perfectly. I read lot about Imad opening, which again is a misconception of Power Play - it might work with a 23 ball 35 once, but he isn't a natural hitter, neither solid enough to bat out one end. Result will be horribly counter productive - most times, Imad swinging bat around and finally hold out for a 19 ball 18 (or 18 ball 19). PP doesn't demand blind swingers across the line, rather all-round shot maker, who can place in gaps, and intelligent, capable enough to steal a single just after hitting a boundary. Even Fakhar is struggling now that teams are plugging his scoring areas.

Overall, I can't justify Imad's spot in PAK ODI team at all. As a bowling unit, PAK is best when going for the kill and one Shadab is proving what a genuine spinner can do these days in middle overs. Playing darters started from Inzi era (actually Woolmer era - for all his innovations, he never mastered the use of classical spinners - one by one replaced Saq, Mush, Kaneria with MoHa, Malik, Afridi for their batting) and Misbah took it to another level - he would like to concede 5 singles rather than one boundary and 5 dots, hence apart from Ajmal, none of his spinners ever attacked, in fact he hardly gave them more inner fielders than what was mandatory, forget about catching fielders. This trend needs to be ended - PAK should go with 20 overs of classical attacking spin and the 5th bowler should be medium pace all-rounder - that's in Asia; outside Asia should be 3 out and out pacer, 4th seemer all-rounder and a Leggi on absolute bowling merit.

Looks like, Malik is certain for 2019 - he is so good these days that, if he can maintain fitness, a long shot for even 2023 in IND. Ideally, I'll play Shadab & Raja Hasan (Or Gohar - key is classical SLAO spinner, bring whoever is best in country) backed by Malik and one pace all-rounder as 3rd seemer in Asia (may be Fahim or Yamin or any new face); while Raja dropped for 3 genuine pacer backed by the pace all-rounder, Shadab & Malik out side Asia. If I take the hype around SS Afridi to be genuine, that attacking combination actually will be the most potent in world with every base covered for every type of wicket/batting unit in the squad, with fantastic mix of left & right arm bowlers.
 
Unless he improves his hitting ability, he shouldn't be in the team as his bowling is hardly used nowadays. Although, if Mohammad Hafeez's action comes out as illegal than he would be an automatic pick for a long time as than his bowling would be of some importance.
 
How can Imad Wasim get away with his poor fitness?

He didn't seem fit in the last game when he was reluctant to dive and today again he was late to dive and ball went for a boundary. It's not the first time he has shown signs of poor fitness. He failed to bowl single over in the most important game against India. It's unacceptable from a player of his caliber as he is a bits and pieces cricketer who is not reliable in either of his bowling or batting.


We know Azhar played with injections in the test series and now this Imad's laziness.

So is this 'no compromise on fitness' just a tall talk by Mickey and PCB?
 
Saj said:
I believe he is a cricketer who can win a match in all 3 facets of the game.

Capable of a match-winning bowling performance, capable of a piece of brilliance in the field and more than capable of a quickfire innings to change the course of a match.
Click to expand...

He is a bits and pieces cricketer at best and his fielding is rubbish.
 
I swear when he went down in installments to misfield and let that ball through under his body, I thought to myself who is that old guy fielding in that position...

That shows his lack of agility and fitness. Looks a few pounds overweight and heavy.
 
It's clear double standard by Micky Authur, and there is proof of it when PCB released the video of player fitness test during CT and Imad was worse than Umar Akmal.
 
Arsalan Pro said:
Unless he improves his hitting ability, he shouldn't be in the team as his bowling is hardly used nowadays. Although, if Mohammad Hafeez's action comes out as illegal than he would be an automatic pick for a long time as than his bowling would be of some importance.
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even if Hafeez is banned Pakistan must get rid of this average player and get Nawaz in. At least he can turn the ball.
 
shah_1 said:
It's clear double standard by Micky Authur, and there is proof of it when PCB released the video of player fitness test during CT and Imad was worse than Umar Akmal.
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Exactly!! such dual standards make Umar's case actually stronger.
 
What could've been a decent thread descends into the usual Umar Akmal victimization narrative by the OP.
 
another drop catch said:
Give him two more series before dropping him forever
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The World Cup will be near after two series, no time to groom a youngster. It's time to decide now and give another youngster a chance or stick with him.

I personally would like to see Hussain Talat play.
 
another drop catch said:
Give him two more series before dropping him forever
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What'll he add to his cricket in 2 more series at 30 years of age? Flight, loop, drift, turn in his bowling? Or is he going to improve his batting technique to bat at 1/2 or hitting power to blast at 7? Only thing he can do is loose couple of stones of fat around him, which isn't basic cricket skill. The guy is there, because Arthur likes darters - more accurately he doesn't know what to do with classical spinners; otherwise it's a double standard of highest order to drop Umar on fitness and keep this guy as all-rounder.
 
