PAKISTAN VS ZIMBABWE, SQUAD FOR FIRST 2 ODI’S
on January 18th, 2008 at 10:59 amThe squad is:
Shoaib Malik (capt), Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Tanvir, Samiullah Khan Niazi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Kamran Hussain, Yasir Arafat, Fawad Alam
Please mention who you think should be the playing XI for 1st two ODI’s? It is surprising again to see two wicketkeepers in the squad. It is not known really whether Malik and Talat Ali are more comfortable with Sarfraz or Kamran, as the media has reported many conflicting news. Also, Kamran Hussain who is a very good domestic player should consider himself lucky because his performance in the warm up game was mediocre. Nasir Jamshed should be an automatic selection following his 182 in the warm up game. Also, it is good to see Fawad Alam being included as he batted well in the warm up. As Malik is very keen to play Butt in every match, the selectors have done the wise thing by including only 2 openers in this squad as a third opener would have been sitting on the bench for all the 5 matches! There are reports that there is a rift between Malik and Afridi and that Malik does not want Afridi to play, but owing to Afridi’s impressive bowling in the warm up, he gets my vote.
Please give your preferred playing XI and also what you think is a realistic playing XI. Mine is:
REALISTIC
Butt, Jamshed, Younis, Yousuf, Malik, Misbah, Afridi, Akmal, Tanvir, Rao, Samiullah
PREFERRED
Jamshed, Malik, Yousuf, Misbah, Fawad, Afridi, Sarfraz, Tanvir, Arafat/Kamran Hussain, Rao, Samiullah
Even before the establishment of Pakistan, I am told that a great rivalry existed between Government College and Islamia
College in Lahore and most of early Pakistani stars like Fazal
Mahmood, Imtiaz Ahmed (my first hero) Khan Mohammed and others were the products of those colleges. Similarly, Karachi’s Inter-School Tournament for the ” Ruby Shield ” pruduced Hanif
Mohammad, Mohammed Munaf, Wallis Mathias, Mohammed Farooq, Dunacan Sharpe, Anatao D’Souza plus Khalid Wazir pand Ikram Elahi who were also selected to tour on seperate occasions but did ont make to the Test level. I was a student
in one of the schools in Karachi but could not hold a regular
place in the playing eleven, that is the reason, the unfulfilled
desire to bat like Hanif, to bowl like Munaf, to be a dashing all-rounder like Ikram Elahi, the first Boom Boom.
Mr. Kardar was always on the hunt for talents and had constant look on Schools, Colleges and Clubs. He had an un-canny eye for talents.
I will relate my experience with Mr. Kardar and the early heroes of Pakistan Cricket at some other stage.
@ Mr. Kasim saab
Great!! … amazing
its pleasure to have u here on board sir.
Just curious to know one thing at that time about functioning of selectors in pak. Did they go with best performances in domestic circle or they figured out talents instead someone’s performance was not great and going by the hope that national team will make them more responsible.
Kasim Saheb:
How long ago was that? and what was the age of Javed Miandad then and was he impressive at that time too?
Mr. MY Kasim
WOW
P.S.
I will relate my experience with Master Abdul Aziz whose son Salim Durrani played for India with distinction.
Also Mohammed Siddiq Baloch Saheb who was captain of Pak Mughal Cricket Club under whom I played few matches and above all Janab Noor Mohammed Miandad who was Coach, Captain and Manager of Sir Abdullah Haroon Muslim Gymkhana
cricket team. I was a member of the Gymkhana, not the cricket team. Janab Noor Mohammed often put his arms around
my shoulders lovingly and tells me ” Mere Bhai, come with me and I will show you how a batsman should play ” while his son Javed practice and he tells him how to use his feet when going forward to play cover drive or shuffle across when
defending etc. etc.
I still cherish those moments.
Thanks for the compliment Javed A. Khan. What I was saying was that Kamran Akmal should be retained as an opening batsman and other youngsters should be given a chance. We
have tried several openers and in my humble view Kamran Akmal has what it takes to deliver. Give wicket-keeping duties
to some-one else, since I am not impressed with the performance of Sarfaraz Ahmed either. Like Khandahab pointed
out in one of his blogs, dropped catches by Kamran Akmal contributed to a large part in Pakistan’s decline in recent past.
Khansahab,
You pointed out that Selectors are not selecting Abdur Rauf because he is 29 years old !! Where were the Selectors when he was 19 years old or 21 or 23 or 25 ? If he deserve a place in the team on merit but does not have any General or Politician or High Beurocrate as a relative than the poor guy should forget about it and curse his luck.
