When will we (The Pakistani Fans) be Happy?
Drop Hafeez.
Drop Ahmed Shehzad.
Make Kamran Akmal open.
No, replace Kamran Akmal and make Umar Akmal keep.
Wahab Riaz should be in the team.
Replace Rehman with Saeed Ajmal.
Replace Umar Akmal with Asad Shafiq.
Is there anything else that Pakistani fans want?
I think it is high time that we stop acting as selectors of the team and focus on celebrating its successes.
I mean seriously, is there nothing that makes us happy?
Pakistan has played 3 matches in the World Cup and have won all 3!
What more do we want?
If we all understand the game so well, then we all should also understand the age-old captaincy rule - never change a winning combination.
And never means never!
We don't have an opening problem. We don't need Asad Shafiq in the middle order. We don't need Razzaq to bat higher. We have what we want.
Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have been one of the most stable opening partnerships that Pakistan has had in a long time.
Each of them have a century in their last 10 ODI games. So what if they haven't notched up big scores in the World Cup yet? We all know that once either one gets a ton, Pakistan will win the game.
After a long long time, Pakistan have a stable top 6. Each batsman knows where they are going to bat and what their role is, and so far they have been fulfilling it well. Yes, they failed against Canada but that happens. We don't need to change anything in the batting order - it is a settled one and looks good.
And the best part about it, if any of the top 6 get a big score, we know Pakistan will win the game.
Why do Pakistani fans feel that Razzaq is being wasted at number 8? Have we forgotten his weakness against spin?
Razzaq's strength is finishing an innings with a bang. There are very few batsmen that can demolish an attack in the death overs the way Razzaq can, and Pakistan have got him in the role that suits him best. Ideally, Razzaq at number 8 will walk out to bat in the last 5-7 overs and that is when he will be at his destructive best.
Why do you want Wahab Riaz in place of a batsman? Canada showed how our batting can implode and they also showed how our bowling is much stronger than most of our fans think it is.
Pakistan is not playing an extra batsman. Pakistan is playing a well balanced side with 5 batsmen, a keeper, 2 allrounders, and 3 specialist bowlers. Balance does not come better than that!
As for Rehman and Saeed Ajmal - I guess they really are replaceable (by each other). I don't think either is better than the other and either can do the job that Pakistan requires of them. For whatever reason, the team management prefers Rehman and we should just let it be.
Today, Pakistan showed that they have the ability to come out of any situation, which is an amazing quality to have - instead of cribbing about our batting performance, we should be harping on about how we fought back hard. Its a champion quality to come back from the dead - whether the team does it or one person does not matter.
The best part about Pakistan's first XI that played in the matches against Kenya and Sri Lanka is that there are 9 match winners in there, if not 10. We need just 1 of them to click for Pakistan to win the match. Unfortunately no one clicked with the bat against Canada, but Afridi did with the ball and that is all that was required.
Younis Khan put it out there perfectly when he was asked about the low total. He said "it wasn't low, it was more than enough for Canada".
What a brilliant reply!
If only the Pakistani fans were also just as positive.
And to answer the question in the title of this post - I guess we will be happy if Pakistan wins the ODI World Cup, but we should also be happy knowing that that is also what the team wants and that is what the team is working towards.
Let them do the work and decide on the roles to achieve the goal, and lets just be happy supporting them and their decisions.
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bravo!! that is a post from a true Pakistani fan. Sitting comfortably on a sofa with a belly and shouting at TV does not make you a know-it-all.
It is a completely different picture when you are playing the game. I have a lot of faith in Waqar's judgement and Afridi's ability to rally everyone around him.
I believe we should be patriotic and kick the bad eggs from the team.. yes I am talking about Kamran Akmal who ia not only the worst keeper in the cricket history but also suspected of match fixing on numerous occasions.. Down with Kamran Akmal