Will Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali ever score more runs in a series than Faheem Ashraf?

[Junaids]

The series against South Africa has actually seen the changing of the guard, with Rizwan and Faheem now joining Babar Azam as Pakistan's best Test players, and Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi contributing too.

But you'd think that Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali were the ones winning the matches!

Here is what happened in the two Test series this year:

AWAY IN NEW ZEALAND
Faheem Ashraf 186 runs at 46.50
Azhar Ali 173 runs at 43.25
Fawad Alam 129 runs at 32.25

AT HOME v SOUTH AFRICA
Faheem Ashraf 171 runs at 85.50
Fawad Alam 170 runs at 56.66
Azhar Ali 115 runs at 38.33

Fawad Alam made two centuries - but still had so many failures that Faheem Ashraf averaged 13.25 higher than he did in the first series, and 28.84 higher than he did in the second series.

 

[Junaids]

If you think that was a flash in the pan, here is how Azhar and Faheem compared in their previous series:

IN IRELAND
Azhar Ali 6 runs at 3.00
Faheem Ashraf 83 runs at 83.00

IN ENGLAND
Azhar Ali 67 runs at 16.75
Faheem Ashraf 40 runs at 13.33

IN SOUTH AFRICA
Azhar Ali 59 runs at 9.83
Faheem Ashraf 15 runs at 7.50

 

[Ahson8]

Fawad literally scored 1 run less.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

You’re right! Let’s promote Faheem to opener and he’ll definitely do better than Azhar is against the new ball!

 

[Mamoon]

Fawad is the biggest drama in this team.

Averaged 10 in England, 32 in New Zealand and 35 overall since his comeback and his fans are acting as if he has performed miracles with the bat and showed what Pakistan has been missing over the past 10 years.

He is getting pampered and protected for producing the same numbers that made Shafiq public enemy number 1.

It is all about having favorites. No one cares about actual performances. Fawad has been strictly average since his comeback.

 

[Junaids]

Fawad is the biggest drama in this team.

Averaged 10 in England, 32 in New Zealand and 35 overall since his comeback and his fans are acting as if he has performed miracles with the bat and showed what Pakistan has been missing over the past 10 years.

He is getting pampered and protected for producing the same numbers that made Shafiq public enemy number 1.

It is all about having favorites. No one cares about actual performances. Fawad has been strictly average since his comeback.

Precisely!

 

[Rellu_Katta]

Fawad is the biggest drama in this team.

Averaged 10 in England, 32 in New Zealand and 35 overall since his comeback and his fans are acting as if he has performed miracles with the bat and showed what Pakistan has been missing over the past 10 years.

He is getting pampered and protected for producing the same numbers that made Shafiq public enemy number 1.

It is all about having favorites. No one cares about actual performances. Fawad has been strictly average since his comeback.

miles better than Asad Shafiq...

 

[Mamoon]

miles better than Asad Shafiq...

Maybe in domestic cricket, but he is averaging 35 in international cricket after his latest comeback.

 

[wajid]

Pure hatred here without any reason. Fawad averaged more than 50 this series, what else do you want? He scored crucial important runs as well. Nothing to take away from Faheem and he has been phenomenal but why attack someone performing well? Should we also replace Faheem with Babar at 4 as Babar averaged even less in this series and has an obvious flaw against spin?

And this is not his latest comeback but the only comeback.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Pure hatred here without any reason. Fawad averaged more than 50 this series, what else do you want? He scored crucial important runs as well. Nothing to take away from Faheem and he has been phenomenal but why attack someone performing well? Should we also replace Faheem with Babar at 4 as Babar averaged even less in this series and has an obvious flaw against spin?

And this is not his latest comeback but the only comeback.

Bro best just ignore these fakes. Honestly, they have nothing better to do and when you reply back they don’t even bother responding with a valid arguement.

Ignore them Fawad did well and his series by series improvement is a testament of his hard work. Just wish he made a 50 in the first innings but other than that he still contributed and the day 4 pitch just showed it wasn’t easy batting conditions.

He’ll be selected in the next series and there’s nothing these little Pakistan haters above can do.

Overall, I’d just want Fawad to work with YK on his sweep game and that will become a powerful exponent for him other than that keep up the good work!

 

[PakPremi]

So 171 runs is good but 170 runs not?
Fawada has already scored two fighting centuries in only 3 comeback test series, and one or two dogged innings. That is great return especially his first comeback series was in England and the second in England. Fawad will score a lots of runs for Pak next few years. Azhar Ali is still needed at home but could be rested for Zimbabwe away tour so we can find an eventual replacement for him by end of year.

