Faheem Ashraf belongs in the T20I Side

[Square Drive]

I've made peace with it. At the moment, purely even as a bowler he's done better than some of our specialists. On top of that T20I is one format where we can put up with his inconsistency as a batsman; if he comes off like he did in the 1st T20I vs NZ, he could be useful.

I'd bat him at #8 and use him as a floater if we need quick runs. If he flops, he will probably do a decent enough job as a bowler and justify his place in the side. His ER in particular is impressive and is better than the likes of Rauf, Shaheen, Wahab, etc.

I still prefer Amad/Yamin (though the latter is aging now) across formats but I am okay with Faheem in T20Is for now. In fact even his Test record is still very decent (albeit a small sample size), although he really needs to improve his batting output to sustain a spot in Tests.

[Square Drive]

And our best seamer in T20Is strikes again to get the danger man Seifert out

[Rana]

Should be in the Test side

[Rana]

Pathetic captaincy

5 can field on the boundary

3 of them are Rauf, Shaheeen, khushdil

[angrypathan]

Yep, definitely belongs in the LOI sides. Would prefer Yamin to him in tests but happy to have Faheem in the team until the selectors switch their brains on and select him

[Rana]

146.7

[Xoib]

His boibg is OK but he needs to make runs to bring value to the team at the moment Hassan Ali, Wahab Riaz is a better bat then him.

[aloo paratha]

Pleasantly surprised by his performance in this series.

[Mamoon]

This is really bad news for Pakistan cricket in the long run. Expect him to have a mare at the WT20.

As usual, few things are easier in life than getting Pakistani cricket fans excited.

[Sunny_majoka]

clearly, a better bowler than Wahab Riaz, however, as @Mamoon said this will only come back to haunt us in the future

[Xoib]

For some reason his bowling works out in SENA is a horrible bowler in Asia though where the next world t 20 is.

[naseem]

He is a good enough bowler to bowl in all 3 formats in SENA condition.....he can do well in Asia but not in t20s...

[Abdullah Rabbani]

This is really bad news for Pakistan cricket in the long run. Expect him to have a mare at the WT20.

As usual, few things are easier in life than getting Pakistani cricket fans excited.

True

[Nikhil_cric]

He gets that extra bit of bounce when he really bends his back and hits the bat harder than what batsmen expect from a 5th bowler. That said, his bowling has impressed occasionally. It's the batting that was non existent.

[Hawkeye]

Yes, because we don't have better bowling options.

He's a gamble. Can work, demolish a side or also get smashed all around the park. Economy usually tends to be quite high. So, not a lot of confidence.

Sadly, we really do lack quality pace-allrounders.

No, Amad Butt isn't the answer. He's as bad, even worse, no pace.

[naseem]

He gets that extra bit of bounce when he really bends his back and hits the bat harder than what batsmen expect from a 5th bowler. That said, his bowling has impressed occasionally. It's the batting that was non existent.

It's the wobble seam......buddy

[naseem]

Haris Rauf disappointed me....no maturity...nd Saheen had a poor series....may be that quarantine has taken away lot of confidence

[saeedhk]

You know things are awful when you are banking on third-class players like Faheem. We wouldn’t take him into our Hong Kong team!

[Nikhil_cric]

It's the wobble seam......buddy

I'm not talking about that

[naseem]

The art of wobble seam is crucial in all formats we have recently saw what Cummins did....

[naseem]

I'm not talking about that

He hits the deck hard usually and has good seam position ......and I have seen him occasionally using
The variations.....it seems he has worked on it ......good to see he is doing it well.....but in Asian conditions he need to be smart not overdoing anything...

Hasnain did fine....but Rauf is a disappointing

[Markhor]

Contributes with the ball, proceeds to do zilch with the bat. An infuriating player.

[Rayyman]

Decent utility cricketer. Probably will not be a star. Pakistan should keep him around though. He provides balance.

[Square Drive]

Contributes with the ball, proceeds to do zilch with the bat. An infuriating player.

If he performs in even one facet, he's fine. In T20s we can afford this type of bits-and-pieces.

ODIs, we cannot

[adzzy786]

He is pathetic and should not be in the team.

[Mueez]

I agree. Faheem has done his bit with the bowling... if he works on his batting he can become an asset for the Pakistani team.

