PCB’s selection blunders continue
on October 18th, 2010 at 7:07 amPCB announced the squad for the upcoming 5 Odi and 2 T20 series against South Africa a week before the Faysal bank T20 tournament.
What was the logic behind announcing the team so early when they had a perfect opportunity to guage the form of players in the Faysal bank T20 tournament?
Apparently the management announced the team without consulting the captain or the coach in a hurry just to accomodate a certain group of players, it has become a behavior pattern of PCB to rig the selection process and as a result control the outcome of the matches.
The team selected for Odis and T20 is as follows:
Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Shoaib Akhtar, Tanvir Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider (wk).
The selection of Imran Farhat, Misbah Ul Haq, Fawad Alam and Tanvir Ahmed is questionable.
There are players who have performed way better than these four guys in the Faysal bank T20 tournament.
Players Name MP Runs scored Average
Shahzaib Hassan 4 281 140
Imran Nazir 2 109 109
Ahmad Shahzad 5 191 38.20
Fawad Alam 4 65 21.66
Misbah Ul Haq 2 50 25.00
Imran Farhat 2 67 33.50
BOWLING
matches wickets Ave Econ
Wahab Riaz 5 10 7.7 4.12
Shabbir Ahmed 5 8 18.75 7.5
Junaid Khan 3 3 21 5.25
Aizaz Cheema 5 7 21.14 7.4
Tanvir Ahmed 4 3 52.66 9.87
Mohammad Sami 4 3 60.33 11.31
Sohail Tanvir 4 3 33.66 10.10
In bowling Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan deserved to be selected ahead of Sohail Tanvir, Sami and Tanvir Ahmad.
In batting Shahzaib, Imran Nazir and Ahmad Shahzad deserved to be in the team in place of Farhat, Fawad and Misbah.
Only a selection committee consisting of blind men could have ignored Shahzaib, Imran Nazir, Shahzad, Riaz and Junaid Khan.
By not selecting the best 15 the selectors and the management has already created a handicap.
PCB
Between Asad and Fawad I will make the choice based on the position vacant in the team, if the position vacant is at the top order then I would pick Asad if it is in the middle order then I would pick Fawad.
Asad is more technically equipped to play the new ball where as Fawad can be usefull in the middle overs where you need somebody to rotate strike. I know Fawad made a century as an opener on debut but that innings is highly overrated.
The only way we can beat SA is if we take wickets at regular intervals Ajmal can control the flow of runs on his day but doesn’t take many wickets, besides we don’t need two off spinners in the team.
Afridi might drop Umar Akmal as he was visibly un happy with him and we might see both Asad and Fawad in the team.
The only differences between our teams are that you have Asad Shafiq and Wahab Riaz in place of Fawad Alam and Saeed Ajmal.
I would prefer Saeed Ajmal always over Riaz because Ajmal is a brilliant bowler in any conditions. But he will be very good in the UAE against South Africa who may struggle against him.
I would prefer Fawad Alam over Shafiq because I think Fawad Alam gives an opening option, where I have placed him, and also he is a very good fielder and an extra bowler if needed.
PCB
This would be my team.
1-Hafeez
2-Razzaq
3-Younis
4-Umar Akmal( I hate the SOB would prefer Fawad over him)
5-Misbah Ul Haq
6-Afridi
7-Shafiq
8-Haider
9-Gul
10- Wahab
11- Akhtar
Stani
You must have heard the expression ” Andhoon mein Kana raja”. If the South African bowling was exceptional or the playing conditions were tough I would have said yes Misbah did all right but he is only looking good because in both innings he came at a time when he automatically got a licensese to bat slowly. If he had played an extra ordinary innings with a high strike rate I would have agreed with you, in the first match he was literally struggling against some average bowling he failed in both innings to find gaps he was hitting it straight to fielders managed just a couple of boundaries in both innings and to score boundaries he was moving 5 ft left or right, I believe Yousaf could have scored in these conditions with much more ease and should have reduced pressure on his partners, even Younis or Malik could have done a better job. I will give him margin of coming out of a long lay off but keeping in view that he played quite a few overs in both matches and was able to clear the boundary on very few occasions I don’t think in the long run he is the right choice for T20′s. In Odis he might survive but in tests and T20′s I don’t see anything left in him.
Yes Time is running out for Afridi not only that his performance has been poor he has been very poor as a leader and has made several tactical errors and in both matches the batting had no plan it was done purely on instinct. That was not the case under Malik and Younis.
