Younis or Asad: Chief selector heads for Sharjah
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LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selection committee and the team management are divided on the inclusion of Younis Khan or Asad Shafiq in the ODI squad for the England series.
The selection committee wants to include Younis in the squad who scored 257 runs in the four innings of the first two Tests against England and during its course completed his 9,000 Test runs.
On the other hand, the team management is in favour of Asad Shafiq who scored more runs than Younis in the two Tests against England.
In order to solve the problem and finalise the squad, chief selector Haroon Rashid is going to Sharjah to watch the third Test against England, starting from Sunday. Pakistan is leading the three Test series 1-0.
Sources told Dawn that the performance of Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali remained below par in the last ODI series which they played against a weak side like Zimbabwe.
They did not play the Tests against England.
Shehzad scored 17, 7, 12, 32 runs in the last four innings of the Zimbabwe series while Azhar could only score 1 and 11 runs in the two matches of the same series.
“The upcoming England series in an importance chance for Azhar to regain his form,” the sources said.
“Under these circumstances, Younis deserves another chance to prove his mettle in the ODIs,” the sources further said.
When asked where the two emerging middle-order batsmen Haris Sohail and Sohaib Maqsood were, the sources added that they had fitness issues and they had no chance of staging a comeback in near future.
Meanwhile, Haroon met PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to discuss the issue of Younis and Asad.
He will be in a better position to announce the ODI squad after getting the feedback from head coach Waqar Younis and other members of the team management in Sharjah.
It is important to mention here that Pakistan needs to maintain its place among top eight teams in the ICC rankings till September 2017 to qualify for the 2019 World Cup failing which they have to play the qualifying round.
Published in Dawn October 29th, 2015
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Comments (45) Closed
Oct 29, 2015 11:28am
My vote goes to Younis Khan.
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Oct 29, 2015 11:39am
Yunus and Asad both are not suit for limited over format. They are awesome in tests. So they only should to consider for tests. Misbah is much better than these two for limited over games but unfortunately he has retired. I think pak should go for new bloods for this format.
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Oct 29, 2015 11:41am
Drop Hafeez. Yunus and Asad should be in. Bring Fawad Alam
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Oct 29, 2015 11:50am
Better to choose someone else but if the choice is only these two then YK
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Oct 29, 2015 12:09pm
Once again Younis khan making his way back into ODIs after performing in test matches .
Yet another disgraceful failure awaits him.
Before 4th one day every Cricket follower in pakistan will be shouting to throw him out .
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Oct 29, 2015 12:22pm
shafiq strike rate is pathetic 69 in odi..y selectors even consider him in odi??its amazing really..drop shahzad also ...he have the worst strike rate of 72 in odi among openers in world ..dont understand y people call him aggresive....forget about shafiq,younis,shahjad,hafeez...bring sami aslam,babar azam....starting 11 should be...azhar,sami,azam,malik,sarfaraz,rizwan,imaad,wahab,irfan,sohail,yasir
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Oct 29, 2015 12:42pm
Honestly they both are absolutely pathetic in shorter versions especially Shafiq who is the worst ODI batsman in the last 5 years. Nobody knows why he gets picked up ?? So frustrating for a fan if his name is again being considered. And I again see someone rooting for Fawad Alam. Not sure who these guys are who don't even know the difference between a first class player and an international player. At best he can play only against minnows as opined by those who know international cricket. Babar Azam is one who has shown promise so he can be tried but not at high pressure positions which will allow him to settle down in the team.
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Oct 29, 2015 12:55pm
Younus Khan is the best choice. Nothing matters more than a 9000 runs work champion. He will score runs in ODI too InshaAllah.
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Oct 29, 2015 12:56pm
Why are they considering between younis, asad and azhar? These guys are the most reliable batsmen in Pakistan after Misbah.
The ones should be on the chopping block are Shoaib Malik, Hafeez, Shahzad etc who are flash but totally unreliable. Ridiculous selection policy!!!
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Oct 29, 2015 01:09pm
Younus
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Oct 29, 2015 01:15pm
Asad Shafiq. Younger player. Solid defense. Many times we have seen our batting collapse. We need a rock in the team to stable the innings. What is the point of getting all hitters if the team is all out under 30 overs. Lets use common sense.
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Oct 29, 2015 01:21pm
These selectors have dragged Pakistan down to 9th in the ranking only because of their wrong choices. How in the world can some one with cricket sense consider Asad with an average of 24 and SR of 67 for ODIs and that too after he has been tried for 58 matches. Mr. HAROON RASHID needs to come out of 1990s mod and select some aggressive batsmen. Even Haris Sohail with an average of 43 and SR of 83 is a much better choice than these two.