 

[coy0607]

Azhar has been in a decline for years now, he's recovered somewhat in the last 6 month but its clear he doesn't have much left

And Faheem's improvement has been profound, he has completely turned it around as a batsmen. No question about who the more valuable player is between Faheem and Azhar at this point

Fawad is a different story. In the past 3 months, he's played some of the toughest innings we have seen from a Pakistani batsmen in a decade. Faheem may outperform him with the bat, but that doesn't mean Fawad isn't extremely valuable in the Test team

 

[Markhor]

Fawad is the biggest drama in this team.

Averaged 10 in England, 32 in New Zealand and 35 overall since his comeback and his fans are acting as if he has performed miracles with the bat and showed what Pakistan has been missing over the past 10 years.

He is getting pampered and protected for producing the same numbers that made Shafiq public enemy number 1.

It is all about having favorites. No one cares about actual performances. Fawad has been strictly average since his comeback.

Claim #1: "The same numbers as Asad Shafiq"

Fawad Alam averages 35 in his 6 Tests post-comeback, with 4 Tests in ENG and NZL. Asad Shafiq averaged 27 in his last 6 Tests before being dropped despite half of those being at home.

I'm not proclaiming Fawad's comeback to be a success or failure yet unlike you BTW because the sample is still too small. However he's already produced two hundreds, one helping build a vital 1st inns lead in Karachi.

Claim #2: "I never criticised Fawad for not reproducing his domestic numbers post-comeback"

I actually exposed your intellectual dishonesty, goalpost shifting and U-turning a few days ago but you ran off. Let me repeat so you can answer.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...national-cricket-quot&p=11076930#post11076930

 

[JibranAnsari]

azhar is on his last legs , he probably would have 20 plus hundreds had we been playing cricket in pakistan all these years.

Fawad too is at the end of his illustrious FC career , he is around 36 and not the best time to start hi career again. He has done very well to score two hundreds but clearly he doesnt have much future ahead in international cricket.
Faheem has scored some but with time we will know whether its been on expanse of his bowling or not.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

Maybe in domestic cricket, but he is averaging 35 in international cricket after his latest comeback.

Shafiq never made serious runs and his runs needed dropped catches and let offs.... really needed other players to score enough to give him the comfort of tired bowlers and un-interested fielders...

Shafiq was easily the worst investment we ever made.

Fawad is miles better ....

have to give him some rope to see how he progresses in international.. u cant expect him to score runs all the time when its 30/4 .... he needs a year or so... and its not like we have Babar Azam clones in domestic pushing to take his place

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Shafiq never made serious runs and his runs needed dropped catches and let offs.... really needed other players to score enough to give him the comfort of tired bowlers and un-interested fielders...

Shafiq was easily the worst investment we ever made.

Fawad is miles better ....

have to give him some rope to see how he progresses in international.. u cant expect him to score runs all the time when its 30/4 .... he needs a year or so... and its not like we have Babar Azam clones in domestic pushing to take his place

If you are showing improvement which he has then I wouldn't care what these attention seekers above say. They obviously hate Fawad for some strange reason like clowns they come out when someone fails and don't even praise them when they are making runs.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

If you are showing improvement which he has then I wouldn't care what these attention seekers above say. They obviously hate Fawad for some strange reason like clowns they come out when someone fails and don't even praise them when they are making runs.

its too early to tell whether Fawad will be great or bust.. his last innings before this stunt was a match saving great innings...

this time around, he was unfortunate to start with extremly difficult tours.... NZ and Eng are just too difficult for newbies (however old they are).

We have a lot of test cricket coming up in next 12-18 months... this would define Fawad and might be his last few yers anyways

 

[Azrim_91]

Maybe in domestic cricket, but he is averaging 35 in international cricket after his latest comeback.

I always agree with what you say but you have to look at that average in the context of the matches being played. Ben stokes changes games and wins matches with his 30 odd average in tests. Fawad has done decent since coming back and has scored a lot more when it matters than Shafiq.

The biggest fraud is Azhar Ali, who I’ve never seen score a match winning innings. His runs are always at the expense of a loss or someone has also contributed with him.

 

[PakPremi]

azhar is on his last legs , he probably would have 20 plus hundreds had we been playing cricket in pakistan all these years.

