In terms of team selection, this has become the biggest question for Pakistan’s Champions Trophy campaign. The rest of the team almost picks itself and I expect the openers to fare much better on India’s helpful tracks.

A straight swap would bring in Faisal Iqbal, a young man whose talent many people doubt but who nonetheless has shown flashes of brilliance. Anybody who earns praise from Shane Warne must have something about him.

Another option might be to play Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, and Shoaib Malik in the top three. But that brings us to the possibility of Younis Khan dropping down the order, and that might be a move that is widely criticised especially if it fails.

Pakistan could of course play Shoaib Malik at 5, and that’s the option I’d go for. Always bearing in mind that Pakistan’s multitude of all-rounders offers great flexibility and Shahid Afridi batting in a Powerplay might win you the match in a few breathtaking overs.

I strongly feel that Pakistan should experiment with two captains, one for ODI (Younis)and the other for tests ( Inzamam). As regards replacing Inzy for tests I agree the slot is difficult to fill but he is now a liability in ODI's.
How do I justify the above statement, simply do a few calculations. Inzy gives away around 15-20 runs in the field ( fielding) but more importantly he misses at least 20-30 singles (or doubles when they have to be rushed)that adds upto around 40-50 runs. Now he has to score around 70-80 every time to justify his inclusion and that is not going to happen every time.
Much as I admire him as a brilliant batsman almost in the class of Ponting, Lara and Tendulkar his time for ODI retirement is due. If it happens before the World Cup it will be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan and more importantly would also solve the " Dummy Captainship" issue. From amongst the names mentioned M. Hafeez is really versatile so are the others.

I have been a fan of Inzamam's ever since I first saw him in the semi final match of the 1992 World Cup against New Zealand. I was only 8 years old then and 14 years on I never cease to be amazed by the grace and power that he brings to the crease. He is without a doubt a pivotal player in the middle order and until very recently the idea of his retirement sent shivers down my spine. However the last few series have seen two players in particular shed their tags of fair weather performers and step up to the big leagues. I am of course speaking of Mohd. Yousuf and Younis Khan who are currently ranked 3rd and 4th in the Test rankings for batsmen. Their meteoric rise has pacified me to some extent, but the departure of Inzamam will still leave a big hole in the team. The Pakistani batting order should reflect our strengths and attempt to cover our weaknessess. Our weakness traditionally has been the no. 1 and 2 slot, the strength being the middle order of Yousuf, Younis and Inzy and the late order hitting of Razzak and Akmal. Unfortunately there is no Inzy for the Champions Trophy so a replacement is necessary. Shahid Afridi I believe remains a critical player in the OD team and his batting skills should be utilized in conditions most favorable to him i.e when the ball is new, the bowler is trying to find his mark and the field is in. For a long time I considered Shoaib Malik to be wrongly positioned at the top order, but despite being forced in to a role perhaps suited for a batsmen of greater talent, he has shown himself capable of adapting, I still believe though that he can be fine tuned in to a great finisher as he is a fast runner and good at poking the ball around. Which means that Imran Farhat should partner Afridi at the top of the order. No.3 should be Yousuf, followed by Younis and Faisal Iqbal. The best batsmen must be allowed to play the maximum amount of overs so that they can dictate the course of the innings, rather than trying to salvage it at 40/3. The No. 6, 7 and 8 spots go to Shoaib, Razzak and Akmal, while Rana (no. 9), Shoaib (no. 10), and Asif (no.11) bring up the tail. So basically heres my team which should bring Pakistan victory in the Champions Trophy:

1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahid Afridi
3. Mohd. Yousuf
4. Younis Khan
5. Faisal Iqbal
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Abdul Razzak
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naveed
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohd. Asif

Inzamam will be sorely missed, but for the first time in years it seems that our middle order is capable of handling the load without Inzy.

younis khan shud bat down the order alowing mohnd hafiz, imran farhat and shoaib malik playing at top three

I think that Pakistan should have Yasir Hameed open the innings and bring down Shoaib Malik to number 6. Yasir Hameed always gives good opening starts and even when his partner fails he goes on to make a fifty or hundred. There's Yousuf, Younis and possibly Akmal at 5. If Yousuf and Younis give Pakistan a solid partnership, Akmal, Malik, Afridi and Razzaq can all score quickly at the death. Imran Nazir, Hafeez or Butt should open the innings with Yasir Hameed. You have five good batsman, three excellent all-rounders lower down(Afridi, Malik, Razzaq), a wicket-keeper who can bat and some fast bowlers lower down to bowl out(or at least injure) the opposition. If one doesn't perform, another will. Pakistan can't lose a match.

Morning Guys

Well very intresting topic tht who can replace Inzi? i think no one can bcoz the way things r going in pakistan cricket team and the way the selection and things r going i think they wont be able to find inzaman replacment in next couple of years, but i think the best option is to give a all rounder a chance rather thn giving faisal Iqbal a chance bcoz in one day cricket All Rounders plays important role so i think if younas comes to bat at no 5 or 4 tht be good or if he take some more responsibility thn bat at no 3 and drop hafeez to no 5 or 6 and let afridi open the inning i think its gona help alot but to be honest no 1 can replace inzi bcoz he got his own class like wasim akram he is a batsman and half and i think every1 knwz tht but i think to replace inzi is captain younas is a best option but as a batsman give some one new chance rather thn faisal iqbal bcoz he is not ideal one day player but i think he is a gud test player so gud luck pakistan in champion trophy

Afridi should open with Hafeez with Malik at no 3 and Younis and Yousuf to follow at 4 and 5 respectively.

