The Unpredictable Pakistan team is back after 12 years!

[Bleedgreen4ever]

Ever since the 2009 SL team attack and the 2010 fixing saga PCT went into hiding and became very timid. No sledging, aggression or any excitement. Apart from 2009 WT20, 2011 WC and 2017 CT no fight on the field. Most bright young stars got wasted. The likes of Misbah, Azhar captaining us and Shehzad, Azhar, Akmal featuring in the side was a nightmare for any fan. Having no cricket at home mentally affected our players especially pacers who are known for aggression. It was embarassing to compare our players to Australian and Indian stars.

I hope this excitement and aggression continues.

We have good attacking young stars to look forward to like Azam, Zaman, Shaheen, Rauf, Haider etc who like to fight till the last ball. Hope they make us proud iA. All we need is a good young spinner for the 2023 WC in India

Pakistan cricket is back on track. Our neighbors were lucky that 2009 and 2010 sagas took place Lets slowly beat them in the rankings like we always have throughout history before 2007

[Hasan123]

We still have issues in the middle order and in our bowling. Furthermore we do need to remember that SA had 6 key players not playing today.


We need to see how we do against the big 3 and NZ in a series before saying stuff like this. Still not convinced we would beat those teams over a series.

[Titan24]

2009 and 2010 were definitely the two biggest setbacks any team can face and that too one after another. Cant imagine how any other team could have survived by cricket at home being taken away and not only that but, 2 of the best bowlers and a young captain with everything to be successful getting banned from the game.

Pak cricket has done extremely well to survive all this and many fans and experts often overlook these facts and only consider things on the face value.

It has come a long way since then however, Pak team still needs more match winners and characters in my opinion. Some young players are really developing well but, they need more support from others.

[sam_ahm]

Congratulations to Pakistan on winning the series 👏👏👏. They are developing well and that is always good to see.

[mazkhan]

The advent of the psl, improved domestic fc structure , and players having a chance to play at home has definently benefited the pakistani players and team performance .

Still some deadwood hanging around domestics and using connections to get selected but hopefully in a few yrs this will be sorted , next step is too get rid of the journeymen hogging spots in domestic cricket and stopping younger players from getting crucial games which hinders their development.

[Abid Z]

I think this is a very immature and premature thread. SSA can break down any minute
Fakhar has made good runs but there were some streaky shots there. Rizwan and babar are quality.

But the middle order is awful and the bowling attack is insipid. Oh and the youngsters coming through don’t look too bright. Other than that yes all is good. Let’s shout and scream at the opposition to show how tough we are.

[gazza619]

Misbah / Waqar will try their level best to send us down the drain, thats my only concern.

On the thread, yes finally we have a half decent side after a very long time. If only we can pick the right players going forward.

[Minnowbasher]

Haters gonna hate but this team has potential
A world class top 3 all aged 30 and under
Many developing all rounders such as Faheem, Nawaz, Shadab (all quite young and can improve despite few good performances so far)
A world class left arm fast swing bowler in Shaheen
Couple of developing fast bowlers in Hasnain and Rauf who can both bowl over 90mph


Still lacking a proper spinner but Qadir has potential. Middle order needs the likes of Haris Sohail to come back and Haider needs to be given a go.

By no means are we anywhere near the best side in the world but potential and hope is there for the first time since the champions trophy win. The way our odi side bottled it following that win was shameful but somewhat expected considering the team was full of oldies like Azhar, Hafeez, Malik and Sarfraz.

[shamaan]

We still have issues in the middle order and in our bowling. Furthermore we do need to remember that SA had 6 key players not playing today.


We need to see how we do against the big 3 and NZ in a series before saying stuff like this. Still not convinced we would beat those teams over a series.

If the middle order should consistant off saud at 4,rizwan at 5,haider ali at 6.

[shamaan]

I think this is a very immature and premature thread. SSA can break down any minute
Fakhar has made good runs but there were some streaky shots there. Rizwan and babar are quality.

But the middle order is awful and the bowling attack is insipid. Oh and the youngsters coming through don’t look too bright. Other than that yes all is good. Let’s shout and scream at the opposition to show how tough we are.

We conceded 300 or less in 2 of the 3 odis i would take that anytime

[ChTab]

Wait until this team plays vs England this summer, we barely won the 3 match series vs SA because most 6 of their 1st team players were not playing either because they left for IPL or they were injured.

The Pakistani team is just an average team in all formats, they are undoubtedly inferior to Eng, Ind, Aus & NZ. They will lose 9 out of 10 times vs the top 4 nations.

