Will Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez be dropped for the all important Champions Trophy semi-final?

[ExpressPacer]

It goes without saying that Hafeez and Azhar Ali are by far our worst players and were the sole reasons we almost lost today. Azhar Ali gave Pakistan an abysmal start, took more than 2 overs to get his first run and continued to bat at a strike rate of less than 50 and eventually got out without a major contribution. While at it, he also made sure a young Zaman, who was looking really good got under pressure and threw away his wicket.

Hafeez on the other blocked a bunch of deliveries and got out for a score of 1 when he was suppose to stabilize the innings. His bowling on the other provided no breakthrough either despite his blatant chucking.

So this begs the question, will they be dropped for the semi final OR will nepotism, seniority and favoritism continue to play a major role?

 

[saadsahabjee]

they should be.

 

[Anwar_194]

Ask Inzyyyy

 

[ExplicitAI]

I'd say we should stick with Hafeez mainly for his bowling but Azhar has to go for good.

 

[Inzi_fan_No_1]

Hafeez won't be dropped as they have Morgan, Stokes and Moeen in the team. We need his off spin against the left handers. He should bat below Amir though.

 

[Mamoon]

We will badly need Hafeez's bowling against England. He is our most economical bowler and we will need plenty of tight overs against England. Can't believe people are not able to take that into consideration.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

They are mentally shot from years of medicore ODI performances. They need to be dropped forever.

 

[Hamza_]

They must be.

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

I hope so.

 

[Hamza_]

We will badly need Hafeez's bowling against England. He is our most economical bowler and we will need plenty of tight overs against England. Can't believe people are not able to take that into consideration.

Why? Can't Shoaib Malik bowl his economical off spin?

We need Shadab more than Hafeez who will outplay this clown in all 3 facets of the game. Him playing in top 4 is disaster.

 

[Hamza_]

They are mentally shot from years of medicore ODI performances. They need to be dropped forever.

Garbage selector Inzi gave us only three openers and this relucatta. Out of three openers two are just so bad that even Zimbabwe would think twice before having them in the team.

 

[the SHA]

Hafeez needs to play vs England due to his bowling.

However he must either open or bat at 7. He kills the momentum at no. 4.

Though he's the better trier, I think Azhar needs to be rested. Shadab should play vs England.

 

[idrizzy]

We will badly need Hafeez's bowling against England. He is our most economical bowler and we will need plenty of tight overs against England. Can't believe people are not able to take that into consideration.

This is the most desperate I have seen you as a Pakistani fan. Heat of being in the Semi's is getting to you I see

That and fasting

Regardless I think we'll get outclassed on Wednesday. We have been lucky throughout our campaign (119-3 could've turned to 130-6 real quick vs SA) and today we just batted with guts which is rare.

20% chance of beating England, maybe 25, nothing more than 30.

 

[Mamoon]

Why? Can't Shoaib Malik bowl his economical off spin?

We need Shadab more than Hafeez who will outplay this clown in all 3 facets of the game. Him playing in top 4 is disaster.

Malik is a nothing bowler. Hafeez is far superior.

 

[Mamoon]

This is the most desperate I have seen you as a Pakistani fan. Heat of being in the Semi's is getting to you I see

That and fasting

Regardless I think we'll get outclassed on Wednesday. We have been lucky throughout our campaign (119-3 could've turned to 130-6 real quick vs SA) and today we just batted with guts which is rare.

20% chance of beating England, maybe 25, nothing more than 30.

England are 99.9% likely to win, but we still have to try.

 

[ExpressPacer]

I have taken his bowling under consideration but let's be serious, ever since the change of his action, his bowling has become innocuous. He has blatantly chucked only to be easily nudged away for singles, doubles and even boundaries. Let's also take note of the fact that pacers have dominated the Champions Trophy while spinners have been on the sidelines and anyway, anything that Hafeez can do with the ball, I'm sure Shadab Khan and Imad can too.

