"Not afraid of others doing well as such competition only improves you as a player" : Mohammad Nawaz

[Firebat]

Nawaz comes into the side for the series deciding 3rd ODI against South Africa. Failed with the bat, but has just claimed his 3rd wicket, all of top/middle order batsmen.

[Mamoon]

Nawaz giving a shut up call to people as usual. Our fans have been unnecessarily harsh on him and have tried for years to prove that Imad/Shadab are better than which is simply not true.

He has been treated like a second class citizen compared to them, but he is actually a better cricketer than Shadab and on par with Imad.

[shamaan]

Top performance from nawaz much better than imad.

[Hasan123]

Definitely more suited to the longer formats yet we keep playing him in T20s lol.

He has good accuracy with the ball and can spin the ball. With the bat he can definitely hang around. Not against him getting a run in ODIs. He will play the T20s as CS doesn't rate Imad

[Shoaibbtt]

Nawaz comes into the side for the series deciding 3rd ODI against South Africa. Failed with the bat, but has just claimed his 3rd wicket, all of top/middle order batsmen.

Media questioned his selection over Imad but he did enough today in my books to justify selection, all he needs is a good run with the bat but i reckon Imad is better.

[Shoaibbtt]

Definitely more suited to the longer formats yet we keep playing him in T20s lol.

He has good accuracy with the ball and can spin the ball. With the bat he can definitely hang around. Not against him getting a run in ODIs. He will play the T20s as CS doesn't rate Imad

CS took a call and it pulled off, hats off to M. Wasim and the bold decision.

Don't know if Nawaz fits into the test team right now but shorter format certainly my first pick.

[hitthestump]

CS took a call and it pulled off, hats off to M. Wasim and the bold decision.

Don't know if Nawaz fits into the test team right now but shorter format certainly my first pick.

Nawaz is a far better option in tests, he looked the part for the majority of QeA. He is far behind Imad when it comes to LOI batting so not really ideal for the 7/8 position in ODI's.

[Shoaibbtt]

Nawaz is a far better option in tests, he looked the part for the majority of QeA. He is far behind Imad when it comes to LOI batting so not really ideal for the 7/8 position in ODI's.

Don't know where he fits into the test playing XI at the moment. Maybe you can say rest Faheem if the conditions suit spin but i'm happy enough with our test XI barring the inclusion of Abid Ali.

[hitthestump]

Don't know where he fits into the test playing XI at the moment. Maybe you can say rest Faheem if the conditions suit spin but i'm happy enough with our test XI barring the inclusion of Abid Ali.

Yep. He can play the role Shadab played in England if neccesary but i agree we won't need him much. At home we'll be using two frontline spinners and abroad it'll probably be 3 seamers plus Faheem.

[Hasan123]

CS took a call and it pulled off, hats off to M. Wasim and the bold decision.

Don't know if Nawaz fits into the test team right now but shorter format certainly my first pick.

He probably won't play tests yet.

[Junaids]

I reckon he is 80% of an international batsman and 40% of a bowler.

In comparison I consider Jadeja to be 60% of a batsman and 60% of a bowler.

The sum of the parts matters, which is why I’ve said for the last few months that Nawaz would be in my Test team at 6, with Shadab at 7 and Faheem at 8.

In Asia I would add Sajid Khan as a lead spinner, but outside Asia I would just have 4 quicks plus Nawaz and Shadab.

[MenInG]

Another chance for Nawaz to show his worth to Pakistan today.

[MenInG]

Another chance for Nawaz to show his worth to Pakistan today.

And did not disappoint 2/21 in 4 overs when rest of the bowlers are being smashed around.

[Saj]

Excellent spell today against South Africa in the 1st T20I

2 for 21 from 4 overs.

Good control apart from a couple of deliveries in the 3rd over.

[Mamoon]

Giving Nawaz recognition is probably the only good call Wasim has made as chief selector.

Although it should not have happened at the expense of Imad.

Nawaz is a good cricketer for our standards and has been underutilized over the last 4-5 years because of the golden boy treatment of Shadab.

[Markhor]

Giving Nawaz recognition is probably the only good call Wasim has made as chief selector.

Although it should not have happened at the expense of Imad.

Nawaz is a good cricketer for our standards and has been underutilized over the last 4-5 years because of the golden boy treatment of Shadab.

His batting is appalling, yet to recall a single substantive knock in internationals from him. Should be no higher than 9.

His bowling is an improvement over Imad and Shadab though, but that's a low bar.

[Zaz]

His batting is appalling, yet to recall a single substantive knock in internationals from him. Should be no higher than 9.

His bowling is an improvement over Imad and Shadab though, but that's a low bar.

Yep So far hes shown nothing in intnl cricket that he can play as an allrounder at 6 or 7

[RedwoodOriginal]

Nawaz has improved leaps and bounds as a bowler but fact is he simply can't bat. Pushing him as an all-rounder is one thing but playing him at No.6 is quite ridiculous based on his tail-ender like stats.

As a complete package I don't see how he's still an improvement over Imad in T20Is. Because in this format Imad is one of the best bowlers in the world and an actual hitter which Pakistan clearly don't have enough of.

And its nothing against Nawaz, he's just trying to make the most of his opportunities. And is doing pretty well with the ball too. Its Wasim who has decided to pit these two against each other, when both should be in the squad.

[Uzi]

Bowled well today, however I have no idea why he is batting ahead of Faheem and Hassan.

[Raja Ishtiaq]

Seems to be developing more into a genuine bowler like how Afridi did. Wont mind that actually.

