"Giving Yasir an opportunity as we need a bowler who takes wickets in middle overs" : Sarfaraz Ahmed

[Abdullah719]

Sarfaraz Ahmed at a presser before the start of the ODI series:

"We are giving Yasir Shah an opportunity as we need a bowler who takes wickets in the middle overs. We will definitely give him an opportunity for a couple of matches"

"We have to give chance to everyone in this series but we have to make sure our position is good"

"The match start is very early so there is a bit of concern for me as the weather is very cold, it's very difficult if you lose the toss so let's hope for the best for both teams"

"We aren't thinking about wrapping up the series in the first 3 games, we're going one by one and we need to play good cricket to beat Zimbabwe"

"Zimbabwe team is very young and so is ours. Our goal is to play good cricket and make a good combination before the Asia Cup so we will try to give opportunities to all 15 players"

"Our approach hasn't changed due to the Zimbabwe squad, we have to play good cricket here"

"My batting position in T20Is is #4 but I am thinking of batting at #5 in ODIs"

"We have three openers, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez so we will give opportunities to all of them"

"We have so much advantage by having Hafeez bhai available to bowl, that's good for the team"

"We are playing five matches here on the same pitch so we might play 3 spinners in the same match"

"Zimbabwe team is very young but our approach is to take good cricket and to not take them lightly. We have lots of cricket coming up over the next year so our goal is to play good cricket"

[Syed1]

Ummmm Saifi bhai humein bhool gaye kya?

[Shafi]

That's the problem. Same players play in every format and no wonder our players keep getting injury.

[jeeteshssaxena]

What?
Bahut laalchipan hai ye to
He has the best middle over bowler(hassan ali) in odis.

[Titan24]

Its a good move having two leg spinners, having both Faheem and Shadab in the team gives that option of having wither one pacer or spinner to support main bowlers.

Any upates on Imad? if he is fit than that would be a food for though for the management.

[UN talkz]

Its a good move having two leg spinners, having both Faheem and Shadab in the team gives that option of having wither one pacer or spinner to support main bowlers.

Any upates on Imad? if he is fit than that would be a food for though for the management.

He is playing in Canada and can enjoy playing there

[desirous of desire]

I dont know where are we going with this move as the next world cup is in England. Better try new batsmen (like Ahsan Ali, cant do worse than shehzad )at the opening slot to accompany Fakhar and try Nasir Nawaz down the order. It is the batting where we struggle. I am sure if we need an additional spinner, Yasir can do his job if he is able enough for ODIs as he is already acquainted with international cricket. We should look to increase our options in batting department.

[Syed1]

He listed down Fakhar, Imam and Hafeez as openers and said all three would get chances



when are we going to get rid of Proj and Bhatijaa

[mkyawar]

I dont know where are we going with this move as the next world cup is in England. Better try new batsmen (like Ahsan Ali, cant do worse than shehzad )at the opening slot to accompany Fakhar and try Nasir Nawaz down the order. It is the batting where we struggle. I am sure if we need an additional spinner, Yasir can do his job if he is able enough for ODIs as he is already acquainted with international cricket. We should look to increase our options in batting department.

next year the pitches will be slow and low around july. Need spinners against non asian teams so they can be strangled.

[mak36]

I predicted this is why Yasir was selected in the squad in another thread. As explained, I for one don't mind it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, move on. Would much rather play Yasir over a pseudo-all rounder. Just wish they had been braver with the batting selections in the squad, and selected some fringe batsmen.

Imad has fallen out of favour with the management for a reason. He's overweight, has failed with the bat pretty much every time it's required and has refused to improve his bowling. In short, he's lazy. Check his bowling average in recent times and you might be surprised; teams have worked out you just play him as a medium pacer. Nawaz is a better bowler and fielder but doesn't add anything with the bat. Only SLAO who should be considered at the moment is Zafar Gohar, but he has only just returned from injury.

