Rana: a permenant member of the ODI squad now?

[Team Slayer]

When we have Shoaib, Sami, Shabbir and Umar Gul fully fit...do you still think Rana would be given preference over...say Shabbir and Gul (coz Shoaib and Sami are automatic selections at the moment)? When fit, this is what our ODI should look like:

Salman
(opener)
Malik
Inzi
YoYo
Razzaq
Afridi
Akmal
(pacer)
(pacer)
(pacer)

So, which 3 out of Sami, Shoaib, Rana, Shabbir and Gul should be picked for the ODI team, given that they are all fit?

I would go with Sami, Shoaib and Rana. I think Rana has shown lots of heart and has been unfortunate many times (dropped catches, flying edges, etc.) His stats really don't do justice to him. Not to mention he is a better batsman than Shabbir and Gul, which is a plus in ODIs.

As for the opener, I would actually LOVE to see Kamran back at the top, with Younis Khan (or someone new) at 6...

well I have issue with ur team but the 3 pacers should be Shoaib, Sami and Umar. without a doubt. WC is a squad of 15 so mine would be:

Taufeeq
Salman
Younis
Inzi
Youhana
Razzaq
Akmal
Sami
Shoaib
Danish
Umar
Shabbir
Malik
Afridi
Yasir

[Geordie Ahmed]

Sami/Shoaib , Rana and Shabbir

i dont want 2 pacers who only seem to care about bowling fast, one is enough! Shoaib only if he improves his fitness

yeah u know how I like a more attacking bowling line up. Both attacking and containment have their pros and cons. I feel Woolmer would tend to err on the side of caution which when u are looking to beat Aussies in big games, is the wrong option. Fortune favours the brave.

[Geordie Ahmed]

the list of pacers you mentioned all can take wickets BUT they go different ways about it! for Sami and Shaoib its mainly about pace and that can backfire, Rana is reasonably quick, bowls in the mid 80's but he seems to be a thinking bowler, which i like! Shabbir is tall and can cause problems for the opposition, he doesnt rely on his pace which is good. Gul has a nagging line and length which McGrath has mastered and it works if executed well! so we have some good options, the sooner these guys are fit the better for us!

yes, add in Danish a world class leggie, Afridi who isnt bad, a top keeper and some free scoring batsmen and it looks good. But then it has before!

[Geordie Ahmed]

thats true, i just hope Woolmer doesnt get hounded out! i like what he is doing with the team now, we seem to be better chasers using this style of team! when our bowlers get fit i hope we get more consistency in out performances!

yeah all good coaches/managers need time. look at Ferguson at Utd. Bobby Simpson I think did it for Oz. Whatmore for the Lankans and now for Bangladesh. In big games you need to know how to get the runs on the board I feel though. Still early days yet. And Bob has found the right balance between my approach and his old one which is clearly helping Pakistan. Though I still go with mine, I hope u get what I am saying.

[safehands46]

for some reason rana doesnt impress me

[tahaqureshi]

i feel that rana is now an essential part of the team..great team man..and in the absence of YK (the biggest team man in Pak Team)...we need him ever more.

once these other bowlers are fit...our attack should be:

rana, sami/akhtar, gul/shabbir

rana has touched my heart :oD

i may be over doing it...but his actions on the field are so inspiring

and plus..HIS FIELDING WAS REALLY GOOD AGAINST AUS ON SUNDAY!!!!!!!!

[pakistani pride]

Rana deserves to be in the squad atleast !!!!

But they all 5 will have to fight maybe shahid nazir can join the race. This is really good for pak cause nobody can relax and fitness must be 110 percent !

But Rana is really good

[Sage]

Did Gary just pick a WC squad?! |-U

Rana needs to watch his ECON rate and his constant noballs. If he can sort these problems out, he should be a fixture in the ODI team. Right now he takes wickets but he's much too expensive. His batting should only be treated as a bonus...lets not call him an allrounder.

Team Slayer, I would use this team:

Salman Butt
+Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Malik
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Yousuf Youhana
Younis Khan
Abdur Razzaq
Shahid Afridi
Naveed-ul-Hasan
Mohammad Sami
Shoaib Akhtar

When Shabbir is fit, he can replace Sami or Akhtar. Or perhaps a new bowler can be blooded.

[Awesome Anjum]

Rana appears to be a true Team man and for me a more versitile player than Shabbir. Sami is too erratic,and Shoaib too moody. As such Rana should be an automatic choice.

[161]

Heres my take on Rana -

When he plays on bowlers tracks he will be more dangerous and take more wickets then most other pak bowlers.

When he plays on flat batting tracks he will get hit harder and give up more runs then most other pak bowlers.

So basically he maximizes his usefulness on bowlers tracks.

Anyway with all that being said, given Malik starts bowling again, I would only use two specialist bowlers - Shabir plus either Shoaib or Gul.

Call me crazy, but with Razzaq, Affridii and Malik bowling well we dont need 3 other bowlers- 2 will suffice. Use the other spot for a batsman in out "hit or miss"batting line up and let salman bowl a few overs as well.


Finally the other opener: |-<

[Rudi hater]

Rana naveed plays with passion and commitment I would always have him in the side the only probem he has is his No ball problem. In One day pace is not everything look at McGrath and Lee one slow and accurate and the other is fast and wayward. Who is more effective??

