Pakistan's tour of Australia - 3 T20Is and 2 Tests - November/December 2019

[Na Maloom Afraad]

One game into the series, I think it's time for this to have a thread.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

It's quite fortunate Pakistan was bailed-out by rain from a certain loss that was coming their way. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Mohammad Rizwan is a good batsman but he is NOT a twenty20 player! Pakistan needs to find a good wicket-keeper for twenty20s, and I hope they don't resort back to Kamran Akmal or Sarfaraz Ahmed. I think Rohail Nazir should be brought into the team, given his strike rate and style of play, he is suited to twenty20s.

On a separate note, Mohammad Irfan showed why he wasn't in the team during the previous regime. I hope they bring in Musa or Hasnain and give either of them the remaining games instead of Irfan. His misfiring could potentially be immeasurably detrimental to the team, if his 26-run over was anything to go by.

 

[Bevab]

Having watched their performances versus Sri Lanka and today, I firmly believe that Australia are clear favourites for the WC next year. They have

• A side filled with batsmen that can easily score boundaries with raw muscle power, much needed on the bigger Australian grounds. I don't see any other side apart from England and maybe NZ if they tweak their batting lineup who have similar players with experience and skill. Added to that, the batsmen in their current lineup are also a lot better in rotating the strike (looking at you, Turner). I'm not even sure if Smith is needed in the XI, someone like Stoinis would be a better option as he has the experience of opening if one of the openers falls early and is also a better option at four than Smith not to mention the effect of having an extra bowling option.
  
• No other side has as many genuine quick bowlers as they do at present (with the exception of perhaps South Africa) for the T20 format. Aussie pitches are naturally inclined towards supporting such quick pace and this could be a decisive factor in most games.
• Their only worry was the lack of a world class spinner, but Zampa has been very impressive in T20s and is probably going to be considered among the top T20 spinners in a year at this current pace. All they need is an additional spinner to assist him (Agar at seven doesn't quite convince me yet).

1. Finch
2. Warner
3. Maxi
4. Stoinis/McDermott
5. Turner
6. Carey/Lynn(almost exclusively as a slogger down the order if his fitness is good and McDermott can keep)
7. Agar/Green
   
8. Cummins
9. Starc
10. Behrendorff
11. Zampa

And they have players like Short (one of the best T20 batsmen in the BBL and Blast), Wade, Stanlake, NCN, Tye and Kelly who I have not even mentioned. That is some ridiculous depth indeed.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

*intense facepalm emoji

 

[A.P Haux]

I liked watching Iftikar today. He seemed like the only batsman for pakistan who knows how to attack. But still, not enough.

 

[CerealKiller]

I've been screaming from the rooftops that Imad should bat at 6 with Shadab at 7. Rizwan, Haris and Imam are far from T20 players. Misbah has completely wrecked the team built by Arthur and Sarfraz. Only Iftikhar was a good selection.
This should be the team

Babar Azam
Kamran Akmal (who else then?)
Hussain Talat
Iftikhar Ahmed
Khushdil Shah
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Amad Butt
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Musa
Mohammad Hasnain

Usman Shinwari/Hasan Ali
Fakhar Zaman
Umer Khan
Umer Amin

This batting lineup has only two accumulators, Babar and Talat, and the former bats at over 130 SR. The rest are all hitters. How can you have Imam, Babar, Haris and Rizwan as your top 4?
Hasnain and Musa need to be backed, Amir is there for the experience. Amad Butt is a good bowler and power hitter, and provides some batting depth. Fahim Ashraf could be another option.
I'm torn between Hasan and Shinwari, because they both haven't performed at international level, but are in form in domestic tournaments.

 

[CerealKiller]

I've been screaming from the rooftops that Imad should bat at 6 with Shadab at 7. Rizwan, Haris and Imam are far from T20 players. Misbah has completely wrecked the team built by Arthur and Sarfraz. Only Iftikhar was a good selection.
This should be the team

Babar Azam
Kamran Akmal (who else then?)
Hussain Talat
Iftikhar Ahmed
Khushdil Shah
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Amad Butt
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Musa
Mohammad Hasnain

Usman Shinwari/Hasan Ali
Fakhar Zaman
Umer Khan
Umer Amin

This batting lineup has only two accumulators, Babar and Talat, and the former bats at over 130 SR. The rest are all hitters. How can you have Imam, Babar, Haris and Rizwan as your top 4?
Hasnain and Musa need to be backed, Amir is there for the experience. Amad Butt is a good bowler and power hitter, and provides some batting depth. Fahim Ashraf could be another option.
I'm torn between Hasan and Shinwari, because they both haven't performed at international level, but are in form in domestic tournaments.

