hazharoon Posted April 3, 2015 Posted April 3, 2015 I have no personal issue with any of the players, or any agenda to push forward. Every assessment made is merely my viewpoint on the squad selected. After the relatively early exit from the World Cup, it was expected that the selectors will push forward with youth, and rightly so. To me its simple – if you’re not going to play in the 2019 World Cup, you shouldn’t be in the squad. And that’s the issue I have with the selection of Saeed Ajmal. I am a huge Ajmal fan; he is a great ambassador for Pakistan cricket and has performed remarkably for us, however I am not in favour of his inclusion at this point. Will Ajmal be representing Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup at 41 years of age? I highly doubt it. I’d rather we focus on backing youth for the premier event. As well as this, who’s to say Ajmal will be as effective as he once was? He hasn’t played competitive cricket in over seven months. I wish him well as he is a great guy, but I don’t agree with his selection. Another thing that is baffling is the exclusion of Ahmed Shehzad from the test and ODI squad. Here we have a youngster who has shown an appetite for big runs, yet the way he is treated is despicable. Shehzad was Pakistans leading run scorer in ODI cricket in 2014, the second highest scorer for Pakistan in the World Cup. He has played eight test matches, scored three hundreds with two fifties at an average close to 48. His last innings was a mammoth 176 against New Zealand, which was ended with a blow to his head. The treatment of Ahmed Shehzad is simply shocking. One of the reasons behind his exclusion is his ‘attitude problem’ and to ‘teach him a lesson’, well my question is if this is the case, why is he in the t20 squad? Now onto something a lot more positive, Mukhtar Ahmed, a name not a lot will know of. He is selected in the t20 squad after scoring a mighty impressive 100* against Karachi Dolphins. This knock came against Afridi and co, which is what I believe, persuaded the selectors and Afridi to include Mukthar in the squad. I’ve seen him bat and I think he’ll be a useful option at the top of the order. He has a pretty solid defence and a strong attacking game, what’s lacking though is the in-between, which is strike rotation. He also adds a bowling option with his part time leg-spin, which has had a relative amount of success. So far he’s had a positive start to his professional career averaging 40+ in all formats, lets hope he can transfer his domestic success to international cricket. What I am most happy about is the inclusion of Babar Azam and Sami Aslam. These two have been earmarked at a very young age to become quality international cricketers. Both have progressed up the ranks from the U19 stage and have had tremendous amounts of success. Recently Babar Azam scored a century against the Australians during a practice match, which shows his quality. One thing I do however find surprising is Babar’s exclusion from the ODI squad, which I believe is his stronger format. He averages 47 in list-a cricket compared to a mid 30’s average in first-class cricketer. Nevertheless, the inclusion of both around the set up is a positive move, and one that I am over the moon about! 22-year-old Mohammad Rizwan has also been called up to the Pakistan side, although this is the second time he has been included. He was previously included in the ODI team which toured the West Indies in 2013, however did not play a game. Watching Rizwan bat, I feel he is similar to Sarfaraz Ahmed. Both are ‘punchy’ players. His strength to me lies in strike rotation, this is a huge positive in his batting and it is a rare quality in a Pakistani batsman. I watched his double century in the Quaid-e-Azam thoroughly and I was impressed with the way he showed maturity at such a young age. He is a also a wicket-keeper which is an advantage. Umar Akmal has surprisingly been left out of all formats. I remember the last time we toured Bangladesh; Umar was the man of the series. He has always been one of my favourite batsmen in Pakistan, a modern day cricketer who takes the game to the opposition. I think the exlusion can work in a positive manner for him; he needs to look at this break from international cricket as a chance to improve and work on his game. He needs to go back to first-class cricket and learn how to construct an innings, 100+ scores are required. The bad thing for Pakistan cricketers are when they are out of form, its very hard to get back into form as the first-class game is very weak. Whilst Yasir has been a revelation for Pakistan in test cricket, I don’t feel he is a limited overs bowler. I love the passion and energy he brings to the game but I believe there are more promising spinners who deserve selection ahead of him e.g. Shahzaib Ahmed/Zafar Gohar. Shahzaib to me is the complete package, a marvellous leg spin bowler who at one point was the leading wicket taker in our domestic tournament. Last but not least Fawad Alam makes his much anticipated return to the Pakistan team. Fawad is a seasoned professional and the way he has handled himself after being exlcluded is commendable, no statements in the media etc. He has kept himself calm and instead resorts to answering his critics with the bat. He is a good inclusion and I am in favour of what he brings to the team. Although Misbah performed well for Pakistan, I believe what he did poorly was stagnate during the middle overs. This is the period where you need to rotate strike and build partnerships; this lies in with Fawads strength, which is nudging and nurdling the ball for ones and twos. Overall I am fairly to semi decently happy with the squad selected. As always there could be improvements however we must look at the positives, and those are mainly the inclusion of the youngsters. Eventually I see the likes of Hammad Azam making a return, which will be useful for Pakistan as I believe he will be required during the World Cup in England. Now is the time for the selectors to be consistent with the team and back them completely. The road to the 2019 World Cup starts now.
hazharoon Posted April 3, 2015 Author Posted April 3, 2015 who will be your openers ' date='specially in tests?[/quote'] Hafeez. And then Sami/Babar. Depends on how well Sami does in ODI series.
