Red_Ink_Squid
Global Moderator
Ramiz out, slippy888 in please.
Could be worse, could be @TheJediBrahRamiz out, slippy888 in please.
Rizwan is one of two people in contention for best red ball keeper bat in the world and made a 4th innings ton against AUS a few matches ago. Dropping him would be INSANE unless it's for GilchristCurrent Sarfraz no but Rizwan in tests is not a patch on Sarfraz 2013-2016 he turned a decent Pak side to great during that period
One of four:Rizwan is one of two people in contention for best red ball keeper bat in the world and made a 4th innings ton against AUS a few matches ago. Dropping him would be INSANE unless it's for Gilchrist
Mir Hamza too. Abbas at his worst still dried up runs. And he would've been very useful when it was reversing.In a normal world even with injuries we could have fielded this attack in this series
Abbas
Hassan
Shadab
Yasir
Abrar
Is this an elite attack? No! but is it better then the dross that was served here? Certainly yes!
Sameen Gul another one.Mir Hamza too. Abbas at his worst still dried up runs. And he would've been very useful when it was reversing.
Still a long tail though, though Hasan and Yasir can bat a bit.In a normal world even with injuries we could have fielded this attack in this series
Abbas
Hassan
Shadab
Yasir
Abrar
Is this an elite attack? No! but is it better then the dross that was served here? Certainly yes!
A win here and a draw in the first game would have masked a very poor series from Pakistan. Babar and Saqi are getting just deserts for their incompetence with lady luck also not favoring them.That Shakeel decision proved to be very costly for Pakistan.
Salman is another brain dead selection not as bad as Zahid but pretty poor in his own right. If FC performance are the main criteria there are atleast 4-5 more deserving bats also his bowling is a non factor.Still a long tail though, though Hasan and Yasir can bat a bit.
That's part of Rizwan's issues. He's playing out of position to accommodate a long bowling lineup (Faheem can be considered an allrounder I suppose, and Nawaz *ugh*) and Salman.
Salman is the real puzzler. His FC batting stats don't look bad. But playing him batting below Rizwan as an allrounder with his filthy off breaks, and not even bowling him? Yuck. Either he bats above Rizwan and earns his spot as a batsman, or someone else bats 5 IMO.
Well yeah, talented sportspeople tend to perform better when they get themselves in the best shape possibleWhen you consider a year ago he couldn't play back to back games and was a fat mess the transformation in him is remarkable.
So when I refer to leadership, I'm referring to far more than captaincy. The whole set up seems suspect from a mentality POV, and Ramiz being a rentaquote with a victim complex is not helping one little bit.What's happened with this England team is an anomaly. Not saying leadership can't have a big impact. But thereve been plenty of great teams that make do with merely good captains. Pakistan's bowling and selection is so problematic right now that they'd probably still suck even with a good captain (although if babar had a hand in the selections for the first test it's a different story) . I still can't wrap my head around their bowling attack for that game.
Das doesn't keep half the time and Blundell was horrible in Asia when he toured india. Pant and Rizwan are the two in contention for best red-ball keeper-bat.One of four:
Blundell
Das
Pant
Riswan
Foakes is the best keeper bat in the world per Ben Stokes.Das doesn't keep half the time and Blundell was horrible in Asia when he toured india. Pant and Rizwan are the two in contention for best red-ball keeper-bat.
I don't follow the QeA that closely so I don't know where the averages are at. I'm used to mid-30s averaging picks in Australia. In the short time he's been around I've never, ever thought he'd have an impact with bat or especially ball. It is crazy the way Pakistan will dis-balance the team to accommodate such a player.Salman is another brain dead selection not as bad as Zahid but pretty poor in his own right. If FC performance are the main criteria there are atleast 4-5 more deserving bats also his bowling is a non factor.