*Official* Group A Discussion - Pakistan, West Indies, Australia, India

[godofcricket]

Yeah i 'm feeling good now, & the good thing is people have written pakistan off, which is a good sign
with Umer Akmal's inclusion in the side, batting looks great
but the prob here is that they have to pick two from these three: Malik, Misbah & Yousaf
with Malik scoring 130* yesterday (although agianst a club side) now they will have trouble in selection

I am 100% certain pakistan will qualify for the semi-finals, thats my prediction. As far as selection goes I personally believe that misbah and malik should be in the team. I feel they have alot more to offer in this format then yusuf has got left in him. Its not only umer akmal but also shahid afirdis change of style in his batting will actually give alot of boost to our team, i believe if he can play sensibily then i guess our batting is pretty much perfectly sorted.

 

[Naumaan]

I am 100% certain pakistan will qualify for the semi-finals, thats my prediction. As far as selection goes I personally believe that misbah and malik should be in the team. I feel they have alot more to offer in this format then yusuf has got left in him. Its not only umer akmal but also shahid afirdis change of style in his batting will actually give alot of boost to our team, i believe if he can play sensibily then i guess our batting is pretty much perfectly sorted.

exactly, i hope there isn't any collapse, otherwise even if we lose, i'll be happy
& i also think Pakistan will easily qualify for the semi's but i want people to be aginst Pakistan
cuz then they perform really well

 

[ret]

exactly, i hope there isn't any collapse, otherwise even if we lose, i'll be happy
& i also think Pakistan will easily qualify for the semi's but i want people to be aginst Pakistan
cuz then they perform really well

Btw, someone told me that if you stand on one leg throughout the games, Pak will not only get in to the semis but also win the CT

 

[Burgey]

Btw, someone told me that if you stand on one leg throughout the games, Pak will not only get in to the semis but also win the CT

Heather Mills a Pakistan fan?

 

[Uppercut]

Tough call for India with the bowling lineup. If it seams it spins, so I wouldn't worry too much about the pitches not suiting two spinners, but with all the part-time spin options they havel three seamers would suit the balance of the team a hell of a lot better.

On the other hand, Amit Mishra is in a completely different class to RP Singh. Can you really leave out good players for mediocre ones in the name of team balance?

 

[Shri]

On the other hand, Amit Mishra is in a completely different class to RP Singh. Can you really leave out good players for mediocre ones in the name of team balance?

Yes. In a circus. Thats how the side is being run these days.

 

[Stapel]

Maybe a silly question.....

But what ever happened to Sreesanth? Two years back I thought he would stick in the Indian side for soem time.

 

[Arjun]

Tough call for India with the bowling lineup. If it seams it spins, so I wouldn't worry too much about the pitches not suiting two spinners, but with all the part-time spin options they havel three seamers would suit the balance of the team a hell of a lot better.

On the other hand, Amit Mishra is in a completely different class to RP Singh. Can you really leave out good players for mediocre ones in the name of team balance?

On form, you play two specialist spinners, as they're doing well. By using these part-time options, you're giving away an advantage on helpful pitches, or taking a big (and needless) risk on those not so helpful. Spinners can make quite an impact in South Africa. Besides, if you want a third seamer, Nayar will do just fine, and he'll also get lower-order runs.

 

[Arjun]

Maybe a silly question.....

But what ever happened to Sreesanth? Two years back I thought he would stick in the Indian side for soem time.

Injuries kept him out for a long time. Besides, he's not even in Dhoni's inner circle, so his chances of being an India regular are slim. He's doing reasonably well for Warwicks, more so in limited-overs cricket.

 

[Stapel]

Injuries kept him out for a long time. Besides, he's not even in Dhoni's inner circle, so his chances of being an India regular are slim. He's doing reasonably well for Warwicks, more so in limited-overs cricket.

Is India selection that much about being in Dhoni's inner circle?

 

[ret]

Heather Mills a Pakistan fan?

you never know

 

[Faisal1985]

Haha remember that. Man he could really jump high.

At least he did not get his trousers ripped and became butt naked in front of the audience....don't make me post videos here now....

Lets keep it to Cricket only here......thats it.

 

[Faisal1985]

Yeah i 'm feeling good now, & the good thing is people have written pakistan off, which is a good sign
with Umer Akmal's inclusion in the side, batting looks great
but the prob here is that they have to pick two from these three: Malik, Misbah & Yousaf
with Malik scoring 130* yesterday (although agianst a club side) now they will have trouble in selection

Malik averages around 77 in SA after 5 games, which is great to see. And he just scored another ton, its good for his confidence.....he must be placed higher up the order like 1 down or even openning with him would not hurt....

Bowling was good too against SL. Aamir bowled well. Rana bowled extremely well. I think i am a bit confident that we can give a good fight to all the teams now.

More importantly, bowling should not be a concern at this point Pak must play Gul, Rana, Aamir as their strike bowlers....Ajmal, Afridi, Malik, Fawad Alam, gives us a great spin department......2 ingredients are unsettled yet. 1 is batting. If Malik can stabilize the top order, and Mo Yo can bat around Misbah and YK in the middle we are in business!


2nd is Pak's fielding....with Nazir, Afridi, Alam being the only ODI level fielders in the team it is very important that they are positioned properly.....Aamir is also not that bad.....but field positions have to be very strategically placed by the captain, because really their are only a handful reliable fielders as far as i am concerned....

Pakistan has good depth in batting and bowling.......anything can happen boys....ANYTHING.

 

[Naumaan]

Malik averages around 77 in SA after 5 games, which is great to see. And he just scored another ton, its good for his confidence.....he must be placed higher up the order like 1 down or even openning with him would not hurt....

Bowling was good too against SL. Aamir bowled well. Rana bowled extremely well. I think i am a bit confident that we can give a good fight to all the teams now.

