Is Shadab Khan the right man to captain Pakistan in T20Is?

[Saj]

Named as skipper for the T20I series against Afghanistan.

Do you think he deserves it?

Is he the right choice?

Or do you feel he is the wrong choice?

Do you think he could be the man to lead Pakistan long-term in the T20 format?

[Bilal7]

He's been the vice captain of the team for a while so I'm not sure what people were expecting. Can't judge Shadab when he hasn't led the team before.

It's a good decision to rest Shaheen along with the other senior players. Overall, Haroon Rashid and company have surprisingly done a pretty good job.

[shaz619]

Right now he was the best option with the other seniors being rested. He has been VC for a while and just led his PSL team to the play offs.

However, long term, he doesn’t inspire my confidence. His batting is too reckless and he chooses to bat a bit too high despite that. He has done fine as captain but lacks consistency and I question his ambitions/guts.

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Named as skipper for the T20I series against Afghanistan.

Do you think he deserves it?

Is he the right choice?

Or do you feel he is the wrong choice?

Do you think he could be the man to lead Pakistan long-term in the T20 format?

I think he’s a good captain. He’s the type who’ll unite the dressing room, and he’s had people like Faheem and Azam perform under him, which is a very good sign to that younger players can perform in under him.

I remember him being an incredible captain for Northern in the National T20 cup a few years ago. This was when Mo Wasim was Northern coach. They got to semi’s of that tournament.

However, the best two captains in the country are Shaheen and Rizzy.

[Markhor]

For a one-off series it's fine. However he cannot be a long-term option as he has a worse injury record than even our fast bowlers.

[ritzy_123]

nope Rizwan is a really good option IMO

[Kroll]

If the rest of the players are behind him and ready to fight for the cause then that's half the battle.

[shah9425]

I prefer Rizwan over Shadab

[JibranAnsari]

Not at current form , but i would have him over babar and rizwan.

[Rana]

nope Rizwan is a really good option IMO

How? Because he is a master at captaining Russow, David and Miller who do all of the heavy lifting?

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

How? Because he is a master at captaining Russow, David and Miller who do all of the heavy lifting?

No, because he’s brought the best out of Ihsanullah, Usama Mir and Abbas Afridi with his captaincy. As a result, two of those three players are in the travelling party

[jattafridi]

Nooo Rizwan is much better

Or can try shaheen in future

[Barragan]

No, just not good enough as a captain.

Rizwan definitely the right guy to take over from Babar.

He has done really well with the likes of Ihsanullah, Abbas and Usama Mir.

Give him a better bowling unit and he'll do even better.

[Mamoon]

He should not even be in the team. He is a nothing player.

Glorified part-timer with the ball and glorified tailender with the bat.

[PakEngFan]

He should not even be in the team. He is a nothing player.

Glorified part-timer with the ball and glorified tailender with the bat.

But he’s always managing to outperform Indian spinners majority of the ICC events.

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Shadab is a fair choice for this series considering he is the vice captain.

He has proved to be a good leader for ISLU.

The other option would of been Maddy.

[shamaan]

It's a good decision he let's his batters go after the bowling from ball one.
He has been good with Nothern.

However just becouse he's captained doesn't mean he should bat in the top 5.

[daytrader]

"Congratulations to @76Shadabkhan on being selected as the captain for the Pak vs Afg series! A wise decision by PCB to rest senior players and give talented young leaders like Shadab a chance to shine. Excited to see him prove himself on the field! #ShadabKhan #PCB #PakVsAfg"

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) March 13, 2023

[Firebat]

Out for 12 on his captaincy debut

[gazza619]

The tik toker gave the new ball to Naseem & Zaman on a sticky wicket.

Dumb!!!

[MenInG]

Why no slip for Imad? This is poor from Shadab, is he trying to defend the total or take 10 wickets?

[Savak]

Extremely poor captaincy. He allowed too many singles which is criminal when you are defending a low target.

[nextover666666]

He was poor in every aspect today , his batting, his bowling, his field placements, even the way he used the bowlers, ihsanullah and imad should have came in early to bowl. Zaman khan should have bowled 2 over max, ideally he should have not been playing today. He also got the team selection wrong as well and played his friends from United (Faheem and Azam Khan) not to mention he got it absolutely wrong at the toss and decided to bat first.

