"Maybe like Warner and Sehwag, Fakhar Zaman can put pressure on the opposition" : Wasim Akram

[Abdullah719]

Wasim Akram at a presser after Pakistan's squad announcement for 2018 tour of England and Ireland:

"Tough tour ahead, Pakistan needs a strong middle order."

"The Test against Ireland could be tough, the wickets will be soft in early May with rain around and slow medium pacers come into the equation as the ball keeps moving around, England will be tough for sure also."

"Fakhar Zaman in the Test squad is a big thing. Maybe like Warner and Sehwag, he can put pressure on the opposition. In England, the Dukes ball makes it ideal conditions for the bowlers."

"Wahab bowled well in PSL but PSL is different from Test cricket. He's been expensive, though he does get wickets but he isn't consistent. I think the way Rahat is bowling now means he'll be a better option, he's swinging the ball at pace."

"If your first six batsmen don't do the job, I don't think the other four will. There should be 6-8 batsmen in the squad. With Inzamam at the helm, I think so far he's making the right decisions."

"The present form matters, not senior junior. I know the mentality of the team management. Mickey Arthur wants Pakistan cricket to flourish, not now or tomorrow but in the next 10 years. He's implementing fitness standards."

"Yasir Shah bowled well in PSL but he looked a bit overweight. Perhaps because of that he got a fracture, Pakistan will miss him as he was a top bowler in the world. Shadab has to step up his performances, Test cricket is very difficult. You have to get the batsmen out, they don't get out themselves like in T20s."

[Mercurial]

"Wahab bowled well in PSL but PSL is different from Test cricket. He's been expensive, though he does get wickets but he isn't consistent. I think the way Rahat is bowling now means he'll be a better option, he's swinging the ball at pace."

This tells you how out of touch he is from cricket statistics, lol. Most of our ex cricketers seem clueless. Wahab has been our best Test fast bowler recently, and Rahat has been an International failure.

[MenInG]

Wasim compares Fakhar to Warner - Shock Horror etc....

[babajee]

If he gets going in tests Fakhar is gonna change the series.

[Savak]

Fakhar does not have the technique for seaming conditions. Anderson will have a field day against him.

[Hasan123]

Warner and Sehwag have much better techniques than Fakhar. Non compairson. He won't be close to either player.

[MenInG]

Wasim Akram "Players play domestic to get an opportunity to play international cricket. I cant understand why Fawad Alam isn't getting an opportunity, he's still not in the squad despite scoring runs in domestic at an average of 50 in the last 3-4 years" #Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) April 15, 2018

[barah_admi]

That would be the point of picking Zaman, to get quick runs up the order and put bowlers under pressure. I would hope more like Hayden rather than Warner or Sehwag.

[Prince of Pakistan]

People have doubts about Fakhar, but his domestic record is pretty decent. He is not a slogger and has batted long in FC scoring double tons.

ONLY issue he has is the short ball. So Wood and Broad will be problematic for him. They will target his weakness and then it will be on Fakhar to survive that period. Hopefully Micky discusses a proper game plan with him.

[Pete Rose]

Warner and Sehwag have much better techniques than Fakhar. Non compairson. He won't be close to either player.

Sharjeel is a closer comparison to Sehwag

[PakSarZameen]

"Wahab bowled well in PSL but PSL is different from Test cricket. He's been expensive, though he does get wickets but he isn't consistent. I think the way Rahat is bowling now means he'll be a better option, he's swinging the ball at pace."

So Wahab should not get selected because of his PSL performances, but Rahat should get selected because of his PSL performances.

Wah!

[Prince of Pakistan]

"Wahab bowled well in PSL but PSL is different from Test cricket. He's been expensive, though he does get wickets but he isn't consistent. I think the way Rahat is bowling now means he'll be a better option, he's swinging the ball at pace."

So Wahab should not get selected because of his PSL performances, but Rahat should get selected because of his PSL performances.

Wah!

Where did he mention that Rahat is selected on the basis of the PSL only? He showed that he is fit again in the PSL, but it's his swing at pace in the nets that has impressed Mickey.

[PakSarZameen]

Where did he mention that Rahat is selected on the basis of the PSL only? He showed that he is fit again in the PSL, but it's his swing at pace in the nets that has impressed Mickey.

Let's not lie to ourselves, Rahat would never ever ever have been selected if it wasn't for his outstanding performances in the PSL.

[Asch Ali]

Rahat can swing it yards.

[PakSarZameen]

Rahat can swing it yards.

No one cares. Only late swing matters.

[GrandMaster]

It's not going to happen. Warner/Sehwag played for countries who supported and backed them irrespective of their lack of form and failures. With PCB, the moment a player fails to perform in 3-4 matches, he is replaced with another TTF. And the recycling goes on.

