Fawad Alam: His Role in Team (Which Place)

[Alam_dar]

Fawad has shown up till now that:

1. He is not a reliable all-rounder (i.e. his bowling is not reliable even as 5th bowler...... may be good enough as 6th Bowling option i.e. if any bowler gets injured or having a bad day. Only in this situation Fawad could be given a ball.

2. But his Batting is very Good (actually I should use the word Reliable).
We could not bear the lose of not playing him as batsman.
But problem is at which place and in place of which of our regular team player?


Here are few options:

1) Test Fawad as an Opener

Problem: We have very good and solid middle order, but our 1 Opener slot is still free.

May be many would disagree with me on this Issue, but I really want to check him/Test him as an opener too.
We already have one Reliable Opener i.e. Salman Batt. But we are still in search of 2nd reliable Opener.
For sure we have Jamshed and Khurram, but still I am not convinced that they are reliable enough as openers.

If Fawad shows reliable performance as Opner in next 2-3 matches, then good, otherwise again place him down the oder.


2nd Option: Bring Akmal as Opener making slot Free for Fawad in middle order

This means, we should say good bye to Shoaib Khan in next matches and bring Akmal as opener and Fawad Alam in middle Order (i.e. After Milaik/Misbah), but before Afridi (in normal situations).

Any how, Fawad will have strong compitition in middle order with:

1. Malik
2. Misbah
3. Younus
4. Yousuf
5. Afridi (who plays as 5th Bowler, which means he should also be very good batsman)

I really dont know that exact solution of this problem of FAwad Alam (i.e. where to place him). But I could say that:

1. Fawad deserves more as batsman than Bazid Khan, Faisal or any other batsman in Test cricket/ODIs or 20/20

2. We should stop considering him as 5th Bowling Option (at maximum, he could be 6th Bowling option)
Perhaps in case Afridi goes out of team, perhaps then Malik+FAwad could take together the 5th bowling Option. (I mean Afridi is very important to team, but his failure with BAT is very serious issue and weakening our batting line up.

[naqlipathan]

the only way fawad can be properly utilised AT THE MOMENT is if afridi opens and fawad plays at afridi's position, whether its no 5 or 6.

IN THE FUTURE when yousuf and/or misbah retire (they dont have long) fawad can be played at no 4 or 5.

i agree with you about his bowling, its mediocre

[lollol]

My views:

- bowling = rubbish, almost club level. Certainly not upto international standard. Ive seen a few guys from my neighborhood bowl better slow left-arm..
- batting = not seen enough, so right now it wouldnt matter much where he plays, only if he gets enough overs... from the very few times ive seen him, his technique just doesnt seem to be good, and if it wasnt for his high averages in domestic, i would almost write him off already
- fielding = great

[jusarrived]

the one thing very impressive about him is that he never gives up , cool under pressure ....but I doubt he has the talent with ball or bat to be a longterm member of pak team ....ideally he will have to work on his bowling a lot , once he is good enuf to bowl 8-10 overs consistently ..may be he can be used as a floater in the linup or at 7 !

[ali kc]

i think fawad and afridi should be fighting for one spot. We need two regular openers!

Afridi strengths are bowling and good fielder
Alam strengths are batting and good fielder

I think depending on who we play they should switch around.

+ fawad has only played a handful of matches and his bowling hasnt been fully tested and i think he has the ability to learn and improve which clearly afridi doesnt.

He could be a better overall player than afridi!

[Islamabadi]

no i want nasir jamshed as opner

[Islamabadi]

i love his running between the wicket....he is really quick

[iafzal]

Alam should be playing at #6 spot not as an opener. He will not be able to do well against high quality attacks as an opener. His competition is Malik and Afridi.

[kingusama92]

Alam will replace Misbah/Yousuf when one of them retire as a middle order batsman.. and I am sure he will be a great middle order batsman... for now he should be coming ahead of Afridi and Akmal...

[Mian Hassan]

[QUOTE=kingusama92]Alam will replace Misbah/Yousuf when one of them retire as a middle order batsman.. and I am sure he will be a great middle order batsman... for now he should be coming ahead of Afridi and Akmal...[/QUOTE

Yeah you are righ he is the replacement for yousef or misbah but the way he is playing i think he should get Malik's place...


doesn't matter which form this guy has proved to perform under pressure lik misbah did.

t20
odi
test

F.Alam is Readyyyy

[Amir]

He should be number six. Can rotate strike, hit the ball adn knows how to finish a match. If he is doing that at a young age, think what he will do once he matures.