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Oct 29, 2015 01:41pm
I have no idea how do these people run such an important organization like PCB? They are again going to "give another chance" to younis khan who has been a flop in ODI and T20 cricket. Yes he is a class act in tests but why give another chance to a man who will certainly not be eligible to play the next world cup. Even a blind person can judge that we need to put in trust in Harris sohail and sohaib maqsood!
Asad shafiqe is the biggest "parchi" after Ahmad shahzad. Even a person who does not follow cricket can tell that asad does not have the skills needed to counter bowlers in ODI. PCB needs to revamp! young people need to come in. The only cricket board where 60% of its employees are aged 80 plus and 90% employees are 60 plus. GOD HELP US AND PCB!
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Oct 29, 2015 01:55pm
Asad Shafiq is NOT an ODI player .. it will be an injustice to include him and he fails affecting his confidence. He is a good test batsman. Yunis has immense experience under his belt - if Ahmed Shahzad and Azhar are both doubtful starters, Yunis would be a good replacement.
However, i would strongly advocate Umar Akmal as the ideal ODI batsman
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Oct 29, 2015 02:17pm
@Rameez - pls see Younis Khan's T20 record before you make such assertions.
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Oct 29, 2015 02:17pm
Younis is my favourite in tests. Not so sure about him for ODI's.
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Oct 29, 2015 02:28pm
"Younis Khan or Asad Shafiq in the ODI squad "
I won't be surprise to see Imran Farhat's name instead of Younis or Asad.
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Oct 29, 2015 02:29pm
Neither should be in odi. Fawad has no chance in odi cos he cannot clear the infield especially to England bowling attack.
I still think Pak should playe fearless cricket in odi just like Afg yesterday in t20. The opener charged out first ball. Knowing Pak, they will have a sedate start in first 15 overs.
Anyway England defo gonna win odi and t20 series
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Oct 29, 2015 02:43pm
@shehryar bukhari Do you watch much cricket? What has this Pakistan line up achieved in odis in the past 10 years or so? They can barely chase anything above 200, the last century a player made was against Ireland out of all teams, and they cant even score above 250 batting first. You might want to go and do some reading but in 2005, the last time any batsman from the subcontinent scored a hundred in England, was Younis Khan. That was under the lights, chasing a par score against one of the best England bowling attacks in memory. Your ignorance leaves be bewildered. I presume you would want someone with Afridis mentality, swing your bat and then walk back and get all the fans screaming your name. Pathetic.
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Oct 29, 2015 02:49pm
why not Umar Akmal?
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Oct 29, 2015 02:50pm
Both are not suitable for ODI and T20 format... keep both aside since their strike rate is not good and cause the team to suffer alot....
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Oct 29, 2015 02:50pm
@kash : "Fawad has no chance in odi cos he cannot clear the infield especially to England bowling attack."
you better start watching Baseball.. because your cricketing knowledge is equivalent to Rana Sanaullah's knowledge about politics.
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Oct 29, 2015 02:56pm
How many chances Younis will get in ODI's. His batting average hovers around 30 in ODI after playing 15 years of cricket. Younis wants to be in ODI and twenty-twenty on the basis of his batting performance in Tests.
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Oct 29, 2015 02:57pm
@haris Im in agreement with Kash. The last time Alam played an odi his technique was found wanting badly. Pak were chasing another 20 odd I believe against New Zealand and he just could not even get ball to bat. It was embarrasing how much he was struggling to even hit the ball let alone score some runs. He is a t20 player at best and that too on a pitch that favours him. Thereafter of course he was dropped.
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Oct 29, 2015 03:22pm
@Shahid Well! Fawad's career record is way better than many you would think of. Anyway, if there is anyone who can be trusted over Fawad Alam than he should be given the chance. But please no more Akmals and Farhat.
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Oct 29, 2015 03:27pm
@haris I agree but he needs a bit more time to develop. He is no doubt a good player but at the moment he needs to iron out his flaws. The Akmal brothers and Farhat were a dirty disease in the squad, slapping police officers and other officials, they should be kept away forever. I blame Afridi for creating such a mentality in the team. Lack of discipline and acting like you were king of the world. Unfortunately in a money driven world, blonde streaks and the like sell, as players, these guys werent worth anything.
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Oct 29, 2015 03:42pm
Ideally both of them should not be included in the ODI team. However if the choice has to be made between the two, Asad Shafiq should be preferred over Younis Khan. He is young and has just started his career. Younis Khan should stop thinking of ODI cricket and focus entirely on tests.