So the question is who should be the second spinner? Playing two wrist spinners in the shorter format is a good strategy, especially if conditions suit/playing against sides weak against spin. Yasir and Shadab are very different legspinners and could complement one another. Yasir can keep it tight with his world class control when required (i.e. the role Imad is supposed to play) but he can also attack when required. Based on PSL/CPL/Big Bash he has improved his variations so this outing should be more successful. Shadab can then take advantage of the pressure that is built by Yasir.

The other factor is the captain. Under an aggressive captain like McCullum, Yasir has shown he can succeed in the shorter format. Likewise, Sarfaraz will utilise him better than Misbah/Azhar ever did.

Even if conditions mean there is only room for one legspinner in the playing XI, what's the harm in having Yasir in the squad? Yasir Shah is a world class bowler and given Shadab still has a lot to learn about legspin it would probably be useful to him to have Yasir around the squad. The other thing is what happens if Shadab gets injured? It's always worth having someone ready to go.

I do have reservations about his fitness/batting ability but the same is true of Imad, and Imad/Nawaz barely contribute in recent times. Plus, with the induction of Shadab, Faheem, Hasan etc. there is plenty of lower order batting.

Like I said, worse case he might not even play and they have simply selected him just so Mickey can keep an eye on him to make sure he is on the right track for the test series.

I appreciate his selection might seem odd but there is a logic to his selection. For me, a lot depends on the playing XI and getting the combination right. This is as good a series as any to experiment, and if it doesn't work, move on. You are of course entitled to disagree with his selection, but that doesn't mean his selection makes zero sense. It just means you disagree with it.

[Hasan123]

Yasir Shah doesn't seem to have worked in LO so why not try a younger spinner ? Not happy with his selection as I believe there are better opitions. Yasir performing against Zimbabwe won't be a surprise and isn't going to help us in the long run as we know he isn't good enough against the top teams.

Imam and Hafeez are wasted spots as openers. This ODI series is going to be a waste. We aren't trying any new players other than Asif Ali and we have picked a few players who aren't good enough for ODIs.

[Kohli, The King of Chase]

Pakistan wanna try like India, two leg spinners..

[desirous of desire]

next year the pitches will be slow and low around july. Need spinners against non asian teams so they can be strangled.

He doesnt need to play matches in zimbabwe to prepare for the world cup

[mak36]

Pakistan wanna try like India, two leg spinners..

And India got the idea of playing wristspinners from Pakistan :p.

[The_Odd_One]

It is a poor selection for 5 reasons:

1. Yasir is below average ODI bowler who has gotten enough chances.
2. He is extremely unfit and he is not young either.
3. He can't bat which is a requirement in ODIs.
4. There is already a better leg spinner in Shadab.
5. It is not like there were no alternatives.

[TeamPak95]

"We have three openers, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez so we will give opportunities to all of them"

"We have so much advantage by having Hafeez bhai available to bowl, that's good for the team"

[Syed1]

Pakistan wanna try like India, two leg spinners..

Yeah we are also copying India by having batsmen in our team. In fact India started the concept of bowlers and keepers. Everybody is copying them

[TeymurBlake]

Yasir shouldn't be in the LOI's format. He's much suited to the test format.

[Buffet]

Yasir shouldn't be in the LOI's format. He's much suited to the test format.

I think he was simply wrongly used as containing bowler by Misbah. He could have done much better as an attacking bowler. I could be totally wrong here, but I will be interested to see him bowl as attacking option with full backing of captain.

[TeymurBlake]

I think he was simply wrongly used as containing bowler by Misbah. He could have done much better as an attacking bowler. I could be totally wrong here, but I will be interested to see him bowl as attacking option with full backing of captain.

If he does surprisingly do well, then it will give Pakistan a selection headache. It will depend if they conditions work for us to play two spinners.

[90MPH]

In ODIs he doesn’t have good enough variations.

Tests suit him because he’s very accurate so all it requires is some variation in the wicket.

