Pakistan Tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe - April / May 2021

[AsadRM]

Shadab at 4 would be an interesting move for sure, but he needs to regain some batting form. Regardless, don't think there's any free spot in the top 4, since Haider is on the bench as well. He could be a good number 5 in the future.

I hope Shadab doesn't suffer Irfan Pathan's fate, with his bowling being ruined by the ambition of becoming an all-rounder, and ending up as a bits and pieces player. Misbah clearly wants him to focus more on batting, as he was his coach at Islamabad United last year when he began batting up the order, and he basically played as a batsman and part-timer in the England Tests last summer. His bowling performance has already suffered a lot.

We have Saud Shakeel, Haris Sohail and Haider contesting for that #4 slot. Shadab came at #4 in the PSL when he was struggling with his batting and bowling form. It was more of a move to prove himself rather than something very tactical. And Misbah doesn't want him to focus on batting. He was pretty clueless as ISLU's head coach, and for the Old Trafford Test, Shadab played as a second leg-spin option, as the pitch assisted spinners. He bowled poorly so didn't get many overs.

If Shadab's bowling woes continue, I see him losing a spot in the side especially when we play in Asia. Usman Qadir will replace him, as currently we are playing without a proper leggie. Shadab is just leaking runs and getting nothing in return.

I still believe in Shadab. I would like to see him get all the games in this tour, and be allowed to prove himself with the ball. If he doesn't, fine, drop him.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Shadab at 4 would be an interesting move for sure, but he needs to regain some batting form. Regardless, don't think there's any free spot in the top 4, since Haider is on the bench as well. He could be a good number 5 in the future.

I'm more interested in Haider Ali than Babar Azam in white ball cricket and vice versa. I personally would immediately put Haider at the top of the order. Give him a really long run!

Post automatically merged: Apr 3, 2021

We have Saud Shakeel, Haris Sohail and Haider contesting for that #4 slot. Shadab came at #4 in the PSL when he was struggling with his batting and bowling form. It was more of a move to prove himself rather than something very tactical. And Misbah doesn't want him to focus on batting. He was pretty clueless as ISLU's head coach, and for the Old Trafford Test, Shadab played as a second leg-spin option, as the pitch assisted spinners. He bowled poorly so didn't get many overs.

If Shadab's bowling woes continue, I see him losing a spot in the side especially when we play in Asia. Usman Qadir will replace him, as currently we are playing without a proper leggie. Shadab is just leaking runs and getting nothing in return.

I still believe in Shadab. I would like to see him get all the games in this tour, and be allowed to prove himself with the ball. If he doesn't, fine, drop him.

Haris Sohail is no good.

 

[CerealKiller]

We have Saud Shakeel, Haris Sohail and Haider contesting for that #4 slot. Shadab came at #4 in the PSL when he was struggling with his batting and bowling form. It was more of a move to prove himself rather than something very tactical. And Misbah doesn't want him to focus on batting. He was pretty clueless as ISLU's head coach, and for the Old Trafford Test, Shadab played as a second leg-spin option, as the pitch assisted spinners. He bowled poorly so didn't get many overs.

If Shadab's bowling woes continue, I see him losing a spot in the side especially when we play in Asia. Usman Qadir will replace him, as currently we are playing without a proper leggie. Shadab is just leaking runs and getting nothing in return.

I still believe in Shadab. I would like to see him get all the games in this tour, and be allowed to prove himself with the ball. If he doesn't, fine, drop him.

I know he’s not gonna bat at 4. I said he might be a long term number 5 batsman. I know it’s unlikely, because Haider and Saud are his competitors.
Misbah was the coach under whom he first started to bat up the order, which was a good move at the start, but now it’s clear that it has affected his bowling, and the fall in his bowling form has in turn affected his batting. Kind of a devil's circle. He has continued to bat in the lower middle order under Misbah in the national team, so I think it’s clear that he was encouraged to focus more on his batting than before.
I think he should be dropped if he doesn’t fire on this tour, and he needs to figure out himself what he wants to do. Faheem, Hasan and Qadir at 7-8-9 would be great if Shadab doesn’t regain form.