However first game as a captain, a learning experience I will forgive him for now, lets see if he can fix the mistakes for next game, or if he truly is rubbish and repeat them.

[Saj]

Awful in all aspects today.

Horrible bowling, nothing much in batting and his captaincy lacked any direction.

[IMMY69]

200pct the wrong decision.

How can you make someone a captain when they don't hone their skills in first class cricket.

Captaincy should be given to a player who sets the right example and currently that's not Shadab Khan.

[Caved12]

The tik toker gave the new ball to Naseem & Zaman on a sticky wicket.

Dumb!!!

and then brought both of them back to bowl the 15th and 16th over when the required run rate was 4.25 against the batters who were well set to finish the game

[Caved12]

Awful in all aspects today.

Horrible bowling, nothing much in batting and his captaincy lacked any direction.

As if he already made up his mind that he is playing a young team and all he needs to do is just give them chances. Even today's game was winnable, but Shadab simply refused to think and do what was right for the team

Imad should have batted at 4 in a team which was full of youngsters who never played for Pakistan before

[asadee]

He is a bogus captain. Shaheen is a 100 times better than him

[Cric1234]

He didn’t bowl well aswell should have bowled better on a helpful wicket.

[gazza619]

Why no slip for Imad? This is poor from Shadab, is he trying to defend the total or take 10 wickets?

Extremely poor captaincy. He allowed too many singles which is criminal when you are defending a low target.

I am beginning of think if the game was played fairly. Surely you would open the bowling with Imad on such a wicket.

[Major]

Good captaincy today.

His bowling changes were perfect. He used Ihsanullah's 3 overs upfrnt and was attacking.

batting wise, he cant hold the bat for his players. I was impressed by his captaincy today.

His individual performance as a batter was a shocker and needs to take more responsibility.

[Major]

The tik toker gave the new ball to Naseem & Zaman on a sticky wicket.

Dumb!!!

Who should had he given the new ball to?

Afghan pacers were getting swing early on, and naseem was moving the ball. Infact, naseem was the only guy moving the ball.

Zaman bowled his initial two overs well well. Ihsanullah was bought in at the right time and Shadab got him to bowl 3 overs at the trott which was fantastic.

The score was a very low but even yet, his bowling changes were good and were on the mark.

[Caved12]

Who should had he given the new ball to?

Afghan pacers were getting swing early on, and naseem was moving the ball. Infact, naseem was the only guy moving the ball.

Zaman bowled his initial two overs well well. Ihsanullah was bought in at the right time and Shadab got him to bowl 3 overs at the trott which was fantastic.

The score was a very low but even yet, his bowling changes were good and were on the mark.

I love reading your posts, but have to disagree with you here. Ihsanullah was brought into attack very late. No signs of Imad or himself until the 7th over of the game. Imad should have bowled atleast one over in the PP
and Ihsanullah should have bowled the 3rd over. You always go for the kill in a low scoring game and change bowlers quickly if they are unable to break the opening partnership (23/0 after 4 overs) Senior bowlers completely chickened out in a low scoring game. Not sure what Shadab was thinking, but then captaincy is something Shadab knows nothing about.

[Major]

I love reading your posts, but have to disagree with you here. Ihsanullah was brought into attack very late. No signs of Imad or himself until the 7th over of the game. Imad should have bowled atleast one over in the PP
and Ihsanullah should have bowled the 3rd over. You always go for the kill in a low scoring game and change bowlers quickly if they are unable to break the opening partnership (23/0 after 4 overs) Senior bowlers completely chickened out in a low scoring game. Not sure what Shadab was thinking, but then captaincy is something Shadab knows nothing about.

i kindly disagree. Because Ihsanullah was always going to be a threat no matter how late we bought him in. THe strategy worked because Zaman Khan and Naseem shah didnt take wickets in the initial 4 overs, but they didn't allow AFG to get a fast start.
Imad, makes sense that he could had bowled one over in the PP maybe.