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Oct 29, 2015 04:09pm
Since Jan 2013 Younis has played 17 ODI and scored at the average of 20.47
How can they consider him for ODIs
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Oct 29, 2015 04:10pm
when pak have young talents like babar azam,sami aslam so y they need younis and shafiq....y sami aslam was dropped after only one odi match against bangladesh in which he scored 45 and they replaced him with overrated shahzad who have pathetic strike rate.....opening partnership of azhar and shahzad is pathetic really..both have strike rate in 70s...and m very sure selectors dont even know a player named sadaf hussain exists in pakistan otherwise how can he be overlooked again and again even after those amazing stats..
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Oct 29, 2015 04:11pm
Neither of them. Get a new lad from domestic to play in middle order. They both are very ordinary limited over players.
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Oct 29, 2015 04:40pm
Why they have to go to sharjah to select the team ?
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Oct 29, 2015 04:49pm
Yunus & Asad r in great form of their time, drop oldage, Hafiz & Shohaib Malik both have no future in Pak team, and not in form, Azhar is similar have very weak batting and strike rate, give him more rest. Yunus will takeover from Misbah as Captain, and ODI will Sarfarz is suitable captain with ASAD or Fawad Alam as VC.
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Oct 29, 2015 05:16pm
Asad is better choice as younis has served lot more to country, now the chance should be given to younger generation.
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Oct 29, 2015 05:27pm
Both Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq have flopped in ODI - Younis has been a ODI flop for 10+ years while Asad never has impressed anybody in ODI.
Harris Sohail, Sohaib Maqsood, Muqtar Ahmed and Fawad Alam are needed.
My ODI XI: Muqtar Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood, Harris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Mohammed Rizwan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammed Irfan, Yasir Shah
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Oct 29, 2015 05:48pm
Time to move on and think of future. Forget Younis he is not indispensable he has been avg at best in ODI. Its better to think of future and give Asad more exposure. Asad can only get better, Younis will only get worse due to age.
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Oct 29, 2015 06:11pm
@syed
What a suggestion!
Fawad Alam !Lol!!!!!!
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Oct 29, 2015 06:15pm
Both YK and AS should not be selected for the odis.
A.Shahzad should be given an other chance as he is not that bad,sitting outside the tests ,he must have learnt something good.
YK is a test player,Y he wants to earn disgrace playing odis?
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Oct 29, 2015 06:23pm
What were averages and accomplishments of Haroon Rashid??? I have seen him and why does he have to go to Sharjah...for shopping?? Anyways, PCB never listens to nation who know much more than PCB. Ahmed Shezad is younger Afridi...lot to talk but nothing to perform.
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Oct 29, 2015 06:37pm
If I was to choose between younis khan and asad I will prefer younis. Due to experience we need person like him on the order, who knows younis may come back as shohaib malik did. Anway asad has not proved to be on the odi so far maybe he needs some push so he can play well because someone needs to replace younis bhai I hope that would be asad or someone. Good luck pakistan.
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Oct 29, 2015 06:38pm
Include youngster like muhammad rizwan instead of these two test players. Younis had his chances as one day player and so did Shafiq. Find the right combination so that we can prepare for the next world cup NOW.
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Oct 29, 2015 07:13pm
I do not understand why there is so much like for Fawad Alam, he falls over while playing cut and pull shots, his stance is a joke and the worst thing is that despite of having better options than him people are suggesting Fawad Alam. Nothing personal but its laughable to see him bat. PCB please forget him and forgive us . If you have to pick a left hander for ODIs Shan Masood is much better than him with wide range of shots and a nice attitude. He is very elegant batsman . Please give chance to Imran Kahn in ODIs as well just because he is very committed and disciplined .
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Oct 29, 2015 07:22pm
Why can't we stop thinking about thinking about for the one dayers? He is good for test cricket but not one day. Let it go for God's sake.
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Oct 30, 2015 12:18am
@Shahid
Ever heard of short term memory loss??
You're one classic case
Talking about 2005 and completely forgetting his recent world cup performance when every cricket follower/analyst was begging Younis to leave .
We have so many young cricketers who have a lot of potential to settle and perform in middle order but this guy keeps coming back through pressure tactics every time .
Mr shahid ! I maintain my stance about him and I'll see you again in comments section after this one day series .
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Oct 30, 2015 02:43am
neither, how about fawad alam
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Oct 30, 2015 03:05am
That's why they are called selectors and are also paid for the rough and tough task of selecting the team.
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