It was late Abdul Hafeez Kardar, the Father of Pakistan’s cricket that players like Mohammed Brothers, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, etc. were selected despite the opposition of vested interests. And unselfish devotion and contribution of Master Abdul Aziz, the coach of Sind Madressah which produced the players of the calibre of Hanif Mohammad, Mohammed Munaf and Ikram Elahi and M. S. Baloch (Father of Test Cricketer Aftab Baloch) who was Captain of Pak Mughal Cricket Club and late Noor Mohammed Miandad who gave his son Javed
beside Iqbal Qasim and Haroon Rashid to Pakistan. I have the privilege and good forfortune to have personally known intimately all these three Gentlemen. May Allah Have Mercy On Their Souls, Aameen.
These were the selfless, dedicated persons besides others whom I dont know persoally who are responsible for development of cricket in Pakistan, not the present lot who in their Air-Conditioned rooms sitting in their leather sofas and talking trash and taking silly decisions.
The following news confirms that selection committee is at odds with Malik and Lawson. It is now evident that selection committee are trying to promote the young players.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed and coach Geoff Lawson clashed over selection issues for the home series against Zimbabwe, the local media reported on Saturday.According to the report, Salahuddin had an argument with the Australian at the Gaddafi stadium on Friday in front of a lot of people just before the team for the first two one-dayers against Zimbabwe was finalised.
Salahuddin, however, denied such an incident taking place and said the board had given powers to the selection committee to take a final decision on the playing eleven in a home series.
Sources in the board confirmed an argument did take place over the selection of new opener Nasir Jamshed with Lawson insisting that he wanted to try out the opening combination of wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt.
The sources said that the selectors insisted that when a specialist opener was available there was no need to fall back on a makeshift opener like Akmal.
Sources say Lawson backed down after the selectors showed him the performance sheet of Akmal at various batting positions in the last one year which was not a very impressive one.
Incidentally, even captain Shoaib Malik said at a press conference on Friday that while he was happy with the new players being inducted into the national squad, he would prefer to have Akmal and Butt open the innings in ODIs while a new pair could be tried in Test cricket.
Sources said Nasim Ashraf, the Chairman of the board, later spoke to both the chief selector and Lawson and pacified them, reminding them of their responsibilities.
One of the reasons why you should all visit CF more often, is see what the writer of this thread has listed as the realistic playing XI?
This thread was actually composed a few days ago and Cricinfo, the world’s biggest cricket site has released its preview today. Cricinfo have listed the same realistic playing XI that the writer of this thread has listed.
This is cricket acumen at its sharpest! This shows you that the knowledge and understanding of CF writers is at par with if not greater than that of the world’s most respected and visited cricket site. But CF is nothing without its committed contributors. Thank you all for your support in visiting CF regularly.
Although I have emphasized the need of keeping or retaining the experienced players in this ODI series against Zimbabwe, I need to clarify certain points concerning whom I meant by experienced players, especially in light of those who are fit and available.
Obviously from the bowling department Shoaib Akhtar, Gul, Asif and Sami are out. Except for Sami the other three are unfit. Sami has got enough chances and he is unable to take wickets or contain runs. Therefore, Rao, Tanvir, Arafat and Samiullah Niazi are the fast bowlers and spin department revolves around Afridi and Malik or Fawad Alam if he is included. If Malik does not bowl, then he should seriously think of dropping himself – which I detest to see – because he is a good batsman when he gets going and a good fielder too.
The thing is if at all Malik decides to experiment with new kids and give rest to some senior player, he should take this initiative of dropping himself because his place is guaranteed as a captain. Instead he drops or as he says rest the senior players to give a chance to the new players. In Abu Dhabi which was his first experience as a captain of the Pakistan team, he dropped Afridi after the later performed exceptionally well and was named man of the match.
Its a shame that Imran Nazir is not in the team, I would have included him against Zimbabwe. But, what Pakistan needs in ODI’s and T20 is more all-rounders than specialists. Therefore, both YY’s are a question mark. And, Butt has time and again failed in his batting and he is not a bowler but thanks to Malik he wanted to make one out of him in the recent tour to India.
India is sending back Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman and the skipper Kumble. I wonder what would be the impact on the psyche of these players during the 4th test? As far as the timing is concerned this is a very stupid decision and I wonder what these selectors do and on what basis they are selected as selectors?
There was a time not so long ago when I was at the core of the corporate culture where the top brass used to consider me as an aggressive, dynamic and unorthodox, yet a very practical and result oriented person. And, very recently during a discussion someone told me that I sound like, “a traditionalist” and I am not offended by that remark. In fact I took it as a compliment!
Now, after reading the last paragraph of MY Kasim’s comments that “this is the golden opportunity (for Pakistan) to try new talents and rest seniors” its making me feel that I am even more conservative and traditional. Because, I am disagreeing with the views of the senior most person on this blog. Although he has discerning views.
Number one, he is asking for a new blood and change and at the same time he is supporting the seniors by saying, “to overlook or discard a proven and experienced hand is definitely not on the card.”