Autonomous Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 Sami Aslam is rubbish and so is Shehzad. Looking to see Babar Azam and Rizwan
ravishingravi Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 I think batting looks like it in some serious trouble. I would do this. Take a pool of 6 batsmen. No matter how they have performed. Back them over 5 years. Asad Shafiq Umar Akmal Sohail Azhar Few more.
f.b.m Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 Pretty obvious that Ahmed Shehzad is an A-grade **** but dropping him from the test squad and retaining him in the T20s makes no sense. Dropping him from the ODI squad would make sense solely on his lack of ability to rotate strike.
AmreekanDesi Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 Pretty obvious that Ahmed Shehzad is an A-grade **** but dropping him from the test squad and retaining him in the T20s makes no sense. Dropping him from the ODI squad would make sense solely on his lack of ability to rotate strike. isnt afridi still the t20 captain? makes sense if he is gonna pick his selfie partner lol :hysterical:
AmreekanDesi Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 how many young guns in team :peter: sirjohn i am a big fan of yours from my lurking days. :two_thumbs_up: good to see you posting. or maybe you do but just not in the same threads!
CSK Fan Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 boo hoo who cares if you don't have anything to contribute you can keep out of the thread
moniker Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 I do not get this concept of selecting players for the future. The selected squad should be the best squad that can win you the next game. Period. As a selector, if you are picking a team for a series keeping in mind some other tournament four years away, you are doing a disservice to the paying public by compromising on the team that is not necessarily the best team to win the next match. I find that unacceptable.
Roshanrocks Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali Pakistan ODI squad: Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Haris Sohail, Sohaib Maqsood, Sami Aslam, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Khan Pakistan T20 squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Mukhtar Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi (capt), Sohail Tanvir, Saad Nasim, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan Squad changes for Bangladesh tour ODIs Out: Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal, Younis Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Misbah-ul-Haq (retired), Shahid Afridi (retired) In: Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Sami Aslam Tests Out: Ehsan Adil, Imran Khan, Mohammad Talha, Shan Masood, Taufeeq Umar In: Babar Azam, Sami Aslam, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Sohail Khan T20s Out: Anwar Ali, Awais Zia, Raza Hasan, Umar Akmal In: Mukhtar Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Mohammad Rizwan, Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan
Austin 3:!6 Posted April 5, 2015 Posted April 5, 2015 Pakistan will always continue to produce quality bowlers. Its always been the case and it will always be the same. Even in this world cup Pakistan's 2nd string bowling attack was troubling some quality batting side. With Amir returning along side Wahab,Junaid, Ajmal, Hafeez etc. it will be even strong bowling attack. But Pakistan somehow need to churn a decent/world class batsman. Until you do that, you will never win any tournament. You might see flashes of brilliance like the Wahab Riaz spell etc. but in order to win an overall tournament you need batsman. I mean scoring 230 batting first and expecting bowlers to defend it will never happen in this age of T'20 cricket. I also blame Pakistani fans a bit. We all keep on hearing how Pakistan have missed Amir, how quick Wahab was, when Ajmal's ban gonna end etc. For a moment forget about bowling, its absolutely fine as it is. Just think about your batting and only batting. If possible start a nation wide hunt of batsman. Some of your best batsman in the team like Sarfraz, Haris, Maqsood etc. will not even feature in strong Ranji teams in India. Unless you sort out your batting problems, I am afraid Pakistan will never be a consistent team.
AmreekanDesi Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 Pakistan will always continue to produce quality bowlers. Its always been the case and it will always be the same. Even in this world cup Pakistan's 2nd string bowling attack was troubling some quality batting side. With Amir returning along side Wahab,Junaid, Ajmal, Hafeez etc. it will be even strong bowling attack. But Pakistan somehow need to churn a decent/world class batsman. Until you do that, you will never win any tournament. You might see flashes of brilliance like the Wahab Riaz spell etc. but in order to win an overall tournament you need batsman. I mean scoring 230 batting first and expecting bowlers to defend it will never happen in this age of T'20 cricket. I also blame Pakistani fans a bit. We all keep on hearing how Pakistan have missed Amir, how quick Wahab was, when Ajmal's ban gonna end etc. For a moment forget about bowling, its absolutely fine as it is. Just think about your batting and only batting. If possible start a nation wide hunt of batsman. Some of your best batsman in the team like Sarfraz, Haris, Maqsood etc. will not even feature in strong Ranji teams in India. Unless you sort out your batting problems, I am afraid Pakistan will never be a consistent team. a freak bowling talent can do well without a ton of formal coaching or attributes like patience and temperament batting is an art you learn with time and this is where Pakistan and minnows struggle
ravishingravi Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 I think Bangladesh has a great shot at home against this side.
Guldozer Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 This is the Bangladesh's best chance in 16 years but I still expect a whitewash in all formats.
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