Zimbabwe v Pakistan | 1st Test | Harare | 29 April - 3rd May , 2021 | Pre-Match Discussion

[MenInG]

Pakistan Test squad:

Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imran Butt (Balochistan), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh), Tabish Khan (Sindh) and Zahid Mahmood (Southern Punjab)

So what should be the Pakistan XI for the first game?

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Babar
Rizwan
Azhar
Saud
Fawad
Salman
Hasan
Sajid
Nauman
Faheem
Shaheen

 

[Concerned]

You can not be a wicket keeper in test matches and then go out open the innings.

 

[Mean&Green]

For gods sake please cancel this series we don’t need utter humiliation. You can get away with it in T20s because it’s a small format and any team can do anything because one over can change the whole game but if we lose a test here we need to be banned from cricket and not be allowed to play again for Atleast 50 years. So I really hope this gets cancelled because I can see some humiliation ahead.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan Test squad's practice session at Harare Sports Club (Pictures courtesy of the PCB)

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Only a few changes for me with Zahid being an obvious inclusion:

1. Imran Butt
2. Abdullah Shafique/Azhar Ali
3. Azhar Ali/Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam
5. Fawad Alam
6. Muhammad Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Hassan Ali
9. Nuaman Ali
10. Zahid Mehmood
11. Tabish Khan

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Shaheen and Hasan should be rested. Babar should also rest himself in the 2nd match.

Tabish Khan , Dahani and Haris Rauf should be spearheaded line up
Nauman ali and Zahir Mahmood should be the spinners

Imran butt and Azhar ali should open
Saud Shakeel at 1 down

Babar Fawad and Rizwan be 4,5,6

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Only a few changes for me with Zahid being an obvious inclusion:

1. Imran Butt
2. Abdullah Shafique/Azhar Ali
3. Azhar Ali/Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam
5. Fawad Alam
6. Muhammad Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Hassan Ali
9. Nuaman Ali
10. Zahid Mehmood
11. Tabish Khan

Misbah will save the competition for his buddy Yasir. I’m sure Zahid won’t debut.

 

[world cup captain]

Misbah will save the competition for his buddy Yasir. I’m sure Zahid won’t debut.

Yasir was not selected for the tour.

 

[Omer2002]

only one spinner will play i am sure and that will be nauman i think. Faheem will definately play as they like to have 5 bowlers now. Rest will be Misbahs usual

 

[Titan24]

Shaheen should play in my opinion as while he has played decent amount of whiteball cricket in one way or another he still doesnt have much red ball experience and needs to get games under his belt to develop further in the format. Yes opposition might not be the greatest but, still playing a test match in foreign condition is a decent experience than net sessions and warm ups.

Hassan if possible should be rested and one of the Dahani, Tabish or Rauf should debut in the first match. Ideally one of the younger guys, as deuting Tabish at his age with over 500 FC wickets against Zimbabwe would be another one of those things you wont necessarily see in an other parts of cricketing world. He can debut against a better team if experience is required.

Zahid and Nauman Ali should be main spinners in the first test with Faheem as the third seamer and all rounder.

Saud Shakeel surely has to debut and for that Azhar will have to open the batting. One of the best young batsman who has a proper all round game with good amount of domestic experience behind him, high time he is drafted in and is carried forward for a good season or two so that he is given ample opportunities to develop as there are not many around in Pak domestic circuit matching his quality.

Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam (C)
Fawad Alam
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Faheem Ashraf
Nauman Ali
Zahid Mehmood
Dahani/ Rauf
Shaheen Shah

 

[Firebat]

We should go with 2 spinners. These Zimbabwe pitches seem quite slow and Usman Qadir had plenty of joy in the white-ball series.

 

[Omer2002]

i want to see Abdullah Play it will be unfair he has been on three tours and this is perfect oppertunity. he is an opener and should play instead of Abid or Imran. I dont see Azhar opening at all.

 

[Ahmed216]

According to me ideal line-up to bring ur bench strength into the mix

Imran butt
Abdullah shafiq
Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam
Fawad Alam
Rizwan
Faheem
Sajid Khan
Hassan Ali
Tabish Khan/Nauman Ali
Dahani

Experienced middle order will provide solidity

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Imran Butt has looked so bad from what I’ve seen. Why do people want him in the 11?