[Deewana Mastana]

Fakhar hasn't the game yet for Tests.

He's still coming to terms on how to play in ODI cricket and they've just put him into the Test side.

Especially playing in England is going to be a tough one for him hopefully he doesn't get disheartened even if he doesn't do well.

[Third_Umpire]

Fakhar's perpetual horizontal bat means he'll be a sitting duck in the face of pitched up swing bowling. Nevertheless, hope he surprises us all.

Gonna be a tough series.

[Titan24]

Fakhar does not have the technique for seaming conditions. Anderson will have a field day against him.

Yes to many he seemed to be technically not equipped enough to even play ODIs in Eng and NZ, may be he wasnt initially but what this guy has got is temperament and ability to adapt. I have no doubt the he is gonna play some crucial knocks in all forms of cricket.

I have mentioned Dhoni several times that he said about Dhawan (When is scored tons of runs in CT 2013) that at international level when a player is selected its the temperament which becomes important.

And I think technique is only 20%, rest is how much a player knows his game, how he adapts and how solid he is temperamentally.

Some big examples are Steve Smith, David Warner, Virender Sewag etc nobody thought they would achieve so much in test cricket with some glare deficiencies in their techniques.

[Titan24]

Fakhar's perpetual horizontal bat means he'll be a sitting duck in the face of pitched up swing bowling. Nevertheless, hope he surprises us all.

Gonna be a tough series.

In reality it can be a great topic of discussion that whether the guys with strong with horizontal shots will fare better or verse in swinging conditions than the ones strong with their vertical shots.

To be honest most of the people think the ones with the vertical shots are technically more equipped to handle swing but some players like Sehwag, Lara etc have proven otherwise.

Horizontal shot players scientifically should play swing better as a horizontal bat is more likely to cover the swing of the ball and less likely to edge it than a vertical bat. As the with the swing the variation in the bowl is horizontal so its should be better covered playing with the horizontal bat.

With vertical with there is only limited width of the bat to cover the swing which is more likely to get edged if the technique is not solid enough.

Bounce is something which should trouble the players with heavy reliance of horizontal strokes.

[Adijazz1706]

Warner and Sehwag have much better techniques than Fakhar. Non compairson. He won't be close to either player.

In Swinging conditions Sehwag was rubbish, Fakhar may or may not be as bad but at least let him play first

[BlackShadow]

In Swinging conditions Sehwag was rubbish, Fakhar may or may not be as bad but at least let him play first

Sehwag was pretty decent until he got old and had glasses on while batting. Check first 75% of his career, and how he came out on top in the toughest of conditions.

[Adijazz1706]

Sehwag was pretty decent until he got old and had glasses on while batting. Check first 75% of his career, and how he came out on top in the toughest of conditions.

1 hundred in England, not even a 50 in NZ. Wouldn't call it coming out on top myself

[Hasan123]

In Swinging conditions Sehwag was rubbish, Fakhar may or may not be as bad but at least let him play first

Fakhar will never reach Sehwags heights in test . It's a non compairson.

[Adijazz1706]

Fakhar will never reach Sehwags heights in test . It's a non compairson.

We're talking about swinging conditions where Sehwag's lack of foot movement was a major hindrance in his technique. Let's see how Fakhar does before passing judgement

[Mashup]

Laughable comparison,Fakhar with the ATGs

[Mashup]

Sehwag had quite a good record in NZ and Eng..you dont even need match performance to have a say on fakhar ,he's already become the walking wicket from the moment he was selected for tests..lol

[Hawkeye]

"Wahab bowled well in PSL but PSL is different from Test cricket. He's been expensive, though he does get wickets but he isn't consistent. I think the way Rahat is bowling now means he'll be a better option, he's swinging the ball at pace."

This tells you how out of touch he is from cricket statistics, lol. Most of our ex cricketers seem clueless. Wahab has been our best Test fast bowler recently, and Rahat has been an International failure.

Rahat is an excellent bowler who can swing and seam the ball both ways AT pace. He lacks some consistency, yes.

But, Wahab is far more inconsistent. And he's a totally different type of bowler - hit the deck hard, bowl gun barrel straight without movement except when it's roughed up and reverse swing is on offer.

England's conditions are worst for such type of bowlers who rely on roughing up the ball. Andddd he's a wayward machine, cannot put two balls in one place.

[WhenSultansBowled]

Relax people. It's not a comparison. Both Sehwag and Warner have pwned ATG bowling line-ups and Fakhar is a noob at test level.

