Do you think Hafeez deserves a place in the side. He is way too shaky as an opener and that’s actually the only reason he is in the team. Razzaq and Shoaib Malik are far better all rounders then Hafeez and I don’t think Hafeez can get a place in the side as a specialist bowler. So basically he either opens for Pakistan or looses his place in the side. He is a decent allrounder but too inconsistent to be an opener. I think he should still play in the last ODI and if he fails to deliver then too he should be booted out. We have a lot of these bits and pieces players now. They are not complete batsmen or complete bowlers. Hafeez does not get a place in the side a specialist bowler or batsman. He is an outstanding fielder but that alone should not give him a place in the side.
Imran Nazir looked in fine nick today. Plus time is on Nazir’s side too he is young and can learn. When Taufeeq comes back I think we can stick with Nazir and Taufeeq combination. Although Taufeeq has also been shaky and inconsistent but I think he is still a better batsman then Hafeez. Otherwise there are some promising names in the domestic circuit. We could give Imran Farhat another chance. He is an attacking left hand opener. If Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat can improve a little that opening pair would be dynamite. A left hand/right hand combination and both aggressive. But for now I think Nazir and Taufeeq will do.
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*Originally posted by Mr Xtreme: *
Hafeez's footwork looks shaky to me. He doesn't get very far forward or back and as he's not a dominating player I think his technique should be perfect to justify selection.
Hafeez's place in the team is being threatened by his continious poor showing in the last few games. I think a stronger team like SA will exploit his weaknesses to the full. I am not sure that Imran Nazir is the answer. He is too aggressive and loses his concentration and his wicket.
I agree Ehsan bhai but what is Miandad getting the big bucks for. I read his autobiography and he jsut have the wrong concept of what a coach's job is. He expects the captain to consult him during the course of the match and he wants to send messages from the dressing room and be a part of match strategy and stuff like that. That’s all fine but he also needs to work on players technical flaws. Sending players messages from the dressing room to slow down and watch for the bad ball wont cut it. He needs to work on them, tell them what they did wrong and what they should do to correct the problem.
I initially favoured Hafeez because I thought he could anchor the innings by not playing aggressively while all the other players played around him. Sadly it is not happening.
Mohammad Hafeez isnt a dominating player and he is far too inconsitent with the bat, he bowls well.. Thats wat Afridi used to to . The only difference between him and Afridi was that Bowlers dismiss Hafeez, whereas Afridi dimisses himself!
Hafeez doesn't seem to be batting the way he used to. He was very slow in his approach during Sharjah and now he seems to be agressive which is obviously not working for him.
I would still prefer Hafeez over Nazir, because he can also bowl, and chips in with 2 or 3 wickets every often.
I dont think there is anything wrong with opening with allrounders as long as they are capable. Razzaq and S Malik are both very handy late middle order batsmen and thats the best place for thme to be. Hafeez is way to inconsisten to be a regualr opener. I think someone like Salamn Butt can form a good opening pair with Imran Nazir if they both use their head. They are both talented. Imran Nazir has a wide variety of shots but he gets too carried away. If they can develop the right temprament I think they can serve Pakistan cricket for a long time.
i think someonw here said don't open with all-rounders. That is a really good point. The opener is such a crucial position that you would like a specialist batsman at the position.
Hafeez may be half decent as a test opener. But he just can't do the job at the ODI level.
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*Originally posted by LahoriMunda: *
I dont think there is anything wrong with opening with allrounders as long as they are capable. Razzaq and S Malik are both very handy late middle order batsmen and thats the best place for thme to be. Hafeez is way to inconsisten to be a regualr opener. I think someone like Salamn Butt can form a good opening pair with Imran Nazir if they both use their head. They are both talented. Imran Nazir has a wide variety of shots but he gets too carried away. If they can develop the right temprament I think they can serve Pakistan cricket for a long time.
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I agree with you 100%, It is time to make some changes to opening pair and fix the problem with opening pair.
no kidding, why was he dropped after the WC in the first place? he played quite well in the 4 matches he got a chance in to the best of my knowledge…he was actually quite a solid ODI batsman…they should stick with imran nazir as opener for a while now, if they want him to open then they cant keep putting him in for one match and taking him out the next…also sticking to the pcb’s warmful attitude to give any player a chance… they should bring back hasan raza