 

[Last Monetarist]

 

[Titan24]

Imran Butt has looked so bad from what I’ve seen. Why do people want him in the 11?

Possibly the best slip fielder in Pakistan (A really important aspect in test cricket especially for Pak), has atleast some domestic experience and is much younger than Abid Ali (A thing to be looked at when playing weaker teams as you want to develop young players). Didnt look good against SA but, we dont have much options in the squad. Yes if they want to play Abdullah based upon potential against Zim then I personally dont mind however, if Imran can show some confidence and improvement in his batting than his slip catching with be a pretty luxurious bonus for Pak side.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Imran Butt has looked so bad from what I’ve seen. Why do people want him in the 11?

I think it's unfair to judge the lad off of just 2 matches, need to give him a proper run and hey let's see if he's learned anything in camp with M. Yousaf.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Possibly the best slip fielder in Pakistan (A really important aspect in test cricket especially for Pak), has atleast some domestic experience and is much younger than Abid Ali (A thing to be looked at when playing weaker teams as you want to develop young players). Didnt look good against SA but, we dont have much options in the squad. Yes if they want to play Abdullah based upon potential against Zim then I personally dont mind however, if Imran can show some confidence and improvement in his batting than his slip catching with be a pretty luxurious bonus for Pak side.

Yep, let's wait and see with Imran. Frankly this is a good chance for him to make a name for himself and with Sikander Raza their best bowler on these conditions not available he should find it easier. It'll be interesting if time with M. Yousaf made any difference to our batters i.e. have they excelled even further and are the openers improving.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Shaheen should play in my opinion as while he has played decent amount of whiteball cricket in one way or another he still doesnt have much red ball experience and needs to get games under his belt to develop further in the format. Yes opposition might not be the greatest but, still playing a test match in foreign condition is a decent experience than net sessions and warm ups.

Hassan if possible should be rested and one of the Dahani, Tabish or Rauf should debut in the first match. Ideally one of the younger guys, as deuting Tabish at his age with over 500 FC wickets against Zimbabwe would be another one of those things you wont necessarily see in an other parts of cricketing world. He can debut against a better team if experience is required.

Zahid and Nauman Ali should be main spinners in the first test with Faheem as the third seamer and all rounder.

Saud Shakeel surely has to debut and for that Azhar will have to open the batting. One of the best young batsman who has a proper all round game with good amount of domestic experience behind him, high time he is drafted in and is carried forward for a good season or two so that he is given ample opportunities to develop as there are not many around in Pak domestic circuit matching his quality.

Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam (C)
Fawad Alam
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Faheem Ashraf
Nauman Ali
Zahid Mehmood
Dahani/ Rauf
Shaheen Shah

You're forgetting that Misbah will treat Zimbabwe as the 2010s Australian team.

We'll most likely go in with the same playing XI as against South Africa, typical backward thinking.

If Dahani debuts, that will be good. Otherwise, I don't expect any changes.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

You're forgetting that Misbah will treat Zimbabwe as the 2010s Australian team.

We'll most likely go in with the same playing XI as against South Africa, typical backward thinking.

If Dahani debuts, that will be good. Otherwise, I don't expect any changes.

Dhani was certainly more successful than Tabish in the practise games but given this is Zimbabwe might as well give first priority to Tabish and play him.

No need for Shaheen to participate in this tour at all in my view, however like you said Misbah will try play it safe and play him. Chance to go up in the rankings is also on the line so i could see Shaheen playing.

 

[Ami]

Imran
Abid
Azhar
Babar
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Hasan
Nauman
Zahid/ or fast bowler
Afridi

 

[TeymurBlake]

1. Imran Butt
2. Azhar Ali
3. Babar Azam (C)
4. Fawad Alam
5. Saud Shakeel (please let him play)
6. Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Hassan Ali
9. Nauman Ali
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Zahid Mehmood (have to play two spinners)

 

[Line and Length]

Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam (c)
Fawad Alam
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Faheem Ashraf
Hasan Ali
Nauman Ali
Zahid Mehmood/Sajid Khan
Shahnawaz Dhani

Would love to see this lineup. But they'll probably go with Abid, and hard to see them resting Shaheen again. If Saud doesn't get two games here then it'll be bitterly disappointing.