He isn't a bad captain. He is a better captain than Babar.

Babar's issue was always that he never used his part timer bowlers or 6th bowler at the right time. He didnt know the art of getting overs bowled by an extra bowler so that the bowler that is getting whooped for runs doesnt have to bowl his complete qouta.

Shadab well, he does use this technique, and Rizwan does it the best..

I still think its too early to write Shadab Khan off as captain.

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal on Shadab captaincy:

“The coach [Abdul Rehman] is new so he must have been totally depending on Shadab Khan. Shadab is an experienced player and vice-captain of Pakistan for last two or three years. He was not able to read the pitch correctly. He couldn’t figure out what the pitch demanded and what kind of bowling was needed"

“Plus, you have rested your five main players, so why are you also dropping Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed. If you wanted to drop them, then you should have asked selectors to rest them as well. If you drop them as well, then you are bound to be under pressure. If there are four players making debut and three making comeback, then it would be difficult for players to perform"

Salman Butt on Shadab Captaincy:

“The pitch was conducive for slow bowling. Despite playing so much cricket, Shadab is bowling his fast bowlers and also bowling fast himself. There was no slip for Najib Zadran when he came onto bat. Afghanistan batsmen were struggling against Ihsanullah, but Shadab had kept the fielders at boundary. What is your reading of the pitch that you chose to bat on this pitch? That means you have no clue"

“You went with four fast-bowlers on this pitch, you were not playing in Perth,”

[shamaan]

i kindly disagree. Because Ihsanullah was always going to be a threat no matter how late we bought him in. THe strategy worked because Zaman Khan and Naseem shah didnt take wickets in the initial 4 overs, but they didn't allow AFG to get a fast start.
Imad, makes sense that he could had bowled one over in the PP maybe.

He isn't a bad captain. He is a better captain than Babar.

Babar's issue was always that he never used his part timer bowlers or 6th bowler at the right time. He didnt know the art of getting overs bowled by an extra bowler so that the bowler that is getting whooped for runs doesnt have to bowl his complete qouta.

Shadab well, he does use this technique, and Rizwan does it the best..

I still think its too early to write Shadab Khan off as captain.

Did you see how much Mubasir was used as a 6th bowler in the psl ?

[gazza619]

Who should had he given the new ball to?

Afghan pacers were getting swing early on, and naseem was moving the ball. Infact, naseem was the only guy moving the ball.

Zaman bowled his initial two overs well well. Ihsanullah was bought in at the right time and Shadab got him to bowl 3 overs at the trott which was fantastic.

The score was a very low but even yet, his bowling changes were good and were on the mark.

On such wicket, first over should always go to Imad, always.

It was a no brainer for me to open with Imad & Ihsanullah.

[Barragan]

Kamran Akmal on Shadab captaincy:

“The coach [Abdul Rehman] is new so he must have been totally depending on Shadab Khan. Shadab is an experienced player and vice-captain of Pakistan for last two or three years. He was not able to read the pitch correctly. He couldn’t figure out what the pitch demanded and what kind of bowling was needed"

“Plus, you have rested your five main players, so why are you also dropping Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed. If you wanted to drop them, then you should have asked selectors to rest them as well. If you drop them as well, then you are bound to be under pressure. If there are four players making debut and three making comeback, then it would be difficult for players to perform"

Salman Butt on Shadab Captaincy:

“The pitch was conducive for slow bowling. Despite playing so much cricket, Shadab is bowling his fast bowlers and also bowling fast himself. There was no slip for Najib Zadran when he came onto bat. Afghanistan batsmen were struggling against Ihsanullah, but Shadab had kept the fielders at boundary. What is your reading of the pitch that you chose to bat on this pitch? That means you have no clue"

“You went with four fast-bowlers on this pitch, you were not playing in Perth,”

Salman Butt is spot on.

The guy has a great mind.