I think its high time Pakistan Team Management realized that although all rounders are important to ODI cricket an overdose of these all rounders can back fire. From my standpoint i dont think we should be playing Shoaib Malik and Hafeez in the same XI especially considering Shoaib Malik's form with the bat. He has done nothing of note since returning from injury his batting during England series was nothing to write home about and the trend continued in the match between Sialkot and UP. I would rather open with Hafeez and Imran Farhat and would stick with these two throughout not only the ICCT but also the WI series i think we have a long term solution to opening problems in these two, Younis can come in at 3, Yousaf at 4 and Faisal, Afridi and Razzak can make up the numbers 5, 6 and 7 with Akmal, Akhter, Asif and Rana making up the last four spots. The batting order i agree can be floating but only after the top 4 we should persist with the top 4 in that order throughout the ICCCT, playing Afridi as opener or number 3 to take advantage of power play may be finger licking good but that is what it is by the time you lick your finger Afridi is back in the hut and you have a batting order in disarray, he may succeed now and then but the percentages are not in his favor.

The Struggling Pakistan Team?
It has been seen over th epast few months Pakistan Cricket Team have mainatined their reputation as "Hot & Cold"
The One day Team can do well in the Champions Trophy Provided they address the batting Order te final elevan from the selected team.Shahid Afridi at the Top with Mohammad Hafeez should do the Trick and then Shoaib malik and abdul razzaq towards the late middle order and with bowlers like shoaib akhtar and mohammad Asif they have a fair chance to do well in the Champions trophy even with out Inzimam the Batsman.

I totally agree with to play Shoib Malik at 5 as he is the best player of spin in the team after Younis. As far as batting position of Afridi is concerned, he should be batting up the order only against teams like Sri Lanka, West Indies, India etc. Against teams like Australia, England and South Africa he is certainly not the right choice to play up the order as bowlers like Migrawth, Pollock and Flintoff can make the ball talk on any surface.

Goharz

I think that Mr. Kamran Abbasi himself should come & bat at number 5.

Their are 1000's of Inzimam's in Pakistan who can fill his shoes but the question is, will PCB allow and give someone proper chance and time to show his worth?

The question is not just of Champions Trophy, but is of what lies beyond CWC '07. If Inzamam chooses to hang his boots in the aftermath of the World Cup, then Pakistan Cricket will have a coupled problem of finding a suitable replacement as well as a long standing problems of openers. Shahid Afridi, both as an opener and number six is too mercurial to bet your money on. It has to be someone like Asim Kamal, Faisal Iqbal, or Hasan Raza in test as well one day cricket.

Mr.Abbasi says "As with each adversity there is an opportunity. Who will seize it?"

The answer,most likely, will be journalists and a fresh pack of bureaucrats-in-the-waiting.

But insted of all this belly-aching and brow beating, why not look as Pakistan-qua-Pakistan?

Its cricket,as CLR would have put it, reflects its wider polity and purpose.

Bazid Khan ?
has central contract but not in frame. Any reason ?

hi kamran
i personally dont rate faisal to be honest he might have played a decent innings or two which warne happend to have seen or experienced otherwise he is a failure. he had a very dismissal tour of england, he has been tried and tested just because he is the nephew of javed miandad.i am very sure pakistan has alot of talent in the domestic scene but unfortunetly they dont get a chance. Its goin to be awful when inzy retires who will replace him i dont think he can be replaced. on the other hand we have younis and yousuf which are very fine batsmen once inzy retires the team which already relies heavily on these two (yousuf &younis) in test matches the pressure on them would be much greater.why have we not got yasir hameed or saleem elahi even though they have failed recently they still have decent records elahi averages 35 and hameed averages 38 in odis. i remeber when younis khan came in to the team the first few years of his career his record wasnt to impressing yet still pcb persisted with him and now his groomed in to a world class player. pcb has to learn from that and give players an extended run.

Thank you
Babar Ali
Birmingham (Handsworth)

No mention of Asim Kamal? He seemed to do OK given the few chances he had... and would be ready to fill in comfortably at number 5/6.

Kamran,
SOS to Bob Woolmer pronto !

i think faisal selection was very poor he failed many times what is his everge during england tour and what is his overall everge ,shahid yousaf would been better choice,faisal used enough miandad,s name he is not capable simple.

currently NO, even younis khan himself, and batsman who perform under pressure, IS in recent past in Asim Kamal.that has been under rated.even averaging over 40

bilal

Finally we arrived exactly at the same situation where younis khan arrived.i think he is a player who always think of pakistan in the sense of what should have been......he thought about the differnce in the experience of malik and faisal.Certainly the team would be benefitted if malik is in the middle order.Then there should be someone from the allrounders to be at top to utilise powerplay, atleast to match the likes of india,westindies,south africa specially.he thinks about afridi,but afridi
had the same problem in the carribiann.so he was dissapointed ad deposited the captaicy.
my playing 11 would be..
1.hafeez
2.farhat
3.afridi
4.younis
5.yousuf
6.malik
7.a.razzaq
8.kamran
9.naveed
10.shoaib
11.asif

hence no place of faisal.

The man Inzamam-ul-Haq is irreplaceable in this Pakistan batting lineup, thats period. When you think of it without him being in there immediately you realize theres a BIG hole. Most people in Pakistan don't realize this since they don't happen to understand this game of cricket. But ofcourse you can always consult or pay some heed to the opinion of experts within the game. Without taking anything away from Yousuf, Younis and Faisal Iqbal who has got this wonderful opportunity to prove himself they aren't anywhere close to this greatest batsman ever to have played for Pakistan.

I concur. I think Shoaib Malik over Faisal Iqbal is a no brainer. This is not to pass judgement over Faisal's ability -- indeed he is a pleasure to watch when he comes down the wicket and whacks the spinner over the top. However, Shoaib at 5 would be solid. He plays spinners reasonably well, and has shown the ability to knock around singles or accelerate the run rate. Plus he gives us an additional bowler and a geat fielder (though Faisal has taken some really good catches too).

Personally, I think that to try and replace Inzi requires desperate measures, as there is no true replacement waiting in the sidelines... One thing i want to see is to try out the new kids like Shahid Yousuf or someone else who is trying to break into the international scene. I have only seen one innings from Faisal Iqbal under pressure, but other than that his runs have mainly come when the running has been good for the entire team. He may be capable of averaging in the fourties, but i would much rather have someone like Asim Kamal who averages in the thirties under tough conditions. I do agree with making Shoaib Malik come in at five and playing two specialist openers, but in that situation I think it would be best to have Shoaib Malik convert into a fulltime batsmen with part-time bowling abilities rather than being an allrounder becuase you have to be brilliant in order to even come close to replacing Inzi.

i think we should go for a straight swap, ie iqbal for inzi. that way we will have a settled team, no shifting and shunting of the batting order. this continuity of selection will show confidence in the players, and hopefully some good resulkts will come our way. i think we should persist with hafeez and malik opening. they are quality allrounders (in all 3 departments), rather tham picking farhat, who is essentially just a batsman. we have a very good team on paper. just need to produce it on the field. bob woolmer will play a big part. he is the best coach in the world.