[Titan24]

Bowled well in this series. He is pretty consistent with that good length area. In batting he needs to work hard on his game sense, to understand the situations better, knowing targeting which bowler in which area.

[UzmanBeast]

I've made peace with it. At the moment, purely even as a bowler he's done better than some of our specialists. On top of that T20I is one format where we can put up with his inconsistency as a batsman; if he comes off like he did in the 1st T20I vs NZ, he could be useful.

I'd bat him at #8 and use him as a floater if we need quick runs. If he flops, he will probably do a decent enough job as a bowler and justify his place in the side. His ER in particular is impressive and is better than the likes of Rauf, Shaheen, Wahab, etc.

I still prefer Amad/Yamin (though the latter is aging now) across formats but I am okay with Faheem in T20Is for now. In fact even his Test record is still very decent (albeit a small sample size), although he really needs to improve his batting output to sustain a spot in Tests.

Faheem Ashraf allows the team to adopt a variety of combinations. For one, he can be a frontline pacer and open up a slot from the middle order.

If we run in with a pace bowling trio of Faheem, Haris/Hasnain and Shaheen, we have about 8 slots left. We can genuinely fit in Usman Qadir and have 7 more slots left.

We can then take Imad Wasim and Iftikhar Ahmed, who can both bowl as well. Hussain Talat can be placed as well, and the team would look something like this, given that Faheem's bowling remains the same:

Babar Azam
Mohammad Rizwan
Haider Ali
Mohammad Hafeez
Hussain Talat
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Faheem Ashraf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Usman Qadir
Haris Rauf

[RedwoodOriginal]

The thing that I have noticed about Faheem is that despite being a completely ordinary bowler with no discernable qualities, he somehow manages to pick up wickets and sometimes even finish with incredibly economical figures.

At any rate, he has earned his place in the side back. No one can deny that.

[Madplayer]

Any quality seamer will expose his mediocre batting and make him look like a tail ender. His bowling was never a problem. He could be an asset IF he could score 25 runs in 12 balls every match. BUT he is not good enough with the bat to do that.

[Khan12]

You know things are awful when you are banking on third-class players like Faheem. We wouldn’t take him into our Hong Kong team!

I have seen your hondg Kong team he will get in there as a batsmen alone.

[Hasan123]

Look I'm no Faheem fan. But if he doesn't perform we would be criticising him. So now he has done well in this series, let's give him credit for it.

[nextover666666]

Faheem Ashraf still needs to improve its true he does better in SENA but if he wants to be all around option for Pakistan needs to do well in all conditions

Needs to work out his batting game as well and polish his bowling as well but he does have a knack of picking up wickets he can be handy for Pakistan but I do feel their better options but if they proceed with him that's fine but he just needs to contiue working hard on his game

[Titan24]

The thing that I have noticed about Faheem is that despite being a completely ordinary bowler with no discernable qualities, he somehow manages to pick up wickets and sometimes even finish with incredibly economical figures.

I think it’s because, despite being limited as a bowler, he understands his limitations and more often than not keeps on hitting good areas with great accuracy on his good days without trying anything else. Yes when someone is set or on great for being predictable can be expensive but, still more often than not doing the basics works for him when nobody is in that beast zone. Surprisingly he is one of the few pacers who can keep on hitting that good length quite consistently.

[Thunderbolt14]

I think it’s because, despite being limited as a bowler, he understands his limitations and more often than not keeps on hitting good areas with great accuracy on his good days without trying anything else. Yes when someone is set or on great for being predictable can be expensive but, still more often than not doing the basics works for him when nobody is in that beast zone. Surprisingly he is one of the few pacers who can keep on hitting that good length quite consistently.

He’s a number 8 or 9 though, with the bat. If we decide to drop Wahab, he’s the natural replacement. And will probably do better than Wahab too.

[Rana]

Faheem bowled well in all 3 games tbf. He was rewarded massively today and picked up 3 big wickets (Kane, Seifert and Neesham). Hopefully this could be the turning page of his career and he can continue to excel now with regular performances

[Thunderbolt14]

The real question is, this hard length and short boundaries was tailor made for someone like Faheem or Hassan Ali, rather than Shaheen or Rauf. Can he replicate this performance in India? He bowls barely better than Pandya or Stokes but is half the batsman.