ODI wickets are generally flat so the batsman can line him up if he’s not getting turn unlike Shadab who might not be as accurate but has a good wrong un and generally bowls at a better pace.

Ok give him another chance but not convinced this format is for him.

[Buffet]

If he does surprisingly do well, then it will give Pakistan a selection headache. It will depend if they conditions work for us to play two spinners.

He does have tools to do well as an attacking option in middle overs. I was very surprised to see that a good leg spinner was not used by Misbah to attack.

[Buffet]

In ODIs he doesn’t have good enough variations.

Tests suit him because he’s very accurate so all it requires is some variation in the wicket.

ODI wickets are generally flat so the batsman can line him up if he’s not getting turn unlike Shadab who might not be as accurate but has a good wrong un and generally bowls at a better pace.

Ok give him another chance but not convinced this format is for him.

Agree that wickets are mostly flat, but don't you think he would have been more successful as an attacking option from the get go? Giving him a role to contain made him look worse. Getting spanked without picking many wickets can lower your confidence. Even in test, I saw him getting used defensively, and I think it's simply going to make matter worse for him.

[TeymurBlake]

He does have tools to do well as an attacking option in middle overs. I was very surprised to see that a good leg spinner was not used by Misbah to attack.

He always liked having Ajmal and Rehman in the team.

[mak36]

For those criticising Yasir's selection, please answer two questions:

i) Which leg-spinner in domestic cricket would be a better back up option to Shadab?

ii) If Pakistan plays two frontline spinners in the XI, who is your second spinner (assuming Shadab is your first)?

So far as I can see, for question (i) Yasir is the best option currently.

For question (ii) there are obviously lots of options (most notably Zafar Gohar) but again none are as game ready as Yasir. Plus, there is a preference for wristspinners at the moment.

[mak36]

In ODIs he doesn’t have good enough variations.

Tests suit him because he’s very accurate so all it requires is some variation in the wicket.

ODI wickets are generally flat so the batsman can line him up if he’s not getting turn unlike Shadab who might not be as accurate but has a good wrong un and generally bowls at a better pace.

Ok give him another chance but not convinced this format is for him.

When he first started playing ODIs I agree he lacked variation. However, he has gone away and improved his variations as can be seen in PSL, Big Bash, CPL etc.

The fact ODI wickets are generally flat is all the more reason to include another wristspinner- it takes the wicket out of the picture and a quality legspin bowler can pick up wickets using drift and flight. Yasir's control is world class which will help his cause.

[Buffet]

He always liked having Ajmal and Rehman in the team.

My comment was mostly about whenever I saw him bowling, he had mostly defensive field. I was surprised by seeing him bowl in Aus in tests with defensive field.

[90MPH]

Agree that wickets are mostly flat, but don't you think he would have been more successful as an attacking option from the get go? Giving him a role to contain made him look worse. Getting spanked without picking many wickets can lower your confidence. Even in test, I saw him getting used defensively, and I think it's simply going to make matter worse for him.

If we were playing ODIS in the 90s I wouldn’t mind his selection.

But now the game has changed so being accurate alone doesn’t work in this format generally.

Also age is not on his side. I don’t mind giving him another chance but I have my doubts on him for limited overs cricket.

[coy0607]

its a noble idea to have another wicket taking bowler for the sluggish yet crucial middle over, but Yasir has already been tried in ODIs and has failed

[TeymurBlake]

My comment was mostly about whenever I saw him bowling, he had mostly defensive field. I was surprised by seeing him bowl in Aus in tests with defensive field.

I'm thinking back to the game against India in the 2015 world cup where he got battered 60 runs in 8 overs. To be fair he was playing in Australia against an opposition that are good players of spin. But my point is the sample size of what we have seen of Yasir is that he isn't that great of a spinner in LOI but you never know under Sarfaraz he might turn out to be a genuine contender for the ODI team.

[ManFan]

Even if Yasir betters his 6-26 from last time against ZIM, it will do harm to the team’s preparations for the WC in England next year.