This may sound like a revolutionary idea for the PCB and thus my account may be suspended, but why not promote our domestic level's most prolific batsman, Shahid Yousuf? The precocious batsman is a highly regarded stroke player in domestic circles and perhaps we should commit to him for the long course as India has done with Raina.

i would bring afridi at the top of the order, as you would have razzaq at the end of the innings anyway and a few good overs from afridi would swing the match in pakistans favour and afridi always strikes fear into the heart of the opposition (although he normally doesnt pull it off) but still the fear is always there... plus who wudnt love watching afridi batting right at the start rather than at the end... after all cricket is a form of entertainment isnt it..!! :)

Life without Inzamam is going to be tough for Pakistan, but that's not just because we are going to be missing a batsman, we are going to be missing an exceptional captain. As a captain it will be tough to find a replacement, even though Younis has flashed hints that when given half the chance he can create as much havoc as Inzy and that's not limited on the field.

The best and logical step to take is to give a youngster a chance to prove himself, this is a test run for the world cup and if we can find another young middle order batsman who can win matches, this ban of Inzy may just be a blessing in disguise.

salamz,
I totally agree with u Kamran. The best bet wud be to play shoaib at the nubmer 5 slot. It wud give Pakistan more options. But wat I am more concerned about is what will happen when Inzi returns?? Will shoaib be ousted or one of the openers ?? This still leaves us with a makeshift arrangement. Plus the fact that faisal may not feel justified by not being in the team. Its a tuf call.

Shoaib Malik should bat at no5 I wouldn't consider Faisal Iqbal as a one day player my squad would be:

Farhat
Hafeez
Younis
Yousaf
Malik
Afridi
Razzaq
Akmal
Rana
Shoaib
Asif

this is technically the best team we have without inzamam we will win the champions trophy inshallah

inzy is a great player and nobody is replace to inzy but currently only muhammad yousaf is the player who handle the situtation in the most critical situation of the game.

Dear Kamran Abbasi,
I will open with M Hafeez and S Malik then have Imran Farhat at #3. If a wicket falls early then we can expect Farhat(being a specialist opener) to curtail the damage and if there is a solid opening patnership then Farhat can really open his shoulders and score some quick runs at #3

Faisal Iqbal? he wouldn't be in the team if he was not the nephew of Javed Miandad. He did not do much on English tour but contributed fully in Pakistan's defeat. A simple solution is to drop Shoaib Malik at No. 5.

Pakistan batting line up is not reliable, mainly due to the recycled old guard like inzy still batting. We need to try new blood and by that I don't mean the few new guys that have failed miserably lately. Bring in more new blood every ten games. A few flashes of brilliance from these old or new guys don't cut it and you know that. There has to be consistency, meaninng they have to score in the 40's 8 out of ten games. When a player is dimissed for under 20 in half of the games they bat, they are worth crap. When will you understand that. Yusuf Yuhana is the only guy on the paki team who can stay at the crease for long innings every game or so. Why are we in love with Inzy. I love the guy for what he has accomplished, but for the past 5 years he can't be trused with the bat. If you want to know what it means to be consistant with the bat, just look at some of the rival indian batsmen. I know our bowling is superior, but that is not going to fix the batting problem which is more important.

I think we should bring back Javed Miandad and Ijaz Ahmed in the middle order. Either that or I maybe in the wrong decade.

Inzamam is old and past it. Zaheer Abbas has exposed his personal leadership shortcomings as demonstated by his pathetic actions at the Oval. His cricketing ability also bears questioning as age catches up with him (as well all know given Pakistan birth certificates Inzy is probably in his 40's). The stats tell the story more eloquently than anyone and without any personal bias. In the Test series versus England Inzy averaged 38.66. This in itself was flattered by one 'Not Out'. He was thus only slightly more competent than Imran Farhat who at least had the excuse of facing the new ball.

i am agree with mr. kamran abbasi on all his comments but not on faisal iqbal. he is the person who got many chances but so far he not proved himself. he is a lazy player.he have good shots in his book but he is not a player for international games. he is good for club cricket.any how shoaib malik is best choice to replace inzimam in middle order.

Well it is the right time to ponder upon the succession of great Inzi. There is no doubt that PCB didn't do enough to put in place a succession plan for the Pakistani Batting line up. While lately Pakistan didn't have any real problem in the Bowling line up, batting has been the main issue.

Kamran mentioned quite a many options for Inzi's replacement but in my opinion one name is missing i.e. Bazid Khan who didn't get many chances.

In my view Faisal Iqbal and Bazid Khan could be the most suitable replacements for Inzi.

I think it would be a good idea to let Afridi open along with Hafeez especially since he has also shown interest in an interview upon arrival in India. Younus and Yousuf should be next followed by Shoaib, Faisal, Razzak and Akmal and than the three fast bowlers. This would be a very good batting order with lots of depth and bowling options and as you said if Afridi clicks he can change the match in few overs.

Tanweer

Hasn't Faisal already grabbed the opportunity pretty well in the past?

The good thing is that the pitches will be placed and our batsman will feel at home on Indian pitches. Our openers usually have no clue what's going against the moving ball in seaming conditions. So playing 3 openers may not be a bad idea.

But I think with Inzamam out, we need a steadying force in the middle order. Faisal Iqbal is the best option. We already have a bunch of explosive players who could open. Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Farhat, Hafeez, or even Afridi. If need be, they come in if we lose an early wicket, thoguh I would stick with Younis at one-down.

