Too bad Pakistan aren't gonna play any Tests this yr except for 2 in Sri Lanka till they Tour Australia in December. Doubt he gets a chance in the Odi side and that Australia tour is probably gonna rival the series Australia had with the Windies recently in one sidedness considering Pakistan's current form
reminds me of Ussie coming back into the Australian side and making a century. Hopefully this leads to him claiming a regular spot in the side for at least the near future
Good lord, I wanted to fight everyone who commented on any thread about 'victim complex' of Indians becaus ei didn't believe it, but the more I saw comments like yours, the harder it is for me to do that.
It does matter, cause it leads to all Indian threads only populated by Indian commenters, and all non-Indian threads have Indians being shit on for bringing up anything about their team. Idk about you but I don't think the sub should be that partisan
Honestly bailed out Pakistan in all 4 innings given the situation he came to bat at.
If only Saud and Salman contributed more earlier today on the other hand , he would have saved Babar from more embarrassment.
dont know about the history but it is definitely the most abysmal one in recent times , probably since after Bangladesh moved on from being a meme in Test cricket.
If memory serves right, Rizwan performed brilliantly in Australia, England, and New Zealand in the last 2-3 years. Extremely stupid reactionary takes are flooding Pakistan's socials.
He literally averages 40 or more in all of those countries lol, imagine wanting to drop someone who managed that as a keeper because of a couple of bad matches.
I feel Rizwan was pretty fatigues tbh. Dude played WAYY too much cricket back to back for a wicket keeper, and I'm glad he got a rest for the tests, cuz I can't imagine having to WK on a road for days at a time lmfao
That's true but man, he's too dedicated for his own good.
If a person can say "yes, I''ll play tomorrow" after a night in the ICU (T20 WC 2021), you _know_ he doesn't know his own limits.
What are you talking about? The stumping miss of Kane cost Pak around 170 runs in the first match. Also Sarfaraz missed a stumping as well as 2 catches in this innings.
He also discouraged a few reviews (the keeper gets a big say) that would have been out. Sarfaraz's batting was excellent but he'd the worst keeper I've seen in a long time at international level and that will cost Pakistan games if they don't just play him as a pure batter.
I got so emotional as a Indian fan watching him celebrate his 100, players performing like this against all the odds is absolutely beautiful to watch. Poor guy deserved to win the match but nonetheless what a series for him at home that too first time. Cricketers generally have a special memory and attachment of their home games this guy is playing his first home series now and happy for him as so many ppl flocked in to witness his knock from 2nd session. After all the hate he got post 2019 wc what a way to comeback š.
Sarfraz definitely made sure he's undroppable now for the foreseeable future. But his wicket keeping hasn't been that good and a few of his crucial missed chances means that NZ were able to make some extra runs. I think Rizwan should be back as keeper and Sarfraz can be a specialist batter. I definitely like that Masood has put in so much work to reinvent himself and keep himself relevant but I think in this home season with him only making 20s and 30s at best, he probably is the weakest link and should be making way to get Rizwan back in the team. Shakeel definitely has the temperament, and possibly the skill, to bat 3 for us long term so I'd like him to bat 3 in the SL series and have Sarfraz at 5 as the counter attacking middle order batter.
100% agreed. Saud should have been batting 3 ever since Azhar retired. I think our top 7 batting order in Sri Lanka should be: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Babar Azam (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan (wk).
If we are going to play Salman as batting all-rounder, then it doesn't make sense why he is coming in at 7 or even 8. Move him up to 6 as he bats 5/6 for Southern Punjab already. We can also play a spin all-rounder like Zafar Gohar or Mubasir Khan at 8.
Ya that's the exact top 7 I had in mind. I think with Salman, this series has helped him out a lot. He got runs and took wickets. Normally I'd want Mubasir as the all rounder since he's basically a front line bowler and he's not much worse than Salman in batting (actually has a better FC average), but it would be unjustified to drop Salman at this point.
Agree with that lineup. Feel Saud should just become the Pujara. Dude plays the exact same blockathon, so just bring him in early to dent the new ball.
Rizwan isn't a dedicated keeper though. His career average is the same as Sarfraz while his FC average is marginally higher. He was bad in 2022 but before that he was averaging 40+. If Rizwan gets his form back then he's a much better overall package than Sarfraz thanks to his superior keeping. Also note that Sarfraz is only better than Rizwan in Asia, go anywhere else and Rizwan will probably score more runs.