@Na Maloom Afraad @Salman. @hammadahmed88 @Ahmad94 @Asad Raza Malik @Master Khan

 

[Bevab]

Abbott being the most economical bowler of the day is something I did not expect in an international game.

 

[AsadRM]

@Na Maloom Afraad @Salman. @hammadahmed88 @Ahmad94 @Asad Raza Malik @Master Khan

I would love to see Naseem, Akif Javed(very quick and swings it and is also only 19) and Zeeshan Malik getting involved in the team too. Still, it is a very formidable side

 

[Salman.]

I'd say that the team selected was a good one. I was so fed up of Arthur selecting the same 15-18 players for the last 2 years. I have always supported Ifti. It was great to see him perform. We are still not properly utilizing him. He should also be bowling a couple of overs. While I've always criticized Haris. He is liability in field. He might have a good average but always plays dull knocks. Plays a match-winning knock after long breaks and disappears. He doesn't have more than one gear and should not be used in T20s. Umar Amin has improved alot and was unfairly dropped last time. He should replace one of Fakhar/Haris.
And I don't like Talat, he has a lot of attitude and is quite selfish. If you saw Ifti batting in the last 2 T20s, he was batting for the team, not for his personal milestones. Talat's was not good in the T20 series. Scored a slow 50. He also does not possess true hitting power.
Really hope we move from Amir as well. His 130 kph thunderbolts are 0% threatening and he shows attitude as if there no bowler better than him in the world. Fixer.

 

[CerealKiller]

I'd say that the team selected was a good one. I was so fed up of Arthur selecting the same 15-18 players for the last 2 years. I have always supported Ifti. It was great to see him perform. We are still not properly utilizing him. He should also be bowling a couple of overs. While I've always criticized Haris. He is liability in field. He might have a good average but always plays dull knocks. Plays a match-winning knock after long breaks and disappears. He doesn't have more than one gear and should not be used in T20s. Umar Amin has improved alot and was unfairly dropped last time. He should replace one of Fakhar/Haris.
And I don't like Talat, he has a lot of attitude and is quite selfish. If you saw Ifti batting in the last 2 T20s, he was batting for the team, not for his personal milestones. Talat's was not good in the T20 series. Scored a slow 50. He also does not possess true hitting power.
Really hope we move from Amir as well. His 130 kph thunderbolts are 0% threatening and he shows attitude as if there no bowler better than him in the world. Fixer.

I agree with most of what you said. Amin could be as good an option as Talat. Haris is good for Tests and ODIs. I put Amir because we can't have a fast bowling lineup of teenagers. Wahab and Irfan are done, who else then? Junaid Khan maybe.

 

[AsadRM]

I agree with most of what you said. Amin could be as good an option as Talat. Haris is good for Tests and ODIs. I put Amir because we can't have a fast bowling lineup of teenagers. Wahab and Irfan are done, who else then? Junaid Khan maybe.

Junaid is even worse than Wahab Riaz. English players took him to the cleaners in the Pak vs Eng series before the WC[DOUBLEPOST=1573275459][/DOUBLEPOST]One thing that baffles me is why does the management keep selecting bits and pieces players like Wahab? It is time to move on from him and Amir PERIOD

Shadab's batting has regressed a mile. He seemed like a proper batsman in domestic, PSL and even in some earlier International games. He cant get ball to touch his bat nowadays.

 

[Salman.]

I agree with most of what you said. Amin could be as good an option as Talat. Haris is good for Tests and ODIs. I put Amir because we can't have a fast bowling lineup of teenagers. Wahab and Irfan are done, who else then? Junaid Khan maybe.

Junaid Khan is a trundler. We are producing 140kph+ bowlers again. Going back to him would not be right.

 

[CerealKiller]

Junaid Khan is a trundler. We are producing 140kph+ bowlers again. Going back to him would not be right.

What experienced bowler is left to back up the youngsters then? Hasan Ali?

 

[A.P Haux]

Misbah is taking the risk but not getting the reward. If they perform like this in the 2020 T20 WC then he is bound to be sacked! He has very little time to find the perfect XI for the WC.