Pakistan stands no chance in Odis unless our bowlers play extra ordinarily, South Africa will have Steyn, Amla and Kallis. Whereas we can’t improve significantly even if we make changes.
Farhat needs to go, Shahzaib disappointed me can’t believe the way his game changes from domestic to international level but if we can play Farhat then why not him at least we know that if he get going he will win the match single handedly whereas with Farhat the outcome will be the same he just is not good enough.
In Odi’s Pakistan will have to make a tough choice to drop Razzaq and Ajmal I think under the current scenario when the batting is so fragile we need to play with just five bowlers.
1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Fawad Alam
3. Misbah-ul-Haq
4. Umar Akmal
5. Younis Khan
6. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Zulqarnain Haider (wkt)
9. Umar Gul
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
Yes, definitely, they should be given targets. It doesnt look like they are though because our lot are highly unprofessional. We need to get someone like Nasser Hussain as a batting coach but he will never leave the warmth of the commentary box to join this circus.
Misbah did well again dont you think? I would say he was the only batsmen to come out of the two games with some credit. They cannot play Farhat and Shahzaib in the ODIs. Shafiq and Younis have to come in for them and Hafeez can open with someone.
Yes, I was astonished (in a way) as you there were no changes for the 2nd t20….and in one way, not so surprised. This favouritism needs to go.
I get the feeling that time is running out for captain Afridi. With Younis back, and Misbah putting in decent performances, the pressure is building. Don’t be surprised to see him pull some kind of stunt to try and hold on to the power in captaincy as his personal performances aren’t doing the job.
Omar Akmal threw away his wicket by attempting a suicidal run nobody can suspect that no matter even if it was school boy cricket, Afridi again holed on the second ball he faced again “captain stupid” gave a fuck to the match situation because he is an Aggressssssive captain.
Can somebody ask “Stupid Khan Afridi” what happened to his “positive team meeting” damn fool same players will produce you same results is it that hard to understand.
It’s deja vu all over again, Shahzaib got out again playing an ariel shot, Hafeez after playing two good boundaries got out thats his problem plays a few good shots but then all of a sudden gets out.
Disappointed with Shazaib he has too many power shots but can’t plan he has been an utter failure at international level looks nervous each time he comes on the crease.
Now Farhat goes annd Pakistan are once again in a deep hole.
Just because of the scandals Pakistan team has been involved in Pakistan has lost it’s fan base the stadiums were empty in yesterdays game and today also it looks empty a T20 game should be packed.
The Ijaz Butt administration has not only destroyed Pakistan cricket game wise but also financially.
Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat in the second T20 match.
The team remains unchanged.
Afridi Said ” “We had a good, positive team meating, so hopefully we will have good results. The team is unchanged.”
What the fuck? How can a “positive team meeting” take care of inherent flaws in certain players. This is just lip service and Afridi is good at it, the shameless rigging in selection continues.
Stani
When Afridi got out in the 10th over, Misbah and Akmal wasted three overs after that, Misbah was visibly uncomfortable even in rotating the strike, after Akmal and Razzaq got out I agree that he had no choice left but those three overs after Afridi got out were crucial, even though Afridi got out to a stupid shot but he restored Pakistan’s innings just 7 runs an over from there would have taken Pakistan to 150, the logic behind playing senior players is that they should be able to keep the score board ticking without taking many risks.
There has been no strategy for the middle overs. The role for all players especially in the middle overs should be defined and they should be given targets to achieve.
I would play Wahab we need another strike bowler. It;s hard to drop Ajmal but it seems he has lost his wicket taking ability. You are right about Afridi’s bowling he has been worked out.
Wasim,
Our batsmen are just stupid. Even in t20, not everyone can go out there and just have a go otherwise you will still fall short. 20 overs is still a long time. I think it’s especially crucial that we dont send out two openers who have this mentality. We need one who is looking to safely turn the strike at around at a run a ball. We don’t get that with Shahzaib and Farhat as a partnership. Send them in and we’ll be a wicket down before we reach 20 runs, and pressure will be on number 3.
I disagree with you criticism of Misbah. He did the best in the circumstances. Wickets were falling all around him so in the end I think he did the clever thing and tried to bat all the balls. In fact, he played like he was the captain. Afridi should have tried to pace himself according to the situation like Misbah did and we would have not been in such deep trouble.
I agree Razzaq should only be played as a batter. In dropping Ajmal, would you bring in another spinner or let Hafeez and Afridi do the job?