[Firebat]

Salman Butt on Shadab Captaincy:

“The pitch was conducive for slow bowling. Despite playing so much cricket, Shadab is bowling his fast bowlers and also bowling fast himself. There was no slip for Najib Zadran when he came onto bat. Afghanistan batsmen were struggling against Ihsanullah, but Shadab had kept the fielders at boundary. What is your reading of the pitch that you chose to bat on this pitch? That means you have no clue"

“You went with four fast-bowlers on this pitch, you were not playing in Perth,”

Perfect analysis. Though I can't imagine Shadab alone makes this toss decision, it's a collective failure, which is worrying.

[Barragan]

Absolutely pathetic captaincy!

Easy singles, Imad bowling only 1 over and giving Naseem 4 overs is absolutely criminal.

He is worse than Babar - that tells you everything.

[gazza619]

This joker should never captain Pakistan ever again

[Forum363]

Was a big fan but results matter. Youngsters or not, a good leader makes a difference. Shadab made mistakes at crucial moments.

If he didn't want ihsanullah bowling the last over he should have planned it ahead, and not given the 19th to Naseem.

[topspin]

Inexcusable to see 3 spinners in the attack and only 9 overs bowled on a wicket which required 12 overs of spin.

[Savak]

Clueless captaincy. Have to question what do these players even learn when they captain their domestic, PSL sides.

[Rana]

He’s out there protecting the Dosti Yaari clique

A Misbah man should never be trusted with Pakistan leadership

[Rana]

Imad Wasim best bowler in last game

Should have bowled in the powerplay. He would have bowled 3 overs for maybe 18 runs on this pitch and the required run rate would have shot up from the word go

Horrendous captain. He costed IU an easy place in the final by being too much of an Akshay Kumar!

[nextover666666]

absolutely pathetic captaincy!

Easy singles, imad bowling only 1 over and giving naseem 4 overs is absolutely criminal.

He is worse than babar - that tells you everything.

exactly

[Saj]

Thought he got it wrong with giving Naseem Shah 4 overs.

He was having a poor time with the ball and at least one of his overs should have gone to Imad.

[The_KING]

Babar is a better captain than him. Pathetic captaincy, as well as ineffective bowling. Should never captain Pakistan again.

[zarak]

Makes Babar look like a good captain.

[zarak]

Thought he got it wrong with giving Naseem Shah 4 overs.

He was having a poor time with the ball and at least one of his overs should have gone to Imad.

To be fair you expect your most experience bowler to close that over out. I agree Imad should have bowled earlier.

[topspin]

I wonder if he gave Imad just the one over because he got outbowled by him in the previous game.

[Saj]

To be fair you expect your most experience bowler to close that over out. I agree Imad should have bowled earlier.

Naseem was struggling throughout and it was no surprise he went for 17 in the 19th over.

4 overs for 39 when Imad went for just 5 in one over.

[zarak]

I wonder if he gave Imad just the one over because he got outbowled by him in the previous game.

I think that's going a bit far with the imagination. He obviously wants to win so he gets hailed as a good captain. I think it was just incompetence. Even in the psl he has done some odd things with tosses etc

[Savak]

Shadab has bottled the PSL for 3 seasons in a row inspite of having a gun side. That tells you what you need to know about his captaincy. No surprise he got exposed at the international level.

[Kroll]

He stood there at the toss with so much arrogance saying that the pitch looked great and that was why he was batting first.

Has ended the series with egg all over his smarmy face, richly deserves this humiliation and the first Pakistan captain to lose to Afg.

[Saj]

ok asked around - Imad Wasim was not injured and could have bowled more overs if needed.

[Kroll]

Based on the Imad Wasim bowling discussion, it appears that he is also a very insecure individual who has placed his own well-being above that of the team.

This is unacceptable from a captain and to go along with his mediocre leadership and game awareness including reading of the pitch, he should not captain Pakistan again.

[MenInG]

Good innings [ 28(17) ]today but a little too late.

View post on imgur.com

[Major]

Based on the Imad Wasim bowling discussion, it appears that he is also a very insecure individual who has placed his own well-being above that of the team.

This is unacceptable from a captain and to go along with his mediocre leadership and game awareness including reading of the pitch, he should not captain Pakistan again.

if he wanted to do that than why is he sending imad to bat above himself?

[Kroll]

if he wanted to do that than why is he sending imad to bat above himself?