Fawad too is at the end of his illustrious FC career , he is around 36 and not the best time to start hi career again. He has done very well to score two hundreds but clearly he doesnt have much future ahead in international cricket.
Faheem has scored some but with time we will know whether its been on expanse of his bowling or not.

Fawad is going nowhere he is still very fit and playing well and long innings.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

its too early to tell whether Fawad will be great or bust.. his last innings before this stunt was a match saving great innings...

this time around, he was unfortunate to start with extremly difficult tours.... NZ and Eng are just too difficult for newbies (however old they are).

We have a lot of test cricket coming up in next 12-18 months... this would define Fawad and might be his last few yers anyways

I think that this SA series says a lot about him, he's done very well barring his last innings in which he scored 12. SA is not an easy opponent to battle against whether that be at home or away, everyone thought he'd get rattled by pace but that was hardly the case.

Fawad has had some difficult tours to start with as you said but in this series in particular he's impressed me and his progressive improvement series by series shows he will be a capable middle order batsman who won't easily sell his wicket.

Only thing Fawad needs to work on is being patient at the wicket i.e. not getting frustrated when the strike isn't being rotated plus i think to maximise his strength against spin he needs to work closely with YK on the sweep/reverse sweep. However, his aggressive nature against spinners now is with the work YK has put in in my opinion.

However, on a positive note experience builds with time and he's continually staking his claim in the squad with adequate performances. The upcoming series will just boost his confidence more and more, with again some decent opponents in Bangladesh and WI (this will be a big series as the dukes ball gets used there).

 

[Zaz]

The series against South Africa has actually seen the changing of the guard, with Rizwan and Faheem now joining Babar Azam as Pakistan's best Test players, and Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi contributing too.

But you'd think that Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali were the ones winning the matches!

Here is what happened in the two Test series this year:

AWAY IN NEW ZEALAND
Faheem Ashraf 186 runs at 46.50
Azhar Ali 173 runs at 43.25
Fawad Alam 129 runs at 32.25

AT HOME v SOUTH AFRICA
Faheem Ashraf 171 runs at 85.50
Fawad Alam 170 runs at 56.66
Azhar Ali 115 runs at 38.33

Fawad Alam made two centuries - but still had so many failures that Faheem Ashraf averaged 13.25 higher than he did in the first series, and 28.84 higher than he did in the second series.

This is a laughable thread

If runs and avge in a series is your metric of the quality of a player then babar must be pretty poor cos hes relatively failed in this series

You cant make up rules for some and not for others based on your like and dislike

 

[Greenstorm]

Fawad is good against spin. We will need him considering our fixtures during next few years.

Azhar can give us 1-2 more years as an opener allowing Saud to bat at 3. Imran should be tried for another series before discarding.

 

[Rellu_Katta]

I think that this SA series says a lot about him, he's done very well barring his last innings in which he scored 12. SA is not an easy opponent to battle against whether that be at home or away, everyone thought he'd get rattled by pace but that was hardly the case.

Fawad has had some difficult tours to start with as you said but in this series in particular he's impressed me and his progressive improvement series by series shows he will be a capable middle order batsman who won't easily sell his wicket.

Only thing Fawad needs to work on is being patient at the wicket i.e. not getting frustrated when the strike isn't being rotated plus i think to maximise his strength against spin he needs to work closely with YK on the sweep/reverse sweep. However, his aggressive nature against spinners now is with the work YK has put in in my opinion.

However, on a positive note experience builds with time and he's continually staking his claim in the squad with adequate performances. The upcoming series will just boost his confidence more and more, with again some decent opponents in Bangladesh and WI (this will be a big series as the dukes ball gets used there).

u got to feel bad for any batsman in Pak lineup who bats at no 4-5-6 these days...they are almost always always in at 30/3.... 40/5 so the pressure is on them anyways

Fawad has been miles better than Asad Shafiq (the most useless batsmen ever to play 75+ tests) but Fawad crumbled under pressure right near the end... If he had saved that NZ test, or scored a BIG hundred around 175+ in first test here, then we wont have this debate... but again that will hopefully come with time

so in short, he hasn't set the world on fire but its still to early to write him off
the guy batted to 10 darn years in domestic, we owe him at least 20 tests before we put him in wasted bracket

 

[Shoaibbtt]

u got to feel bad for any batsman in Pak lineup who bats at no 4-5-6 these days...they are almost always always in at 30/3.... 40/5 so the pressure is on them anyways

Fawad has been miles better than Asad Shafiq (the most useless batsmen ever to play 75+ tests) but Fawad crumbled under pressure right near the end... If he had saved that NZ test, or scored a BIG hundred around 175+ in first test here, then we wont have this debate... but again that will hopefully come with time

so in short, he hasn't set the world on fire but its still to early to write him off
the guy batted to 10 darn years in domestic, we owe him at least 20 tests before we put him in wasted bracket

Again i blame Pakistan management for no sort of development program for these players that score heavily in domestic, i mean my desire was for our batsmen to play county cricket as it's benefited many batsmen historically in away conditions and playing the dukes ball (again strengthens a batsman even more).