He is a bang-average LOI bowler and this has been known for three years now. It boggles me the selections the management makes sometimes.

Quite frankly, Hafeez must have a video of PCB officials performing satanic black rituals on a goat for him to be recieving this level of accommodation.

[giri26]

Strange that Yasir has been selected for the ODIs. Aren't there any good young wrist spinners in Pakistan? If that is what the captain wants?

[yasir]

Ummmm Saifi bhai humein bhool gaye kya?

You need two leggys for western teams. Shadab and Fahim are confirmed, that leaves only Amir and Hasan for seamer spots. I can imagine in WC playing these plus Yasir against most Western teams. We cannot have one dimensional bowling attack... Immad is OK but not wicket taking spinner. There is oppurtunity for Yasir to cement his place. Other than India, most of our tough opponents will be Western teams, it make sense to have a good plan against them... Against India(and other SC teams) we can through extra left like S Afridi(if they go by my advice), now that makes for more than decent bowling strategy for the tournament. With two allrounders we have good depth for batting too, but no amount of allrounders can fix the opening delimma, all we can hope for at this point is that Imam can cement his place with Fakir, Hafeez is TTF, performance here and there cannot convince me to keep him...

[B_Positive]

I think Pakistan should try a left arm chinaman... They are rare and lethal. yasir is not good in ODIs

[TeamPak95]

I think Pakistan should try a left arm chinaman... They are rare and lethal. yasir is not good in ODIs

Is there a left arm chinaman in the circuit?

[B_Positive]

Is there a left arm chinaman in the circuit?

Cant say if he is playing right now but few years ago there was one. Ahsan Jamil

[Mainul]

"We have three openers, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez so we will give opportunities to all of them"

"We have so much advantage by having Hafeez bhai available to bowl, that's good for the team"

I love dreaming about Hafeez's stamps are shuttered in the first ball he faces and he is being smashed for sixes while bowling.Will my dream come true?

[Mainul]

Yasir is a lot better spinner than Adil Rashid.If Adil can play for England regularly why not Yasir for Pakistan?

[Moh@n]

Pakistan wanna try like India, two leg spinners..

That is the first thing which came to my mind as well when I read the thread title. This decision is clearly inspired by the success of the two Indian leg spinners in LOIs.

It's a good idea, let's see if it works.

[Suleiman]

This guy is too seeda. That tough guy captain where he's yelling and jumping is all an act. He has no idea who to put in the team and is in a panic. Yasir Shah is trash in ODIs, he's in his final year or 2 of cricket, yet here chottu is talking about giving him a chance.

I bet Hafeez got in the team by sweet talking to him as senior as well. "Beta Sarfraz, dekho mujhe opening karne do, I'll see off new ball" and Sarfraz said "ok sir"

We need someone stern at the helm, enough of these bonge yes men.

Sadly we have none, and have to persist with this...

But he won us Champions Trophy

[Nasty Naz]

Such an odd thing to say considering Shadab and Hasan Ali have been excellent in picking up wickets in the middle overs. In fact, Hasan Ali domination in the middle overs is the reason why Pakistan have been doing well in LOI.

Yasir Shah is such a poor option in LOI. If you're going to give spinner a chance, maybe try Asghar or Gohar or someone that's simply not a right handed leg spinner when you already have Shadab.

[TeamPak95]

I love dreaming about Hafeez's stamps are shuttered in the first ball he faces and he is being smashed for sixes while bowling.Will my dream come true?

Watch as, from your dream, you wake up to the nightmare of Hafeez scoring 3+ centuries this series and bowling at an economy of 2-3 rpo along with 1-3 wickets a game against this depleted Zimbabwe team to comprehensively cement his place back into the team. Class will officially be in session and the prof will have a new, shiny apple on his desk.

[TeamPak95]

This guy is too seeda. That tough guy captain where he's yelling and jumping is all an act. He has no idea who to put in the team and is in a panic. Yasir Shah is trash in ODIs, he's in his final year or 2 of cricket, yet here chottu is talking about giving him a chance.