I hope that he does find his form back. Both of these in form would be great for batting _and_ captaincy as Sarfaraz can be a good mentor for Babar on the pitch.
He does not. He averages that against* Australia. In Australia, he averages 39. Rizwan averages 44 in Australia, although itās a small sample size of 4 innings. Overall, Sarfraz has an away average of 33, and Rizwan 39.
In Australia means playing against Australia in Australia. Against Australia means all matches against them, which includes matches against them both in Australia and at home/neutral venues (in this case UAE).
Yeah, everyone is buzzing out on Safaraz's batting (understandably) but if his keeping wasn't so terrible such heroics are likely not necessary and Pakistan win the second test comfortably. Maybe the first as well.
Great performance, pleased for him. However, Pakistan urgently need to change the state of their pitches. Drab series, kept alive on day 5 by another very sporting declaration from the touring side.
Excellent test return, and what's great is it seems he played without fear. That's EXACTLY when Sarfaraz has always shined. I always felt him pushing himself to 6 or 7, hiding behind others while being captain was exactly what lead to his decline. Instead, if he came in at 4 (in LOI btw), he likely would have done better, and could have stayed in the side.
I do think he's not a good enough WK for tests though, so I don't know who gets dropped to get Rizwan back in, but someone has to make way for Sarfaraz for sure.
On another note, I feel we didn't play Faheem enough. I know he didn't achieve the results, but if we're going to have average bowlers like Mir Hamza or Mohammad Ali, we may as well have Faheem bowl those overs who can also bat a bit š¤·š¾āāļø
Faheem Ashraf has an FC bowling average of 31.
Mir Hamza has an FC bowling average of 22.
Mir Hamza is not an average bowler. Heās just been wasted long enough that Iām afraid heās out of his peak now. But his numbers in FC clearly show heās far better than Faheem Ashraf when it comes to bowling.
Faheem wouldnāt even need to compete with Mir Hamza since Hamza is a proper bowler whereas Faheem is more of an all rounder.
Regardless, being one of the only fast bowling all rounders for Pakistan, Faheem should regardless be in the team no matter what as Pakistan needs fast bowling all rounders.
I mean if neither is going to get a wicket, we may as well take someone that can hold an end up, and then bat when the time comes.
Realistically, only Naseem looked like taking wickets honestly, and it's no surprise Agha Salman took 3 wickets as well (in first innings) :|
Like if our pacers can't get first innings wickets, then we may as well not play them and load up batsmen š¤·āāļø
But he isnāt?
Sarfraz has done some of the worst keeping Iāve seen internationally for a while.
I seriously cannot imagine him as Pakistanās full time WK. All Pakistanis now saying Sarfraz should replace Rizwan because heās scored runs lol. Whatās the point of having someone who can score runs if youāre letting the opposition team score runs through dropped catches? I truly believe that Williamsonās dropped catch cost Pakistan a lot.
Sarfraz has a high average in Asia. Rizwan has made runs in much tougher conditions.
When Sarfraz was replaced by Rizwan, it was strictly based off keeping and not much batting. Sarfrazās 78 doesnāt help much when heās dropping a player multiple times who goes on to make 200 something.
Would Rizwan have made the half century that Sarfraz made? Probably not in his current form. But he at the same time wouldāve also not dropped Williamson and he wouldnāt have gone off to make a double century.
Rambo was right. Sarfraz was the WK team and Rizwan absolutely deserves to replace him as the WK. Pakistanās batting is so unexperienced that Sarfraz should be in the team as a specialist batsman.
Should Sarfraz still be in the team? Absolutely. As a batsman. But based on his keeping alone, never. Rizwan will always win. Heās much more athletic and doesnāt fumble much.
It really shouldn't. Sarfaraz is the worst keeper I've see at international level in a long time and as much as his batting saved/almost won Pakistan the game, his keeping arguably almost lost it. I think you need to find a way to get both in the side.
Hold on. Sarfaraz has been playing since a very long time and he has always been very solid behind the stumps. He's just gotten old and lacks reflexes to keep for 5 days. Do think that you started watching cricket around 2020..
I've been watching cricket since the 90s but if you'll notice my flair I obviously haven't been watching the Pakistani team intensively in that time. I'll take your word for it that he used to be good behind the stumps but he clearly isn't anymore and that will cost you games as it arguably did in this series.
I think he made it up with his runs but I get your point. I don't think he'd be this vulnerable again but surely 5 days to keep is a lot of time. We should look at other options.