 

[Khurrams22]

If they think out of the box then

Azhar
Rizwan
Babar
Saud
Fawad
Sarfaraz (WK)
Faheem
Hasan
Afridi
Nauman
Zahid

 

[Shoaibbtt]

If they think out of the box then

Azhar
Rizwan
Babar
Saud
Fawad
Sarfaraz (WK)
Faheem
Hasan
Afridi
Nauman
Zahid

To be fair i think that'll be unfair on the likes of Imran Butt and Abdullah Shafique, although can't say i hate the line-up you've presented.

I'm still tempted to rest Shaheen as he still isn't required and Tabish or Dhani would merit a go.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Imran Butt
Azhar Ali
Saud Shakeel
Babar Azam (c)
Fawad Alam
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Faheem Ashraf
Hasan Ali
Nauman Ali
Zahid Mehmood/Sajid Khan
Shahnawaz Dhani

Would love to see this lineup. But they'll probably go with Abid, and hard to see them resting Shaheen again. If Saud doesn't get two games here then it'll be bitterly disappointing.

Push comes to shove they ought to be trying Shafique as he's there as an opener and so why not try him if he's been raved about.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Saud Shakeel needs to bat number 3 and Azhar needs to open. we cant afford imran butt and abid Ali as 2 walking wickets as openers.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Saud Shakeel needs to bat number 3 and Azhar needs to open. we cant afford imran butt and abid Ali as 2 walking wickets as openers.

Imran deserves another go but can’t say I can vouch for Abid to get another go.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Dhani was certainly more successful than Tabish in the practise games but given this is Zimbabwe might as well give first priority to Tabish and play him.

No need for Shaheen to participate in this tour at all in my view, however like you said Misbah will try play it safe and play him. Chance to go up in the rankings is also on the line so i could see Shaheen playing.

Misbah is quite reserved and his style of thinking is primitive to the demands of the modern game of cricket.

Personally, I see no actual reason Pakistan would want to debut Zahid Mahmood other than Zimbabwe being unable to play legspin.

He's above the age of 30, doesn't have a lot to offer, and is not a long-term solution. Neither is Nauman Ali, and to be quite frank, we will have to let go of one of Zahid, Yasir, or Nauman quite soon. Yasir and Nauman are proven performers, but debuting Zahid will leave us with another headache. Yasir is a world-class spinner, he's vital for us to even have a chance in the upcoming WTC.

I think that Sajid Khan should be debuted. He's a younger player, who if given enough time could really settle into the type of attack we're trying to build. Our obsession with wrist-spinners in test cricket has prevented us from developing a single reliable finger spinner, and if you look around, most teams have a successful finger spinner to maintain a good ER and keep things tight.

I see no fitting reason to debut Zahid, especially given that his domestic stats are awful. Sajid is a much better choice, he has put in the hard yards and has bowled exceptionally well.

Tabish will likely get a chance from Misbah who will dread the sight of bringing new blood into the team.

I think Dahani will have more to offer on these Zimbabwean wickets compared with Tabish.

 

[Canistani Hero]

1) Azhar
2) Abdullah/Abid/Imran
3) Saud
4) Babar
5) Fawad
6) Rizwan
7) Faheem
8) Hasan
9) Nauman
10) Zahid
11) Shaheen

 

[Canistani Hero]

View attachment 108838

They dropped Wesley Madawere, their best batsman in the LOI's by a counter mile..

 

[Canistani Hero]

Misbah is quite reserved and his style of thinking is primitive to the demands of the modern game of cricket.

Personally, I see no actual reason Pakistan would want to debut Zahid Mahmood other than Zimbabwe being unable to play legspin.

He's above the age of 30, doesn't have a lot to offer, and is not a long-term solution. Neither is Nauman Ali, and to be quite frank, we will have to let go of one of Zahid, Yasir, or Nauman quite soon. Yasir and Nauman are proven performers, but debuting Zahid will leave us with another headache. Yasir is a world-class spinner, he's vital for us to even have a chance in the upcoming WTC.

I think that Sajid Khan should be debuted. He's a younger player, who if given enough time could really settle into the type of attack we're trying to build. Our obsession with wrist-spinners in test cricket has prevented us from developing a single reliable finger spinner, and if you look around, most teams have a successful finger spinner to maintain a good ER and keep things tight.

I see no fitting reason to debut Zahid, especially given that his domestic stats are awful. Sajid is a much better choice, he has put in the hard yards and has bowled exceptionally well.