[Forum363]

The real question is, this hard length and short boundaries was tailor made for someone like Faheem or Hassan Ali, rather than Shaheen or Rauf. Can he replicate this performance in India? He bowls barely better than Pandya or Stokes but is half the batsman.

How are you putting Pandya and Stokes on the same level? Stokes is an all time great all rounder and as a batsman he’s achieved more than most specialist batsmen in Pakistan’s history. Ofcourse Faheem isn’t close to half that. However Pandya has done hardly anything of note with the bat and while he’s better than Faheem, the gulf is not that wide. Especially considering how bad Pandya’s bowling is. When was the last time Pandya did something of note with the ball?

[Omer2002]

He has underachieved as a batsman. he has a decent technique i just dont understand why he doesnt work hard and it will pay dividends.

[Thunderbolt14]

How are you putting Pandya and Stokes on the same level? Stokes is an all time great all rounder and as a batsman he’s achieved more than most specialist batsmen in Pakistan’s history. Ofcourse Faheem isn’t close to half that. However Pandya has done hardly anything of note with the bat and while he’s better than Faheem, the gulf is not that wide. Especially considering how bad Pandya’s bowling is. When was the last time Pandya did something of note with the ball?

I don’t think they’re of similar caliber, they’re just the other two main medium pace all rounders in T20Is that immediately come up in any comparison.

At best, though, both of them will only bowl 2 overs in the world cup per game. Faheem isn’t good enough with the bat to only bowl 2 overs, so he has to be markedly better with the ball, and should be able to maintain stability during the middle overs.

Can he replicate how bowled in NZ? If so, he becomes my number 8 or 9 (not the number 5 as Misbah made him out to be today).

[naseem]

Faheem Ashraf allows the team to adopt a variety of combinations. For one, he can be a frontline pacer and open up a slot from the middle order.

If we run in with a pace bowling trio of Faheem, Haris/Hasnain and Shaheen, we have about 8 slots left. We can genuinely fit in Usman Qadir and have 7 more slots left.

We can then take Imad Wasim and Iftikhar Ahmed, who can both bowl as well. Hussain Talat can be placed as well, and the team would look something like this, given that Faheem's bowling remains the same:

Babar Azam
Mohammad Rizwan
Haider Ali
Mohammad Hafeez
Hussain Talat
Iftikhar Ahmed
Imad Wasim
Faheem Ashraf
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Usman Qadir
Haris Rauf

Babar rizwan can't open in t20 in the current era

[naseem]

Faheem bowled well in all 3 games tbf. He was rewarded massively today and picked up 3 big wickets (Kane, Seifert and Neesham). Hopefully this could be the turning page of his career and he can continue to excel now with regular performances

I have always rated Faheem the bowler in overseas condition

[ShahidDar08]

He has done good job but need to perform with the bat too. Hasan Ali should be groomed as an all-rounder too.

[ARK Rafay]

He has done well with the ball in this series. But he still doesn't make the team as an All Rounder.

[RedwoodOriginal]

I think it’s because, despite being limited as a bowler, he understands his limitations and more often than not keeps on hitting good areas with great accuracy on his good days without trying anything else. Yes when someone is set or on great for being predictable can be expensive but, still more often than not doing the basics works for him when nobody is in that beast zone. Surprisingly he is one of the few pacers who can keep on hitting that good length quite consistently.

Can't deny that. He does hit that consistent length and often times batsmen get frustrated and go after him which to me seems like his most common way of getting wickets. Ultimately, not a bad bowler to have in the side. Brings something different to the attack.

[RedwoodOriginal]

He has done well with the ball in this series. But he still doesn't make the team as an All Rounder.

No but if he's coming in at number 8 there isn't that much required from besides a couple of lusty blows. But he should not be coming before Imad Wasim.

[UzmanBeast]

Babar rizwan can't open in t20 in the current era

True, so replace Rizwan with someone like Zeeshan Ashraf.

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He has done well with the ball in this series. But he still doesn't make the team as an All Rounder.

Who makes the team instead as an all rounder?

[RedwoodOriginal]

The real question is, this hard length and short boundaries was tailor made for someone like Faheem or Hassan Ali, rather than Shaheen or Rauf. Can he replicate this performance in India? He bowls barely better than Pandya or Stokes but is half the batsman.