When I looked at the team selection I knew Pakistan will lose the first T20 match the combination was not right. But still the way they lost it can’t be justified, they struggled to bat through 20 overs. Imran Farhat was as pathetic as ever, Shahzaib needs to improve his off side game and should improve his ground shots he tries to muscle every thing in the air which is quite risky.
Umar Akmal was the main culprit he played a very uncharacteristic innings wasted at least three to four balls every over and then took a single and in the end threw away his wicket when he was required to stay till end, There was no surprise there everybody kind of expected this from him when his brother has been sidelined.
Misbah Ul Haq even though he scored 29 runs but again was too slow and never showed any intent but then again the top order collapse kind of gave him a licensese to play a test like innings.
The biggest culprit besides Umar Akmal was our captain he scored a quick 25 off just 7 balls and lost his wicket trying to hit every ball out of the park.
Afridi for years has been the brand ambassaor of stupidity in our team, we all know that he can play sensibly if he wants to as he displayed it several times last year when he was trying to get captaincy of Pakistan team. He restored Pakistan’s innings and put them on track to score 150+ runs but the way he threw away his wicket either he is brainless or this is his way of underperforming you expect better sense of responsibility and match awareness from a captain and a senior player who has been playing for almost 16 years. The biggest blunder he made was his bowling changes the 17th over was the most crucial one and he gave it too Razzaq who was the weakest of all of his bowlers, Hafeez, Akhtar, Gul all had one over left, Afridi had two left so what was the logic behind using Razzaq.
Shoaib Akhtar’s performance was the only positive thing he brought Pakistan back into the match. If Pakistan had played Wahab the situation could have been different.
Razzaq should only be played as a batsman and Pakistan should drop Ajmal and Play Wahab instead.
In todays match just to make a statement Afridi should drop Umar Akmal and Imran Farhat and play Asad Shafiq and Fawad Alam not that these players will do any better but atleast they will give their 100%.
Pcb
Akhtar is the best we have right now Gul has been playing cricket for over 10 12 years he has already peaked hasn’t achieved anything of note in test cricket and is at his beat when batsmen go after himon shorter formats he hasn’t shown the ability to take top order wickets in test cricket like Akhtar, Asif and Aamer.
Gul has the potential to be great then across all three formats. Other than Amir and Asif, not sure which other bowlers we can say that about at the moment for Pakistan.
Pcb
Gul is only a great t20 bowler you can’t call him great in any other format based on his record. To be a great bowler you have to perform in all conditions consistently. Gul performs rarely in tests and his performance in odi’s, also goes up and down.
I think Umar Gul is a great bowler in all formats including tests – especially because he is one of the best reverse swing bowlers.
Wahab is a good bowler but requires more skill – he can be inaccurate and perhaps is not as good at getting reverse swing. His swing is also minimal. At this moment, Pakistan has better bowlers in all formats.
Stani
Rana has played enough and has gotten enough chances. He admitted himself about underperforming and that video was on You tube. But anyways he is not in the team so it’s futile to discuss about him.
If you look at the commentary of the test matches in England Wahab was the only Pakistani bowler touching 90m or going above Umar Gul and Aamer didn’t do it even once.
He has slower ball on many occasion but in test matches it’s not a big weapon and his slower ball is not as good as Akhtars.
If there was any evidence against Wahab ICC would have never spared him. So I think he was clean.
Tanvir has no control over his swing, he is not quick his action has been worked out unless he gains more control over his swing and stop spraying ball all over the place he can’t play at international level.
I think Wahab’s stock delivery is the one which angles away and that is pretty good.
You can’t undermine a bowler who can bowl at 90+ if Umar Gul and Rana were any good in test matches their record would have reflected it.
Thus far? No
I don’t think Rana has had much instances where he could show his batting after coming back from the ICL and into the national side. But it’s not just in the ICL he’s batted well. He has done it in Australia and the English county game.
I’m not sure Wahab moves it both ways. Even in English conditions, his main weapon was the wide angle to the right hander from coming around the wicket. That’s all I saw. I think he did one slower ball…and he got a wicket with it! Hint, hint
but he didn’t take it. It seems after that wicket he put his slower ball away. Amir had good bounce, control of line and pace straight away and most importantly, all of it without giving much in runs. His standard bowling was threatening so didnt really require variation. Wahab’s standard delivery is not good enough so needs variation. Tanvir had a number of variations, with his deadly slower ball coming later.
Like PCB suggested, Wahab needs to work on developing some variation and using them. Maybe he has now, but he certainly didn’t have enough in England.