Malik and Hafeez pretty much bring the same thing to the table. Afridi has already claimed he can bat anywhere, but he clearly does not prefer the new ball anymore. Afridi should go after the specialists along with Razzak. He has a much better chance for playing his game then.

Picking two out of Farhat, Malik or Hafeez to me, to be the ideal partnership. If Faisal Iqbal fails, then bring in the third guy. I just feel that Faisal has a better chance of scoring more runs than these 3. Though he may acquire them at a slower rate, but that's okay.

My team would be Hafeez, Farhat, Younis, Yousuf, Faisal and the rest all fit in.

Sure, Inzimam leaves a gaping hole, however we would not be discussing the size of the hole had Shoaib Malik performed in England. But here we are... and SM the all rounder must find form - it should be easier for him on the flat/slow Indian wickets.

Who will replace Inzamam the batsman when he finally retires should be the concern for Pakistan cricket and not when will Inzamam the captain be replaced.

Inzamam has been Pakistans best batsman on a continious basis for a number of years now and it has been known for sometime that he will retire soon, yet no up & coming batsman so far has shown the potential to fill that void eventually.

If Faisal Iqbal is the long term replacement, then he should be given the chance to develop in that role whenever the chances arise. Be it for one match while Inzamam is away or 4 as is the current situation.

Shahid Yousuf has been touted but he needs to prove himself in the domestic circuit and then in the 'A' team before making the cut.

Asim Kamal is another option, but only for test matches, from what i have seen of him he doesnt seem to be suited to the ODI game, unless he develops his game further.

Ofcourse Younis Khan. Infact, for better captaincy, Inzy should step down and play under Younis, who has excellent skills of captaincy. Without captaincy pressure, even Inzamam can bat well.

How can you classify Shoaib Malik as an allrounder? He can barely bat let alone bowl! Faisal Iqbal cannot bat at the international level (unless you produce dead wickets with club standard bowlers like India's) Mohammed Hafeez and Afridi must open. Perhaps Shahid Yousuf should should bat at no.5. Every young kid deserves a chance, and he can't possibly do worse than what pak has already experienced. The flat pitches should help younger batsmen.

Dear kamran
This is a very important question you brought up about who will replace inzi? I agree to to you that someone has to seize the oppurtunity and fill into inzi's boots which by no means in an easy job.Our batting order in Champions trophy has to play responsibily and show that they can handle tough situations without the father figure of Inzi.I would probably go with younis at number 3 beacuse he has performed well in India at that position and i think shoaib malik and imran farhat or Hafeez to open the innings.Faisal iqbal could be given a try at number 5 and if he doesnot do well than probably farhat and hafeez both would open and malik could be send down the order.These are some of the options that came to my mind but i sure want to point out that too much of chopping and changing especially to the opening pair has hurt us badly during the past 2 or 3 seasons.
we need to give an extended run to couple of openers and let them develop an understanding between themselves.this would do a world of good to the openers self confidence too.Bob woolmer in his article pointed out today that since all the matches are day night affairs openers are going to be tested in the initial overs of the second innings,where the ball would seam and zip around.So openers performing better would certainly help us get an edge over other teams and
it would make the middle order's job alot easier.
Thank you
from Philadelphia,USA.

In the absence of Inzy - I propose the following batting order. Given the nature of Indian pitches, Afridi's zeal and recent record when opening in India - an Afridi/Farhat combination should open. If the loss of the 1st wicket occurs prior to the 5th over then Shoaib Malik should be promoted to the No. 3 spot (with Younis, Yousuf and Hafeez to follow). If the 1st wicket falls after the 5th over then Younis Khan should retain the No. 3 spot and Shoaib Malik can revert to the No. 5 spot. At No. 4 - Muhammed Yousuf, No. 6 Hafeez, No. 7 Akmal, No. 8 Razzaq, No. 9 Akthar, No. 10 Navel-ul-Hassan (since his form is uncertain - Gul could make worthy replacement) and No. 11 Asif.

Yess, this is the best call by PCB to retain Inzi for the series against West Indies. In the Pakistan batting line up no one can fill Inzi's boots. He is master in playing under pressure situations, Muhammad Yousaf with all his lazy elegance and Younis Khan with all his fighting abilities have maintained their own standards but actually they cant replace the big man. Pakistan team needs Inzi atleast till World Cup 07. Malik can possibily play in the late middle order and can give good results, i still remmeber his 82 runs innings on 42 balls against South Africa, he can blast in the death overs. talking about Shahid Afridi, he has always performed in India, and he should be sent to utilise the power plays, on these batting wickets he will score Inshallah!

i would definetely pick the multi talkented shoaib malik to replace the mighty inzimam. malik can bat anywhere in the pakistani line up which is sometimes his downfall. he is like shahid afridi, that is he can be an extremely explosive player, but at the same time he also has the maturity to stabilize the innings when needed. and without inzi in the team that situation may arise.
malik is also an accomplished bowler and a brilliant fielder, something that pakistan need oin their team. my line up would be as follows:
Hafeez, Farhat, Khan, Yousuf, Malik, Afridi, Akmal, Razzaq, Naved, Akhtar, Aif

Pakistan needs a Michael Hussey of some sort. Dont think there are any out in Paki though.

I am at loss to see why Bazid Khan has played so little international cricket. He clearly has potential. Faisal Iqbal has shown us what he can do, but now i think it is time for Khan to have his chance.

I think its about time that MoYo take over as the consistent backbone of Pakistan's ODI middle order. In the past he has yoyo'd between the brilliant and the abysmal, often in the same over.

As far as Faisal Iqbal goes, I wonder what brings about Warne's generous praise, given that he has hardly bowled to him. He is at best a stop-gap solution, and at worst just a nephew of a certain Javed Miandad.