Markhor said:
What could've been a decent thread descends into the usual Umar Akmal victimization narrative by the OP.
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sshakir411 said:
Umar Akmal fans trying really hard to keep him relevant.
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Sarfarazian92 said:
Matlab baat ghumma phira kar Umar Akmal par le hi aaye aap :)))
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I'm sorry brothers but I didn't make this thread to defend Umar Akmal. He just happens to be the guy who was put on a plane back to Pakistan because of fitness issues. I am not defending Umar if he failed his test then he was rightly sent back. But at the same time it does raise questions at the credibility of Mickey Arthur as we have seen how unfit Azhar,Imad and Amir have looked in this series. When you implement any system it should be universal not just pick poor guys with bad reputation.
 
MMHS said:
What'll he add to his cricket in 2 more series at 30 years of age? Flight, loop, drift, turn in his bowling? Or is he going to improve his batting technique to bat at 1/2 or hitting power to blast at 7? Only thing he can do is loose couple of stones of fat around him, which isn't basic cricket skill. The guy is there, because Arthur likes darters - more accurately he doesn't know what to do with classical spinners; otherwise it's a double standard of highest order to drop Umar on fitness and keep this guy as all-rounder.
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Pakistan should bring genuine spinner instead of him. I thought he would get better and better by playing more and more Intl. cricket but looks like he already thinks he has achieved enough.
 
Rayyman said:
I've backed Imad in the past, but I think he should be dropped.
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Finally finally finally.....

Raza will replace him very soon.

Just need to replace hafeez with harris and we will have a superb team.
 
Langau said:
Finally finally finally.....

Raza will replace him very soon.

Just need to replace hafeez with harris and we will have a superb team.
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Harris will be a great upgrade over Hafeez for sure. He can bring much needed stability when the going gets tough.
 
MMHS said:
Imad is a fantastic T20 player for his bowling only. Long back, we had a bowler who was quite good for the standard of the team - Md. Rafique. He had Test doubles in 33 Tests, had 7 5fors, a Test century and he had the ODI doubles as well in just about 100 matches. Key to his bowling was that, he could use the bowling crease to maximum - bowling from cross angle, bowling from close to stamps, bowling from 1 step behind, bowling from wide ..... not the biggest turner, but his unique strength was that in a 50 overs spell (that was his standard 1st innings work load), no matter from where he is releasing the ball or pitching it, probably 290 times he'll end up in between the sticks. I haven't seen a SLAO spinner attacking the stick so much, with immaculate accuracy - he exactly knew how much he is going to turn on a wicket and at what pace.

Imad is very much similar to Rafique in his bowling tactics. This is very effective when batsmen attacks him, because he blocks their free swing and always a threat for LBW/Bowled, but I am not sure how good he is in "working a batsman out". Sarfraz didn't give him more than 1 over in 1st 2 ODIs, when PAK was defending and I actually can explain that, particularly 2nd ODI. On such sluggish wicket, Imad can end up with a fantastic figure like 10-1-29-0, but that probably won't defend 220 on any wicket. Rather Sarfraz used Malik and got a vital wicket, could have got 2.

Classic example of Imad's (& MoHa's) limitation was the WACA ODI - PAK was defending 263 under lights and the pacers did gave early break through, kept RR well below 4 in PP. But, once settled, Aussie pair kept milking both darters for 4-6 singles at will and chased the target comfortably. I am sure, had 2 genuine spinners been there (say Shadab & Raja Hasan), Aussies would have found it really difficult to win that game.

I don't think Imad has any role in ODI game; but he is an asset in T20 definitely and selectively in Test matches as well. For dead wickets like Abu Dhabi, his fastish dart can be effective in Test, while on rank turners like the BD-AUS Mirpur or IND-AUS Pune track, he can be deadly with his accuracy. But, ODIs are mostly played on good batting surface, where spinners role should be to get settled batsmen out in between 15-40 overs - I don't see him to be effective at all there.

In terms of batting, again the same story - he is decent bat on flat batting belters, where ideally his batting shouldn't be required; rather what would be required on such condition is Pandeya, Butler, Maxi or Russell like blasting, someone capable of 20+ runs over; which Imad isn't, won't be either in future. His batting might be required is on few of those low scoring matches these days, where coming at 120/5, a 58 from No. 7 can post a match winning total - he failed to do that in 2nd ODI, which Shadab did perfectly. I read lot about Imad opening, which again is a misconception of Power Play - it might work with a 23 ball 35 once, but he isn't a natural hitter, neither solid enough to bat out one end. Result will be horribly counter productive - most times, Imad swinging bat around and finally hold out for a 19 ball 18 (or 18 ball 19). PP doesn't demand blind swingers across the line, rather all-round shot maker, who can place in gaps, and intelligent, capable enough to steal a single just after hitting a boundary. Even Fakhar is struggling now that teams are plugging his scoring areas.

