India in Pakistan

[ZexyZahid]

Yes, Malik will be fit. It isn't written here, but I read he needed one week rest.

Shoaib Malik undergoes surgery on heels
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/pakvind/content/story/230700.html

 

[vibs89]

When will Pakistan announce their squad for the first test? I am particularly interested in their opening pair in batting. Shoaib Malik underwent some surgery recently... Is he gonna be fit for the first test? Salman Butt is assured of one opening spot. But, if Shoaib Malik is not fit till first test does that mean Umar, Farhat, Hameed are back into contention?? Do you think Afridi can open the batting in tests?

I am sure Shoib Malik will be fit by that time. If he's not then more likely they will take Yasir Hameed opening with Salman Butt. And about Afridi opening. I don't think he can. He can play very well in the middle order. Also they might try some experiment by sending down Kamran Akmal in the opening Slot. Cause Akmal has performed very good in the ODI two consective 100's againts England. So they might send him down.

 

[ZexyZahid]

And for those who don't know it: Yasir Hameed scored 139 runs off 231 deliveries with 20 fours.

Butt and Malik did well as opening partnership, since they past the fifty a couple of times without losing a wicket. That's good enough for me. But I like Hameed's style.

 

[vibs89]

And for those who don't know it: Yasir Hameed scored 139 runs off 231 deliveries with 20 fours.

Butt and Malik did well as opening partnership, since they past the fifty a couple of times without losing a wicket. That's good enough for me. But I like Hameed's style.

Yeah I've seen Hameed batting. He has good footwork and the way he bats.

 

[Dhoni]

Yasir Hameed is a talented youngster for Pakistan. I don't know why he's not in the side for awhile. I bet he's better than Butt; but he was having tough time in last few games that he played and couldn't make runs for the team He's fun to watch when he's in full flow. He got some lovely shots and good footwork as 89 said. I think he's just a great player and should be in the side precisely for those reasons.

 

[Pak_cricketer]

Yeah I've seen Hameed batting. He has good footwork and the way he bats.

The problem with him is that he chases the ball and nicks it towards the slip too many times.

I would like to see if Umer Gul or M. Asif are given a chance, Gul has a great record againest India (Do any Indians remember?) and Asif looked great againest England.

 

[Dhoni]

The problem with him is that he chases the ball and nicks it towards the slip too many times.

I would like to see if Umer Gul or M. Asif are given a chance, Gul has a great record againest India (Do any Indians remember?) and Asif looked great againest England.

Yeah! I do remember him, mate! He was the man of the match in the 2nd test I think. If I'm not wrong, in that match he took 5 wickets in one inning. He's a nice bowler, but don't know if he'll play or not.

 

[Hariz]

I certainly think Gul will be given a chance, as Shabbir wont be appearing on the international circuit for a longer period of time. The opening pair of Salman Butt and Malik seems fine to me as Malik is also that handy off-spinner. Yasir Hameed is a good prospect but has not been able to settle down in international cricket and needs to sort out his technique, where he chases a ball or lets one through the gate.

 

[s2sschan]

Pakistan's batsmen, especially Inzy, Mohd. Yousuf, Afridi, and Younis Khan look very formidable. Indian bowling can be quite insipid at times. I am not sure if India has the ammunition to take 20 Pakistan wickets in a reasonable time frame.

 

[m_vaughan]

You must not forget the two youngsters, Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt. Very talented.

 

[sohum]

Pakistan has very talented blokes but I don't think anyone is really that consistent (apart from the big guns like Inzy, Youhana, etc.). That said, it's the drop-in-the-pond innings that win matches. The Indians will definitely have a tough time dismissing the Pakistani batsmen, but I don't think the Pakistani bowlers (and fans) should expect India's batting to crumple just at the thought of the [over-?]hyped Pakistan bowling line-up and the bowling pitches. It'll definitely be a struggle for both teams which will make for really good cricket.

I think someone also made a comment about Dhoni's lack of technique. I would like to disagree with that comment. Dhoni plays almost his whole innings completely straight down the ground. When he just comes in, he plays almost everything with a straight bat. What undoes him is his aggression. But I don't think his technique is all that bad.

 

[mohsinshahzad84]

i think india should not get over confidence with its very over hyped batting line up.and only time can tell what will happen. so till now its even in test matches but in ondayers has pakistan has better chances of winnig.

 

[sohum]

I don't think India will get overconfident. In fact Chappell had already stated, before the Lanka series was over, that India are taking Pakistan very, very seriously. That said, Pakistan shouldn't expect home-court advantage to give them too much help from another subcontinental superpower.

Obviously only time can tell what will happen, but then we should all not be at this forum discussing this, now. Also, apart from the newcomers in the Indian team, most of the batting line-up is solidly placed into international cricket. We've got Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid, and Laxman (and Ganguly) who have already been tested in international cricket and come out pretty successful. People like Yuvraj, Dhoni, Gambhir and Jaffer still have a ways to go before they can be judged.

India went to Pakistan last time with the Pakistan pace outfit at its full strength. The result was some really good cricket and some awesome records (Sehwag's 309, the high scoring Karachi game). The basic purpose of this post was to counter the claim that India's batting line-up is overhyped because they share more than 25000-odd runs between them. That said, it is always bowlers who win test matches so Pakistan could well have the advantage.

 

[ZexyZahid]

Yasir Hameed is a talented youngster for Pakistan. I don't know why he's not in the side for awhile. I bet he's better than Butt; but he was having tough time in last few games that he played and couldn't make runs for the team He's fun to watch when he's in full flow. He got some lovely shots and good footwork as 89 said. I think he's just a great player and should be in the side precisely for those reasons.

I like his batting too, but sometimes he hits too rash shots. And we need a solid opener, not someone who is inconsistent.

Personally since the Butt-Malik (in Tests) went over the 50 runs partnership a couple of times, I feel that partnership should be hold on.

And I've never seen Umar Gul play, so I'm looking forward to see him play. If would be selector I would choose for the Test bowling attack Akhtar, Kaneria, Rana and Asif/Gul/Rao Iftikhar (underestimad player).

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I think someone also made a comment about Dhoni's lack of technique. I would like to disagree with that comment. Dhoni plays almost his whole innings completely straight down the ground. When he just comes in, he plays almost everything with a straight bat. What undoes him is his aggression. But I don't think his technique is all that bad.

The problem is how he handles short deliveries. Especially against the fast bowlers, and we know all the Pakistani bowlers are perfectly capable of hitting the deck at a good pace.