Tabish will likely get a chance from Misbah who will dread the sight of bringing new blood into the team.

I think Dahani will have more to offer on these Zimbabwean wickets compared with Tabish.

Agree with your points but you can say you see no actual reason to play the only leggy in the squad and then you provide the answer yourself

 

[Line and Length]

Push comes to shove they ought to be trying Shafique as he's there as an opener and so why not try him if he's been raved about.

I get the feeling that Misbah and Babar aren’t the biggest fans of him but Mohammad Wasim is. That’s why he keeps getting selected in the squad but not picked for the lineups. I also think he’s not ready yet for international cricket.

 

[Khurrams22]

Imran Butt doesnt have it in him, he might score against minnows,
Abdullah is an unfinished product, needs a season or two

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Misbah is quite reserved and his style of thinking is primitive to the demands of the modern game of cricket.

Personally, I see no actual reason Pakistan would want to debut Zahid Mahmood other than Zimbabwe being unable to play legspin.

He's above the age of 30, doesn't have a lot to offer, and is not a long-term solution. Neither is Nauman Ali, and to be quite frank, we will have to let go of one of Zahid, Yasir, or Nauman quite soon. Yasir and Nauman are proven performers, but debuting Zahid will leave us with another headache. Yasir is a world-class spinner, he's vital for us to even have a chance in the upcoming WTC.

I think that Sajid Khan should be debuted. He's a younger player, who if given enough time could really settle into the type of attack we're trying to build. Our obsession with wrist-spinners in test cricket has prevented us from developing a single reliable finger spinner, and if you look around, most teams have a successful finger spinner to maintain a good ER and keep things tight.

I see no fitting reason to debut Zahid, especially given that his domestic stats are awful. Sajid is a much better choice, he has put in the hard yards and has bowled exceptionally well.

Tabish will likely get a chance from Misbah who will dread the sight of bringing new blood into the team.

I think Dahani will have more to offer on these Zimbabwean wickets compared with Tabish.

If you check out a post earlier I mentioned that Zahid got a couple of wickets, however knowing Zimbabwe guys like Brendan Taylor might feel at home with playing a leggie (I remember Brendan being an excellent player of legspin).

You are right about Saj, he bats as well as bowls and is super talented in my eyes. However, my only logic and my apologies for the simplicity but i thought why not replace a leggie with a leggie in Zahid and to be honest Zahid did well in the practise games picking up 2 wickets.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I get the feeling that Misbah and Babar aren’t the biggest fans of him but Mohammad Wasim is. That’s why he keeps getting selected in the squad but not picked for the lineups. I also think he’s not ready yet for international cricket.

The only reason Shafique is being put forward is because of our lack of openers in red ball cricket which is limited to say the least, besides Omair Bin Yousaf from Sindh there is nobody and you know what i'm not opposed to trying Abdullah he does have some nice shots and certainly does have potential. It's not great when we have no performing openers at the moment.

 

[Nasty Naz]

So what are the odds Saud continues to rot away on the bench? 99.9%?

It's baffling why Azhar doesn't open especially considering how terrible the openers are that he is basically opening anyways by always coming into the game so early.

Also, Zahid Mahmood has a 36.76 FC average? lol. Good LOI numbers but I don't think he should be on the Test squad.

I'd go with:

Azhar
Abid
Saud
Babar
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Nauman
Sajid (has a FC century -- I wonder he is decent with the bat?)
Hasan
Shaheen

 

[zacattakk]

Will Misbah experiment and give a chance to some of the new young players against Zimbabwe? It would be against his nature.

 

[moghul]

You can not be a wicket keeper in test matches and then go out open the innings.

And fasting.

 

[moghul]

Will Misbah experiment and give a chance to some of the new young players against Zimbabwe? It would be against his nature.

No, he is scared of losing, even to Zimbabwe.

 

[mazkhan]

Imran butt
Abid ali
Azhar
Babar
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Hasan ali
Shaheen
Nauman
Dhani or zahid depending on conditions and pitch.

That's probably the team misbah will go for

 

[Hitman]

For gods sake please cancel this series we don’t need utter humiliation. You can get away with it in T20s because it’s a small format and any team can do anything because one over can change the whole game but if we lose a test here we need to be banned from cricket and not be allowed to play again for Atleast 50 years. So I really hope this gets cancelled because I can see some humiliation ahead.

