Pakistan's batting lineup for the rest of ODI series !!!

[cricwiz]

In some concurrent threads, PPers have been discussing the "achilles heel" of Pakistan limited over cricket i.e. the batting department. Its an open secret that Pakistani batting lineup is not upto the standard required.

Besides having such a poor batting lineup, thankfully we are still winning matches.. so Pakistan team management can relax about the results while finding ways in the mean time to improve our batting lineup with current resources.

My personal view is that Pakistan batting is suffering more because of undefined roles and serious errors/mistakes in batting order. Talent is not a problem, but execution is:

I would try to highlight the problems, alongwith solutions:

Openers:
Hafeez: Hafeez as a batsman is delight to watch. His timing makes him oneof the best batsman in the World (when in full flow). The problem with Hafeez is that he is being considered as a all-rounder. While he plays as an opening batsman, he should be clearly told that his main role in the team is that of a batsman. He needs to be reminded about this fact time & again. I really hope that he starts doing justice with the batting talent he has.
I Farhat: Like Hafeez, I Farhat is such a frustration to watch. So many times he has started off good, but thrown away starts. He hasnt done bad to be dropped, but hasnt done anything great either. One of the clear reasons is the nepotism advantage he enjoys. A single good performance in all games is enough to keep his place ensured. There is no solution but to ask his father in law to politely resign, as his presence @ the top of selection committee brings sense of carelessness in Farhat's batting approach.

Middle Order:
Asad Shafiq: Need to be persisted as a new No. 3 for Pakistan in ODI cricket. He must replace Malik in next 2 ODIs and be given oppurtunity as No. 3.
Umar Akmal: There is seemingly no cure to Umar Akmal brain farts. Out of no where he brings an embarrassing shot. Like Hafeez, he needs to be reminded about the responsibility/role as a batsman.
Misbah ul Haq: Misbah-ul-Haq is doing everything right with his batting these days, so no need for him to change anything.
Younis Khan: Younis Khan has a brilliant ODI average + strike rate as No. 6 batsman. So he should be demoted to No. 6. Younis Khan has been a very good No. 3 for Pakistan in Tests, but no way in ODI. But batting lower down the order, his experience would come very handy especially in tricky situations.

Lower order:
Shahid Afridi: Surprisingly Afridi is also doing good with the bat. So no need to change anything in this regard. But he should be used as a floater i.e. being sent into bat around 30-35 overs mark.
Sarfaraz Ahmed: Sarfaraz should be appreciated for his keeping by the team management. If he is a good batsman, his batting would come good.
Umar Gul: Tailender. Any runs is a bonus.
Saeed Ajmal: Tailender. Any runs is a bonus.
Aizaz Cheema:Tailender. Any runs is a bonus.

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So according to my analysis, no big changes should be made in the team. Summary of the suggestions I have made.

1. Asad Shafiq replaces Shoaib Malik for next 2 ODIs.
2. Immidiate change in batting order i.e. Asad Shafiq comes in at No. 3 while Younis Khan grabs the important No. 6 batting position.
3. These players (i.e. Hafeez + Farhat + U Akmal) need to be reminded of their main responsibilities.

[saeed-sohail]

Agree with everything you said mate.

[Afridi_Fan]

TBH I'll be called a YK Hater, don't care. I don't want him in the side.

[Afridi_Fan]

In this ODI series YK is fine, but I'll LOVE to have Hammad in his place.

[Bullet Drive]

Originally Posted by Afridi_Fan TBH I'll be called a YK Hater, don't care. I don't want him in the side.

I don't want him in the ODI squad however I am not a hater ;)

[M.A.G]

Mohd Hafeez
Imran Farhat
Asad Shafiq
Umer Akmal
Misbah ul Haq
Sarfraz Ahmad (wk)
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Umer Gul
Saeed Ajmal
Aziz Cheema

[JibranAnsari]

Umar akmal should be told not to play cut shots against spinners ,especially left armers.

I think we need to change the order a bit
Umar akmal should come at 3 ,followed by asad and misbah.

[cricwiz]

Originally Posted by M.A.G Mohd Hafeez Imran Farhat Asad Shafiq Umer Akmal Misbah ul Haq Sarfraz Ahmad (wk) Shoaib Malik Shahid Afridi Umer Gul Saeed Ajmal Aziz Cheema

I would replace Malik with Younis Khan for simply 2 reasons:

1. Younis is in much better form than Malik as a batsman. And our problem is batting (not bowling)
2. Stats also favor Younis as a lower order batsman. Younis @ No. 6 has played 28 matches with an average of 44 (90+ SR) while Malik has mediocre batting avg of 29 as No. 6 (80+ SR)

[1137moiz]

Mohammad Hafeez
Asad Shafiq
Younus Khan
Umar Akmal
Misbah-ul-Haq
Sarfraz Ahmed
Shoaib Malik (for the rest of the series, if he doesn't perform then kick him out)
Shahid Afridi
Umar Gul
Saeed Ajmal
Aizaz Cheema

[M.A.G]

nah, i this this should be enough for younus, malik can contribute with his spin, and should be f***ked up for 3 series before we throw him forever so we never select him again.