Pandya doesn't bowl anymore and Stokes is not a good bowler in T20Is. His record is quite dreadful. Faheem is essentially playing as a bowler who can bit a bit. I don't see him in the same role as Pandya and Stokes who are mainly in their sides for their batting.

Looking at Pakistan's bowlers, I would think Faheem would be one of the first names in the squad since Amir is gone and Hasnain has not exactly lit the world on fire. Shaheen, Haris, Wahab and Faheem look like the front-line pacers at the moment.

[RedwoodOriginal]

Who makes the team instead as an all rounder?

Imad. Even Shadab is more of an all-rounder.

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Imad. Even Shadab is more of an all-rounder.

Both are fine on dry wickets, but on SENA pitches which favour the seamers you need to provide a pace alternative.

[RedwoodOriginal]

Both are fine on dry wickets, but on SENA pitches which favour the seamers you need to provide a pace alternative.

I'm not saying Faheem shouldn't be there. Just that he isn't exactly an all-rounder.

[aloo paratha]

If he performs in even one facet, he's fine. In T20s we can afford this type of bits-and-pieces.

ODIs, we cannot

The thing is though, that if he's not gonna contribute with the bat, why not just select a proper bowler? Imo Hasan Ali can easily replace him. He's much better with the ball and is on par, or even better with the bat, even though he doesn't have the "all rounder" status.

[TeymurBlake]

Tbh with the amount of work and support provided to him, he's not shown at all for a consistent level.

Also going back to Faheem also shows the lack of Allrounders coming into our team. Amad Butt is clearly just around for the bench and yet without opportunities is chuck to aside for Faheem.

Anyway, Faheem bowled well in todays game.

[ARK Rafay]

Who makes the team instead as an all rounder?

There aren't many fast bowling ARs in the country. But Aamer Yamin certainly is a much better fit than Faheem Ashraf.

[Cpt. Rishwat]

There aren't many fast bowling ARs in the country. But Aamer Yamin certainly is a much better fit than Faheem Ashraf.

I've seen him in the PSL, and while he has looked ok, I also get the feeling at closer to medium pace he will get punished by the world's top batsmen. He should probably have been given more of a chance at international level though so at least we could see for ourselves if he has the x factor.

[Canistani Hero]

The pitches in NZ are conducive to Faheem's dibby dobbler type bowling will struggle elsewhere

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I've seen him in the PSL, and while he has looked ok, I also get the feeling at closer to medium pace he will get punished by the world's top batsmen. He should probably have been given more of a chance at international level though so at least we could see for ourselves if he has the x factor.

Dibbly dobbler? Did Faheem suddenly drop 10kh off his bowling? He was as quick as most other Pakistan pacers last time I watched him, which to be fair was about 18 months ago.

[Nasty Naz]

He has good bowling numbers in T20's. The ODI's are a much different story.

Not a great option still but better than Wahab at least.

[Abdullah Rabbani]

There aren't many fast bowling ARs in the country. But Aamer Yamin certainly is a much better fit than Faheem Ashraf.

Amir yameen is all format all rounder best of Pakistan

[gazza619]

This series has changed my views on Faheem. Not sure if his is in the test squad but his style of line length bowling would suit NZ pitches.

[Cric_lover4487]

I don’t think he would be effective on Indian wickets in T20wc.He will be slogged all over like Siraj n co.
Batting wise he is below average. He is not someone who can win you matches singlehandedly. Don’t really understand hype about him.

[BunnyRabbit]

He did well in this series. So should be commended.

Although I still think he's a franchise t20 player and not really an international cricketer a bit like Sohail Tanvir.

[Rana]

I don’t think he would be effective on Indian wickets in T20wc.He will be slogged all over like Siraj n co.
Batting wise he is below average. He is not someone who can win you matches singlehandedly. Don’t really understand hype about him.

He is around about the same pace as Chahar. Definitely gets more bounce than Chahar but not hardly enough swing. Tbh who would have thought that he would bowl so well in NZ? Not because of conditions but more because of the nature of the opposition who are quite ruthless when it comes to aggressive hitting. Yet he did well. So let’s not think too far ahead in regards to what may and what may not happen in India. He’s an ideal 4th seam bowl option in all formats.