Absolute gem of a knock, considering it was a 4th inning chase and he came to bat when team was totally against the wall!
But hey..i am eagerly waiting for our ex players and some media outlets to spark another āanti sarfarazā campaign. How about āthe match drew because sarfaraz wicket keeping was below average?ā Lol
Very well deserved. That's how you make a comeback in international cricket.
Too bad Pakistan aren't gonna play any Tests this yr except for 2 in Sri Lanka till they Tour Australia in December. Doubt he gets a chance in the Odi side and that Australia tour is probably gonna rival the series Australia had with the Windies recently in one sidedness considering Pakistan's current form
Yes, there should be at least three 3 test match series in a year for every test playing nation.
He is playing run a ball, so he might get ODi team
I mean, it says right there in the picture that his strike rate is 65
Yeah maybe she switched average and strike rate
reminds me of Ussie coming back into the Australian side and making a century. Hopefully this leads to him claiming a regular spot in the side for at least the near future
Replace Ussie with an Indian example and watch "don't make it about India" comments galore. On that note, Don't make it about Australia /s
Good lord, I wanted to fight everyone who commented on any thread about 'victim complex' of Indians becaus ei didn't believe it, but the more I saw comments like yours, the harder it is for me to do that.
Been on this sub for a while and have noticed it a lot. Gets really boring hearing the same phrases over and over again
Both can be true at same time. It's true what the guy above said.
Makes it about India anyway
Bruh who cares? Wanna make it about it India, then do it. Downvotes and peeps crying about it doesn't matter.
It does matter, cause it leads to all Indian threads only populated by Indian commenters, and all non-Indian threads have Indians being shit on for bringing up anything about their team. Idk about you but I don't think the sub should be that partisan
CAPTAIN. LEADER. LEGEND
Great comeback
Honestly bailed out Pakistan in all 4 innings given the situation he came to bat at. If only Saud and Salman contributed more earlier today on the other hand , he would have saved Babar from more embarrassment.
Pakistan not winning a single Home test out of 8 has to be one of the longest streaks in Recent history right ? What's the longest streak overall ?
Add the historical context of how good Pakistan generally is(was), this statement is almost unbelievable.
dont know about the history but it is definitely the most abysmal one in recent times , probably since after Bangladesh moved on from being a meme in Test cricket.
What a return. Honestly I was unsure about how he would perform, but he definitely made it clear now. Welcome back (but please not behind the stumps)
Did he yawn tho
May be back as Captain, Inshallah!
We dont play tests for next 6 months. Slot him as proper batter and Rizman as keeper. Problem solved
Should be in ODIs too.
Can he field though? I wouldn't mind sarfu as a keep in ODIs, but in tests he gives away too many chances
Sad thing is, Rizzy is a good fielder but I don't think Sarfraz is
Agreed
Drop Shan Masood. He's been terrible in tests for pak since forever.
Sorry but there's no place for a dedicated keeper. Rizwan needs to become a proper batter now. Until then, a batter is better in that slot.
What? Rizwan averages nearly 40, he's a very very good test batter in a bad bit of form. Ridiculously reactionary.
If memory serves right, Rizwan performed brilliantly in Australia, England, and New Zealand in the last 2-3 years. Extremely stupid reactionary takes are flooding Pakistan's socials.
He literally averages 40 or more in all of those countries lol, imagine wanting to drop someone who managed that as a keeper because of a couple of bad matches.
Well, then he needs to find his form. He's been terrible recently.
I feel Rizwan was pretty fatigues tbh. Dude played WAYY too much cricket back to back for a wicket keeper, and I'm glad he got a rest for the tests, cuz I can't imagine having to WK on a road for days at a time lmfao
That's true but man, he's too dedicated for his own good. If a person can say "yes, I''ll play tomorrow" after a night in the ICU (T20 WC 2021), you _know_ he doesn't know his own limits.
Yep, wonder what made him sit this series out. If he did so bh choice or was forced (I imagine it's the latter lol)
What are you talking about? The stumping miss of Kane cost Pak around 170 runs in the first match. Also Sarfaraz missed a stumping as well as 2 catches in this innings.
He also discouraged a few reviews (the keeper gets a big say) that would have been out. Sarfaraz's batting was excellent but he'd the worst keeper I've seen in a long time at international level and that will cost Pakistan games if they don't just play him as a pure batter.
Sarfraz redemption arc developing nicely.
Really happy for him. I wanted his come back and I wanted him to perform.