[PakCrikNeedsFixin]

No matter how much we all want it to happen - Farhat will not get dropped!

If he got dropped Asad could open alongside Hafeez but this guy is keeping out Asad.

For the remainder of the ODIs Asad is a must and Malik must be dropped. I can't understand not selecting Asad Shafiq he is our future star in ODIs.

[Zamee]

Younis isnt a good hitter of the bowl so why demote him to number 6?? He cant slog the bowl neither he can consolidate cause of the less overs remaining ?
:S

[cricwiz]

Originally Posted by 1137moiz Mohammad Hafeez Asad Shafiq Younus Khan Umar Akmal Misbah-ul-Haq Sarfraz Ahmed Shoaib Malik (for the rest of the series, if he doesn't perform then kick him out) Shahid Afridi Umar Gul Saeed Ajmal Aizaz Cheema

Originally Posted by PakCrikNeedsFixin No matter how much we all want it to happen - Farhat will not get dropped! If he got dropped Asad could open alongside Hafeez but this guy is keeping out Asad. For the remainder of the ODIs Asad is a must and Malik must be dropped. I can't understand not selecting Asad Shafiq he is our future star in ODIs.

Bangladesh team is full of SLA (slow left arm) bowlers. It will be very unwise to drop the single left handed batsman in our team. So no way should Farhat be dropped against BDesh bowling lineup (and I am not a fan of Farhat)...

Secondly, its dumb to select Malik in front of Younis Khan. Younis Khan is a far far better batsman than Malik. And to make the case worse for Malik, he is in worst form of his life. Its International cricket, sympathy could be just for a couple of matches (not for a whole series).

[cricwiz]

Originally Posted by M.A.G nah, i this this should be enough for younus, malik can contribute with his spin, and should be f***ked up for 3 series before we throw him forever so we never select him again.

Why should it be enough for Younis, and why it shouldn't be enough for Malik??? Younis has contributed much more with the bat in recent times. And Malik these days is a walking wicket. Our bowling is trong enough without Malik's spin contribution. Even Younis Khan & Imran Farhat can turn their arms over for some decent overs.

Originally Posted by Zamee Younis isnt a good hitter of the bowl so why demote him to number 6?? He cant slog the bowl neither he can consolidate cause of the less overs remaining ? :S

We already have 2 slogger in the team i.e. Umar Akmal & Shahid Afridi. So we need a batsman who can rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Younis Khan is the best bet at that in current circumstances. And who says Younis Khan cannot hit boundaries / is not good hitter of cricket ball Go and see T20 WC 2009 (if you still have any doubts over YK hitting)

[JibranAnsari]

A one day batting lineup should not be like this..

2 slow run getters
one tuk tuk
then sloggers

not a recipe of a good line up

If a slogger averages more than 38 then I would have him anyday over a slow run getter like younis khan averaging 32.
If a slogger can average 38 at number 6 , then I bet he has the ability to average 45 at number 3 where the slow run getter has all the time in the world but still averages around 32. It is time we get over with younis khan and shoaib malik and induce young blood in the team .

[M.A.G]

Originally Posted by cricwiz Why should it be enough for Younis, and why it shouldn't be enough for Malik??? Younis has contributed much more with the bat in recent times. And Malik these days is a walking wicket. Our bowling is trong enough without Malik's spin contribution. Even Younis Khan & Imran Farhat can turn their arms over for some decent overs. We already have 2 slogger in the team i.e. Umar Akmal & Shahid Afridi. So we need a batsman who can rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Younis Khan is the best bet at that in current circumstances. And who says Younis Khan cannot hit boundaries / is not good hitter of cricket ball Go and see T20 WC 2009 (if you still have any doubts over YK hitting)

Lol read my post again why i want to play malik. I want him to fail to get lost forever.

[Zamee]

Originally Posted by cricwiz We already have 2 slogger in the team i.e. Umar Akmal & Shahid Afridi. So we need a batsman who can rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Younis Khan is the best bet at that in current circumstances. And who says Younis Khan cannot hit boundaries / is not good hitter of cricket ball Go and see T20 WC 2009 (if you still have any doubts over YK hitting)

Stop living in the past. I m talking about his current form.
In the second Odi against Sirilanka he wasnt able to hit boundaries with ease. Some edges helped his cause but nothing impressive!

[saeed-sohail]

Yes play Malik for the rest of the series despite 35 straight failures and drop YK because he performed only against the minnows.

I repeat if they bring in Shafiq for YK I am all for it but if someone wants Malik to play every game in the series ahead of YK he need his head examined.

[prepare]

Need a 6th bowler and I'd rather have Malik than Tanvir so let him play this series as his bowling as been quite good and if he can come good with the bat we have another all-rounder even if it means batting him at 8!

[cricwiz]

Originally Posted by prepare Need a 6th bowler and I'd rather have Malik than Tanvir so let him play this series as his bowling as been quite good and if he can come good with the bat we have another all-rounder even if it means batting him at 8!

A 6th bowler at the cost of a batsman is stupid to say the least. No team in the World does that. We have 6th bowler in our ranks (i.e. both Younis Khan & Imran Farhat).