Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Fawad Alam Could Finally Get a Game!

If this news report from Zee is to be believed, Pakistan's team management has been shaken up and has started to think.

Shocking!

They should have done the thinking before embarking that plane to England.

"It is just the start and the players just reached England on Sunday, so they are acclimatising to the conditions. There is no panic but definitely now the option of playing Akmal as an opener and bringing in Fawad Alam in the late order is under consideration" sources in the team told reporters.

I wonder who these sources are.

I heard Intikhab Alam mention the "acclimatising to the conditions" comment and that the players were a bit rusty because they had just arrived in England, but in that same press conference, Intikhab talked of the importance of using regular openers.

So I'm not sure who is thinking of the option to open with Akmal and bringing in Fawad Alam.

Whoever it is, he's some smart ass who needs to be listened to.

I have been talking about including Fawad Alam in the middle order since I don't even remember when.

Fawad is no doubt one of the most talented batsmen in Pakistan who has season after season proven his credential at the domestic level.

With Younis, Misbah, and Malik not in the best of forms, its high time Fawad comes into the mix.

And I hope that this thought is not only under consideration but actually implemented as well; starting with the warm up game against India.

The same source according to the Zee report also said, "The positive thing about playing Fawad at number six or seven is that it adds depth to the batting as he is a reliable and sticky player in any form of the game and he also adds more options to the bowling."

Well about bloody time they realised that!

Make your pitch on this post...



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12 Pitched:

  1. Stani Army said...
     

    Let's just hope the source isn't Fawad Alam himself Q!

  2. Q said...
     

    Lets hope so Stani.

    Btw, some of us Paki and Indian bloggers are getting online tomorrow during the Pak v Ind warm up match and covering it LIVE on this platform called Cover-it-Live.

    Email me on umair dot qazi at gmail dot com if you're interested and will send you an invite.

    Did it during the IPL, it'll be a ball.

  3. Farooq Syed said...
     

    i hope that fawad is sent to bat at a decent position so he gets a fair hit unlike previous occasions when he either didnt get to bat at all or came at the very end. Ahmed Shezad is not fit for this format atleast for the time being, T 20 is about rotating the strike regularly, something shezad has failed to do with success in the games he has played thus far. I hope aamer can make it to the team as well, otherwise I can just imagine Yuvraj and Raina smacking Rao all over the park tommorow.

  4. Q said...
     

    Farooq: Welcome to Well Pitched.

    For Pakistan's sake, I hope both Fawad and Aamer get a game.

    Im not sure if Fawad shud come instead of Butt or Ahmed.. Butt seems to lack the T20 skills.. while Ahmed has played some good attacking knocks..

    And Aamer, I wud rather have him instead of Tanvir who has looked very jaded for a long time now.

  5. Farooq Syed said...
     

    I think Butt is better equipped to handle pressure situations, I would rather have Nasir Jamshed open with Akmal but since he is not even in the squad I think Butt is a safer bet than Ahmed Shezad. I also feel that Tanvir isnt used effectively by Pakistan. If u recall the previous edition of the IPL tanvir was particularly impressive in the end overs with excellent changes of pace and yorkers. I think Pakistan will be better served if they change their strategy and maybe use Saeed Ajmal or Afridi at the start of the innings because as it stands the fast bowlers leave them with too much to do after the 6 overs, and with Gul and tanvir finishing off in the end Pakistan will be able to restrict the oposition to a lesser total. I doubt this would happen considering the old school team management we have in the dressing room.

  6. Q said...
     

    Farooq: U make sense abt how to use Tanvir.. thinking bak, that is how Warne used him.. he used to give him an over at the start and then bring him on at the death.. Wonder why the Pak team mgmt hasn't realised that yet.

    I would also like to see Younis be more flexible with his bowling.. the pacers dont need to bowl 2-3 on the trot.. change them around..

    I agree with u abt the spinners as well.. other teams are looking to attack with them, even bring them in the first 6..

    Its time to be more creative and take risks.. enuff with the defensive approaches.

    Lets c how it goes down today.

    I agree abt Nasir, wish he was there. Imran Nazir even more so.

    But i guess we have to do with Butt and Ahmed who r not that equipped for T20.

  7. Farooq Syed said...
     

    imran nazir and abdur razzaq in this lineup would have been amazing, rana wouldnt be a bad pick either.. its just a shame that we cant feild our best 11 in these major competitions, we never have. One can only imagine how good we can and could have been. There are just too many "what if's" in Pakistan cricket and thats what frustrates me most as a crazy Pakistan fan.

  8. Q said...
     

    You're not the only one Farooq.. these what ifs frustrate all the Pak cricket fans.

    The PCB admins messed up the cricket team big time.. doping issues, ICL defections, none were handled appropriately..

    What could have been is a question that will always linger in our minds.

    Now though, we have to do with what we have, only of they can use the "wat they have" properly, i.e. Alam and Aamer.

  9. khansahab said...
     

    He may get a chance which is good, but let's see what number he is sent in to bat.

    He is likely to make a contribution on the field, because of his fielding. I don't have high hopes with his bowling though. He should be assessed on batting and fielding, like how players like Jayasuria and Yuvraj are assessed.

    Calling him an all rounder is just an excuse to keep him away from the playing XI, because his bowling is mediocre.

  10. Q said...
     

    Khansahab: I agree with that.. Fawad is a batsman foremost.. his bowling is ordinary, can be useful but he's no Afridi or Malik with the ball..

    His batting though is better than most.. and he's been in form for a long time.

    I think he'll be better used at 6, with Afridi at 7..

  11. S Shaikh said...
     

    Q, I totally agree with you including Fawad in playing 11. The poor kid has been performing for last two seasons in the domestic arena. He is by far the best package we have at the moment, good batsmen, decent bowler and a sharp fielder. What else you want? it's a question which I am unble to find out why Younis and our mgmt not including Fawad in playing 11 desptie of so many losses with the same team combination. Open with Akmal and Shahzad, followed by Malik, Fawad, Afridi, Younus, Misbah, Gul, Tanvir/Arafat, Ajmal, Amir. This way team will have perfect combination, 3 seamers, 4 spinners and yeah fresh legs in the field as well. Time to think hard Mr. Younis before your ship sinks for once and for all.

  12. Q said...
     

    S Shaikh: Welcome to Well Pitched.

    Your right, fresher legs and more importantly a gritty middle order batsman is what Fawad will bring to the side.

    I have failed to understand his continuous exclusion.

    He averages 50+ in all formats of the game in the domestic circuit - not many batsmen can boast of the same.

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