More importantly, bowling should not be a concern at this point Pak must play Gul, Rana, Aamir as their strike bowlers....Ajmal, Afridi, Malik, Fawad Alam, gives us a great spin department......2 ingredients are unsettled yet. 1 is batting. If Malik can stabilize the top order, and Mo Yo can bat around Misbah and YK in the middle we are in business!


Pakistan has good depth in batting and bowling.......anything can happen boys....ANYTHING.

Younis Khan won't be playing tomorrow
i think now the playing Xl will probably like
1. IMRAN NAZIR
2. KAMRAN AKMAL
3. SHOAIB MALIK
4. MUHAMMAD YOUSAF
5. MISBAH UL HAQ
6. UMER AKMAL
7. SHAHID AFRIDI
8. RANA NAVEED
9. MUHAMMAD AMIR
10. UMER GUL
11. SAEED AJMAL/RAO /ASIF

i know they are going to pick Saeed Ajmal, but they might play Asif for Gul

 

[Pratters]

Good to see lots of Pakistan fans on the forum.

 

[Faisal1985]

Younis Khan won't be playing tomorrow
i think now the playing Xl will probably like
1. IMRAN NAZIR
2. KAMRAN AKMAL
3. SHOAIB MALIK
4. MUHAMMAD YOUSAF
5. MISBAH UL HAQ
6. UMER AKMAL
7. SHAHID AFRIDI
8. RANA NAVEED
9. MUHAMMAD AMIR
10. UMER GUL
11. SAEED AJMAL/RAO /ASIF

i know they are going to pick Saeed Ajmal, but they might play Asif for Gul

Here is the problem that Pak might be facing right now, they would want Asif to make a comeback against WI rather than India. WI is or should be an easy contest and Asif can ease back into his rhythm, there is no doubt that if Asif gets going here in SA the conditions will support his bowling...so he is certainly a gamble that Pak must play....Now, the bigger problem is, who will he replace....? Gul is in good form and its going to be a tough call to drop him.....his 1st change tight bowling is a big part of Pak's bowling woes. Without him we don't have a good seamer for 1st change. Aamir's pace is REQUIRED at this time, otherwise we have only medium pacers...its going to be hard to drop him.....

I mean all in all, the problem that i see with Asif's comeback is how is he going to fit into the team???? Rana is another one, but he is doing well in bowling and he is very handy with batting......

There is no way we can drop Ajmal.......he's dosras are hard to read....and he can contain runs in the middle overs.....with Afridi....if anything .....the only way i see Asif coming back is perhaps playing 4 seamers.....and i think It wouldn't hurt if we can sit Misbah out for this game against WI.

One thing i don't think Pak should compromise on is their bowling....that is their strength and they must make sure that they don't play around too much with it, so i don't see a reason for any bowler being dropped......

Another option they have is probably swaping Alam with Nazir and then perhaps sitting Ajmal out for a game..but again, he is too good of a spinner to be left out at this stage....

Tough calls for Pak ahead...

 

[Naumaan]

Here is the problem that Pak might be facing right now, they would want Asif to make a comeback against WI rather than India. WI is or should be an easy contest and Asif can ease back into his rhythm, there is no doubt that if Asif gets going here in SA the conditions will support his bowling...so he is certainly a gamble that Pak must play....Now, the bigger problem is, who will he replace....? Gul is in good form and its going to be a tough call to drop him.....his 1st change tight bowling is a big part of Pak's bowling woes. Without him we don't have a good seamer for 1st change. Aamir's pace is REQUIRED at this time, otherwise we have only medium pacers...its going to be hard to drop him.....

I mean all in all, the problem that i see with Asif's comeback is how is he going to fit into the team???? Rana is another one, but he is doing well in bowling and he is very handy with batting......

There is no way we can drop Ajmal.......he's dosras are hard to read....and he can contain runs in the middle overs.....with Afridi....if anything .....the only way i see Asif coming back is perhaps playing 4 seamers.....and i think It wouldn't hurt if we can sit Misbah out for this game against WI.

One thing i don't think Pak should compromise on is their bowling....that is their strength and they must make sure that they don't play around too much with it, so i don't see a reason for any bowler being dropped......

Another option they have is probably swaping Alam with Nazir and then perhaps sitting Ajmal out for a game..but again, he is too good of a spinner to be left out at this stage....

Tough calls for Pak ahead...

i don't think Fawad Alam will be playing any game, but yeah it's really a difficult situation
most of the people are criticising the decison of picking just 1 opener, but i think it's good cuz if they had gone with Butt, then Umer Akmal would have to sit outside

 

[Naumaan]

Good to see lots of Pakistan fans on the forum.

i incidently found this forum lol

 

[Faisal1985]

i don't think Fawad Alam will be playing any game, but yeah it's really a difficult situation
most of the people are criticising the decison of picking just 1 opener, but i think it's good cuz if they had gone with Butt, then Umer Akmal would have to sit outside

Nazir should not be a guarantee either....he has made a chancy fifty in T20 WC ....i don't see why we wouldn't swap him for Alam if in case Nazir fails to click....

 

[Naumaan]

Nazir should not be a guarantee either....he has made a chancy fifty in T20 WC ....i don't see why we wouldn't swap him for Alam if in case Nazir fails to click....

Imran Nazir is far more better batsman than Fawad Alam, better fielder
by the way playing Xl has been announced, not officially but they sent list to the media
1.Imran Nazir
2.Kamran Akmal
3. Shoaib Malik
4. Muhammad Yousaf
5. Misbah Ul Haq
6. Umer Akmal
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Rana Naveed
9. Muhammad Amir
10. Umer Gul
11. Saeed Ajmal

not a bad line up by any means