I'm not gonna slate Asad cause i just don't wanna do that anymore to be honest i'm trying my best not to hate.

I think this particular discussion thread is a bit of a joke and if i'll be honest a personal attack, so this isn't a valid discussion thread in my book. This is the problem with most our fans, we have zero absolute zero subar (patience) for players and hope they fail which is a poor and negative attitude. When a player fails we can't wait to lick our lips and go to town on them but never stop to appreciate the efforts they put in as well or acknowledge their match winning performances e.g. calling Fawad's Karachi hundred a "baby" hundred.

Junaids and Mamoon are nothing but plain hate filled bias individuals and so i always say you can't go by what they say and would encourage people ignoring them.

Chopping and discarding players is something that should not always be encouraged and best avoided if your team is doing somewhat well cause by doing changes it takes away the good work coaches do with players and to be fair Fawad looks like he's gained handy tips on aggression against spin which i will credit YK cause that's what he used to do himself against spinners.

In short as i said series by series Fawad is improving and can only get better with more cricket given to him. Experience is gained from playing test after test and i can see it won't take Fawad a lot of time to settle and provide the team with some useful 30-40 scores along with the odd 100. Be patient is my motto and provide improving players with support.

 

[Justcrazy]

Azhar and Fawad both past there primes , Fawad is a better batsman so he can bat another 3 years , Azhar should be dropped as early as possible. Its better to invest in youngster than persisting in mediocre experience

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Azhar and Fawad both past there primes , Fawad is a better batsman so he can bat another 3 years , Azhar should be dropped as early as possible. Its better to invest in youngster than persisting in mediocre experience

Not the biggest Azhar fan but he performed in the last 2 series not too badly so i think persistence with him is still justified.

I reckon based on Fawad's fitness he could continue till he's 42 in all honesty. I think he will only grow in confidence and looking at him series by series he is certainly improving.

 

[Confucius]

Claim #1: "The same numbers as Asad Shafiq"

Fawad Alam averages 35 in his 6 Tests post-comeback, with 4 Tests in ENG and NZL. Asad Shafiq averaged 27 in his last 6 Tests before being dropped despite half of those being at home.

I'm not proclaiming Fawad's comeback to be a success or failure yet unlike you BTW because the sample is still too small. However he's already produced two hundreds, one helping build a vital 1st inns lead in Karachi.

Claim #2: "I never criticised Fawad for not reproducing his domestic numbers post-comeback"

I actually exposed your intellectual dishonesty, goalpost shifting and U-turning a few days ago but you ran off. Let me repeat so you can answer.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...national-cricket-quot&p=11076930#post11076930

View attachment 106903

A beautiful dismantling of a troll sir. Tip my hat to you.

I'm loving the immergence of Faheem the batsman's but let's be real here Azhar and Fawad bat during more difficult phases of the innings: bowlers are fresher; scoreboard pressure due to losing our abysmal openers early; the ball still has its shine etc. Comparing them just by stats is a bit reductive in my humble opinion.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

A beautiful dismantling of a troll sir. Tip my hat to you.

I'm loving the immergence of Faheem the batsman's but let's be real here Azhar and Fawad bat during more difficult phases of the innings: bowlers are fresher; scoreboard pressure due to losing our abysmal openers early; the ball still has its shine etc. Comparing them just by stats is a bit reductive in my humble opinion.

Very true bro plus none of these guys are appreciating the runs put on by these blokes, I mean both Azhar and Fawad had a key hand in winning that first test, all these guys are are just portraying is a hateful personal attack which is frankly childish.

Not saying Fawad is a saviour of cricket and only time will tell how he does, inshAllah with hard work i hope he succeeds which he has in my view. In my view given the hard assignments Fawad has had on his return he has performed well, and the conversion rates is something that needs to be appreciated.