[ChTab]

Wait until this team plays vs England this summer, we barely won the 3 match series vs SA because most 6 of their 1st team players were not playing either because they left for IPL or they were injured.

The Pakistani team is just an average team in all formats, they are undoubtedly inferior to Eng, Ind, Aus & NZ. They will lose 9 out of 10 times vs the top 4 nations.

The only good thing about this Pakistani team is it's top 3 & even the top 3 has it's limitations. You got Imam who is a good player but can't accelerate, you have Fakhar but he's too inconsistent then you have Babar who doesn't like to take risks most of the time.

Our bowling attack is as good as Bangladesh's attack, only SSA is an exception.

[zain7077]

Faisal Akram can be the young spinner we are looking for. He can develop a lot in 3 years and Qadir the other spinner. Both can bat as well and turn the ball in opposite directions and are mystery spinners.

[HappyWarsFan]

Wait until this team plays vs England this summer, we barely won the 3 match series vs SA because most 6 of their 1st team players were not playing either because they left for IPL or they were injured.

The Pakistani team is just an average team in all formats, they are undoubtedly inferior to Eng, Ind, Aus & NZ. They will lose 9 out of 10 times vs the top 4 nations.

We also played a weakened team. Wait until Haris Sohail, Hafeez, Imad etc. Come back and strengthen the middle order. Your being OTT.

We are solidly 5th place. We won't win too much against top 4 but we can win 3-4/10 times for sure.

[mastimasti]

weirdly enough Pakistan are ranked 2nd in the super cup...but what is the super cup?

[ChTab]

weirdly enough Pakistan are ranked 2nd in the super cup...but what is the super cup?

ODI Super League, top 8 teams will qualify directly for 2023 WC, India already qualified for the WC because they are the hosts.

[ChTab]

We also played a weakened team. Wait until Haris Sohail, Hafeez, Imad etc. Come back and strengthen the middle order. Your being OTT.

We are solidly 5th place. We won't win too much against top 4 but we can win 3-4/10 times for sure.

We didn't played a weakened team this was the best possible team we could have sent, just because you think Haris, Hafeez & Imad should have played doesn't mean that we played a weakened team.

None of these players were dropped because of their injuries maybe only Haris, but in reality, Haris might never play for Pakistan because of his fitness issues since the WC19 everytime he has played he looked quite an ordinary player in every format.

[HappyWarsFan]

We didn't played a weakened team this was the best possible team we could have sent, just because you think Haris, Hafeez & Imad should have played doesn't mean that we played a weakened team.

None of these players were dropped because of their injuries maybe only Haris, but in reality, Haris might never play for Pakistan because of his fitness issues since the WC19 everytime he has played he looked quite an ordinary player in every format.

Imad and Haris were dropped I think due to fitness reasons. If they can work on their fitness they walk into the side. Also remember Saud got injured and Haider Ali got a tooth ache so he missed games too.

Haris is still great in one day, but he flopped in tests. Don't mix up formats.

[Mamoon]

Khuda ka waasta hai please overcome this rotten, deluded mentality and stop associated words like unpredictability, mercuriality, aggression, corner tigers, roller-coaster ride, passion etc. etc. with Pakistan cricket.

It has destroyed our mentality and done enough damage already. They mean absolutely nothing.

Please.

[enigmatic_stani]

Unpredictable? They are predictably slow starters with a poor middle order. Nothing Unpredictable about them for years Im afraid. That all went 10 years ago.

[ChTab]

Haris is still great in one day, but he flopped in tests. Don't mix up formats.

How is Haris Sohail still great in ODI's when he has only played 3 ODI's for Pakistan after the 19WC 2vs SL & 1 vs Zim.

I'm not mixing formats but if he had played an ODI after the WC vs a half-decent side his stats would've been the same as they are in tests & T20's.

[RyanRyan10]

Ever since the 2009 SL team attack and the 2010 fixing saga PCT went into hiding and became very timid. No sledging, aggression or any excitement. Apart from 2009 WT20, 2011 WC and 2017 CT no fight on the field. Most bright young stars got wasted. The likes of Misbah, Azhar captaining us and Shehzad, Azhar, Akmal featuring in the side was a nightmare for any fan. Having no cricket at home mentally affected our players especially pacers who are known for aggression. It was embarassing to compare our players to Australian and Indian stars.

I hope this excitement and aggression continues.