This was more to do with the bowling which the discussion was based on. Even sending him above him doesn't really say much cos you can still fail but depriving someone of bowling overs is not giving them a chance.

[MenInG]

Rashid Latif:

"Shadab was doing captaincy and in the middle Imad was also making gestures [towards fielders], it doesn’t look good in cricket"

[IMMY69]

I can't blame Shadab for any of this.
The problem stems from the PCB management for not insisting he plays First Class Cricket to hone his skills; to appointing home captain and having a coaching team who appeared clueless through out.

[pakistani pride]

Nope. Did not progress at all as a player. Failed in big matches. Seems to be going to Hassan Ali way. Still can turn it around but he seems to play in auto pilot mode.

[IMMY69]

By now he should be our number one spinner in test matches....

It's all gone wrong because to bowl good leg spin you have to hone your skills in 3.4.5 days cricket... not in T20 leagues around the world

[shamaan]

I was more disappointed in his bowling throwout the series than is captaincy.

[shokz1408]

Absolutely not. And this tour did well to highlight that.

[Saj]

Rashid Latif:

"Shadab was doing captaincy and in the middle Imad was also making gestures [towards fielders], it doesn’t look good in cricket"

To be honest Shadab needed that hand-holding and guidance as he seemed lost at times and out of his depth. In fact there should have been more hand-holding from the likes of Imad, Nawaz etc.

These 3 matches against Afghanistan have shown that he is clueless as a captain at this stage of his career.

[shaz619]

Shadab has been the VC for a while and also captained in the PSL, this was his make or break acid test as a potential replacement for Babar as leader, he has failed. Pakistan should move on from him, if you can’t beat Afghanistan tactically, I think you should retire from leadership altogether.

[moghul]

Shadab is not ready to lead the national team yet. Make Imad the captains till 2024 WC and may be Shadab be considered after that.

[Saj]

There is no point having him as vice-captain also.

He lacks tactical awareness or leadership qualities.

[Rana]

There is no point having him as vice-captain also.

He lacks tactical awareness or leadership qualities.

He’s been handed so many privileges so early without really earning any of them.

Imad was the right person to lead Pakistan right after Sarfaraz

[asadee]

Shaheen is far more sharp and of course is an obvious starter in all 3 formats. If he is fully fit he should he captain. Winning 2 back to back PSLs is no easy feat

[Rana]

Shaheen is far more sharp and of course is an obvious starter in all 3 formats. If he is fully fit he should he captain. Winning 2 back to back PSLs is no easy feat

Shaheen is sharp in what? Throwing his toys out of the pram if the ball isn’t swinging and batsmen play him easily in the first over of an innings?

[PakEngFan]

Shaheen is sharp in what? Throwing his toys out of the pram if the ball isn’t swinging and batsmen play him easily in the first over of an innings?

He won psl while your hero Imad couldn’t make the play offs in a 6 team competition.

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

He’s been handed so many privileges so early without really earning any of them.

Imad was the right person to lead Pakistan right after Sarfaraz

Lol no he wasn’t. This years PSL absolutely confirmed that without a shadow of a doubt.

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Shaheen is sharp in what? Throwing his toys out of the pram if the ball isn’t swinging and batsmen play him easily in the first over of an innings?

He’s sharp at winning titles, getting the best out of his young teammates and leading from the front.

[topspin]

Imad Wasim is a toxic personality. He should not be there in the team in first place let alone captain him. He will bring politics to dressing room and spoil the team environment.

That's exactly what Babar has been doing by excluding Imad from the team. A decision which may have cost Pakistan a trophy in the Asia Cup and also in the last two editions of the WT20.

[Rana]

That's exactly what Babar has been doing by excluding Imad from the team. A decision which may have cost Pakistan a trophy in the Asia Cup and also in the last two editions of the WT20.

Exactly. It’s not toxic atmosphere or politics if Babar and co are doing grouping and friend’s favours but it’s toxic if Imad cares more about the team over individuals

[Rana]

He’s sharp at winning titles, getting the best out of his young teammates and leading from the front.

Alongside throwing his toys out of the pram if things aren’t going his way