[kingusama92]

[QUOTE=Mian Hassan]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 Alam will replace Misbah/Yousuf when one of them retire as a middle order batsman.. and I am sure he will be a great middle order batsman... for now he should be coming ahead of Afridi and Akmal...[/QUOTE Yeah you are righ he is the replacement for yousef or misbah but the way he is playing i think he should get Malik's place... doesn't matter which form this guy has proved to perform under pressure lik misbah did. t20 odi test F.Alam is Readyyyy

if it was possible to replace Malik with Alam i would do it in a jiffy.. but since Malik is a captain it remains a fantasy for now lol... and now impossible since Malik performed today...

[Amir]

Malik is a better bowler than Fawad and I would not replace Fawad with him. Plus two different roles. Malik is an accumlator and Fawad more of a finisher. both can fit into the one day team.

[Salman]

Since Razzaq's exit from the side, we have lacked a decent finisher, he is perfect for that position, i say don't let him near the middle order, he just right where he bats. A safe option.

[Alam_dar]

Does it cost a lot to try him as opener in 2-3 Innings?

Yaar, why is it so that my heart is telling me that A Good player is always a good player.... and my heart is saying Fawad will do very good even as an opner.

Things which go in favour of FAwad Alam as Opener:

1. Fawad already played a lot of cricket at No. 3 (and for no. 3 player it is easy to take the job of opener too).


2. Fawad is always very good in meeting the Challenges. He performs very well under pressure situations. Such players could relatively bear the pressure of playing as openers too.


3. Fawad played at No. 3 and constantly performed in domestic.
- He also played at middle order 5/6 and performed there too.
- He also played at No. 9 and still performed in that Role too (as finisher)

So, he has the Talent to prove him in every situation. This thing convince me to give FAwad Chance as Opener too and test him at this spot.


4. Fawad may be good finisher, but my heart says that he has better Talent than this for planning to make a good long Inning and consolidating it and staying for long time at the crease.
Just imagine, if he is able to handle the pressure as an Opener, then it would be a huge benefit to Pakistan.


And at last, if we could try AFridi, Akmal, Malik, Younus etc. as Openers, then what's wrong in giving chance to Fawad for 2-3 Innings as an Opener.

If Fawad could fit in the spot of Opener, then we have a great balanced team:

1. Butt (1st Reliable batsman)
2. Fawad (2nd Reliable batsman.....also 6th Bowling Option)
3. Younus (3rd Reliable batsman)
4. Yousuf (4th Reliable batsman)
5. Malik (5th Reliable batsman..... also the 5th Bowling Option. He and FAwad have to bowl 10-15 Over together in ODIs)
6. Misbah (6th Reliable batsman)
7. Afridi/Mansoor/Arafaat (must be a Bowling All Rounder..... i.e. Half Reliable Batsman + close to Regular Bowler)
8. Akmal/Sarfraz
9. Tanvir
10. Gul
11. Shoaib (if fit)/ Rauf /Sohail Khan/ Anwar Ali


This seems to be a very Balanced Team.

Even if we add a single Regular Opener (who could not Bowl), then this equation disturbs and at any cost Malik is then compelled to bowl complete 10 Overs ........ i.e. we will loose our 6th Bowling Option at every cost in case of any other Regular Opener instead of Fawad Alam.


So, I only see the place of any Regular Opener in Tests.

But in ODIs and 20/20, where we need the 6th Bowling Option, I don't see Malik is able to bowl complete 10 Overs and therefore no place for any Regular Opener. Either we let Fawad play as Opener of bring Akmal as an Opener, the equation remains same and no place for any regular opener.

[legslip]

I agree he should be given an opportunity at the top of the innings. Not only would it accomodate him in the top order but I'm also not convinced with the shot selection and techniques of Nasir Jamshed and Khurram Manzoor from what I've seen. Alam has been knocking on the door for a while now with his excellent FC performances and his game now possesses a nice balance of aggression, maturity and class, not to mention his liking for occupying the crease for long durations and his ice cool temperament.

[Poison]

Unfortunately, I only see him breaking into the side when one of the big three (Misbah/Yousuf/Younis) retires. Until then, he cant say he's better than Yousuf Younis or Misbah, would be ideally replacing Malik, but unlike 95% of PP, I think Malik's batting warrants his place in the side. He could replace Afridi when Afridi can't bowl anymore, as his bowling is too much of an asset to be compared to Alam's bowling.
.

[Alam_dar]

Thanks legslip, you are the first one who agreed completely with my suggestion. Moreover, you brought very important point on the table i.e. "If really Jamshed/Khurram are technically better than Fawad Alam?"

I think both Jamshed and Khurram have aggression, but looking at their stats, I don't think they are as reliable as Fawad is.


And Jamal:

After the yesterday's performance by Fawad against Sri Lanka, I don't think he has to wait any longer for the retirement of big 3 (Younus, Yousuf, Misbah).