 

[Sami Kumar]

I’m a big advocate of having our keepers open for us. Sarfaraz was great at it and so is Rizwan as we saw in PSL and the New Zealand tour. I’d drop Fakhar and have Rizwan open. Get Haider/Shakeel to bat at 4. Also gives us the left-right opening pair rather than the odd 2 lefties up there. It could totally backfire having less experience down the order should Rizwan be unsuccessful but may just be the perfect time to experiment

 

[CerealKiller]

I’m a big advocate of having our keepers open for us. Sarfaraz was great at it and so is Rizwan as we saw in PSL and the New Zealand tour. I’d drop Fakhar and have Rizwan open. Get Haider/Shakeel to bat at 4. Also gives us the left-right opening pair rather than the odd 2 lefties up there. It could totally backfire having less experience down the order should Rizwan be unsuccessful but may just be the perfect time to experiment

Agree, but i think Fakhar will be given this series to rescue his ODI career.

 

[Bevab]

Is there a reason why Haider Ali cannot be the opener? Is he normally a number three/four? I'm assuming he can open considering that his favourite player is Rohit Sharma.

 

[Khan Sahab54]

Is there a reason why Haider Ali cannot be the opener? Is he normally a number three/four? I'm assuming he can open considering that his favourite player is Rohit Sharma.

He opened the innings for Pakistan against New Zealand in 2nd T20 in 2020 and he got dismissed for 8 runs.

 

[Bevab]

I’m a big advocate of having our keepers open for us. Sarfaraz was great at it and so is Rizwan as we saw in PSL and the New Zealand tour. I’d drop Fakhar and have Rizwan open. Get Haider/Shakeel to bat at 4. Also gives us the left-right opening pair rather than the odd 2 lefties up there. It could totally backfire having less experience down the order should Rizwan be unsuccessful but may just be the perfect time to experiment

Opening and keeping does take it's toll though, there is a reason why you don't see it happen too frequently. QdK, Dickwella (does he play LOI now?) and Hope for a brief period are the only ones in modern cricket to play that role.

Post automatically merged: Apr 3, 2021

He opened the innings for Pakistan against New Zealand in 2nd T20 in 2020 and he got dismissed for 8 runs.

Most top order batsmen could open in a T20, my question is if he can do the same in a 50 overs game. If yes, wouldn't he be the obvious replacement? There was another bloke called Abdullah Shafique, wonder what happened to him. Also remember Sahibzada Farhan (sp?) who was a monster in domestic cricket, why hasn't he played a game yet?

EDIT : And what happened to Abid Ali, I remember him getting a century too. A couple of more names sprinkled in and I can see this being a Sri Lanka worthy problem.

 

[CerealKiller]

Is there a reason why Haider Ali cannot be the opener? Is he normally a number three/four? I'm assuming he can open considering that his favourite player is Rohit Sharma.

He came up the ranks as an opener, but played the PSL last year as a middle order batsman for Peshawar, who didn't have room at the top. His hitting in the middle overs provided something that Pakistan lacked, so he's been playing at 3/4 for the national team. He could open, though.

There was another bloke called Abdullah Shafique, wonder what happened to him.

In the Test and ODI squads. Has a great technique, and clearly he's been earmarked for a long stint in the team, given that he's barely played any domestic cricket.

Also remember Sahibzada Farhan (sp?) who was a monster in domestic cricket, why hasn't he played a game yet?

EDIT : And what happened to Abid Ali, I remember him getting a century too. A couple of more names sprinkled in and I can see this being a Sri Lanka worthy problem.

Both of them lost form. Farhan could yet re-emerge. Abid is still in the Test squad.

 

[Khan Sahab54]

Babar needs to score 67 more runs to become no.1 ODI batsmen.

 

[Khan Sahab54]

Rana Faheem strikes!

 

[Bevab]

QdK has enjoyed some luck today.

 

[Khan Sahab54]

 

[Bevab]

Bavuma needs to get a move on here. His strike rotation concerns me, a world class number three normally can get to a fifty with just 5-10 dot balls at max.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

De Kock's wicket was a timely one for Pakistan. They were looking good for 350-odd score until that point. Bavuma have certainly switched gears and is doing a decent job. A well played half century from the skipper. It is really time for the Proteas to attack otherwise they would fall short.