Stani
And Rana is not a fixer:))
His batting is extremely overratted except for once or twice I have never seen him perform with the bat for Pakistan team, domestically and in ICL yes he was a different beast but internationally he was zero with the bat infact Aamer and Gul have performed better with the bat than him you can check the records.
As a bowler I don’t know whether he deliberately underperforms or he is just inconsistent on his day he can be good but that rarely happens.
I don’t know what you mean by single dimentional, Wahab is fast he can move the ball both ways he will have to learn a few more tricks but for that we will have to give him a year like we did to Aamer and Tanvir.
Besides I don’t think both of You have seen Rana recently he is totally out of shape too fat for a bowler.
I agree with Stani.
At the moment, Rana is a better bowler with his experience, plus his very good variations. He can also be useful as a batter and provides good balance to the team.
Wahab is slightly one-dimensional, and needs to carry on developing under Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed.
Wasim,
To me, so far Wahab’s been ordinary. Let’s hope it’s because he was fixing it and now he will begin to play properly!
Rana has one of the best slower balls in cricket and his ability to reverse the ball and bowl full length is up with the best. I also think he is useful with the bat and can make the difference between a average score and a challenging one.
Tanvir’s bowling – wides and full tosses is suspicious. Also, why would you defend deliveries in the last over.
This news probably is fabricated as none of the main news papers or networks have reported it.
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?232679
PCB
Where did you watched the news about the Rams and Dolphins match? I think the turning point of that match was the bizarre run out of Hammad Azam, he had an opportunity to get back to his crease but he kept on walking towards the non strikers end. Rams could have scored 20 more runs they slowed down considerable in the last 3 overs mainly because of Hammad and Tanvir.
PCB
Fawad has played only one good knock so far in his career his footwork and balance is aweful.
I don’t hate him it’s just that he hasn’t lived upto expectations consistently but it would be unwise to drop him now as PCB has invested so much time in developing him. But I guess this would be his last chance to impress. A lot of times his batting number is given as an excuse for his poor performance I think that is lame because if Morgan, Razzaq, Dhoni, and several other player bat low and win matches for their country if Fawad is good enough then he can do the same we are not looking for an opener and he is not one especially with his faulty technique then if he can’t fullfil his role at the number he plays then he should make way for somebody who can.
Shahzaib and Latif both have a weakness against a ball moving away from them, Yasir Arafat was the only bowler in Faysal bank tournament who troubled Shahzaib with his gentle away swingers but Nazir has a major issue he can’t block a ball but I guess both players are very talented and if they are given a longer run they can win us more matches than Imran Farhat or Salman Butt because on their day these guys have the potential to win a match single handedly.
I think we should have some patience with young players and should not expect too much from them look at England their middle order continued to collapse through out the series but they persisted with the same players, Australia has been very patient with players like North.
Not every player will start performing at international level consistently, When Shahzaib will get as many matches as Fawad Alam I am sure he will become a permanent member of the team.
Stani
Rana is neither a bowler nor a batsman, once in a while anybody can perform even Rao Iftikhar has performed several times Sami had his good days but in the long run you need somebody who has the potential to grow and has a potentail to perform consistently.
Wahab currently in my opinion the fastest Pakistani pacer, he can move the ball both ways and he is in good rythym right now all he need is more exposure. When Aamer and Wasim Akram came they also were one dimensional they increased their accuracy and ability to swing with the passage of time. Wahab can move the ball both ways, he just needs more experience to become mentally more smart and disciplined.
Younis has been recalled into the ODI squad. Yousuf is unlikely to be fit for the T20 and ODI series.
ODI:
1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Fawad Alam
3. Misbah-ul-Haq
4. Umar Akmal
5. Younis Khan
6. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Zulqarnain Haider (wkt)
9. Umar Gul
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
T20:
1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahzaib Hasan
3. Mohammad Hafeez
4. Umar Akmal
5. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
6. Misbah-ul-Haq
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Zulqarnain Haider (wkt)
9. Umar Gul
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
Asad Shafiq
Abdur Rehman
Tanvir Ahmed
Wahab Riaz
Mohammad Yousuf – injured
Wasim,
I hate him for what he’s done and don’t like him as a person but if theyre going to go back and bring in th e other criminals then they may as well bring Rana back as well. Especially with a weakened bowling line up in the shorter form. He’d be useful. Wahab is too one dimensional and hasn’t got guile.
I believe one of the players to be Sohail Tanvir.