While he is also a liability in the field, him being in the top order is also a disease to our batting.
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=135332]ExplicitAI[/MENTION] [MENTION=135765]Inzi_fan_No_1[/MENTION]

 

[ExpressPacer]

If Pakistan want to have any chance versus the best ODI side in the world, dropping Hafeez and Azhar is essential.

 

[Shaik]

This should be the line up

Drop Fahim (as England would eat him alive) and Azhar. Bring in Shadab and Harris. Hafeez should play for his off spin.

1.Hafeez(Let him get out to new ball, rather than wasting the middle overs)
2.Fakhar
3.Babar
4.Haris
5.Malik
6.Sarfraz
7.Imad(Imad did well in batting and bowling against England)
8.Shadab
9.Amir
10.Hassan
11.Junaid

 

[saqibjamil]

No chance of beating England with these 2 playing in the team. Hafeez at the least should be left out for Shadab. England haven't faced Shadab so there may be our chance.

Plus who knows Shadab may bat better than Hafeez.

 

[habibi hayya]

Azhar should be done and dusted after today. We need Hafeez bowling.

 

[Mamoon]

I have taken his bowling under consideration but let's be serious, ever since the change of his action, his bowling has become innocuous. He has blatantly chucked only to be easily nudged away for singles, doubles and even boundaries. Let's also take note of the fact that pacers have dominated the Champions Trophy while spinners have been on the sidelines and anyway, anything that Hafeez can do with the ball, I'm sure Shadab Khan and Imad can too.

While he is also a liability in the field, him being in the top order is also a disease to our batting.
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=135332]ExplicitAI[/MENTION] [MENTION=135765]Inzi_fan_No_1[/MENTION]

He is still a good bowler. Yes he chucks but as long as he doesn't get called again, he can chuck as much as he wants.

 

[goran]

Both should be dropped permanently from LOIs. Malik can bowl equally well if not better than Hafeez. Haris should open with Fakhar.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Malik is a nothing bowler. Hafeez is far superior.

He is if we are talking about pre bowling change. Hafeez has been a nothing bowler since his comeback.

But if both are taken out, that means Shehzad and Haris is in. Haris should be in but Shehzad is a poor replacement option and doesn't give you the bowling Hafeez possesses. Should just remove Azhar, open Hafeez and have Haris bat at #4.

 

[Mamoon]

He is if we are talking about pre bowling change. Hafeez has been a nothing bowler since his comeback.

But if both are taken out, that means Shehzad and Haris is in. Haris should be in but Shehzad is a poor replacement option and doesn't give you the bowling Hafeez possesses. Should just remove Azhar, open Hafeez and have Haris bat at #4.

Hafeez has been decent with the ball even after ban. However, he is still a chucker so that explains why.

 

[New Yorker]

We will badly need Hafeez's bowling against England. He is our most economical bowler and we will need plenty of tight overs against England. Can't believe people are not able to take that into consideration.

He's the most economical? When, by how much? We'll need lots of things against England. Wickets, runs, fielding.
Hafeez' batting by now is so shot that it would be better to draft a specialist bowler, someone who might be likely
to take more than 0-1 wickets.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Hafeez has been decent with the ball even after ban. However, he is still a chucker so that explains why.

If Hafeez wants to be in the team, he needs to be able to replace Imad. Too bad he cannot.

 

[New Yorker]

Both should be dropped permanently from LOIs. Malik can bowl equally well if not better than Hafeez. Haris should open with Fakhar.

No one hates Hafeez more than I do, but Malik is not a bowling replacement. The very definition of a toothless bowler.

 

[Slog]

Malik is not a bowling consideration st this point

Ask Hafeez to open and bring in Haris

 

[cricwiz]

Memo to team management: Be brave and replace Azhar and Hafeez with Haris and Shadab for the semis

Hafeez and Azhar have been the worst offenders in the top order for Pakistan in the champions trophy, along with Babar Azam. Babar Azam had a stellar year as a ODI batsman, so there is hope that he will eventually come good.


But Hafeez and Azhar have been like this since years, there is virtually no hope wrt their batting.

Hafeez is an all-rounder in the team, there is a good enough replacement for him in the squad - who is an attacking spinner and a much better young aggressive batsman than Hafeez. Its time to replace Hafeez and bring back Shadab Khan into the 11.