I got so emotional as a Indian fan watching him celebrate his 100, players performing like this against all the odds is absolutely beautiful to watch. Poor guy deserved to win the match but nonetheless what a series for him at home that too first time. Cricketers generally have a special memory and attachment of their home games this guy is playing his first home series now and happy for him as so many ppl flocked in to witness his knock from 2nd session. After all the hate he got post 2019 wc what a way to comeback š.
Sarfraz definitely made sure he's undroppable now for the foreseeable future. But his wicket keeping hasn't been that good and a few of his crucial missed chances means that NZ were able to make some extra runs. I think Rizwan should be back as keeper and Sarfraz can be a specialist batter. I definitely like that Masood has put in so much work to reinvent himself and keep himself relevant but I think in this home season with him only making 20s and 30s at best, he probably is the weakest link and should be making way to get Rizwan back in the team. Shakeel definitely has the temperament, and possibly the skill, to bat 3 for us long term so I'd like him to bat 3 in the SL series and have Sarfraz at 5 as the counter attacking middle order batter.
100% agreed. Saud should have been batting 3 ever since Azhar retired. I think our top 7 batting order in Sri Lanka should be: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Babar Azam (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan (wk). If we are going to play Salman as batting all-rounder, then it doesn't make sense why he is coming in at 7 or even 8. Move him up to 6 as he bats 5/6 for Southern Punjab already. We can also play a spin all-rounder like Zafar Gohar or Mubasir Khan at 8.
Ya that's the exact top 7 I had in mind. I think with Salman, this series has helped him out a lot. He got runs and took wickets. Normally I'd want Mubasir as the all rounder since he's basically a front line bowler and he's not much worse than Salman in batting (actually has a better FC average), but it would be unjustified to drop Salman at this point.
Agree with that lineup. Feel Saud should just become the Pujara. Dude plays the exact same blockathon, so just bring him in early to dent the new ball.
Can Pakistan really afford to waste one slot on a dedicated keeper?
Rizwan isn't a dedicated keeper though. His career average is the same as Sarfraz while his FC average is marginally higher. He was bad in 2022 but before that he was averaging 40+. If Rizwan gets his form back then he's a much better overall package than Sarfraz thanks to his superior keeping. Also note that Sarfraz is only better than Rizwan in Asia, go anywhere else and Rizwan will probably score more runs.
I hope that he does find his form back. Both of these in form would be great for batting _and_ captaincy as Sarfaraz can be a good mentor for Babar on the pitch.
Not everywhere. Sarfraz averages 57 in Australia.
He does not. He averages that against* Australia. In Australia, he averages 39. Rizwan averages 44 in Australia, although itās a small sample size of 4 innings. Overall, Sarfraz has an away average of 33, and Rizwan 39.
Wait what. Which other team has he played against in Australia for the average to be different in Aus vs against Aus?
In Australia means playing against Australia in Australia. Against Australia means all matches against them, which includes matches against them both in Australia and at home/neutral venues (in this case UAE).
dedicated keeper is worth it in test cricket imo. Especially if its a gun keeper like rizwan is
Yeah, everyone is buzzing out on Safaraz's batting (understandably) but if his keeping wasn't so terrible such heroics are likely not necessary and Pakistan win the second test comfortably. Maybe the first as well.
Thatās my KING right there
Great performance, pleased for him. However, Pakistan urgently need to change the state of their pitches. Drab series, kept alive on day 5 by another very sporting declaration from the touring side.
Mashallah Sarfaraz
He is the Champ. Great display of batting
Fun fact, people said he's not worth anything as a batsman. Babar didn't even want him to play, Shahid Afridi intervened to get him selected.
Someone give Koach this guy's number.
Koach should meet up with him and shake his hands for the transfer of power (kinda like how it happened with him & Babar XD)
Sarfaraz bhai be like record sambhalu ki zulfe sambhalu
Amazing comeback but I hope we can play Rizwan to wicket keep
He worked on his fitness and came back. Really commendable.
amazing comeback
Saarfu bhai back or what.
Should be part of ODI sqaud as a batsmen
Major Comeback fr š„
Bhai looks fitter and meaner.
What a return for the dude.