I believe Hafeez and Shoaib Malik are better choices as 'bits and pieces' players that can contribute with bat or ball or with their electric fielding, as the situation demands.

mr. abbasi, i am surprised that you had not mentioned about yousuf's ability to bat!!! perhaps you don't count him in because he is not mentally going to give his 100% after losing the captaincy!!!! shahid afridi, the most unreliable batsman in the world. his technique teaches the youngsters how to gamble your witcket, how to perform as an irresponsible bloc, how to be careless, how to under-estimate your opponents, how to be a reckless guy, how to be a selfish person, etc. he thinkgs and pcb think-tank thinks the cricket game means only hitting sixers!!!! most of your cricket team players are uneducated ninkonpoof including your dear inzi. do you think the amount of feedback through useful articles that cricinfo is pouring in and out is being read and understood by any of your team player? i am surprised how they can understand and communicate with their foreign coach? the technical tips and techniques that you get from cricinfo articles must be beyond the imagination of your team players. if pakistan had won the only world cup was because of the only fact that your captain, imran khan happens to be not only educated but had the opportunity to get himself accustomed to the western lifestyle. perhaps we should give our team captaincy to shoaib akhtar but only if he behaves himself and do not get himself unfit voluntarily!!!

I would personally agree with you. Shoaib Malik is probably the best choice to fill in that spot. I don't like Faisal Iqbal too much, although I was never aware of Shane Warne praising him ever before. Still, it does not make too much of an impact since he did not show that he is worthy of keeping in the chances that he has had. Liek you said: "...flashes of brilliance."

SHAHID YOUSUF will fill the gap...he is a super middle order batsman with good technique. so i think he should get a chance

While there are many who may have the potentiality of being as good as Inzi but trust me no one, not only in Paki cricket but world cricket, is going to be remotely close to him. He is not replaceable.

The best line up as per me right now is
1 Imran Farhat
2 Mohd Hafeez (shahid Afridi if Faisal Iqbal Plays)
3 Shoaib Malik
4 Younis Khan
5 Mohd. Yousuf
6 Shahid Afridi (Faisal Iqbal)
7 Abdul Razzak
8 Kamran Akmal
9 Rana Naved
10 Shohaib Akhtar
11 Mohd Asif

Its really a genuine concern,as inzi is a great player & faisal Iqbal till now couldn't justified his place specially in tests,where he has given many chances.In this scenario I hope Afridi & M.Hafeez open the batting,Malik #3,then Younis #4,Yousuf#5 & Faisal#6 to start the champions trophy,as we have already seen that Shoaib Malik has performed really well at #3 rather than down the order,same is true for Afridi in case of indian slow wickets,where there gain of keeping afridi in stock up to no 6 or 7,its much better he can play lusty shorts with the new ball.
Thanks

I agree that Hafeez and Farhat open and Malik drop down to number 5.
However, I still think that the selectors could have blooded some young spinners- maybe a leg and a left-arm spinner- in this tournament in order to have more surprise and variety for the forthcoming world cup.
Pakistan's bowling is great but in one-dayers these days any attack can become one-dimensional and having more variety in the form of previuosly unknown spinners might help aginst, England, South Africa, and Australia.
Maybe Woolmer shoould think.
Syed Jamal

It is really a big question.It is not very easy to replace the batsman of inzy's class.
Pak should play Shoaib malik at 5,this will give them extran advantage due to his off spin bowling. I will go for the following team
Hafeez,Farhat
Younis,yousuf,
Malik,afridi,razzak.akmal
Shoaib,rana,asif

There is no questioning the fact that Inzamam's imminent departure will leave a huge gap to fill. However, I am of the opinion that "the gap ought to be left as it is", only to be filled by a newcomer, rather reshuffle the batting deck and find someone who fits thru trial&error (albeit that's how most problems are tackled in Pakistan cricket). Shahid Yousaf, a name that has been popping a few times, is a very real prospect. (Personally, I am hugely disappointed by Faisal Iqbal's (performance)/(#chances given) ratio, and his slow starting nature in the England tour, a real cause for concern).Shahid Yousaf (20) , on the other hand, has represented Pakistan at almost all age group levels and often shows glimmers ala Mark Waugh with his straight bat. Whether he ought to be the "man", only time will tell, but the sooner there is a strategy behind filling Inzamams shoes the better it will be for Pakistan Cricket.

I think Pakistan should play with two regular openers (Farhat & Hafeez, rather than persisting with Shoaib Malik. Malik should bat at number 5 position replacing Inzy, specially Farhat & Hafeez showed signs of good form lately and conditions are perfect for batting. Malik is a great asset to the team, so we don't want to loose him early in the innings against the good oppositions & Champions Trophy is pretty much a Knock out format, so you don't get much opportunities to rectify your mistakes.

Well pakistan better get used to it, sooner or later he has to leave. Faisal iqbal sure worth persisting,but most of us can see where he stands, in ODI cricket especially...i hope he can proove me wrong but his technique and cricketing sense doesn't seem upto par.
Surely Asim Kamal has to fall in the frame somewhere, he is too talented to be just forgotten.
As for shoiab malik at 5, i think it is perfect, he is fit to run the quick runs, experienced, and can hit the big ones when needed.

hi kamran,

i dont think that faisal iqbal has the ability to be in the team, he is in it because of the big names backing him up and i surely think that younis droppin out of captaincy was over his selection. faisal iqbal should never be in the team. the guy cant field or bat. as far as openers go i would like to see imran farhat out and yasir hameed or imran nazir recalled with mohd. hafeez openin the game. shoaib malik is an important player and he can play big shots. so yea i agree with you on him coming down the order. as far as afridi goes he is the pride of pakistan and a great fighter. you can put him any where in the order and he will launch his way in a cruel fashion to let the bolwers know he is there to kill them.

Crater in the middle order there is. Historically, Pakistan's strenght has always been the bowling. Guess its time for the bowlers to pick it up again.

Fasial Iqbal with on the back of a solid performance in the last domestic season and some good performances in tests finally looks to be ready for the big stage. He should be given the a good run as a first choice replacement in tests. Look for other options only if he fails to deliver.

In onedays, I think Shoaib Malik should take his number 3 position back, with Younis coming at 5. Shoaib has the unique talent of digging in for the big inning and exlpoding when required. Younis is the man for big hauls but lacks the versatility if large totals are bing chased.

As for opening, trying Hafeez with any of the left handers who can come up with a half decent performance should be fine. we don't expect anything from the openers anyway.