At the moment, he is making the team on merit as a bowler.

[90MPH]

He’s a very good tight bowler and does spin it as well which matters against top players.

I think his batting needs tinkering though, he def has a lack of footwork hence he’s fending a lot of deliveries outside off stump - something to work on .

[Line and Length]

He’s probably just as good of a bowler as Imad. Maybe even slightly better because he actually gets the ball to turn. But the guy can’t bat at all. If you can only have one of them in your team, I’d take Imad 10 times out of 10.

[UzmanBeast]

Giving Nawaz recognition is probably the only good call Wasim has made as chief selector.

Although it should not have happened at the expense of Imad.

Nawaz is a good cricketer for our standards and has been underutilized over the last 4-5 years because of the golden boy treatment of Shadab.

Agreed, his bowling is quite economical and is a more attacking option compared with Imad, though Imad's batting is quite superior.

Nawaz is the example of a bowling all-rounder, who will give you 4 good overs in T20 and a full 10 overs in ODI cricket without bowling boundary balls every over.

Shadab was frankly quite over-rated, he got a lot of hype because he debuted at a young age and played in all the BBLs, PSLs, BPLs and CPLs, but never worked on his bowling for ODI and test cricket. The last time he played a List A and First Class game in domestic has at least been greater than a year, showing just why he has failed in recent times.

Personally, I'd introduce Nawaz into the test squad ahead of Nauman Ali, a format where he can provide breakthroughts with the ball and crucial runs with the bat.

An overall good cricketer for our standards like you mentioned.

[Artaxerxes]

Pakistan needs someone like Razzaq at number 6.All other teams have good all rounders so why can’t Pakistan find any?

[world cup captain]

Pakistan needs someone like Razzaq at number 6.All other teams have good all rounders so why can’t Pakistan find any?

Razzaq played in a very different era. A lot of players retired without ever reaching their ceiling. Nowadays, players need to be developed from a young age which is something Pakistan seems incapable of doing. Some players pop up due to their own hard work ie. Rizwan and Hasan; however, the likes of Shaheen and Babar have been developed from ages of 12-13. Hopefully, with more investment in ground roots, more work can be done to harness players identified early.

[gazza619]

Bowled beautifully today but he is not a no.6 batsman of international standard. Hope he proves me wrong though.

[zacattakk]

A solid limited overs bowler. Good performance again from him today.

Unfortunately he has not made the most of the batting opportunities that have come his way in international cricket. Otherwise he would have cemented his place. He bats well at the domestic level and has some batting ability, just needs to translate that at the international level when given the chance. Could be decent in LOIs. His bowling currently trumps Shadab Khan easily.

[angrypathan]

What in the world is he doing batting at 6? At best he's a number 9

[Junaids]

He’s just fine.

His bowling is what it always was - Jadeja style, and his batting has barely been seen because of the situations at which he comes in.

He actually needs to come in earlier, when he doesn’t have to hit out straight away, not later!

[Mamoon]

We should be a little flexible in our approach and not rule out the possibility of playing both Nawaz and Imad in the playing XI.

It is good to have variety but only if they are good enough. Neither Shadab nor Qadir are good enough to be forced into the playing XI just because they are leg-spinners and it is a crime for us if we play two SLAs.

Imad can be highly economical on his good days and his worse is not worse than Shadab’s or Qadir’s, and he is by far the best batsman among all our all-round options.

In fact, he can actually play as a pure batsman ahead of duds like Asif, Iftikhar, Danish etc.

Nawaz’s batting is not reliable but he seems to be the best bowler among the spinners at this point.

He is a more of a wicket-taker than Imad and can get some good turn, and he has more control than Shadab and Qadir. He is also capable of bowling with the new ball.

[Mobashir]

Strange that his batting is so bad in internationals when he is more than fine in domestic.
I think he just needs a good knock so become an okaish number 7.
So far he should not be batting above Faheem Ashraf.

[ask_analyse_act]

Imad Wasim is very underrated, he’s helped us out on many occasions.

Nawaz is good and personally I wanna give him more responsibility and backing by promoting him to no. 5.

Imad wasim is another lazy cricketer who wants to do the bare minimum effort. He can bat better than he is doing. His chance against the Aus UAE series in 2019 was a great opportunity to showcase his batting talent but gave that to Rizwan instead and he took it with both hands and made 2 tons. The runs you score not only benefits the team gives a great confidence booster to the career. Look what Rizwan is now and Imad is .. Imad was the u19 captain , players played with him made good progress in international career with their hard work but Imad is still the same as what he was when he debuted. Also clearing the fitness yo-yo yo-yo test at multiple attempts.

He can come up the order when needed to build an innings but he just hides himself down the order , with his batting skills alone he should be in the 11 in place of Ifthikar, Asif Ali , danish’ etc. He relies on his bowling which is not going to help him, he is just a medium pacer bowling spin.

Usually Pak players when dropped whine about it in media , rather topping the charts in domestics, because the mentality they posses seeing themselves entitled to play forever regardless of performance.

He is rightly dropped for the attitude that he showed towards Shadab during the 20-20 game against NZL

[Firebat]

Nawaz really needs to work on his batting if he wants to be called an international level all-rounder. It's ridiculous that he came in before Faheem and Hassan. He's batted like a tail-ender this series, which is fine considering his bowling has been outstanding and game-changing.

However, he is taking up an all-rounder spot in the side in the middle order, so he has to be an actual all-rounder that contributes with the bat. Otherwise, he should just be competing for Usman Qadir's place.