Azhar Ali brings nothing to the table. Instead he just stalls the run chase / run making. Haris Sohail can not do worse than him at all. It's right time to bring him in place of Azhar Ali.

All youngsters that Pakistan have played recently have played with passion and have shown talent ( Hasan Ali, Faheem, Fakhar, Shadab etc.). Instead of relying on experience of Hafeez and Azhar, it's time to be brave and bring an all young unit against England.

 

[cricfan14]

Neither of them should be playing, let alone BOTH of them batting in the top 4.

In reality, if you need Hafeez to bowl, then you have to drop Azhar and have Hafeez open. BUT I still really think there's no way Mickey drops Azhar, he seems to like him personally, and he's Sarfraz's best friend.

So because it is Pakistan cricket, they will both play and both bat terribly.

And in all fairness, is it fair to Haris to throw him into a semifinal against England after not playing in ages? If our "brain trust" had any brains, Haris should've played today to get him accustomed to the conditions.

 

[PakSarZameen]

One of them needs to go, the other needs to open.

 

[Hamza_]

Malik is a nothing bowler. Hafeez is far superior.

That's okay, I get the point. But Hafeez if being played as a pure bowler should be batting at #11 then , Or else just play in Shadab instead of Hafeez.

I think you are suggesting to play him as specialist chucker, Then he should play the Saeed Ajmal role while batting at #11 not at #4.

Also I don't think he is good enough bowler to keep his place in team, Shadab is far better. So on merit he deserves to be in the team ahead of Hafeez.

 

[gazza619]

Shadab Khan must play against England

I have no doubt in my mind that Shadab Khan can bamboozle the England batsmen. Team management needs to realise who is the match winner, and i have no doubt that Shadab has that x factor. I dont care who we need to drop to find Shadab's place. If it was up to me I would replace Imad Wasim.

 

[Syed1]

Drop Azhar. The most useless player to ever play ODIs in the history of the sport.

 

[Khwaja]

Yes. Drop Azhar and use this... XI

1. Mohammed Hafeez
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar Azam
4. Sarfraz Ahmed
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Imad Wasim
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shadab Khan
9. Mohammed Aamer
10. Hasan Ali
11. Junaid Khan

 

[Slog]

Zaman
Hafeez
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarfaraz
Fahim
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junad

 

[gazza619]

Drop Azhar. The most useless player to ever play ODIs in the history of the sport.

See the thing is you drop Azhar, you play Shehzad, who cant do better than Azhar. Or you open with Hafeez which is risky, or you bring in Haris Sohail who will be rusty. All in all, Azhar plays or not, it will not change the fortune of this team.
I have identified someone who can actually make a difference, and this chap is Shadab Khan...

 

[Syed1]

See the thing is you drop Azhar, you play Shehzad, who cant do better than Azhar. Or you open with Hafeez which is risky, or you bring in Haris Sohail who will be rusty. All in all, Azhar plays or not, it will not change the fortune of this team.
I have identified someone who can actually make a difference, and this chap is Shadab Khan...

This is the mentality that has allowed guys like Hafeez or Azhar to make careers despite having zero talent because the management was too afraid to take a risk with someone. Haris might be rusty he can't do worse than Azhar who was 0(14) at one point.

 

[imran1976]

Hafeez out (forever), Harris in.
Imad out, Shadab in.

 

[IAJ]

Zaman
Hafeez
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarfaraz
Fahim
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junad

That is probably the best eleven we can get out of the current squad.
But they will never drop Azhar against England.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

We will badly need Hafeez's bowling against England. He is our most economical bowler and we will need plenty of tight overs against England. Can't believe people are not able to take that into consideration.

yes it was in the past, and now we hope and hype too much on this fact.... after his remodelled action he didnt trouble any LHB from the top sides... he can still give a trouble to LHB from WI or some new lefties... but he is pretty toothless since he is back to bowl this year starting from the Aus series..

 

[wasimjunior]

We will badly need Hafeez's bowling against England. He is our most economical bowler and we will need plenty of tight overs against England. Can't believe people are not able to take that into consideration.