I bet Hafeez got in the team by sweet talking to him as senior as well. "Beta Sarfraz, dekho mujhe opening karne do, I'll see off new ball" and Sarfraz said "ok sir"

We need someone stern at the helm, enough of these bonge yes men.

Sadly we have none, and have to persist with this...

But he won us Champions Trophy

I swear he goes bonkers when a youngster messes up on the field every now and again but when it's someone like Malik, Hafeez or Azhar he's like "Oi yaar..." and that's it. I love Saifi but either he needs to chill out in general or give everyone on the field the danda, regardless of age. The cons of seniority culture I guess...

[Asif321]

Inzi had mentioned Yasir is in team because of UAE test coming up they want him to have some match practice

[OneTip-OneHand]

The problem with giving a chance to tried and tested failure senior players ( Yasir is an excellent test bowler but an average LOI one) against weaker opponents that they can return with some excellent figures and book their tickets for next 2-3 series. It blocks the path for some youngster and mediocrity continues. Who can know this better than us Indians.

Instead some young blood should have tried in this Zim series imo even if they fail.

[Mamoon]

I don’t think this is a bad move. Yasir is a specialist spinner and a genuine wicket-taker, and our spin bowling is a bit light at the moment.

Imad and Nawaz are not great, and Shadab is a bit of a minnow basher with the ball. He has been given the superstar rag too early and is being played too much. He needs to improve fast.

Yasir has more pedigree as a spinner, and so far in his career he has played under dud ODI captains like Misbah and Azhar.

I was impressed with him in the last PSL and I think he can do well under Sarfraz. However, the major issue with him - which we have seen in Tests as well - is that he turns into a kitten as soon as the batsmen attack him, and he is awful on pitches that don’t have any turn and bounce.

[babajee]

Shadab is a bit of a minnow basher with the ball.

Based on what?

[Mamoon]

Based on what?

He has been poor against the big teams so far, and was pretty awful in the last PSL as well. He is still riding on the early success against the weak Caribbean players who could not pick his googly.

He brings a good all-round package to the table. Livewire in the field, can contribute with the bat and has a lot of self-belief.

All of that is good, but he is keeping a specialist spinner out of the team in all formats, and as a result, needs to perform like one with the ball.

He needs to improve his bowling and get close to the level at which the likes of Yadav and Rashid Khan are bowling at the moment.

[babajee]

He has been poor against the big teams so far, and was pretty awful in the last PSL as well. He is still riding on the early success against the weak Caribbean players who could not pick his googly.

He brings a good all-round package to the table. Livewire in the field, can contribute with the bat and has a lot of self-belief.

All of that is good, but he is keeping a specialist spinner out of the team in all formats, and as a result, needs to perform like one with the ball.

He needs to improve his bowling and get close to the level at which the likes of Yadav and Rashid Khan are bowling at the moment.

Bowled well against England in the CT semi final and took the all important wicket of Joe Root.

Whilst he didn’t pick up many wickets in NZ it’s not as though he received a phainty every match. He was economical.

He was not fully fit in the last PSL. I agree though he needs to improve but you are giving him the minnow basher tag too early.

[Mainul]

Watch as, from your dream, you wake up to the nightmare of Hafeez scoring 3+ centuries this series and bowling at an economy of 2-3 rpo along with 1-3 wickets a game against this depleted Zimbabwe team to comprehensively cement his place back into the team. Class will officially be in session and the prof will have a new, shiny apple on his desk.

That will be a disaster for Pakistan.....

Hafeez's ghost will haunt Pakistan for eternity...

[BunnyRabbit]

I think he was simply wrongly used as containing bowler by Misbah. He could have done much better as an attacking bowler. I could be totally wrong here, but I will be interested to see him bowl as attacking option with full backing of captain.

Yasir only played one ODI under Misbah, that too in Australia