Moving onto Azhar he has started to perform well in the last few series with this one just being about average for him, however he still deserves credit for his performance in the first test. Batting against SA whether at home or away is never easy and in my view any performance put on against them must be appreciated.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Claim #1: "The same numbers as Asad Shafiq"

Fawad Alam averages 35 in his 6 Tests post-comeback, with 4 Tests in ENG and NZL. Asad Shafiq averaged 27 in his last 6 Tests before being dropped despite half of those being at home.

I'm not proclaiming Fawad's comeback to be a success or failure yet unlike you BTW because the sample is still too small. However he's already produced two hundreds, one helping build a vital 1st inns lead in Karachi.

Claim #2: "I never criticised Fawad for not reproducing his domestic numbers post-comeback"

I actually exposed your intellectual dishonesty, goalpost shifting and U-turning a few days ago but you ran off. Let me repeat so you can answer.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...national-cricket-quot&p=11076930#post11076930

View attachment 106903

Damn son lol

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Being a bit unfair to Fawad.

Yes other than the century he was pretty bad against NZ, but a second series back after a decade and to play against the best test team, and he managed a century is pretty impressive personally.

45, 109, 12, and 4* is a solid series against SA.

Not sure what people want. We know he isn't a superstar but he has now one man of the match awards in 6 matches, one of which was a sublime century that won us the first match against SA under a lot of pressure.

People once said he would be a bully against Asian teams only, while against the best in the world, he would be mediocre.

35 average since his comeback yes, but every series it went from a 10 average against SL, 32 average in NZ, and 56 average against SA.

Looks like he is just starting to get comfortable without the threat of the axe over his head.

I don't understand the vitriol against Fawad as though he has personally done wrong to anyone.

He was thought to struggle against any non Asian team, and he won a match with his performance.

He was thought to struggle outside of Asia and there would be no chance he does anything against NZ, and lo and behold a century. How many Pakistani batsmen have a test century in New Zealand or against the best ranked team in the world at the time?

Fawad isn't a world beater, but there is a lot of disrespect for someone who says little, and has already done a lot more than people anticipated.

The line keeps shifting as well with regard to his expectations. First he would be an Asian bully, then he needs to be better than what he is doing, then it is this isn't even that special.

Where is the line drawn for Fawad to be a success?

Again - no one is claiming he is a superstar, far from it, but compared to what people expected of him, he has so far surpassed all expectations that his story in and of itself is beautiful and puts a smile on my face.

Hope Fawad keeps it up, can average in the 40s and be a key cog in the test side for a few years.

If he doesn't, he has already silenced any doubters who seem to change the barometer for what he is to be as a player, every time he surpasses their expectations of him.

Grit, determination, attitude, hard work, that is what I take away from Fawad, and he has already etched himself a fan base just by showing perseverance and keeping a good mindset can overcome physical and talent limitations.

 

[Abdullah]

Fawad is the biggest drama in this team.

Averaged 10 in England, 32 in New Zealand and 35 overall since his comeback and his fans are acting as if he has performed miracles with the bat and showed what Pakistan has been missing over the past 10 years.

He is getting pampered and protected for producing the same numbers that made Shafiq public enemy number 1.

It is all about having favorites. No one cares about actual performances. Fawad has been strictly average since his comeback.

Mate , you know and I know if he played the best part of 10 years in the UAE at number 6, he would have done better than Asad.
As for now, you have to give the guy a few innings to get into it. He has still only had 9-10 innings in total and his avg is 45-50 range last 6 7 innings
And he has 2 hundreds.
Asad averaged one hundred a year

I don't deny his best years may be behind him but stop spouting nonsense.

He didn't have the benefit of any tour games either

But as always some people ready to pounce

 

[GreenKhan]

Silly post . They all are doing well in there respective positions .

Fawad and Azhar , have that durability and mental toughness which is very important in test cricket . Azhar is averaging 45 odd since his England century and Fawad has also played a couple of very good knocks .

Faheem brings that urgency and momentum in the latter part of the innings .

Sort the openers out and we have a decent line batting line up , which has grit and flair right up to number 8 .

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Maybe in domestic cricket, but he is averaging 35 in international cricket after his latest comeback.

Fawad Just played a match winning innings in Karachi. Give one such example of Asad Shafiq where the wickets were tumbling and Asad came and won the match. Asad's Body language would show nerves even to people watching TV who didn't have much knowledge. But to the opposition it was crystal clear, here is a nervous person and easy wicket.
Once again the buzz around Fawad is not about how good he is but about making a comeback after being overlooked for sooo long

 

[Junaids]

Pure hatred here without any reason. Fawad averaged more than 50 this series, what else do you want? .

You are being a bit concrete here.

Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali are being treated like triumphant heroes, but they are consistently scoring less runs than Faheem Ashraf who is a certified Number 8.

Pakistan beat New Zealand in spite of being repeatedly dismissed for less than 300 because an army of old men - Azhar, Abid and Fawad are not scoring enough runs. Not even scoring as many runs as Faheem Ashraf!

 

[Dark_Horse]

You are being a bit concrete here.

Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali are being treated like triumphant heroes, but they are consistently scoring less runs than Faheem Ashraf who is a certified Number 8.

Pakistan beat New Zealand in spite of being repeatedly dismissed for less than 300 because an army of old men - Azhar, Abid and Fawad are not scoring enough runs. Not even scoring as many runs as Faheem Ashraf!

Is Faheem no 3 batsman?

 

[Shoaibbtt]

You are being a bit concrete here.

Fawad Alam and Azhar Ali are being treated like triumphant heroes, but they are consistently scoring less runs than Faheem Ashraf who is a certified Number 8.

Pakistan beat New Zealand in spite of being repeatedly dismissed for less than 300 because an army of old men - Azhar, Abid and Fawad are not scoring enough runs. Not even scoring as many runs as Faheem Ashraf!

You keep mentioning their names but didn't mention Babar. Mate, if you came out and said you had a hatred for these players it would be something else, but it's pretty petty coming out and saying Fawad scored less runs than Faheem in this series by 1 run (that's petty and supports the idea that you are just portraying a personal agenda).

It probably irks you to give Fawad an ounce of credit for his first test contribution which he helped Pakistan get out of a pickle and without his contribution and indeed Azhar Ali's we wouldn't have even gotten a lead and won that game.

Either you have no patience or you hate these guys which is it?

Another thing you can't give credit to and can't appreciate is that it isn't exactly easy coming out and making a comeback on 2 away series. You were on the fore front of an attack after 2 innings which doesn't exactly show patience. You haven't even and have failed to even mention the bigger issue in our opening pair who haven't done anything.

 

[moghul]

Less we talk about Faheem's bowling is better.

As a batsman also, he has been a failure in FC cricket, ODIs and tests until the NZL tour. He has to score consistently in future to convince everyone his recent runs are not just a flash in the pan.

 

[Square Drive]

Claim #1: "The same numbers as Asad Shafiq"

Fawad Alam averages 35 in his 6 Tests post-comeback, with 4 Tests in ENG and NZL. Asad Shafiq averaged 27 in his last 6 Tests before being dropped despite half of those being at home.

I'm not proclaiming Fawad's comeback to be a success or failure yet unlike you BTW because the sample is still too small. However he's already produced two hundreds, one helping build a vital 1st inns lead in Karachi.

Claim #2: "I never criticised Fawad for not reproducing his domestic numbers post-comeback"

I actually exposed your intellectual dishonesty, goalpost shifting and U-turning a few days ago but you ran off. Let me repeat so you can answer.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...national-cricket-quot&p=11076930#post11076930

View attachment 106903

Yikes!

Not surprised he still hasn't replied to that. I'm sure he's either travelling, or there's a PTM rally causing an internet outage of course.

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan should use the upcoming home season and easy set of fixtures to move on from the likes of Fawad and Azhar.

It is not going to happen but it should happen. It is what all top teams do. Australia dropped Voges at 36 after he was averaging 60 in Test cricket.

Meanwhile Pakistan is pampering a 30s averaging player like Fawad after getting rid of Shafiq who had the same output. Azhar himself is not doing enough at this stage.

Pakistan is bankrupt in terms of talent, but you still have to keep digging until you find someone.

If they are carrying two 35-36 year old with high 30 averages, it is better to find two batsmen who are 10 years younger than them but will provide roughly the same output.

Surely, for a cricket nation with such little talent, it will not be hard to find two batsmen in the mid 20s averaging between 35-39?

Both Fawad and Azhar are mediocre today and they will leave big holes in the lineup 2-3 years from now when they will be completely washed up.

Pakistan never manages a smooth transition because it always waits until it is too late.

 

[OmarKhan99]

Fawad is extremely important to the team. Despite all the unothordoxy, looks really reassured at the crease. Has an aura of calm that complements Babar before him and Rizwan-Faheem after. He was set for a big one in the first innings of the 2nd Test if it weren't for the brilliant Bavuma run-out.

Age is just a number. As long as he's fit, has the fire, and still has an appetite for buckets of runs (big hundreds), he deserves to be in the XI.