In that case drop iMad wasim. Both playing the same role - bowling all founders whose batting is limited. Hafeez is an number 7 at best these days.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

If Pakistan want to have any chance versus the best ODI side in the world, dropping Hafeez and Azhar is essential.

100% agreed. no second thoughts..

:

 

[Pete Rose]

Hafeez is a bowler and should compete for a bowling slot.

 

[cricfan14]

Hafeez is a bowler and should compete for a bowling slot.

and then should not be batting at 4.

 

[zyrus]

You cant keep Imad and Hafeez in same XI. One needs to be dropped.

 

[wasimjunior]

You cant keep Imad and Hafeez in same XI. One needs to be dropped.

Exactly this. Hafeez gets my vote but bats at 7. Bring Haris in and keep azhar because shahzad is even worse.

 

[gazza619]

Hafeez out (forever), Harris in.
Imad out, Shadab in.

Ok fair call. If that is the case then Shoaib Malik needs to be given the number 4 role. He is old enough to man up to take team forward from that position:
The team will shape as follows:
1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Azhar Ali
3. Babar Azam
4. Shoaib Malik
5. Sarfaraz Ahmed
6. Haris Sohail
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shadab Khan
9. Muhammad Amir
10. Hasan Ali
11. Junaid Khan

 

[Dil Dil pakistan 92]

Team for England match

My team for England match, batting all way down to no 8 plus 8 bowling options, most balanced team can take field.

1. Mohammed Hafeez
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar Azam
4. Sarfraz Ahmed
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Imad Wasim
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shadab Khan
9. Mohammed Aamer
10. Hasan Ali
11. Junaid Khan

 

[muqarrab]

Hafeez and Azhar have been the worst offenders in the top order for Pakistan in the champions trophy, along with Babar Azam. Babar Azam had a stellar year as a ODI batsman, so there is hope that he will eventually come good.


But Hafeez and Azhar have been like this since years, there is virtually no hope wrt their batting.

Hafeez is an all-rounder in the team, there is a good enough replacement for him in the squad - who is an attacking spinner and a much better young aggressive batsman than Hafeez. Its time to replace Hafeez and bring back Shadab Khan into the 11.

Azhar Ali brings nothing to the table. Instead he just stalls the run chase / run making. Haris Sohail can not do worse than him at all. It's right time to bring him in place of Azhar Ali.

All youngsters that Pakistan have played recently have played with passion and have shown talent ( Hasan Ali, Faheem, Fakhar, Shadab etc.). Instead of relying on experience of Hafeez and Azhar, it's time to be brave and bring an all young unit against England.

Write another memo with yoru thoughts on who should open after brining in shadab and haris

 

[Anwar_194]

I would open Sarfaraz and Farhan.

 

[Syed1]

Write another memo with yoru thoughts on who should open after brining in shadab and haris

Babar is a natural opener and has opened all throughout u19s. In any case even if we send in Junaid Khan to open he can't do a worse job than Azhar Ali.

 

[Khwaja]

Sarfraz opening? Very good choice,
Strike rotation, aggressiveness, powerplay field, fakhar partner, experience, and captain...
Better than Azhar

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

I would open Sarfaraz and Farhan.

Farhan?

Why not open with Dhawan?? If we are considering payers not part of the squad

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

Sarfraz opening? Very good choice,
Strike rotation, aggressiveness, powerplay field, fakhar partner, experience, and captain...
Better than Azhar

The thing with Azhar is, thats his only selling point. Blunt the new swing burst from opening bowlers

Pathetic batter otherwise

 

[Ami]

Nice post...
But its pakistan...they lack courage.
It should be...

Fakhar
Sarfraz/Haris
Babar
Malik
Haris/Sarfraz
Fahim
Imad
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junaid

No place for Azhar, Hafeez, Shehzad and Wahab...
Tests?...of course!