We have good attacking young stars to look forward to like Azam, Zaman, Shaheen, Rauf, Haider etc who like to fight till the last ball. Hope they make us proud iA. All we need is a good young spinner for the 2023 WC in India

Pakistan cricket is back on track. Our neighbors were lucky that 2009 and 2010 sagas took place Lets slowly beat them in the rankings like we always have throughout history before 2007

That's factually incorrect. Anyways our team didn't need your mediocrity to achieve whatever we could. Pakistan team has never managed to retain no.1 spot for more than 2 months, something which has become a norm for us.

[shamaan]

Faisal Akram can be the young spinner we are looking for. He can develop a lot in 3 years and Qadir the other spinner. Both can bat as well and turn the ball in opposite directions and are mystery spinners.

How good is akram with the bat ?

[shamaan]

Imad and Haris were dropped I think due to fitness reasons. If they can work on their fitness they walk into the side. Also remember Saud got injured and Haider Ali got a tooth ache so he missed games too.

Haris is still great in one day, but he flopped in tests. Don't mix up formats.

Haris got dropped due to fitness imad got dropped due to not being able to bowl in difference phases of the game thats what wasim stated

[shamaan]

Wait until this team plays vs England this summer, we barely won the 3 match series vs SA because most 6 of their 1st team players were not playing either because they left for IPL or they were injured.

The Pakistani team is just an average team in all formats, they are undoubtedly inferior to Eng, Ind, Aus & NZ. They will lose 9 out of 10 times vs the top 4 nations.

Pakistan beat both england and new zealand in the last world cup.

[ChTab]

Pakistan beat both england and new zealand in the last world cup.

I said they will lose 9 out of 10 times vs the top 4 nations, I think you're forgetting that the kind of same Pakistani team was trashed by Eng 5-0 just before the WC 19.

Pakistani have done traditionally well vs Eng & NZ in the WC's or in crunch matches.

When it comes to bilateral series these top 4 nations will beat Pakistan 9 out of 10 times, you don't have to go so far back just earlier this year we were hammered by a NZ C side in T20's.

[proud_pakistani]

Back where? We beat a third rate South African team with half of its players missing due to IPL.

This team is still very far from being a challenger to India or England. You take out the top 3 and we will be getting bowled out for a paltry score. If Hafeez gets picked that solves the problem a bit and if Imad Wasim plays it improves further.

Our bowling besides Shaheen is not penetrative and needs a fair bit of work as well.

So far from back. Hassan Ali needs to reach Champions Trophy levels while even PCB needs to look at recalling Aamir for LOIs. His presence ensures the rate of scoring to be lower and he builds up pressure which other bowlers just cant.

[zain7077]

How good is akram with the bat ?

Not sure but he mentions that he is a bowling all rounder in interviews

[shamaan]

Not sure but he mentions that he is a bowling all rounder in interviews

Fair enough.

[ammar_merry]

Back where? We beat a third rate South African team with half of its players missing due to IPL.

This team is still very far from being a challenger to India or England. You take out the top 3 and we will be getting bowled out for a paltry score. If Hafeez gets picked that solves the problem a bit and if Imad Wasim plays it improves further.

Our bowling besides Shaheen is not penetrative and needs a fair bit of work as well.

So far from back. Hassan Ali needs to reach Champions Trophy levels while even PCB needs to look at recalling Aamir for LOIs. His presence ensures the rate of scoring to be lower and he builds up pressure which other bowlers just cant.

It was 3 match series.Pls. tell in how many matches players were missing due to ipl???

[proud_pakistani]

It was 3 match series.Pls. tell in how many matches players were missing due to ipl???

Still a third rate South African team. As you said it was a 3 match series. We should have beaten them 3-0.

[marlonbrowndo]

When will we get rid of this awful, cringeworthy “unpredictable” tag.

[mastimasti]

ODI Super League, top 8 teams will qualify directly for 2023 WC, India already qualified for the WC because they are the hosts.

ah...so just like the ICC rankings of old then haha

Does it matter which position you qualify in?

[Last Monetarist]

The 1992 World Cup remains a millstone around the neck of cricket in this country. We may have won that battle but we lost the war in the long-run.

[HydratedTurnip]

To the OP, you do know that this 'unpredictable' tag is precisely the reason why Pakistan is, at best, a mid tier team and will continue to stay at that level at least in the red ball cricket which requires consistency over an extended period of time rather than unpredictability.

So instead of celebrating it, you should absolutely despise it. And pray that in the next 4-5 years, they are seen as a decent top tier team, rather than a middling one who can upset a top 3 when the stars align just right