Pakistan's Tour of New Zealand - 2020/21

[Ed Smith]

Not far wrong I'd guess...

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

Fawad jaani scoring a century in the lead up to 2021 is the only omen I needed to know that 2021 will be a great f'in year! <3

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Never understood this Rizwan bashing on this site across all formats. Rizwan seems like an exciting player and given an extended run will become that gritty and versatile cricketer Pak have been looking for in a while. The fact that this guy warmed the bench and played dead rubbers/the odd game for several years while Sarfaraz Ahmed was playing is a total waste of talent. He's one of those players who's willing to take the game on and who can change the dynamic of the game if he's at the crease. People really need to give him a chance given he's only been an understudy for a couple of years and he's already shown through some of the knocks he's played of late.

There are a lot of people who were bashing Rizwan even after his performance in England. MAY BE Rizwan is not apt for T20 but Sarfaraz had become a passenger. It was the right move to sack him but there was a huge hue and cry first to sack him and then another to bring him back. Pakistan remind me a lot of us in the 90's.

 

[CerealKiller]

So happy for Fawad. Chanderpaul scored tons of runs, and Steve Smith averages 60, but no, our selectors know better, because this guy’s technique isn’t good enough for Test level, despite being the best batsman in domestic.
Sad that we lost.

 

[CerealKiller]

Normally i'd be very depressed today, after such a heartbreaking loss, but happiness for Fawad exceeds everything right now

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Normally i'd be very depressed today, after such a heartbreaking loss, but happiness for Fawad exceeds everything right now

How many times have I asked you about him?

At the risk of repeating myself, Pakistan have a fulcrum present. It is all about development and patience. The latter is the most missing ingredient in our cricket.

I have been hearing some nonsense about dropping Shaan Masood? That's just nonsense. I don't or have not seen much of Abid Ali so I will not comment. I definitely think Shafiq has cricket left in him. Azhar Ali is a mainstay. I think like India, you guys need one or two good batters or another very good opener. The main difference between India and Pakistan is the bowling. I think too much tinkering has happened with the greens and there needs to be some restructuring in this department in the red ball game. As far as white ball is concerned, I think most teams would not want to play Imad, Shadab, Amir, Wahab and Shaheen. It is beyond stupidity if any of these guys are tinkered around with specially with three world cups in sight.

 

[hammadahmed88]

I would say minus the openers, it actually turned out to be an amazing test match. If they lose like that, I'm perfectly ok with it. Great effort. Also, echo the love for Fawad. So damn bittersweet to see that. The man could have been one of the best Pakistan ever produced. Can just appreciate what he does now though. So great to see.

 

[CerealKiller]

So i guess Babar will come in for Haris? Seems rough for Haris to go out after 1 match, but unless Azhar opens and Babar plays at 3, or we play with 4 bowlers, there isn’t a place for him.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

So i guess Babar will come in for Haris? Seems rough for Haris to go out after 1 match, but unless Azhar opens and Babar plays at 3, or we play with 4 bowlers, there isn’t a place for him.

Babar ruled out for 2nd Test too.

 

[CerealKiller]

Babar ruled out for 2nd Test too.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I find Haris Sohail overrated as hell.

 

[CerealKiller]

Interesting to see Zafar Gohar playing ahead of Yasir. Extra batting?
Also, Jamieson is bowling some rippers.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

People often talk about Kohli's 2016 and Smith's Ashes in England or Stokes 2019 and no one will notice but Rizwan's performance since his debut in completely alien conditions with so much crap being written about him is up there with the best of the best. It also is not just his batting, his wicket keeping is absolutely outstanding. Class! If Babar Azam is to become a force in world cricket he will need a team around him and as I have said, I can see a lot of potential in 7-8 guys.

 

[AsadRM]

People often talk about Kohli's 2016 and Smith's Ashes in England or Stokes 2019 and no one will notice but Rizwan's performance since his debut in completely alien conditions with so much crap being written about him is up there with the best of the best. It also is not just his batting, his wicket keeping is absolutely outstanding. Class! If Babar Azam is to become a force in world cricket he will need a team around him and as I have said, I can see a lot of potential in 7-8 guys.

I couldn't have summed it any better! Excellent analysis. Rizwan and Faheem are the guys who were always trolled and never given enough opportunities, and yet they come back stronger.

Misbah might have missed a few tricks here and there, but he has to be appreciated for his backing of Faheem and Rizwan. Don't forget Misbah was the one to sack Sarfaraz and completely boot him out of the side and put full faith in Rizwan.

Also, I like how Rizwan was given the captaincy responsibility (in Babar's absence) despite playing only a handful of Test matches. In another regime, Azhar Ali or Shan Masood could easily have been given the responsibility citing 'Rizwan is too inexperienced to be made the Test captain'

 

[AsadRM]

I find Haris Sohail overrated as hell.

Actually, it's his lazy attitude and poor fitness which reflect in international Cricket. Solely talent-wise, he is the most naturally-gifted batsman in the squad (after Babar), but he isn't ready to put in some hard yards. If one could perform well in International Cricket solely on talent, then Umar Akmal would've been the greatest batsman of all-time. He hardly has any worthy performance apart from a hundred vs SL in 2017 in Dubai and the NZ 2019 WC innings. So, quite overrated.

In a nutshell, he is a poor man's Inzamam, or maybe a rich man's Umar Akmal.

Pakistan has to move on and back Saud Shakeel. I would've ideally said Qasim Akram but he's too young. 3-5 seasons of Saud Shakeel in the squad, while developing Qasim Akram as the backup option.