 

[Asif321]

yes he should

 

[CricVet]

Those who backed this joker, you know who, have no sense of cricket. No matter how good you are technically, it is always wit that wins. I as a armchair cricketer have been against the duo of Mibah and Hafeez, the cancer of LOI cricket, yet the selectors kept on selecting these jokes for years. To make the matter worse, they were handed a leadership role. These 2 have done nothing but scare mongering throughout their career. 2 gundi machlian jinhoun nay poora talab gunda kya. We could have opted for better bats with less experience and now look weher we are.

The same selectroe ruined the career of Ahmed shezad with in and out selection. He came out as an aggressive bat, failed for a while, discarded, brought him back again, discarded again multiple times. No team can be developed with this fill gap and discard strategy. Either DO NOT select or give a proper run.

Now Fakhar has started to bat, I fear that once he failed, they would do it again. Same with Sharjeel. PCB is bunch of buffoons who can't figure out on combination or core of players.

 

[Syed1]

My team for England match, batting all way down to no 8 plus 8 bowling options, most balanced team can take field.

1. Mohammed Hafeez
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar Azam
4. Sarfraz Ahmed
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Imad Wasim
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shadab Khan
9. Mohammed Aamer
10. Hasan Ali
11. Junaid Khan

I take serious offense to you not counting Amir amongst your batsmen after his performance today. Out-batted gritty Azhar, professorial Hafeez and golden boy Babar by a HUGE margin.

 

[Khwaja]

The thing with Azhar is, thats his only selling point. Blunt the new swing burst from opening bowlers

Pathetic batter otherwise

i think his only selling point is sort of 'pointless' because Safraz has played as an opener quite a few times... so he does have a lot of experience against the new ball and swing... I forgot one more point, he loves batting in england...

 

[KingKhanWC]

I would play him for sure. Although the straight boundaries are small, England batsmen have never faced him and his googly could do some damage.

The pitch will be the same one as today so should slow down and turn a little too.

Will they drop Imad though, I doubt it?

 

[zyrus]

My two-cents wali XI:

Fakhar
Babar
Haris/Imad
Azhar
Malik
Sarfraz
Fahim
Amir
Hasan Ali
Shahdab
Junaid

 

[JibranAnsari]

Drop azhar , bring hafeez to open and bowl him 10 overs.

Haris sohail should play at 4.

 

[Asif321]

we are so unlucky to lose sharjeel ... just imagining fakhar and sharjeel . even khalid latif in middle

 

[ar2020]

So you want to drop 2 batsmen for 1 batsmen and 1 bowler mostly. You realize our batting is the problem? Why would you shorten it even more? Azhar has to play there is nothing you can do about that this tournament.

Haris Sohail should replace Hafeez but we know that won't happen. So it's a waste of time and energy to keep harping it.

 

[Square Drive]

Drop Hafeez too. He bottles it in pressure games, if not regular games.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

It goes without saying that Hafeez and Azhar Ali are by far our worst players and were the sole reasons we almost lost today. Azhar Ali gave Pakistan an abysmal start, took more than 2 overs to get his first run and continued to bat at a strike rate of less than 50 and eventually got out without a major contribution. While at it, he also made sure a young Zaman, who was looking really good got under pressure and threw away his wicket.

Hafeez on the other blocked a bunch of deliveries and got out for a score of 1 when he was suppose to stabilize the innings. His bowling on the other provided no breakthrough either despite his blatant chucking.

So this begs the question, will they be dropped for the semi final OR will nepotism, seniority and favoritism continue to play a major role?

Don't buy that there was any pressure on Fakhar Zaman because we were way ahead on Run rate. And the target was a low one. Azhar should not have gotten out, His run rate in this game was fine as the required rate was below 5 an over. Well we have Ahmed Shehzad as replacement or Harris Sohail. No other Batsman is on tour. We are playing with 6 bowlers (Hafeez included). Rather than drop another batsman, it is better we add Harris Sohail as an Extra Bat. Harris can also bowl, so the bowling unit will have the variety .

 

[Markhor]

I agree, England have never faced Shadab before and if they use the same pitch in Cardiff as today's match then there could be some wear and turn for our spinners to exploit.

