Abid, Faheem to make way for Amir, Asif?
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LAHORE: Opener Abid Ali’s World Cup dream might be over even before it starts and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf could lose his place in the Pakistan side just when he wouldn’t want it to happen.
To accommodate experienced pacer Mohammad Amir and hard-hitting batsman Asif Ali, Pakistan’s final 15-man squad for the World Cup might not include Abid and Faheem when it is announced on May 23.
Faheem has been given chances in the ongoing five-match One-day International series against England. On the other hand, Abid has not been tested in any of the matches — including against county sides — in England so far.
Abid, who finished as the highest run-scorer in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy — Pakistan’s premier first-class cricket tournament — and scored a century on his debut against Australia in the UAE, was expected to be in the World Cup squad initially.
Amir was not selected in the preliminary squad for the World Cup due to poor form, but after the Pakistan bowling attack’s drubbing in the first two England ODIs, critics have pointed out Pakistan were missing Amir. The selectors are seeming to have been shaken by the pressure.
Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2019
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Comments (18) Closed
May 17, 2019 09:56am
Dont worry we have enough firepower
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May 17, 2019 10:26am
Why was Abid Ali selected if he never got a chance to play against England? Amir has not taken a wicket for ages it is time to eliminate the machine.
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May 17, 2019 10:45am
Too early to say.
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May 17, 2019 11:05am
How shameful and dishonest our selectors are, they already had made up their mind to include Amir and sack Abid Ali. They just played a drama and dropped a player with out giving chances to him. As long as Inzimam is selector he will never allow Abid a place because success of Abid is directly going to impact imam.
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May 17, 2019 11:41am
Now Inzi and cronies are talking sense...Please do the needful asap...Asif Ali and Amir ....is needed......to have some balance....
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May 17, 2019 11:48am
What's wrong with making amends for the sake of playing it safe? After all, we are well aware of our shortcomings in the bowling department. The two ODIs taught us the lesson that the team that wants to win could only do it by restricting or containing the opposition in the middle and death overs. Lack of fire in the bowling department has cost Pakistan both the ODIs and, believe it or not, dealt a big blow to its morale even before the tournament has begun. Batting is of very little concern here as compared to bowling and, therefore, it was imperative to strengthen the bowling lineup.
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May 17, 2019 02:05pm
Good decision(Sorry for Abid Ali though)! Please include Wahab Riaz instead of Hasnine or expensive S. Adrdi.
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May 17, 2019 03:23pm
Abid should be used this is what is happening talents are not been given a chance. What special talent has imam ul haq got except that he has been given a chance to show himself. This is not justice. Abid is a talented responsible player.He should be included in the squad.
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May 17, 2019 03:54pm
No doubt greenshirts opening batsman Abid Ali is a great talent and wonderful asset but unfortunately, with Inzamam-ul-Haq as chief selector, it's next to impossible that he will be included in the final 15- men squad for the 2019 World Cup Cricket Tourney in place of Imam-ul-Haq, the nephew of the Chief selector, who has been an "all weather" member of the team since day one of his uncle's appointment as PCB's chief selector.
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May 17, 2019 06:47pm
I wish M .Amir good luck in his comeback , it looks like 400 runs will be the average winning target .
If M. Amir gets his form back Pakistan can cruze
smoothly to the World Cup semifinals. Hopefully they can go all the way.
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May 17, 2019 09:47pm
@JackJones, How may wickets has Faheem taken? As few as Amir, but at least Amir has pace and can make batsmen play cautiously. Besides, it was initially thought that Fahem can hit a bit, though none of that has translated into any meaningful scores so far. So, I'd say drop Faheem and bring in Amir....at least he is a genuine fast bowler.
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May 18, 2019 08:35am
@Sam, Its not shameful,i dont know about Abid but Amir has to be in the team,says not just me,Wasim Akram,Waqar,Ramiz..they are not dummies,they know cricket..without Amir our fast bowling is a joke.
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May 18, 2019 10:32am
Amir million times better than Shaheen Afridi or Hasnain and Junaid Khan.The last 3 are struggling.At least they can try bowling proper line and length.They were bowling all over the places on both side of wicket which no captain can provide field placement.
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May 18, 2019 12:42pm
@JackJones, this is the problem with the Pakistanis. They don’t persist with talented lads and one or two failures should be good enough to give the boot. Shame!
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May 18, 2019 01:27pm
@JackJones, amir may not have taken wickets but he has the ability to contain batsmen ans stop runs. Others are giving away zillion of runs and not taking wickets either, n current series
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May 18, 2019 02:08pm
Common sense has finally made its way to Inzimams brain as Amir was the bowler who won you the champions trophy last time in England. How he was left out in the first place is amazing. Then again this is Pakistan nothing surprises me family looks after family.
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May 18, 2019 02:11pm
Jack Jones I really dont think you know much about Cricket if you did you would realise how good a bowler Amir is especially in English conditions. Maybe your an Indian!!!
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May 18, 2019 04:43pm
Pakistan should recall Wahab Riaz for Abid Ali, Amer for Faheem and Shadab for Yasir. I think the team can afford to drop a batsman and add a bowler. Inzimzm, look into it please. if you want the team to compete and win.
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