Don't worry, Pakistan isn't losing any Test this time to Zimbabwe.

 

[The Viper]

Saud Shakeel needs to bat number 3 and Azhar needs to open. we cant afford imran butt and abid Ali as 2 walking wickets as openers.

Agreed. Saud needs to play and I don’t get any confidence in our openers. Azhar Ali is pretty much playing as an opener anyway considering both our current openers can’t bat long. Abid should have been dropped from the squad, he has failed in every series aside from his first series. Imran is not amazing either, but deserves to play the series since he has hardly played.

 

[The Viper]

I see a few squads resting Shaheen. I don’t think that is the best idea. He rested in the T20 games, the more Tests he plays the better because this is his weakest format and he needs more games to improve. I don’t think we will see bench guys playing, we have Test specialists who wait quite a while to play games - they won’t be benched.

 

[MenInG]

Zimbabwe have recalled batsman Brendan Taylor and picked five uncapped players in its 16-man squad for the two-test series against Pakistan that starts at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday.

Taylor did not feature in Zimbabwe’s previous series against Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates due to ill health, but provides some much needed experience, especially in the absence of middle-order batsman Craig Ervine, who has a calf injury.

Pakistan-born all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who has also been a stalwart of the middle order in recent years, misses out as he receives treatment for a bone marrow infection.

READ | Rizwan, Hasan steer Pakistan to T20 series win over Zimbabwe

The five uncapped players are all-rounders Luke Jongwe and Roy Kaia, left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava, top-order batsman Milton Shumba and fast bowler Tanaka Chivanga, who at the age of 27 has only played three first class matches to date.

The first test will start on Thursday, with the second scheduled for May 7-11 at the same venue.

Squad:

Sean Williams (captain), Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chisoro, Tanaka Chivanga, Luke Jongwe, Roy Kaia, Kevin Kasuza, Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Tarisai Musakanda, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Milton Shumba, Brendan Taylor, Donald Tiripano.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...news-zimbabwe-vs-pakistan/article34416138.ece

 

[ask_analyse_act]

You can not be a wicket keeper in test matches and then go out open the innings.

That shows how much they know about cricket.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

No, he is scared of losing, even to Zimbabwe.

Yes even zimbabawe plays their c team, Misbah the panicky coach will still go for full strength team.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Yasir was not selected for the tour.

You don’t understand what I’m saying. Misbah will not let zahid debut because if he performs well then he challenges Yasir shah spot in the test side. Misbah will, not let his buddy face that challenge.

Similarly Ifthikar wasn’t selected for this whole SA and Zim tour, Misbah made sure that his spot 5 and 6 is still vacant for his buddy to put his hat in by repeatedly giving chances to danish and Asif ali

Shafique and Haider ali being better batsman were not preferred. Since Shafique is an opener doesn’t mean he has to open only , he could have easily played at no.4. For example , KL Rahul , Ajinkya Rahane are openers but they can also play at 4 or 5

Sarfraz was also in the team , he comes in only at the last game when they series was drawn to strengthen the middle order for the last game.

Now he has successfully made sure no.4,5,6 are still up for grabs for anyone.

Misbah can make plans as such to back his buddies, only if he can use that brain for winning matches, Pak would have achieved more.

 

[enigmatic_stani]

Saud Shakeel has to play! Not as bothered about the rest of the line up.

 

[Afhan Ali]

Will not be surprised if Saud Shakeel don't get the opportunity to play in 1st match.

 

[Shazzam]

This should be a thrilling Test match between two top teams. Looking forward of seeing how Zimbabwe with the bowl challenge Pakistan. Cricket fans crave for such battles.

 

[Markhor]

With our openers we're guaranteed to be 20/30-2 unless Azhar opens and Saud plays at 3.

 

[the Great Khan]

For gods sake please cancel this series we don’t need utter humiliation. You can get away with it in T20s because it’s a small format and any team can do anything because one over can change the whole game but if we lose a test here we need to be banned from cricket and not be allowed to play again for Atleast 50 years. So I really hope this gets cancelled because I can see some humiliation ahead.

what is wrong with some of you? I mean seriously??