Sultan of Swing is talking about pressure on opposition. If Fakhar can score a couple of centuries with 80SR... ;)

[rhony]

I always thought Fakhar should mould.himself after Sehwag. Footwork is overrated. A hard hitting batsman at the top can derail the lengths of the bowlers at the top with quick fire runs. A few boundaries off Anderson and Broad and they will be on the back foot. Also, he isn't a mug with the bat as his first class record shows.

[UN talkz]

Have some of the posters noticed a big MAYBE in the title of this thread.

[Hasan123]

We're talking about swinging conditions where Sehwag's lack of foot movement was a major hindrance in his technique. Let's see how Fakhar does before passing judgement

Sehwag scored over 20 centuries. Fakhar at 28 who relies on reflexes will match this ?

He will never be as good as Sehwag in tests.

[Adijazz1706]

Sehwag scored over 20 centuries. Fakhar at 28 who relies on reflexes will match this ?

He will never be as good as Sehwag in tests.

No one said he would be, even the title says maybe. 1 century from Fakhar would equal Sehwag's career tally of 100s in England

[Mercurial]

Rahat is an excellent bowler who can swing and seam the ball both ways AT pace. He lacks some consistency, yes.

But, Wahab is far more inconsistent. And he's a totally different type of bowler - hit the deck hard, bowl gun barrel straight without movement except when it's roughed up and reverse swing is on offer.

England's conditions are worst for such type of bowlers who rely on roughing up the ball. Andddd he's a wayward machine, cannot put two balls in one place.

Yet, he out bowled both Rahat and Amir on the previous England tour.

[Mercurial]

Fakhar should be given the license to play in T20I mode in Test cricket, it would be fun.

[sshakir411]

No one said he would be, even the title says maybe. 1 century from Fakhar would equal Sehwag's career tally of 100s in England

Easy on the bachays bro. They just started watching cricket from the last 5 years.

[hadi123]

My main worry about Zaman in tests isn't him failing and getting out cheaply. If that happens, then so be it. My main fear is that he will play tests, bowlers will work him out, he will change his technique etc and then it will affect his ODI and T20I game. I really hope that doesn't happen

[babajee]

My main worry about Zaman in tests isn't him failing and getting out cheaply. If that happens, then so be it. My main fear is that he will play tests, bowlers will work him out, he will change his technique etc and then it will affect his ODI and T20I game. I really hope that doesn't happen.

Bro Fakhar was “worked out” after his first match. Don’t give him width and bowl round the wicket to close him off.

[Hasan123]

No one said he would be, even the title says maybe. 1 century from Fakhar would equal Sehwag's career tally of 100s in England

It's not even a maybe. He won't be as good as Sehwag ever.

[Mercurial]

It's not even a maybe. He won't be as good as Sehwag ever.

I would still take him even if he averages close to 40 with a S/R of above 80 in Test cricket.

[Hasan123]

I would still take him even if he averages close to 40 with a S/R of above 80 in Test cricket.

Yes that would be acceptable. But Inzi named him as a middle order player so seems likely he will bat in the middle order.

[Mercurial]

Yes that would be acceptable. But Inzi named him as a middle order player so seems likely he will bat in the middle order.

Lol, that would be a waste of a spot then.

[Hasan123]

Lol, that would be a waste of a spot then.

I think he can be more effective in the middle order than opening. He's a good player of spin and against the softer ball he could do damage. I don't think he had the technique to open. But in the middle order, I'll back him to succeed in test cricket. We need a more aggressive middle order player.

[Fast Bowler]

One thing I want to add is that a lot of people are going on and on about Wahab having a certain amount of wickets over the last few years. You do need to understand that the players you are comparing him to did not play the same amount of test matches, so this really isn't a fair comparison

I do agree with Wasim on this. Rahat is better suited to English conditions.

[Plumb]

some reports on social media suggests that he 'll be utilized as a middle order bat. Another out of the box thinking from Mickey I believe, seems like a great idea.

[babajee]

some reports on social media suggests that he 'll be utilized as a middle order bat. Another out of the box thinking from Mickey I believe, seems like a great idea.

Fakhar at 6, Sarfraz at 7, Faheem at 8 and Hasan at 9 provides some serious firepower to the test team. Could be the difference between us putting up good totals or not.

[MenInG]

Fakhar Zaman is not suited for middle order!

[babajee]

Fakhar Zaman is not suited for middle order!

Why is that?

[MenInG]

Why is that?

He is an opener. if he is to play, he should be facing the new ball.

[babajee]

He is an opener. if he is to play, he should be facing the new ball.

He can face the second new ball

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I always thought Fakhar should mould.himself after Sehwag. Footwork is overrated. A hard hitting batsman at the top can derail the lengths of the bowlers at the top with quick fire runs. A few boundaries off Anderson and Broad and they will be on the back foot. Also, he isn't a mug with the bat as his first class record shows.