Excellent test return, and what's great is it seems he played without fear. That's EXACTLY when Sarfaraz has always shined. I always felt him pushing himself to 6 or 7, hiding behind others while being captain was exactly what lead to his decline. Instead, if he came in at 4 (in LOI btw), he likely would have done better, and could have stayed in the side. I do think he's not a good enough WK for tests though, so I don't know who gets dropped to get Rizwan back in, but someone has to make way for Sarfaraz for sure. On another note, I feel we didn't play Faheem enough. I know he didn't achieve the results, but if we're going to have average bowlers like Mir Hamza or Mohammad Ali, we may as well have Faheem bowl those overs who can also bat a bit š¤·š¾āāļø
Faheem Ashraf has an FC bowling average of 31. Mir Hamza has an FC bowling average of 22. Mir Hamza is not an average bowler. Heās just been wasted long enough that Iām afraid heās out of his peak now. But his numbers in FC clearly show heās far better than Faheem Ashraf when it comes to bowling. Faheem wouldnāt even need to compete with Mir Hamza since Hamza is a proper bowler whereas Faheem is more of an all rounder. Regardless, being one of the only fast bowling all rounders for Pakistan, Faheem should regardless be in the team no matter what as Pakistan needs fast bowling all rounders.
I mean if neither is going to get a wicket, we may as well take someone that can hold an end up, and then bat when the time comes. Realistically, only Naseem looked like taking wickets honestly, and it's no surprise Agha Salman took 3 wickets as well (in first innings) :| Like if our pacers can't get first innings wickets, then we may as well not play them and load up batsmen š¤·āāļø
Kudrat ka nizam ā Saffu ka nizam ā Lights ni hai āļø
Great with the bat, but his glovework was very poor.
Rambo in shambles
Some people are really obsessed with Rambo on this sub...
In general..the obsession this sub has towards certain individuals (two at the moment) is worrisome.
Not obsessed but he should have kept his mouth shut.
But he isnāt? Sarfraz has done some of the worst keeping Iāve seen internationally for a while. I seriously cannot imagine him as Pakistanās full time WK. All Pakistanis now saying Sarfraz should replace Rizwan because heās scored runs lol. Whatās the point of having someone who can score runs if youāre letting the opposition team score runs through dropped catches? I truly believe that Williamsonās dropped catch cost Pakistan a lot. Sarfraz has a high average in Asia. Rizwan has made runs in much tougher conditions. When Sarfraz was replaced by Rizwan, it was strictly based off keeping and not much batting. Sarfrazās 78 doesnāt help much when heās dropping a player multiple times who goes on to make 200 something. Would Rizwan have made the half century that Sarfraz made? Probably not in his current form. But he at the same time wouldāve also not dropped Williamson and he wouldnāt have gone off to make a double century. Rambo was right. Sarfraz was the WK team and Rizwan absolutely deserves to replace him as the WK. Pakistanās batting is so unexperienced that Sarfraz should be in the team as a specialist batsman. Should Sarfraz still be in the team? Absolutely. As a batsman. But based on his keeping alone, never. Rizwan will always win. Heās much more athletic and doesnāt fumble much.
He is gone. Get over it already.
Goat, should he be in odis cause rizwan isn't great in odis
Plays two matches shuts Rizwan out of selection. Whaddaplaya
It really shouldn't. Sarfaraz is the worst keeper I've see at international level in a long time and as much as his batting saved/almost won Pakistan the game, his keeping arguably almost lost it. I think you need to find a way to get both in the side.
Hold on. Sarfaraz has been playing since a very long time and he has always been very solid behind the stumps. He's just gotten old and lacks reflexes to keep for 5 days. Do think that you started watching cricket around 2020..
I've been watching cricket since the 90s but if you'll notice my flair I obviously haven't been watching the Pakistani team intensively in that time. I'll take your word for it that he used to be good behind the stumps but he clearly isn't anymore and that will cost you games as it arguably did in this series.
I think he made it up with his runs but I get your point. I don't think he'd be this vulnerable again but surely 5 days to keep is a lot of time. We should look at other options.
Babar is overrated.. Sarfaraz is your saviour
Frandship ended with Riwan. Sarfaraaz is my new best frand.
As a captain yes. But it's not like we can drop Babar from the team.
As a captain he is not even rated..
*yawn*
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No need to belittle his performance. He has done great.
Not a big deal on that highway
Sarfaraz BazBall >>>>
Absolute gem of a knock, considering it was a 4th inning chase and he came to bat when team was totally against the wall! But hey..i am eagerly waiting for our ex players and some media outlets to spark another āanti sarfarazā campaign. How about āthe match drew because sarfaraz wicket keeping was below average?ā Lol
His reaction to the haters: 