This is how I think the team should line up:

1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Imran Farhat
3. Younis Khan
4. Mohammad Yousuf
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Shahid Afridi
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naved-ul-Hassan
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohammad Asif

This gives us plenty of option with 3 out and out fast bowlers plus one seaming all rounder and 3 spinning all rounders, plus the batting goes all the way down to 10 and numbers 5,6,7 and 8 can be shifted anywhere in the order.

I believe Afridi should open irrespective of whether he fires or fails. In my opinion, Hafeez might find himself opening with Afridi and Malik coming one down. Younis should move to number four and Moyo to number 5 respectively. Inzi's absence has exposed so many craters in the 'wall'! Faisal at 6 followed by Kami and Razzaq at 7 and 8 respectively.

No one can Ever replace inzi as a batsman, not even Bradman or VIV Richard.

I believe that Inzy cannot be replaced at all at the moment for now. Faisal Iqbal or any others are just understudies. As far as I can see there is no real batsman up and coming in pakistan. Obviously, the 3,4 and 5 positions are suppose to be the powerhouse, which it is right now with Younis, Yousuf and Inzy handling all the pressure. However, it is expected that after the 2007 World Cup Inzamam will retire, and if that is the case then who will be replacing him permenantly. I would expect it would be Malik, Younis and Yousuf, however this still leaves the openers up in the air. Its been almost 3 years and we haven't come up with 0 openers which are permenant. Inzy should be well kept and praised while he is still around because we don't know what will happen in the future.
Last note: I'm glad the ICC appointed him captain after the Champions Tropy because I'd hate to see what happened to Ganguly happen to Inzamam.
Sami

Inzamam's absence from the pakistani middle order has created a huge hole. Faisal Iqbal's inclusion into the ODI squad really surprised plenty of pakistani fans as he performed poorly in the test series against England. scoring only 149 runs in 7 innings with an average of 21.29 left a the fans thinking that was he the right person to be selected to play in the middle order. Iqbal was choosen over several talented middle order players such as: Asim Kamal, Shahid Yousuf and Yasir Hameed. Pakistan's decision to replace Inzi with Iqbal was not favoured by some of the pakistani fans in England. most of us felt that he did not prove himself in England and so we felt that other players should be given an oppertunity. Iqbal's inclusion is a sad sight for some fans. this can dent the confidence of players who have proven there talent on numerious occasions, but still have been dropped. Yasir Hameed's last ODI score was 57 against England. he is a great young talent who needs more oppertunities, and if this is what Pakistan do to their other young talents then i can't see Pakistan producing players who can replace Inzi and Mohammed Yousuf when they retire. Talent is required for young players who are the future of the Pakistani team, and they need to be given oppertunities more often.

inzamam will be heavily missed in this series. his cool demeanor in the toughest situation is his biggest asset. i would not go for the straight swap with faisal iqbal. one because iqbal has not had success in odis. i wud open hafeez and imran farhat and telling them to score runs. honestly i am disgusted with teh pak openers and its time to put pressure on them and see whose tough enough. younis khan shud come in at no.3 his normal position while malik shud take on mohd. yousuf's role as the anchor. malik isnt a out and out bludgenor and he wud be useful playing the spniiners in the middle overs. moyo shud take inzis responsibility. the only reason i separate younis and yousuf is because pak tendency to collapse. i also think akmal shud bat at 6. he knows how to build an innings and he needs to be given more overs to play.

Inzamam is going to be extremely hard to replace. His calmness cannot be replaced by any player in this era. Faisal Iqbal will really have something to prove in this tournament!

I agree with you ocmpletely. I think Faisal Iqbal is the best replacement for Inzamam for now, and also in the future when our great batsman decides to hang up his boots. Age and talent is on Faisal's side. I believe the ideal team for Pakistan for Champion's Trophy would be:

Shoaib Malik
Mohammad Hafeez
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Faisal Iqbal
Abdul Razzaq
Shahid Afridi
Kamran Akmal (wk)
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Umar Gul

Another combination could be that Umar Gul can be dropped and Imran Frahat brought in as an opener with Shoaib Malik Batting at No. 6, right after Faisal Iqbal. Mohammad Hafeez has performed well in recent times, and he deserves a long run.

No one is indespensible. But who will be the replacement is not sure. Name of Muhammad Yousuf springs to mind when it comes to Inzi's replacement but even he lacks the cool composure of Inzi. I have always wanted Inzi to open the innings so our openers can learn something from him and i would say this again specially when he is approaching the end of his career so its time to give something back to the team. I might sound dumb but it would be the right move going forward. Just imagine what wonders Inzi had done had he opened the innings from the very start of his career. Probably more runs and less opening problems for Pakistan. After all most of the modern day batsmen started their career opening the innings like Lara and after sometime it was Tendulkar too. Opening with Inzi will put added responsibility on Yousuf and who knows, he might respond even better.

Inzi is the best player in the world and no body can fill his place as a middle order player and as a capton...he is only one .....

Naturally given that Yu-K will be taking over the reigns as captain it's expected that he too will shoulder most of the burden created when Inzi retires. I agree, however I think Mo-Yo needs and will play a much bigger role than people have suggested. He is our most experienced batsman, and although some may call him streaky or un-reliable in clutch situations, i think as he matures and as the situation warrants it, a more reliable Mo-Yo will emerge.

Given this, I feel (primarily for the one day team) Shoaib Malik should be 3 - given how devastating he was there prior to Yu-K's re-emergence into the team. Yu-K should then be 4 and Mo-Yo 5. This allows are 'best' batsman to be at 4 &5, creates the possibility to see the Mo-Yo - Yu-k show that all Indians love, allows Shoaib to play his natural position, and in essence keeps Yu-K away from the newer ball and also the lower order (where Mo-Yo can score at a higher rate with the 'bash brothers' and/or tailenders).

