2nd Test: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Dubai, January 8-12, 2014

[Captain1]

Re: 2nd Test: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Dubai, January 8-12, 2014

@phoenixdesi

i have now seen enough of bilawal and he is not good enough for test matches…not a bad find to fill all-rounder shoes for ODIs but he shd not play as a front-line bowler in test matches

rahat ali…who is this guy? apparently he bowls well in net …so?

ajmal did a lot for us but running out of mileage now

I’d persist with Bilawal for lack of any other bowlers, the other option would be Anwar Ali IMO.

Rahat Ali took 6 wickets in an inning in Centurion against SA last year, 5 against minnow Zimbabwe in total of his 5 prior test matches. May be he is not able to extract advantage in dead UAE pitches.

@GoldenAsif

In the absence of very good-keepers let alone wicket-keeper batsmen in the country, perhaps it is time to consider playing Umar Akmal as a wicket-keeper-batsman in tests. His glove work is adequate plus he is a specialist batsman. For sure wicket-keeper should be judged on glove work not batting, but in the absence of a genuine test all-rounder you do need a keeper who can contribute with both bat and gloves. If he ceases to contribute, the team’s construction is thrown off balance.

I wouldn’t break Umar Akmal just for that. Instead I’d remove Hafeez, add Sohaib and persist with a specialist keeper.