The enigma that is Haris Sohail...

[Titan24]

When one watches him bat against the likes of top quality bowlers and the way he plays them without any issue or any problem, ones who can understand cricket can clearly see that he is class apart from some of other international batsmen of other teams.

However, is this enough? I dont think so, as temperament, hard work and passion to be the best is something which can overtake natural skills and ability any day.

Haris Sohail plays too much shots in the air which is unlike a player averaging in 50s in first class. He gets a bit lazy I guess or may be his fitness is not upto the mark.

He looks like a real talent against any pace bowler with how early he sees the ball and how late he can play however his shot selection has been really poor since his come back. He also isnt the most confident around when playing spin, he never has been. Why isnt he been working on his weaknesses, he sometimes looks like overconfident and taking things for granted because he himself knows how good he can be. But, that has been the downfall for many, out of them some names might not be very much liked here.

I want him to do well only becz like many others and Pak team management I am a bit biased becz of the ability he possesses. At the same time I believe you cant afford one of your top order batsmen getting out to gully or covers by playing half hearted in the air shots in the world cup knock out stages. He has done that time and time again in tests as well as ODIs.

What do you guys think?

[Mamoon]

He is 29 but in terms of development, he is as raw as a 20 year old. His attitude is poor too, doesn’t seem to have any intensity in his game and is always borderline in terms of fitness.

In a different system or in a parallel universe, he could have scored 40+ international hundreds.

He should have been drafted into the Test and ODI teams around 2011, but we wasted too much time with mediocre players like Azhar, Shafiq and Younis (ODIs).

However, he is a lost cause now and will probably fade away in a few years. In my view, he is even more unfortunate than Fawad Alam.

[Titan24]

He is 29 but in terms of development, he is as raw as a 20 year old. His attitude is poor too, doesn’t seem to have any intensity in his game and is always borderline in terms of fitness.

In a different system or in a parallel universe, he could have scored 40+ international hundreds.

He should have been drafted into the Test and ODI teams around 2011, but we wasted too much time with mediocre players like Azhar, Shafiq and Younis (ODIs).

However, he is a lost cause now and will probably fade away in a few years. In my view, he is even more unfortunate than Fawad Alam.

I totally agree with the first 3 paragraphs, injury around 2015 didnt help his cause either.

However, he might not become a batsman with many hundreds but he can still leave an impact on the game of cricket if he works hard and focuses on his fitness which at the moment he doesnt seem to be doing.

[Noman]

He should open and be told that he Will given 10 odi and should make pak win atleast 3 matches or 4 good performance for the team and told with hard talk that he Will be dropped for odi team forever. Barbar should bat at nr 3 because he is weak against good pace

[Xoib]

He does not move his feet which leads to ball going in the air.He looks elegant hence gives the wrong impression that he has a great technique but lack of foot movement will always hurt you in the end

[Titan24]

He should open and be told that he Will given 10 odi and should make pak win atleast 3 matches or 4 good performance for the team and told with hard talk that he Will be dropped for odi team forever. Barbar should bat at nr 3 because he is weak against good pace

Babar has improved a lot recently against good pace however, as he has done really well at 1 down position there is no point in changing that.

I never though 4-5 years ago that I will be saying this but the way Haris has been playing he is going on the path of two players whom everybody knows and dont like, attitude wise.

Still some part of me believes he will one day play an innings which will leave everyone mesmerize like scoring a double 100 in SA or winning a knockout stage of a tournament. At the moment he doesnt look like doing any of that.

[Titan24]

He does not move his feet which leads to ball going in the air.He looks elegant hence gives the wrong impression that he has a great technique but lack of foot movement will always hurt you in the end

Yes and that is why I said he looks lazy, dont know if foot movement has something to do with the fitness or not but there is definitely something not right.

[Shaka81]

I think he's rated differently on PP because he has the mythical halo of being seen as "talented" so his poor performances are ignored or explained away. If he was a less popular player playing like he has recently, then he would be getting constant abuse on here and accused of being picked due to connections. He might have"talent" but when I've seen him bat recently he's struggled to get bat on ball.

[coy0607]

I think he's rated differently on PP because he has the mythical halo of being seen as "talented" so his poor performances are ignored or explained away. If he was a less popular player playing like he has recently, then he would be getting constant abuse on here and accused of being picked due to connections. He might have"talent" but when I've seen him bat recently he's struggled to get bat on ball.

umar akmal effect all over again, albeit not quite as bad

[Rana]

A gifted player no doubt but just doesnt seem to have the 5th gear in his innings, that too on a regular basis. Fantastic to watch up to 35 runs

[Abdul]

Only good enough for flashy cameos.

[Khan12]

Thanks to grandad misbah we wasted 4 years of haris.