Although I am a very techno-savvy person and I not only believe but, advocate and implement new technology in business and also support its implementation in sports. But, when it comes to experimenting new blood or new talent I am a bit conservative here. I prefer gradual induction of youth and not a massive replacement.
Already, this team during and after Inzamam has gone through a lot of experimentation and it is for this reason there is no stability in any department. Except for the “sporadic brilliance” shown by a few individuals the team has hardly gelled as a unit.
The opening conundrum, the middle order vulnerability and the lack of spinners, the fast bowlers injuries and their constant non availability and the captaincy debacles are all similar to the country’s political turmoil and lacking in stability.
In my opinion it would be better if Pakistan avoid testing and experimenting new blood and new talent now. Instead they should consider this an opportunity to give a chance to the tried and tested players to rebuild their confidence which will boost their self reliance abilities and they will get back into rhythm and touch.
Pakistanis are not expecting their team to win 3-2 against Zimbabwe, the whole nation wants a thumping 5-0 win and nothing less than that. If that happens then Shoaib Malik’s place would be in jeopardy. Because, they are playing against Zimbabwe and not Australia. So, a 3-2 win would be totally unacceptable. They have to go with a killer approach like New Zealand did against Bangladesh.
Pakistan is definitely not going to do that, they will certainly test and try the new rookies now and it is very likely that one of them will come out like a shining star. Perhaps someone like, Nasir Jamshed who scored 182 in the 4 day match or Samiullah who took 5 wickets in the second innings might repeat the show and they will shoot to stardom instantly. But, not for long. Because, this is not the benchmark or the yardstick to measure their real worth. It will be against Australia and also on the foreign soil and also on a consistent basis.
Khansahab,
Kamran Akmal is not the luckiest cricketer in Pakistan. He is in
fact nephew of Speaker of the former Provincial Assembly of
Punjab!! His brother Adnan Akmal is also a wicket-keeper and another brother Umer Akmal was selected the other day in Pakistan Under 19s World Cup team, so bear for the next
couple of decades.
Why I support him as an specialist opener and not as a wicket keeper is simple. We have preserved with him for a long time now and when he has developed as an accomplished batsman, and that as an opener, to dump him now is a folly. I am not saying we should not give chances to youngsters like Nasir Jamshed, Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif etc. but to overlook or discard a proven and experienced hand is definetely not on the card. And I swear
I am not related to him!!
This is the golden opportunity to try new talents and rest
the seniors. Even if we lose couple of early matches, which is unlikly, we can always fall back on our full strenghth team
and make it 3-2.
KARACHI: Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik has said the hosts will use Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal as an opening pair during the five-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe starting here on Monday. Talking to reporters at a local hotel here on Friday, Malik said it was a fact that Pakistan were facing opening problems but he was confident the team would be able to get a reliable opening pair soon. “We are keeping an eye on the young openers but there is a strong possibility that we will open with Salman and Akmal in the ODI series,” he added.
To a question, Malik said Zimbabwe’s current performance was quite good. “They have beaten Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup and also won an ODI against West Indies at home, so we won’t take them lightly. In one-dayers if four or five players click then they can make a difference,” he said.
Malik said the series against Zimbabwe would help him identify new talent before facing the real test against world champions Australia. Pakistan also take on Australia in three Tests and five one-day internationals in two months time, a series still hanging in the balance over security fears in the Asian country. “Before we face Australia, this series against Zimbawbe will give us a chance to test a few youngsters so that we can identify talent.”
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Yeah right, Malik thinks he will “identify” new talent by letting Akmal open with Butt. What about Nasir Jamshed? What was the point of him scoring 182? Unless Nasir appears pathetic which I don’t think is the case, Malik has to let him play at least 4 out of the 5 matches. If he doesn’t perform in those 4 matches, then by all means PCB can forget about Nasir in the future.
I totally agree with Wasim Saqib about trying youngsters out. The pathetic PCB should know that if they don’t try plenty of youngsters out in this series (which means seniors sit out on the bench) they will not get a chance to do that for a long time.
i think pakistan should restrict themselves to playing zimbabwe and birader nation bangladesh..so that they can be world dominating like prez mushraff..and they they can even better the 16 win streak of those freak austraalians.
and since even bermuda will be able to whack this zimbabwe side i guess it should be a great thumping for them from pakistan.
thank god bermuda dont play tests..else our forthcoming 16+ winning streak would be in danger!!
Khansahab:
I agree that Akmal has been dropping catches but his last few performances were better and his batting is way better than Sarfraz, but anyways thats not the point if the team is under rebuilding stage they have to give chance to Sarfraz so that we have another wicketkeeper on the bench.