The semi final match between Karachi Dolphins and Rawalpindi Rams is being investigated for match fixing as well as one other match
Shahzaib does need a longer run at international level, but at this moment I think Fawad Alam is a better fielder and opener. Fawad struggled against spin rather than pace in England and he has even opened in test matches and got a century, so he should be given a chance. Asad Shafiq struggled against pace in England.
I agree, Razzaq is not the best bowler, but it changes the balance of the side dramatically if we introduce another specialist bowler. Razzaq does however have the ability to pick up wickets and experience, and there is a 6th bowler in the side.
Ajmal bowled extremely well in England, and you must consider that Afridi only used him tactically (i.e. death overs, powerplays) and the batsmen have problems reading his variations.
I think we should probably include more young players (in the place of Misbah) but I have only selected from the squad given and I do not think Asad Shafiq is anywhere near good enough. Look at his strike rate and average.
Stani
Yeah it was about time that they start listening to me.
Lets wait and watch how Shazaib performs we should give players with such ability a longer run regardless of their performance because once he got settled at international level then there will be no stopping him. I wanted both Nazir and Shahzaib in T20′s. He did well in England better than some big names.
Rana! come on Stani you need to just forget him.
PCB
Shahzaib has already conquered domestic season twice now he only needs a longer run at international level to get settled. Very few players start performing immediately at international level some players require a longer run. Fawad has huge technical flaws and limited abilities no need to take a chance with him as Asad is technically better.
Razzaq at all levels has proven to be a liability as a bowler,in the absence of Aamer they should play Riaz at any cost as he is the only one who can fill the gap created by AAmer.
Don’t agree with you on Ajmal can u check how many wickets he got in this tournament? We should only go with three spinners if the wickets are slow.
Misbah was used to be a player and Asad is a young aspiring player thats the difference between the two in my eyes, Doesn’t matter what his domestic record is he has already shown enough class to impress me.
Wasim,
I think they heard you!!!
I would have had Nazir ahead of Shahzaib though. Shahzaib is still young and has lots of power but he has lots to work on in his game. They should have let him get on with it instead of sticking him back in the pressure cooker. Agree with PCB (poster…not the board
) on Shahzaib.
Very surprised by Wahab’s figures and will be even more surprised he does anything near that well in the UAE. I would have gone for Rana personally.
I don’t think Shahzaib is good enough for ODI’s yet. Once he starts performing in T20 internationals, then he should be brought into the ODI side.
I think Razzaq is fine to bowl in T20 and can share the overs with Hafeez, so I don’t think there needs to be an extra bowler. It also gives the batters some licence to play aggresive cricket.
Ajmal should be in the side no matter what the conditions are – his variations are good.
Asad Shafiq has a poor T20 record even at domestic level whereas Misbah has useful experience and a good range of shots for no. 6.
PCB
I would like to see Shahzaib in both Odis and T20. In T20′s Razzaq should only play as a batsman and Wahab Riaz should be the third pacer, in Odis depending on the track either it should be Riaz or Ajmal but I guess the wickets in Dubai will be helpful for spinners. Riaz is in good form and in the absence of Aamer he can fill the void.
I don’t want Misbah to be in the T20 instead Pakistan should play Asad Shafiq.
With the given squads, I would choose the following for ODI and T20:
ODI:
1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Fawad Alam
3. Misbah-ul-Haq
4. Umar Akmal
5. Mohammad Yousuf
6. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Zulqarnain Haider (wkt)
9. Umar Gul
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
T20:
1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Shahzaib Hasan
3. Mohammad Yousuf
4. Umar Akmal
5. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
6. Misbah-ul-Haq
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Zulqarnain Haider (wkt)
9. Umar Gul
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
Imran Farhat
Asad Shafiq
Abdur Rehman
Tanvir Ahmed
Wahab Riaz
Even though PCB has added Wahahb and Shahzaib to the squad but they should also add Junaid Khan, Imran Nazir and Ahmad Shehazad to the squad in place of Imran Farhat, Tanvir Ahmad and Fawad Alam.
If Pakistan have to fancy any chances in the WC of 2011 they will have to make their selection process transparent and will have to groom these youngsters who impress in domestic tournaments the recent tour of the A team to SriLanka was disasterous as the with the exception of a few most of of the players were not selected on merit.
If Mohsin Khan can’t do his job independently then he should resign.
Breaking news
Shahzaib and Wahab Riaz have been added to Pakistan’s T20 and Odi squad.
The full details have not come out yet whether these players will be added to the 15 already announced or will replace two players.
It was a positive move by PCB as both players performed outstandingly in the Faysal bank T20 tournament.