[ads101]

In fact Haris's situation reminds me a lot of Root in LOI. While Root is seemingly forced out of T20s now due to the rise of others, I think he'll somehow keep his place in the ODI side, though he won't be regarded as amongst the biggest threats on it. Has similar issues of not scoring big enough, and not able to accelerate as well as his peers (though Haris is far worse in this regard).

I have a feeling Haris will lose his place in the ODI side and be replaced by a bigger hitter like Asif ali (probably will be him) down the order who's really impressing and hitting clean.

Opening will be tough for Haris as it makes a left-left combination which isn't desirable as right-left and Haris isn't used to opening. It could work out but always a risk for a middle order bat to play as an opener.

The biggest issue with Haris is his lack of meaningful innings. He doesn't score big but gets starts often. And once set can't accelerate like others can. We often look at overall SR, but what's more important I feel often is how you accelerate once you're set. Which is why guys like Shehzad aren't great in LOI. And as I said guys who can only play ODIs and not t20s tend to find themselves not playing ODIs either in the long run due to the ever increasingly aggressiveness of batting in ODIs.

[Abdul]

Next Umar Akmal. Calling it right now.

[Abdullah]

If he can open and average 30 at 85, that does me.
He is a player who scores consistent 30s and 40s so opening will maximise that with the field up and there is normally less running between the wickets. And he will be able to play the best bowlers comfortably
I want and expect a lot more from him though, however will accept the above as it gets sarfaraz in at 4 with Malik shady to bay through with asif and faheem finishing off

[babajee]

If he can open and average 30 at 85, that does me.
He is a player who scores consistent 30s and 40s so opening will maximise that with the field up and there is normally less running between the wickets. And he will be able to play the best bowlers comfortably
I want and expect a lot more from him though, however will accept the above as it gets sarfaraz in at 4 with Malik shady to bay through with asif and faheem finishing off

Could be a poor man’s Sharjeel. But he’s better than that.

[BunnyRabbit]

T20 is not his format tbh and we shouldn't judge his performances based on that. However, his performances in recent Tests have been disappointing. He is a bit like Yousaf in regards of how easy his batting is on the eyes, yet looks lazy when he gets out. Hopefully, he is working hard in nets and gets better real soon. Saying that, however i feel like he needs a lot to do interms of mental toughness and fitness, as he always finds a way to get out after 50 easily. Needs massive improvement in that regard. Flower's philosophy to calculated risk may prove quite beneficial here.

[deems]

I followed this guy since 2011.. he would never get out!
Since his come back, he isn't the same haaris Sohail I watched. Very very lazy and gives the impression that he isn't a hard worker or someone with passion. You watch others like shadab, Babar and faheem and you can tell they're really into it. May be it's just his demeanor but whatever it is, he must put in the hard yards and get his act together because if we are to win the world cup, we'll need him alongside Babar , fakhar and shadab to be firing on all cylinders.

[Mainul]

Haris averages 44 and 36 plus in ODIs and tests.He has come back after a long injury lay off.I request all here not to hurry about him,give him time.I think he will come good,lot better than Asad,Masood,Manzoor,Shehzad combined.

[Nasty Naz]

Quite the overreaction here...

He has been solid in ODI's and has been decent in the few Test matches he has played with potential for much more. He never should have been played in T20 so its hard to blame the player for failing to perform in a format that he is not suited for in the first place.

[TeymurBlake]

He's a quality player and deserves a spot at No.4 in the ODI team. With that being said we really should have brought him into the LOI teams earlier.

[Pete Rose]

Seems like a return to Shafiq. 40 average trype player

[Khan12]

Seems like a return to Shafiq. 40 average trype player

Shafiq averages 26 in odis and haris 44. Massive difference there.

[Pete Rose]

Shafiq averages 26 in odis and haris 44. Massive difference there.

Taking post comeback

[Khan12]

Taking post comeback

He's played 2 odis after comeback and scored 2 50s. He is way better then Shafiq in odis.

[Pete Rose]

He's played 2 odis after comeback and scored 2 50s. He is way better then Shafiq in odis.

Sure. That’s a good benchmark for greatness. I talk across all formats

[Khan12]

Sure. That’s a good benchmark for greatness. I talk across all formats

Haris is a useless t20 Batsmen and we all know that plus Shafiq doesn't even play odis because his odi batting average is just better then Afridi. As for haris he's only played 5 tests and I can promise you he will leave Shafiq behind if he gets the amount of chances Shafiq has got in tests. If you were talking about all formats then you shouldn't have mentioned Shafiq because he doesn't averge 40 in any format let alone odis.