I would ask Shoaib to concentrate on test cricket and his fitness for get the one dayers. simply becuase:

(1) One he will be as effective as any medium pacer where line length is more improtant and not pace but having said that he can be wayard at times.

(2) He takes 10 mins to complete an over which is far too slow and not good for the team and captain.

(3) we play too many One day games and he gets injured in every other game, this will give him much needed rest.

(4) He gets injured during the match in One day and leave team with vaccume of one bowler short which is very dangerous thing to do especially if you are only playing with 5 bowlers.

[Rudi hater]

Rana naveed plays with passion and commitment I would always have him in the side the only probem he has is his No ball problem. In One day pace is not everything look at McGrath and Lee one slow and accurate and the other is fast and wayward. Who is more effective??

I would ask Shoaib to concentrate on test cricket and his fitness and forget the one dayers. simply becuase:

(1) One he will be as effective as any medium pacer where line length is more improtant and not pace but having said that he can be wayard at times.

(2) He takes 10 mins to complete an over which is far too slow and not good for the team and captain.

(3) we play too many One day games and he gets injured in every other game, this will give him much needed rest.

(4) He gets injured during the match in One day and leave team with vaccume of one bowler short which is very dangerous thing to do especially if you are only playing with 5 bowlers.

[Rudi hater]

Rana naveed plays with passion and commitment I would always have him in the side the only probem he has is his No ball problem. In One day pace is not everything look at McGrath and Lee one slow and accurate and the other is fast and wayward. Who is more effective??

I would ask Shoaib to concentrate on test cricket and his fitness and forget the one dayers. simply becuase:

(1) One he will be as effective as any medium pacer where line length is more improtant and not pace but having said that he can be wayard at times.

(2) He takes 10 mins to complete an over which is far too slow and not good for the team and captain.

(3) we play too many One day games and he gets injured in every other game, this will give him much needed rest.

(4) He gets injured during the match in One day and leave team with vaccume of one bowler short which is very dangerous thing to do especially if you are only playing with 5 bowlers.

[Rudi hater]

Rana naveed plays with passion and commitment I would always have him in the side the only probem he has is his No ball problem. In One day pace is not everything look at McGrath and Lee one slow and accurate and the other is fast and wayward. Who is more effective??

I would ask Shoaib to concentrate on test cricket and his fitness and forget the one dayers. simply becuase:

(1) One he will be as effective as any medium pacer where line length is more improtant and not pace but having said that he can be wayard at times.

(2) He takes 10 mins to complete an over which is far too slow and not good for the team and captain.

(3) we play too many One day games and he gets injured in every other game, this will give him much needed rest.

(4) He gets injured during the match in One day and leave team with vaccume of one bowler short which is very dangerous thing to do especially if you are only playing with 5 bowlers.

5 years ago Rana would be not even talked of. So why now? He isnt good enough end of story. Gimme Shoaib, Sami, Shabbir, Shahid, Umar, Danish any day. Any team who compromises on bowling attack too much gets found out. The best way to stop runs is to take wickets. And I would play my 4 best wicket taking bowlers. If you have the capability to bowl teams out cheaply then its a whole new ballgame. The difference with Australia is their bowling is so good.

[Rudi hater]

But the problem is he goes for runs and does not take any wickets and also breaks down after 2 overs.

Shoaib is a proven performer in odis! PCB must do whatever it takes to get him fit but I would rather have a 50% Shoaib Akhtar than a 100% Rana.

[Sheikh_Ji]

I agree with GA....
play only one of Sami and Shoaib..and have him come first change...
open with Rana and Shabbir

I hope so. He's an excellent ODI bowler and as he showed on Sunday, he's no mug with the bat either

[J-Essence]

I ll go with Shoaib, Rana, and shabir ahmed........umar gul is a class player but i don't know if he will fully recover from his serious injury..ever,,,maybe on and off. and sami is not consistent with line and length. ...always gets smacked around, althought i think he has a great potential lets make him push his way back into the team...
PS: we are in great need of a new face (bowler) who can be at the top of attack....shoab is slowing not only on his speed but commitment and fitness.

[Awesome Anjum]

In relation to Rana, I recently read that he is in talks with Sussex.

[zorawar]

* Rana bowls in the 140's consistently...
* Swings the ball...
* is more accurate than most Pak seamers....
* has shown ability to not lose head and come back strong even after getting hit for runs ....
* showed ability to reverse swing the ball in death overs against Aus!

Add to that his excellent attitude and you have someone who should not be dropped from the ODI side.

as usual i am on my own. I cant believe guys like Rana are playing for a country that has more talent than any other.

[Rudi hater]

Gary, you dont understand, he is one of the best swing bowler in the world as stated by Atherton recently. According to Atherton the only bowler in the world right now who naturally swing the new ball is Rana.

[in_cutter]

Rana in place of Sami

[Rudi hater]

Shoaib should be out, he is not bigger than the game. He thinks too much of himself one day he will regret it, when he will be bowling 120km per hour.

[zorawar]

Amit Mishra bowls a wrong Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:46 pm
------------------------------------------------------------
as usual i am on my own. I cant believe guys like Rana are playing for a country that has more talent than any other.


Ahem Ahem... someone needs to start believing in RANA :)

[Sheikh_Ji]

Amit Mishra bowls a wrong Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:46 pm
------------------------------------------------------------
as usual i am on my own. I cant believe guys like Rana are playing for a country that has more talent than any other.


Ahem Ahem... someone needs to start believing in RANA :)

|-U :oD