With this the bottom order remains intact as it currently is, leaving the opening partnership as only area uncertainty (which is anything but a new problem). Farhat and Hafiz would seem the likely cadidates but I truly hope and belive that Butt can straighten things out and fins his form again, so that him and Hafiz can eventually for a solid left-right, 1-2 combination.

zQ

I agree with the author. Shoaib Malik playing down the order with Imran Farhat and Mohammad Hafeez at the top of the order seems to be the best option. That would leave us with Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak and Kamran Akmal to bat at 6, 7 and 8, a lower order that can blow any bowling apart.
Another option that could have been was Asim Kamal. He could have played the role of holding one end and bringing the right left combination into play. But since he is not there Shoaib Malik seems to be the right option.
But the gap left by Inzi's absence cannot be filled as we are yet to find a batsman of the calibre and class.

In the last world cup, if I can remember well, Inzamam did not score more than 20 runs over all and Pakistan paid the price. I think the team is mature enough now and if internal politics does not come into play, Md. Yousuf and Shoyeb Malik will be the big gun for Pakistan.

yunis khan cant b dropped down d order coz dats insanity and bringing shoaib malik at 5 cud hold plus hafeez and farhat gave d last credible opening psrtnership............

INZAMAM IS IRREPLACEABLE!!!

I think Faisal Iqbal has been given enough chances to show his worth, which unfortunately in my view is not there at all. Plus he is not an ODI player, i think Malik, Afridi and Razzaq coming back to back would be our best bet. I am kind of skeptical about Farhat in the ODI team too, and would probably go with Kamran Akmal opening the innings with Hafeez and play the extra bowler.

The confirmation of Inzi as Captain for the forthcoming series against West Indies is in fact an effort to calm down his group in the team which can disrupt the balance of the team in ICC Trophy by "Go slow" tactics.
Playing Shoain Malik at 5 is best option under the circumstances but Why Faisal Iqbal is always there as replacement? Where are all those batsmen who are playing in Pakistan A and Pakistan U/19 sides?
Anyone knows whereabouts of Anwer Ali, Akhtar Ayub and Jamshed? What happened to the guy winning the Fastest Bowler Competition held by PCB? Where is thw wonder boy from Waziristan who bowled in the Camp as thw fastest bowler?
I think we should offer all the positions of the cricket team up for sale and give them to the highest bidder after all cricket is now an industry and PCB should run like a corporate body.

No doubt, no one can replace Inzi as batsman. Faisal Iqbal is a logical choice for Champions Trophy but you can not ignore Mohammad Hafeez performance in recent series of England. Shoaib Malik at No.5 might be ok but most of his runs came from No.3 position. Younis can also bat at Number 5 but his batting order is always going to be a problem. I think, Razzaq should be batting at number 6, It might even be worth to try Razzaq at number 5. It's time they should start thinking about getting a replacement for Shahid Afridi; after playing 230 ODI (how many good batsman have played 230 ODI's during there career), Pakistan still can't rely on his batting skills and he is only a mediocre in his bowling. He only averages just over 23, Just because he can hit a huge six should not be the only factor in his selection, he usually gets out on the next ball. A Batsman who tries to hit a six when a bowler is on hatrick specially someone experience like him do not deserve a place in the Pakistan Team, A nation with so much cricket talent.

I think Asim Kamal should replace inzy in the middle order, he has the right technique and is a classy player

I think putting Shoaib Malik at 3 would work fine, he seems to play well at that position and he strikes the ball well. Younis Khan is not even the best batsman on the team, so he shouldn't think about batting above Mohd. Yusuf. He might be captain but seniority does not give one a justification of batting above more worthy batsman.

It's funny, really, if you look at how things are 'criticised' a bit too often. People who can't hold a bat properly feel fit to say anything they want to about the batting order of a team. A team can either stick to their batting order no matter what the case and be criticised, or they can experiment with their batting orders (like India has done, recently) and still be criticised. For Pakistan, I would have to say that, given recent history, even the batsman at number 3 is an opener, and so, Pakistan can shuffle the order around with Hafeez, Farhat, Malik and Afridi. That means that Yousuf and Younis should always play at slots 4 and 5. That leaves the remainder of the above mentioned to come in at number 6, followed by Akmal and Razzaq. However, every game should be accessed on its own merit. Younis is definitely a more creative and riskier captain than Inzi - so he should know what to do, and how to shuffle the order. No point criticising that. Unconditional support :)

Afridi batting in a powerplay is a good idea, as he is too readable to be playing as an opener.Shoaib normally score in India n Pak, so he should be given the chance at the top order.Yunis should lift his game and perform at 5 as Dravid and Bevan has done.
If shane has really praised Faisal then its big deal.Although I think these guys are only good in the sub-continent. as said by Yunis khan, he is left with only 3 more years of cricket, and knowing the fitness level of Inzi and Yusuf, we should be very serious in looking for a replacement for Inzy and yunus, and saeed Anwer.
Nicely written column, welldone Kamran.

I think the best position for Younis Khan is at 3. He has been performing tremenously at this position. Playing him at 5 may create problems for shaky top order. Once the top order takes the pace off the ball, the middle order may steady the innings and then the all rounders like Kamaran Akmal and Razzaq can take the advantage of putting the opposition in a treacherous situation.Afridi woud be better off opening the innings on indian pitches however, he must be constantly reminded of his responsibility if at all he feels for it.

Inzi getting run out when he was just avoiding the throw. Inzi being given out when he just stop the ball because he did not want to get hit.Then there Oval fiasco. All these happening point to Inzi's lack of knowledge about the Laws of Cricket. Inzi put in F.Iqbal not knowing that Inzi being replaced losses his chance to join the team after 4 games. Inzi needs to learn or maybe he is too old then at least all other players need to know the Laws of Cricket.

i am pakistani and as pakistani i should suggest good things for pakistan and that is IMRAN NAZIR should be added in squad and he should apoen the inings

In my view Shahid Afridi should open the innings along with Shoaib Malik or Imran Farhat, keeping in mind the Indian tracks batsmen friendly nature and Afridi's track record on subcontinent soils. Younis khan should always be at No.3 position, this is the place best fit for his type of batting, rigid, tempermental, solid defence, shot selection as well he can be dashing according to the requirements. Mohamed Yousuf should come at No.4 followed by Faisal Iqbal and then the long handle specialists like Abdul Razzak, Kamran Akmal, Rana Naved, Shoaib Akhtar, etc... But the top most important thing is Afridi should get a chance to take on the oppositions right from the start go, his way of batting can demoralize any bowling attack.

faisal iqbal is not suited to the modern ODI game.
EOS!