[Pete Rose]

Haris is a useless t20 Batsmen and we all know that plus Shafiq doesn't even play odis because his odi batting average is just better then Afridi. As for haris he's only played 5 tests and I can promise you he will leave Shafiq behind if he gets the amount of chances Shafiq has got in tests. If you were talking about all formats then you shouldn't have mentioned Shafiq because he doesn't averge 40 in any format let alone odis.

I see no more or less utility for him vs shafiq at the moment. He may change that, but that’s where we are right now

[in_cutter]

Hyped

Looks lazy & has fitness issues.

[sshakir411]

Good hand-eye coordination but nothing much else. Lacks self assurance too. Why do we keep producing such one dimensional players? He can become a good player but the national team is no longer a place where you can grow easily. He will find it tough in my opinion.

[Xoib]

I give him benefit of doubt since he came back after long injury and early English summer is not the ideal time to make a comeback as a batsman however the aus test series should be his final chance if he cannot average 40 above in this series then time to find a replacement.Personally I feel Saad and saud shakeel should be preferred to him

[in_cutter]

Next Umar Akmal. Calling it right now.

In what way? Grape selfies?

[Slog]

He seems like a lazy person and obv the 3 year long injury doesn't help

[the Great Khan]

too lose outside the offstump, his decision making is extremely suspect. During the england series he should have knuckled down but instead was playing airy fairy shots which eventually lead to his downfall..he knew the ball was moving so stick it out..I saw his first ODI series against the windies and he was exactly the same..has hardly improved his game..lacks professionalism and real talent..

yes talent, talent isnt just hitting a nice looking cover drive, anyone with half a brain and 8 hours can learn to hit a cover drive..talent is hitting that cover drive, then managing the next 5 balls smartly..and then carrying that on for half a day..consistently..thats talent..this guy is not gonna do anything at this rate unless he dedicates himself to his art..

[Markhor]

Hasn't played a large enough sample of matches to make any conclusions about him since his comeback from injury.

He had two Tests against Sri Lanka where he looked our most fluent batsman; played two dead rubber ODIs in New Zealand where he scored two slow fifties after our top order were blown away.

He played two Tests in early season English conditions - showed terrific application with Azhar in that final session of the first day of the Lord's Test against Broad and Anderson before getting out to a good ball in that 1st innings, but had a terrible time at Headingley like everyone else.

Then plays two T20s as a makeshift opener in a format the coach himself has said he's unsuited to.

Let him play the whole Test match winter before already thinking of replacing him with Saad Ali or Saud Shakeel.

[Hasan123]

At the age of 29 it's a little worrying that he doesn't seem to have shown the ability to go big and your not confident that he will. He needs to improve his fitness as well. I don't think this is helping his cause.

[Titan24]

Many of us expected that Haris will be key player in UK tests but unfortunately he was able to give just couple of decent partnerships and didnt do any wonders expected of him.

More than him getting out its how he is getting out. If bowler balls a good ball, fair enough or may be player is poking outside off, I can accept that it happens with many players.
But, the way Haris gets dismissed even in tests by getting out in gully, covers, playing for the third man and edging it to slips. Its disappointing bcz it shows that he is solid enough to not get bowled, LBW or rarely edges it to slips or keeper but he is gonna get out playing these outrageous shots. I like his positive intent but he should see how many top players play so many shots up in the air in the early part of their innings. Even if its a bad ball he mostly plays it up in the air.

Its not on for someone who is playing in the top 3 as you are supposed to be someone who has the ability to go big.

Maybe its about the batting position, I am not sure if he has batted at no 3 in domestics regularly.

He hasnt been bad but really not upto the expectations considering his age, potential and experience. I am not saying to drop him, just make him work on the way he is getting out. I dont remember the last time I have seen a 1 down player in tests playing so many shots in the air.

[shaikhanasm]

Sohail has been getting performances in ODIs. As someone mentioned his last five ODI matches have all been fifties (62, 54, 52, 89, 52).

Mickey should try him in the same spot for all 5 ODIs against Zimbabwe and get him a set spot so that he can settle in and play to his strengths. He hasn't been given any consistent chances so far and hasn't been given confidence to play openly. Even in the NZ series, he made two fifties in the last two games when he was tried, but he was always afraid of being dropped if he didn't succeed.

Micky should tell him he is guaranteed for all five ODIs and should be given an open rope to bat freely and at his preferred position. Heck, Arthur himself has said he's unsuited to play as an opener in T20s but still opened with him, of course he was bound to fail!


It doesn't matter about feet movement, etc. He has runs on the board and he deserves his fair chance. Otherwise, he will go down the same route as Fawad.

[The_Odd_One]

I think this boat has sailed. He's 29 and he is still finding his feet in international cricket. How many years does he have anyways before the terminal decline starts, 3-4 at max?

[Mirpur express]

Looks a million dollars but Lacks intensity & fitness is an issue too , needs to start converting his half decent starts or he’ll be history