Overall, I can't justify Imad's spot in PAK ODI team at all. As a bowling unit, PAK is best when going for the kill and one Shadab is proving what a genuine spinner can do these days in middle overs. Playing darters started from Inzi era (actually Woolmer era - for all his innovations, he never mastered the use of classical spinners - one by one replaced Saq, Mush, Kaneria with MoHa, Malik, Afridi for their batting) and Misbah took it to another level - he would like to concede 5 singles rather than one boundary and 5 dots, hence apart from Ajmal, none of his spinners ever attacked, in fact he hardly gave them more inner fielders than what was mandatory, forget about catching fielders. This trend needs to be ended - PAK should go with 20 overs of classical attacking spin and the 5th bowler should be medium pace all-rounder - that's in Asia; outside Asia should be 3 out and out pacer, 4th seemer all-rounder and a Leggi on absolute bowling merit.

Looks like, Malik is certain for 2019 - he is so good these days that, if he can maintain fitness, a long shot for even 2023 in IND. Ideally, I'll play Shadab & Raja Hasan (Or Gohar - key is classical SLAO spinner, bring whoever is best in country) backed by Malik and one pace all-rounder as 3rd seemer in Asia (may be Fahim or Yamin or any new face); while Raja dropped for 3 genuine pacer backed by the pace all-rounder, Shadab & Malik out side Asia. If I take the hype around SS Afridi to be genuine, that attacking combination actually will be the most potent in world with every base covered for every type of wicket/batting unit in the squad, with fantastic mix of left & right arm bowlers.
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Immad best utility in ODIs as a bowler is against Western teams, but even against them he cannot outperfrorm Shadab. Against Asian teams, Fahim would be better as they are generally poor player of seam.

In batting he cannot smack pacers which is must for #7 batter. Fahim appears to be much better slogger of pace bowling(based on how he played against BD and SL in CT, sample size is small, but he has the technique to pull and hook better than our frontline batters). I would invest in Fahim and see if he can fulfill role of #7 slogger, that is missing ATM, a role so vital for us beating teams like NZ/ENG/AUS/IND on regular basis...

In bowling Shadab is our front line spinner against both Asian and Western teams, simply because he is attacking and can fetch us wickets, resurgent of Pakistani bowling is soley because of Hasan and Shadab, who are constantly taking wickets in middle over against all oppositions...

I would invest in Shadab and Fahim rather than him, he should not be automatic choice at all. He has to improve a lot, to compete with those two...He is only in the team because of PR with senior management, which is very disappointing!!
 
MRSN said:
Harris will be a great upgrade over Hafeez for sure. He can bring much needed stability when the going gets tough.
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Hafeez is a bottler against SA/AUS/ENG, teams that have superior pace attack. We are not going to win WC but beating SL/BD/IND, we need to beat the top western teams, for that you need batsmen who can play fast bowling. We cannot pack our team with spin bashers(Hafeez,Malik,Sarfraz,Shezad). Even Imam has some serious shot comings against off stump line, westerns will eat him alive. Harris should be in the team and play as open...Harris and Babar are our best talent against pace, they should face maximum deliveries, means bat in top 3...These XYZ are not going to work...We have 18 months to build top 3 batters, that work has to start now :acp:
 
For now keep him as a back up spinner in the squad but playing xi should be
Fakhar
Sahibzada
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarfraz
Faheem
Shadab
Hasan
Amir
Rumman/Shinwari
 
Better to invest in Shadab and Fahim then stick with these fake all rounders like Imad. Maybe in UAE conditions he has a role to play. But come 2019 WC, I hope Pakistan have moved on from Imad in ODIs.
 
Hasn't performed with the bat since summer 2016.

Performs well with the bowl once a while, nothing match-winning either.

What's his purpose in the team?
 
He is the only in the team that understands Mickey really well.
 
How many threads need to be made on this same topic? It is so boring . Yes we get it he has no role in our team but why after every bad performance does this same question need to be asked?
 
BleedGreen said:
Hasn't performed with the bat since summer 2016.

Performs well with the bowl once a while, nothing match-winning either.

What's his purpose in the team?
Click to expand...

Because of Sarfraz. Sarfraz continues to support him at the expense of Pakistan :facepalm:
 
Imad is out of shape.. his lack of fitness shows his commitment level.. Pakistan should invest in another allrounder
 
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