 

[rajulakhpati]

This x 100. Azhar and Hafeez need to be benched for Pakistan to have any chance against England. They should be dropped for good from LOIs (especially Hafeez). I would open with Babar and have either Malik or Haris at 3 (the other comes in at 5) with Sarfraz coming in at 4. He is being wasted at 6

 

[yasir]

Zaman
Hafeez
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarfaraz
Fahim
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junad

I would go for this

Zaman
Harris (Harris can play new ball better than Azhar/Hafeez/Shezad)
Sarfraz/Babar (Babar is struggling a bit, Sarfraz at 3 will shield Babar)
Babar/Sarfraz (Sarfraz is batting way down, that must not happen)
Shoaib
Fahim
Hafeez (Hafeez is even worse than Fahim, he cannot be in top 5)
Shadab
Amir
Hasan
Junaid

I mention in some other thread, some important realization for Think Tank:

1. We cannot afford both Azhar and Hafeez in top 4. Means, Sarfraz must bat at #3/4 in this tournament. And one of them must sit out. They both are momentum killer, its like somebody has put kachara in the engine, its about to jam :

2. Immad is not better batsman than Fahim, Fahim must play ahead of him. His English translation skills are nice, but we need cricketing skills.

3. Shadab is must against not only ENG,but should always be selected ahead of Immad, he is wicket taking bowler, only one of Immad/Hafeez is enough. Its hard to carry two non batsmen spinners, we are making batting and bowling both weaker.

Non of this is going to happen, after all its Pakistan we are talking about :

 

[LordJames]

Open with Fakhar and Fahim, we have nothing to lose so go for it.

 

[Savak]

1) Hafeez
2) Fakhar
3) Babar Azam
4) Shoaib Malik
5) Sarfaraz
6) Imad Wasim
7) Fahim Ashraf
8) Shadab Khan
9) Mohd Amir
10) Hasan Ali
11) Junaid Khan

 

[Savak]

Yes. Drop Azhar and use this... XI

1. Mohammed Hafeez
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Babar Azam
4. Sarfraz Ahmed
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Imad Wasim
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Shadab Khan
9. Mohammed Aamer
10. Hasan Ali
11. Junaid Khan

This is our best possible combination in the squad of 15. This is a semi final and we have to take a risk.

 

[Hamza_]

Haris
Fakhar
Babar
Shoaib
Sarfraz
Imad
Fahim
Shadab
Hasan
Amir
Junaid

 

[wasimjunior]

Haris
Fakhar
Babar
Shoaib
Sarfraz
Imad
Fahim
Shadab
Hasan
Amir
Junaid

You seen iMad bat and you want him at 6?

 

[wasimjunior]

This is our best possible combination in the squad of 15. This is a semi final and we have to take a risk.

With 7 bowlers? Plus Malik? And Haris who can also bowl? When you're batting struggles to chase 230?

No choice but to play azhar or shahzad. Haris needs to come in and maybe shadab but we have to drop bowlers.

Azhar
Fakhar
Babar
Haris
Malik
Sarfraz
Hafeez/shadab
Shadab/Fahim
Amir
Junaid
Hassan

If our seamers bowl like they have done all tournament that's thirty overs from those three...

So you need 20 from your 2 all rounders and maybe Malik.

Have to focus on our weakness

 

[shrestha]

Ahmed shehzad in for Azhar Ali - overall better odi batsman than Azhar

Haris Sohail in for Hafeez - Hafeez's batting has been terrible. May be Hafeez could bowl decent but Pakistan badly need a proper batsman and I think Haris would provide much needed stability.

 

[Hamza_]

You seen iMad bat and you want him at 6?

So who else?

Maybe swap Fahim with iMad

 

[wasimjunior]

So who else?

Maybe swap Fahim with iMad

Balance is wrong. Don't need 7 bowling options for 50 overs. Haris sohail needs to come in and maybe shadab.

Only need two from hafeez Fahim iMad and shadab.

We are stuck with azhar as he is a lesser evil than shahzad.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Haris should have started from game 1 he would have been up to speed by now. We have blessed in all bottles Hafeez instead.