I believe Fawad is now already in the team and Selectors would not be able to ignore a permanent spot to him. And this would be surely done on the sacrifice of our 2nd Opener (i.e. either Akmal or Afridi or Malik go for the 2nd Opener slot and Fawad will be settled in the middle order.

Therefore, may be Fawad not get the Opener slot, but for sure his place is confirmed at 6-8th spot in next few matches.

[SAM'S]

Alam can also be tried as a make shift opener, as we barely have genuine openers plus he cant fit into the current team realistically speaking!

[Jahangir Khan]

For all those guys who doubted Fawad Alam's six hitting ability, what do you say now? The guy stayed calm under pressure and hit 3 clean sixes. I doubt whether Afridi could have even done as well if he was in the same position.

I thought he should have come in before Afridi and Akmal as he can knock the singles/doubles and as he has shown he can also hit the big shots, well done Fawad.

Regarding his role, in Twenty 20, he should be at 6 but in Odi's he might have to wait until Yousuf finishes up. The only way he can get in the ODI team is if Akmal opens with Butt and Fawad bats at 7. The ODI team would be along the lines of:

Butt
Akmal
Younis
Yousuf
Misbah
Malik
Fawad
Afridi
Tanvir
Shoaib
Gul

[Annie]

He was brought in very late in the innings vs. SL. The guy deserved a promotion to possibly 4 or 5!

The guy can take wickets and he's useful with bat. He needs to become a more regular member of this team. Looking at the current line-up though, only the opening slot appears available.

[amarmak]

Alam... your points seem valid.

But we do have to know if he is comfortable at that level. Anyways he just cemented his place in the t20 squad... i'll let him transition to ODI's and then we'll see where he fits at test level.

The boy is working hard and has proven all his critics wrong.

[umerz]

he shud play a Bevan type role at no 6

[DHONI183]

He should replace Shahid Afridi.

[Monsee]

Fawad's current role in the team is of a 'Railu Kuttaa' i.e. Malik can push him around in to any batting position and if he feels like he can throw the ball to Fawad in the later stages of the game so if Fawad goes for a few runs...everyone will end up blaming Fawad and not Malik!

Now as to whether he can open or be made an opener...well, let him open a few times for his domestic team first before trying it out the Int'l level!

But one thing is certain, he deserves to be coming in right after Misbah or Mlaik and before Akmal, Afridi and the left hand Tuullaa Tanvir

[taqi]

before akmal and Tanveer

[rjk786]

Fawad Alam should replace Shahid Afridi in the team. I admit that Afridi's bowling is very helpful and effective but it is not good enough to keep him in the team. Alam is a much better and more reliable batsman than Afridi and i think his bowling will also improve as he plays more games.

The ODI team at the moment should be:

Salman Butt
Nasir Jamshed (we should continue with him because he's played well)
Younis Khan
Mohammed Yousaf
Shoaib Malik
Misbah Ul Haq
Fawad Alam (should replace Afridi, and could play between the 2 Y's)
Mansoor Amjad or Anwar Ali
Umar Gul
Shaoaib Akhtar
Mohammed Aamer (I think he should be given a good run of games even if it's against the big teams i.e. next series with india)

At the moment i think this is the right team in terms of batting, in the bowling area assuming Mohammed Asif's situation is not cleared up Gul and Akhtar should definately be in the squad. I don't think that Tanvir should be in the ODI and test team at the moment because his bowling is not good enough, however he is a good assest in T20 format. After Alam in the batting order it should either be Mansoor Amjad (spin) or Anwar Ali (fast) or any other bowler that can also bat, however i think a fast bowler is better because Pakistan has always been about pace.

However my main point is that Shahid Afridi should not be in the squad, his bowling is not a good enough reason for him to be in the squad.

[pakcricketfan]

He's already proven himself in every format of the game...which means that he cannot be ignored whatsoever!!
I'd say.. he should come before Akmal,Afridi and Tanvir..

[muhammad saad]

Afridi is the best bowler in Pak side ,He can justify his place as a bowler.

[muhammad saad]

Originally Posted by pakcricketfan He's already proven himself in every format of the game...which means that he cannot be ignored whatsoever!! I'd say.. he should come before Akmal,Afridi and Tanvir..

I think he should be coming 1/2 down (if opener gets a decet start) becuz he can be very lethal with those cheeky singles and doubles with Younis Khan.

[Kray_jackson7]

he is excellent runner between the wickets. i remember him running with s.tanvir and he had run 2 runs and tanvir hadn't even finished a single. it was hilarious. he can take YK's place in t20. not sure about ODI but tests he can play later after he proves himself in odi's. i seem to find tanvir kinda useless to be honest his bowling is poor now and his batting worse.

[xbox]

who is keeper in that playing 11?

[pakcricketfan]

^lol.. I guess YK!