 

[Manzy2599]

To be honest Misbah will probably go with the same team with his conservative approach even against Zimbabwe B. I can’t believe he is still coach despite failing so badly with his defensive and timid mindset. He’s made babar into a yes man captain so even if Saud Shakeel or Shahnawaz dhahi merit a selection they won’t get picked. I’m sure that even if Pakistan win the 1st test Misbah will play it safe with no new faces for the 2nd cause of his fear of failing and losing another test to Zimbabwe. He won’t be able to take any criticism and should be removed regardless. Don’t know what Imran khan saw in him apart from being a fellow Niazi who he handed full control of the team. Worst decision ever!

 

[gazza619]

I am struggling to keep up with the names of the players in the test squad.

Miss the old days when i would remember the names on my finger tips.

 

[Ami]

Imran butt
Abid ali
Azhar
Babar
Fawad
Rizwan
Faheem
Hasan ali
Shaheen
Nauman
Dhani or zahid depending on conditions and pitch.

That's probably the team misbah will go for

Yup. We all know what Misbah will do.

I would love to see Saud tried in one of the games, may be second, at no 3 or instead of Faheem.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan Test squad practice session at Harare Sports Club

 

[MenInG]

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Yup. We all know what Misbah will do.

I would love to see Saud tried in one of the games, may be second, at no 3 or instead of Faheem.

For me if Saud makes the cut he plays at no.4 for me with Babar playing at 3 and Azhar opening.

There should be no excuses that Pakistan batters make use of these conditions, it'll be a toss up between who gets the cap out of Zahid and Sajid as well as second fiddle spinner.

 

[mastimasti]

Are we expecting college level cricket here?

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Are we expecting college level cricket here?

Just be glad it's happening, any cricket is better than no cricket in my view.

 

[UzmanBeast]

If you check out a post earlier I mentioned that Zahid got a couple of wickets, however knowing Zimbabwe guys like Brendan Taylor might feel at home with playing a leggie (I remember Brendan being an excellent player of legspin).

You are right about Saj, he bats as well as bowls and is super talented in my eyes. However, my only logic and my apologies for the simplicity but i thought why not replace a leggie with a leggie in Zahid and to be honest Zahid did well in the practise games picking up 2 wickets.

A like for like replacement makes sense but why would we want to put Yasir Shah under pressure? He's 10x the bowler Zahid is, and he will need to be at full confidence for us to do well in the upcoming WTC.

Debuting Zahid would mean that we would either have to drop Yasir or Nauman, and all three of these guys are 30+.

Sajid seems like a better chance, especially since he spins the ball the opposite direction when compared with Yasir, Zahid, and Nauman.

However, I do see that if we play a majority of our games in the upcoming WTC at home and in the subcontinent, we could use a Yasir + Zahid combination to greatly assist us.

 

[hitthestump]

Are we expecting college level cricket here?

I think Zimbabwe on their own turf are a bit better than most people give them credit for. Pakistan without Yasir can't expect them to just roll over.

 

[Markhor]

Zimbabwe should lay out green pitches to give them the best chance of taking 20 wickets.

With a shaky top order, no Yasir and a weak pace attack, Pakistan are there for the taking.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

A like for like replacement makes sense but why would we want to put Yasir Shah under pressure? He's 10x the bowler Zahid is, and he will need to be at full confidence for us to do well in the upcoming WTC.

Debuting Zahid would mean that we would either have to drop Yasir or Nauman, and all three of these guys are 30+.

Sajid seems like a better chance, especially since he spins the ball the opposite direction when compared with Yasir, Zahid, and Nauman.

However, I do see that if we play a majority of our games in the upcoming WTC at home and in the subcontinent, we could use a Yasir + Zahid combination to greatly assist us.

Nuaman for me certainly plays, as well as the bowling he's impressed me with his batting as well.

I think this is our biggest issue we look at age and see that as a problem, we shouldn't get hung up on age and if a player performs let him stay.

I can see Zimbabwe struggling against Sajid and i think that on this ground spin might be king. I really want some of our boys after this series to play County Cricket.

 

[Extreme Pace]

1. Imran Butt
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Azhar Ali
4. Babar Azam (c)
5. Fawad Alam
6. Mohammed Rizwan (wk)
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Hasan Ali
9. Nauman Ali
10. Tabish Khan
11. Shahnawaz Dhani

 

[Ami]

Shaheen and Hasan should be rested. Babar should also rest himself in the 2nd match.