MY Kasim,
Sir, Irshad is a talented pacer who bowls around 85-87 mph consistently, but he is a very wayward and undisciplined bowler. The only reason why selectors have not given him a chance is because he has a high ratio of bowling poor line deliveries and wides and no balls.
I agree Abdur Rauf should be tried as he can bat a bit too, but I think it is because of his age he is being sidelined. He is 29 and perhaps the selectors think it is too late for a fast bowler to make an entry into international cricket, even though form and fitness counts and age does not. I think Anwar Ali should be tried for Twenty20 and maybe Tests but not for ODI’s , because his record is LIST A matches is mediocre.
Wasim Saqib,
I know Sarfraz dropped catches in this match but the alternative is Kamran Akmal who has been perhaps the luckiest cricketer Pakistan has produced as he keeps getting chances again and again. We must not forget that one of the main reasons why Pakistan had a pathetic 2007 is because Akmal dropped so many catches. If Akmal had held on to his catches perhaps Sami would still be playing for Pakistan- although I am not defending Sami as he is a rubbish bowler, but I am just giving an example of how much the team and players can be affected if the wicketkeeper is dropping catches.
I think I wanted to say “Akmal should not be in the side” rather than “Sarfraz is being disregarded” because any wicketkeeper in domestic circuit will perform better than Akmal unless Akmal has seen a psychiatrist recently. The reason though why I spoke about Sarfraz is because he is in the squad, if he wasn’t in the squad I would not have mentioned his name. There has to be an element of deservedness in selection- a player has to deserve his place as we should not forgo his previous mistakes. This is why I spoke against the selection of Sami for India’s tour although Sami was in excellent form in domestic circuit, and why I keep speaking about our openers as they do not deserve a place in the side because of the errors they have made in the past.
I hope Malik rethinks his strategy because if Jamshed is also only tried in 1 or 2 matches like Fawad Alam has been, then it will obviously affect Jamshed’s confidence and what Pakistan needs more than ever is a consistent and sensible opener.
Whatever happened to the much hyped youngster Mohammed Irshad? Why his name is not in the news? Besides, why is PCB bent upon ruining the career of poor Abdur Rauf? By choosing and dropping him repeatedly, his confidence level and performance will definitely go down. Jamshed Ahmed and Anwar Ali should also be given a chance. If PCB is looking to the future, then playing Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat makes no sense. They have been tried and we all know where they stand. What is needed is to unearth EXPRESS PACE which these guys dont possess. As soon as Sohail Khan recovers from his ankle problem, give him another go. At the end of the series and before the Australians comes, you can identify your potential attack in the absence of Shoaib Akhtar, Umer Gul and Mohammed Asif. If and when they are available, you can supplement and support them or even replace them if the case demands.
Khansahab:
I am not concerned about Sarfraz but it would certainly be an injustice with Nasir Jamshed, I don’t know if you are aware that Sarfraz didn’t had a good match he dropped several catches, I am sure they will give him a chance, but if Nasir Jamshed and other young batsmen and Bowlers are not given a chance because of seniors then Malik needs to go we don’t need an other Inzamam.
This is the only series where we can do some experimentation and if he is so lallu that he doesn’t have the balls to take a stand because he fears some seniors then he can’t lead.
I think the selectors should decide the team for this series as they have done a lot of work in identifying these youngsters and if they are not played and tested then the whole effort will be futile.
Pakistan will do a clean sweep against ZIMBABWE. Because they lost so badly in the warm up game. Knowing the fickle nature of fans, they will start thinking Pakistan is a revived team. Zimbabwe series should only be seen as “entertainment value” because it isn’t a real test for Pakistani players. The senior players are not playing any differently, they will still remain inconsistent and perform the same way whether the result is 5-0 in favour of Pakistan or 5-0 in favour of Zimbabwe. The changes that needed to be made following defeat vs India have not been made- will the PCB bother making changes now? I don’t think so.
Dr Haroon
Seattle
I have just seen Malik’s interview where he has stated that he wants to play Kamran Akmal is all matches and he wants Kamran to be Butt’s opening partner. This is quite concerning as Sarfraz is clearly being disregarded and we must also think about Nasir Jamshed who deserves to make his debut. In fact it is really important for the team to try out another opener. One of the reasons why Malik may want to persist with Butt and Akmal is because owing to the groupings within the team Akmal and Butt are on his side.
In every match they should rest one senior to try out a youngster,
I would like to see Afaq Raheem, Nauman Ullah,Fawad Alam and Khurram Manzoor given a chance.
In bowlers we again left out the express bowlers, both Sami Ullah and Kamran Hussain are just medium paced, I wished they had tried out
Anwar Ali, Sohail Khan and Rauf.
We all know Rao, Arafat and Tanvir if we are going to rebuild we should have taken our chances.
I hope in the next Three matches Pcb will rotaye these players.