Sharjeel was the only one who could have moulded himself after Sehwag. But thanks to your Pyjama League for ruining his career.

[babajee]

Sharjeel was the only one who could have moulded himself after Sehwag. But thanks to your Pyjama League for ruining his career.

Pyjama league also gifted us FZ who has achieved more than Sharjeel ever did in a much shorter time.

[rhony]

Sharjeel was the only one who could have moulded himself after Sehwag. But thanks to your Pyjama League for ruining his career.

You just ignored that Sharjeel got into the Pak team because of the same pyjama league.

[Kroll]

Sure, Fakhar's definitely one of those players that can put pressure on the opposition. Hopefully gets a game as looking forward to see how he does in the Test team.

[OoparCut]

Couple of games and comparisons to Sehwag - a genuine freak who re-defined test batting in the 21st century. If Fakhar can be compared to Sehwag, then Unadkat could be the next Akram.

[Hermoine Green]

Fakhar does not have the technique for seaming conditions. Anderson will have a field day against him.

Warner and Sehwag have much better techniques than Fakhar. Non compairson. He won't be close to either player.

Fakhar hasn't the game yet for Tests.

He's still coming to terms on how to play in ODI cricket and they've just put him into the Test side.

Especially playing in England is going to be a tough one for him hopefully he doesn't get disheartened even if he doesn't do well.

Fakhar's perpetual horizontal bat means he'll be a sitting duck in the face of pitched up swing bowling. Nevertheless, hope he surprises us all.

Gonna be a tough series.

Fakhar will never reach Sehwags heights in test . It's a non compairson.

Laughable comparison,Fakhar with the ATGs

Couple of games and comparisons to Sehwag - a genuine freak who re-defined test batting in the 21st century. If Fakhar can be compared to Sehwag, then Unadkat could be the next Akram.

There is a big MAY BE in the title, he didnt compare FZ with those 2. He just raised a good point.

And i sincerely hope FZ send you people into hiding during the series.

[Hasan123]

There is a big MAY BE in the title, he didnt compare FZ with those 2. He just raised a good point.

And i sincerely hope FZ send you people into hiding during the series.

1 good series won't send me into hiding. I never said he can't succeed in test cricket. I'm just saying he won't be as good as Sehwag.

In the middle order he can be effective.

[Adijazz1706]

1 good series won't send me into hiding. I never said he can't succeed in test cricket. I'm just saying he won't be as good as Sehwag.

In the middle order he can be effective.

Being as good as Sehwag in England will see him dropped from the team, he'll have to do better

[dragon751]

Relax people. It's not a comparison. Both Sehwag and Warner have pwned ATG bowling line-ups and Fakhar is a noob at test level.

Sultan of Swing is talking about pressure on opposition. If Fakhar can score a couple of centuries with 80SR... ;)

"couple of centuries"?, its a two test series so century in each test ? ... now that would be something if he does it .

[Tusker]

This thread has all the makings of being a extremely bumpable thread in the future one way or the other

[ask_analyse_act]

No one cares. Only late swing matters.

is it better than no swing at pace or not.

Wahab = pace and no swing
Rahat = pace + swing.

He has bowled some really good spells during the last tour to England..

From the tour's point of view, they have also selected Mirhamza which is very good as he is a swing bowler who can also be of good help as a backup swing bowler.

[troodon]

Don't know the hate for Wasmi's comment.

Fakhar has no feet movement just like Sehwag. He throws his bat at the ball and relies on hand-eye coordination just like Sehwag.

Now, I don't think Fakhar's defense is as good as Sehwag's defense. Sehwag when he defended was right behind the line of the ball with a straight bat. That was his strength. So Fakhar needs more luck than Sehwag to survive.

But the point here is, If Fakhar survives for 1 hour, he would have already scored a 50 at almost 100 S/R. Similar to Sehwag. With a bit of luck Fakhar can be much better option than the likes of Sehhzad or Masood.

[Abdullah719]

is it better than no swing at pace or not.

Wahab = pace and no swing
Rahat = pace + swing.

He has bowled some really good spells during the last tour to England..

From the tour's point of view, they have also selected Mirhamza which is very good as he is a swing bowler who can also be of good help as a backup swing bowler.

They haven't.

[Abdullah719]

Will he be given an opportunity in the warm-up against Northants?

[babajee]

Will he be given an opportunity in the warm-up against Northants?

Desperately hoping so...

[MenInG]

So looks like only a failure of Imam in Ireland game may open a door for Fakhar but really should have had a chance to play before that