Tabish Khan , Dahani and Haris Rauf should be spearheaded line up
Nauman ali and Zahir Mahmood should be the spinners

Imran butt and Azhar ali should open
Saud Shakeel at 1 down

Babar Fawad and Rizwan be 4,5,6

Would love to see who should start at no 7 from Rauf, Tabish, Zahid, Nauman and Dhani, now that is a tail and a half.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

1. Imran Butt
2. Abdullah Shafique
3. Azhar Ali
4. Babar Azam (c)
5. Fawad Alam
6. Mohammed Rizwan (wk)
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Hasan Ali
9. Nauman Ali
10. Tabish Khan
11. Shahnawaz Dhani

hmmmm 1 specialist spinner only???? Only need 2 pacers and Faheem along with 2 specialist spinners on these conditions.

 

[shamaan]

Only a few changes for me with Zahid being an obvious inclusion:

1. Imran Butt
2. Abdullah Shafique/Azhar Ali
3. Azhar Ali/Saud Shakeel
4. Babar Azam
5. Fawad Alam
6. Muhammad Rizwan
7. Faheem Ashraf
8. Hassan Ali
9. Nuaman Ali
10. Zahid Mehmood
11. Tabish Khan

Who's going to open the bowling tabish and Hassan Ali ?

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Who's going to open the bowling tabish and Hassan Ali ?

Yep that'll be my bet, Tabish and Hassan sharing the new ball together. I reckon Tabish is a safe bet for this series and maybe could trouble the West Indies as well, only question marks for Tabish are is he capable of bowling long spells and can his body handle it? I didn't hear his name come up as much in the practise games but hope he comes good, really want him to do well.

 

[shamaan]

I get the feeling that Misbah and Babar aren’t the biggest fans of him but Mohammad Wasim is. That’s why he keeps getting selected in the squad but not picked for the lineups. I also think he’s not ready yet for international cricket.

Babar asked for shafique to be in the squad and wasim also wanted him in the squad.

 

[shamaan]

Yep that'll be my bet, Tabish and Hassan sharing the new ball together. I reckon Tabish is a safe bet for this series and maybe could trouble the West Indies as well, only question marks for Tabish are is he capable of bowling long spells and can his body handle it? I didn't hear his name come up as much in the practise games but hope he comes good, really want him to do well.

I would prefer Hassan to bowl with the older bowl and when reserve swings comes in to play but I also don't want to play shaheen as he should rested so yes I'd go with Hassan and tabish to.

 

[Kroll]

Looking forward to a high octane and fiercely contested match-up!

 

[shamaan]

My team would be

Imran butt
Azhar Ali
Saud shakeel
Babar
Fawad
Rizwan
Fahim ashraf
Hassan Ali
Numan Ali
Zahid mahmood
Tabish Khan

I would have liked to debut dahani but I think tabish should be given a go first.

Saud shakeel has to play and either bat at 3 or 4.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I would prefer Hassan to bowl with the older bowl and when reserve swings comes in to play but I also don't want to play shaheen as he should rested so yes I'd go with Hassan and tabish to.

Dhani is another option but i'd urge that you watch him in training in the Lahore camp, didn't look all that impressive to me, Taj Wali looked a lot better in my view. Tabish looked ok, no need to play Shaheen absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be rested in my view. Can't wait for this test though!

 

[Junaids]

It’s a Test against Zimbabwe.

How do you justify picking Azhar Ali instead of Abdullah Shafique, or Fawad Alam ahead of Saud Shakeel?

I’m just baffled!

 

[Shoaibbtt]

It’s a Test against Zimbabwe.

How do you justify picking Azhar Ali instead of Abdullah Shafique, or Fawad Alam ahead of Saud Shakeel?

I’m just baffled!

Maybe you shouldn’t watch Pak cricket or cricket in general if you don’t know the answer to any of that.

 

[Shazzam]

It’s a Test against Zimbabwe.

How do you justify picking Azhar Ali instead of Abdullah Shafique, or Fawad Alam ahead of Saud Shakeel?

I’m just baffled!

We are associate level without our best players. Full strength we are at least minnow level. In order to compete with Zimbabwe we are gonna need the services of Azhar and Fawad.

 

[moghul]

Credit should be given to Misnag and Pakistan team to make even the test against a team like Zimbabwe a competitive one.