***Official** Sri Lanka v Pakistan in Abu Dhabi

[Perm]

I think you just need a better bowler for #8, really. Razzaq's bowling is not good enough to justify his selection there, no matter how good his batting is. Afridi's would be I suppose, but that'd leave you with only three seam bowling options + Afidi, Malik and Alam. Not ideal either.

Wait until Shoaib is fit and he could come into the side in place of Razzaq. That would give Pakistan four specialist seamers and two spinning all rounders in Malik and Afridi. Would weaken the batting though, especially with Nazir, Afridi and Akmal being pretty hit and miss.

 

[Xuhaib]

I think you just need a better bowler for #8, really. Razzaq's bowling is not good enough to justify his selection there, no matter how good his batting is. Afridi's would be I suppose, but that'd leave you with only three seam bowling options + Afidi, Malik and Alam. Not ideal either.

Rana Naveed

 

[Perm]

Cue Razzaq to score 70 and justify the selection of a batting allrounder at #8 after I blasted it.

Well TBF you were slagging off his bowling, not his batting.

 

[Perm]

Rana Naveed

He has done well in the past. Shoaib Akhtar would more than likely come into the side though.

 

[Prince EWS]

Well TBF you were slagging off his bowling, not his batting.

Yeah, but I was also slagging off the fact that Pakistan have picked an un-necessarily deep batting lineup at the expense of better bowlers. If Razzaq scores 70 and saves Pakistan's butts, it'll still make me look silly.

 

[Xuhaib]

Wait until Shoaib is fit and he could come into the side in place of Razzaq. That would give Pakistan four specialist seamers and two spinning all rounders in Malik and Afridi. Would weaken the batting though, especially with Nazir, Afridi and Akmal being pretty hit and miss.

My team would be:

Afridi
Butt
Malik
Mo Yo
Younis
Alam
Akmal
Razzaq
Shoaib
Asif
Gul.

 

[Prince EWS]

Wait until Shoaib is fit and he could come into the side in place of Razzaq. That would give Pakistan four specialist seamers and two spinning all rounders in Malik and Afridi. Would weaken the batting though, especially with Nazir, Afridi and Akmal being pretty hit and miss.

Yeah, you need a bowling allrounder for the position, really. That's what I class Afridi as so maybe if he swapped positions with Razzaq, it'd shut me up.

 

[Perm]

Yeah, but I was also slagging off the fact that Pakistan have picked an un-necessarily deep batting lineup at the expense of better bowlers. If Razzaq scores 70 and saves Pakistan's butts, it'll still make me look silly.

Haha, that is true. But then that's not unusual is it?

 

[pasag]

Lol at Afridi.

 

[Perm]

My team would be:

Afridi
Butt
Malik
Mo Yo
Younis
Alam
Akmal
Razzaq
Shoaib
Asif
Gul.

My preferred XI is something like this:

Nazir
Butt
Hameed
Yousuf
Malik
Afridi
Akmal
Razzaq
Shoaib
Gul
Asif

I know Nazir is pretty woeful, but I think he is better than Farhat and Hafeez, with whom he is competing for the openers spot. The middle order picks itself IMO while the lower order is very much a horses for courses thing, with Alam being able to come in for Afridi and Razzaq could be replaced by a specialist bowler when the need arises. The backup bowlers would be Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Sami and Yasir Arafat.

 

[Perm]

Lol at Afridi.

The fact he got 1 or the fact it took him 5 balls?

 

[Prince EWS]

My preferred XI is something like this:

Nazir
Butt
Hameed
Yousuf
Malik
Afridi
Akmal
Razzaq
Shoaib
Gul
Asif

I know Nazir is pretty woeful, but I think he is better than Farhat and Hafeez, with whom he is competing for the openers spot. The middle order picks itself IMO while the lower order is very much a horses for courses thing, with Alam being able to come in for Afridi and Razzaq could be replaced by a specialist bowler when the need arises. The backup bowlers would be Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Sami and Yasir Arafat.

How about...

Imran Farhat
Mohammad Hafeez
Younis Khan +
Faisal Iqbal
Hasan Rasa
Asim Kamal
Azhar Mahmood
Rana Naved
Rao Iftikhar
Mohammad Sami
Danish Kaneria

 

[Perm]

How about...

Imran Farhat
Mohammad Hafeez
Younis Khan +
Faisal Iqbal
Hasan Rasa
Asim Kamal
Azhar Mahmood
Rana Naved
Rao Iftikhar
Mohammad Sami
Danish Kaneria

It wouldn't at all surprise me if all of others players (except Raza) play for Pakistan in the near future. Of course, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing for the ODI versions of Rana Naved and Mohammad Sami.

 

[Perm]

Kamran Akmal departs just as he was looking to accelerate, Razzaq will need to launch a few if Pakistan are to reach 300.

 

[Perm]

Pakistan 313/9
Salman Butt 74, Yasir Hameed 50
Malinga Bandara 3/56, Farveez Maharoof 3/65

Pakistan will be disappointed with that effort, they looked set for 350+ at once stage.

 

[Jono]

Is that chaseable, considering the Asif factor?

 

[Perm]

Without Jayasuriya and Sangakarra I don't think Sri Lanka will be able to chase this down, it will take a good effort from Tharanga or someone at the top of the order if they were able to make the runs.

 

[Jono]

Oh Jayasuriya isn't playing, I see.

 

[Xuhaib]

Is that chaseable, considering the Asif factor?

Actually the pitch improves in the 2nd half.

Is it me or does Razzaq looks disintrested, he was batting with a broken bat ffs and did not even bother to change even when he was continously mistiming the ball.

 

[Perm]

Actually the pitch improves in the 2nd half.

Is it me or does Razzaq looks disintrested, he was batting with a broken bat ffs and did not even bother to change even when he was continously mistiming the ball.

That doesn't sound like Abdul Razzaq at all.