[usmanraheel]

Agree with most posters here. Faheem hit the right lenghts and made the ball move slightly to trouble the batsmen. He will be good on skiddy bouncy pitches, but on low flat pitches he is going to struggle because of his pace. If he can somehow add another 5-10 K to his bowling I think he can really turn to be a great bowler for us.

In regards to his batting, I think he needs to improve his offside batting. He seems pretty okay with bowls on his hip and leg area, but he can't be slogging the ball offside to leg all the time. NZ had a pretty clear plan when bowling to him imo.

[ShoaibM]

Disappointed to see him crumble under the pressure of a chase. Otherwise looked good.

[Cric_lover4487]

He is around about the same pace as Chahar. Definitely gets more bounce than Chahar but not hardly enough swing. Tbh who would have thought that he would bowl so well in NZ? Not because of conditions but more because of the nature of the opposition who are quite ruthless when it comes to aggressive hitting. Yet he did well. So let’s not think too far ahead in regards to what may and what may not happen in India. He’s an ideal 4th seam bowl option in all formats.

If you see him as 4th seamer then its totally fine with me. I had an issue with some posters projecting him as a strike bowler for the T20WC. There is a scope for bits n pieces players in T20. Infact, its an necessity for teams to have more allround cricketers in T20. If Faheem can bowl 3 overs for 20 and score 20(8) consistently, he is good enough to play.

[Square Drive]

The thing is though, that if he's not gonna contribute with the bat, why not just select a proper bowler? Imo Hasan Ali can easily replace him. He's much better with the ball and is on par, or even better with the bat, even though he doesn't have the "all rounder" status.

Because Faheem has better stats than each one of our proper bowlers at the moment (i.e. Shaheen/Hasnain/Rauf). That he has more potential than any of them with the bat (even though it rarely ever comes good) is just an added bonus at this moment.

So if Hasan wants to make it back in the T20I side, his competition is not Faheem, rather I would say it is with Shaheen/Hasnain/Rauf.

In ODIs though yes, I would say he is competing with Hasan for the pace bowling all-rounder spot, where Hasan is obviously miles ahead because he is a superior ODI bowler easily, and it won't be hard for him to better Faheem's once-in-a-blue-moon batting output.

Therefore I'd keep Faheem out of ODIs, based off of his performances so far, which is likely to continue considering his weaknesses are likely to continue to get exploited there. I'd start Hasan in ODIs as soon as he's back.

In T20s though Faheem would be a sure starter for now, and I'd keep Hasan on the bench for now until one of Hasnain/Rauf/Shaheen (mainly the former two tbh) lose their spot to poor performances. Mind you Hasan doesn't have the most impressive T20I stats anyway - that ER is on the higher side for sure.

[shamaan]

Very good series for fahim.very limited player but he is making use of all the limit he has

[naseem]

True, so replace Rizwan with someone like Zeeshan Ashraf.

I would still say sharjeel

[ShoaibM]

Poor man's Hassan Ali. Will be good as a fill in until Hassan is back.

[UzmanBeast]

I would still say sharjeel

True, he's not a bad choice either. Sharjeel-Babar opening combination in PSL should make it less likely that the two will need a lot of time to adapt.

[Markhor]

Vs Top 5:

ODIs: Batting avg 12. Bowling avg 76.
T20s: Batting avg 9. Bowling avg 23.

Shouldn't bat higher than 9, and ideally I'd prefer selecting players who can also play both ODIs and T20s.

[Hawkeye]

Damn.

Doing good even in Tests.

[Firebat]

Full toss not cashed in on by Faheem, he goes for just 4:

[Bilal_103]

Faheem should stick to test matches. I dont think he has the power hitting game required in the lower order.

[Firebat]

The man in form Faheem gets the massive wicket of David Miller!

[MenInG]

Gets better every time Faheem but seems getting hit for some runs today.

[Suleiman]

He looks ordinary one too many a time. Has overs where he looks like a gully cricketer. Better batsman will smash him to bits.

Have to say rn he’s a batsman who can bowl a bit.

[Saj]

Lovely innings today.

30 not out off only 12 balls and spared Pakistan's blushes with some big hits.