This will be very tricky situation if you are Pakistan team and don't have the leisure of having Inzamam walk into bat with 2 wickets down for single digit score on board (which is more often than not).
I think Pakistan should stick with Hafeez and Malik to open the innings and the Younis can come in, followed by Yousuf and Faisal (if played) followed by Afridi, Razzaq, Akmal and 3 bowlers.
All the negative publicity Younis got in the past week or so will have to be used as an energy boost to this side.
They can be destructive on a given day and be pedestrian the very next day so I will not have any high hopes from them but just would want to see some electrifying cricket from them.
The game plan will have to be to score as many runs in the first 20 overs (Malik & Hafeeez & Younis), built the innings in the next 20 (Younis, Yousuf & Faisal) and Afridi (45 ball hundred last time he was in India),Razzaq (he is hot in the last few overs, remember England tour ) and the Akmal can enthrall the crowd in the last 10.
I have very high regard for Malik and hopefully he will live up to the expectations after a blip in England.
Regards
Ahmed

Actually, in general sense, there is no one in Pakistan cricket who can replace Inzy as a batsman. But, for this tournament, it is true that there has to be someone who need to do his job. I think, it can show us an indication of Pakistan's future after Inzamam. Who'll step in his shoes & how will be the life without the absense of such a maestro. It is indeed important to notice that, Pakistan's batting line-up as whole has to come up; the combination is the key. In flat pitches of India Shahid Afridi is a must Opener. Remember what he did here in 2005 India tour? It should be said the absence of Inzy has to cover up through the middle-order force of Malik, Younis, Yousuf & later on Razzak & Akmal. The big question will be who to put in the middle of them? has to be a young one as Mr. Abbasi mentioned about Faisal. Definitely, it will be interesting & will create a new challenge. Only If Pakistan think-tank can make a right move for that one spot, the whole batting combination will be strengthened & will provide the bonus to success opportunity when Inzy returns, specially in the World Cup.

That is a very important point raised by Kamran. Pakistan has done well to develop Younis as a future captain, but what about replacing Inzi the batsman. The reason that Pakistan has been relatively successful over the past couple of seasons has been the consistency of the middle order. Younis and Yousuf will be the only two reliable batsmen that we'll have, post Inzi's retirement. But no team in world cricket can win any matches with just two world-class batsmen. It is about time that people like Faisal Iqbal and Asim Kamal be given chances to prove themselves so that we can replace Inzi the batsman, and not just Inzi the captain.

I think monty panesar should come to pakistan and bat at number 5.He can easily replace inzamam.

Shahid Afridi opening the innings is a complete waste of his wicket if the pitch is hard and there is early movement. He is a great hitter of the ball WHEN he hits the ball and unfortunately a lot of time he misses it completely. When the ball is new and swinging around a bit Afridi finds it hard to be effective. Teams always put their strongest batsman up the order to see off the new ball while keeping wickets so that hitters like Afridi can capitalize once the ball isnt doing too much. Having said that, on most Indian pitches (depending on the weather) Afridi can be a good choice as an opener. Decision should be made on a case by case basis. In summary, Afridi + Farhat/Butt/Yasir/ OR Akmal plus the latter three are the right choices in my mind.

I am an Indian, and I think I speak on behalf of a lot of Indians in my region - YASIR HAMEED was a genuine find...whatever happened to him! Also, I find Pakis highly under-rating FAISAL IQBAL...I think the lad has a great future ahead of him.

Also, Inzamam is arguably the strongest, most unshaken captains in the world. My favorite pick of the PAKI TEAM - undoubtedly INZY.

Faysal Iqbal's retention in the national side is not logical but a political decision. Quota system has been in Pakistan cricket since the begining but PCB has tackled it well so far to keep people silent. Now its becoming ever so obvious that either Sami or Faisal has to be in the team so that Karachi is always in the picture (If you guys know what i mean!). So guys no point commenting about Faisal Iqbal as this is the reality we have to face and have been facing it since the independance. please go and read the cricket history of Pakistan and you will find in every team 1 or 2 Karachi cricketer with atleast 1 being an unwanted player. Now since Sami has failed and out, Faisal is our future. Please open you eyes and try to live with it!

Salamz,
Inzi will surely be missed, he's like salt in curry, seems ordinary but is the most important ingrdient. Im not a big fan of Younis for the ODIs cz of his low scoring rate. It seems many are in favour of Afridi to open. I would still put him in the lower order like we did in Australia, remember Farhat, Malik and Hafeez too punish loose balls alot. So i would go with the following line up...

1) Hafeez (better option than Iqbal cz he is a regular opener & Iqbal bats in lower order, we have many middle order batsmen & bowls too)
2) Farhat
3) Malik
4) Yousuf
5) Younis (If we loose quick wkts this is the ideal spot for him)
6) Afridi
7) Razzaq
8) Akmal
9) Rana / Gul (Rana is a touch out of form)
10) Shobi
11) Asif

Here's my XI for the champions trophy. Please don't ridicule without first listening to my reasoning... then, I'm sure as you probably may, go ahead and call me stupid.

Imran Farhat
Shahid Afridi
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousaf
Shoaib Malik
Kamran Akmal
Mohammad Hafeez
Abdul Razzaq
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif
Umar Gul

I think Imran Farhat is a shoo-in for the opening spot.... he can be an idiot sometimes but nonetheless he has pretty good shot selection, and on the pitches of India we need two strokemakers to open. Afridi has to be the other opener: I don't really care whether he does well or not, and he probably will be kind of inconsistent, but the tournament is in India- not much swing to worry him. Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousaf at three and four respectively in case the openers get out early. Next is Malik who can both hit big time and nudge; he's also athletic so he and Yousaf can pick up very quick singles. Sandwiched in between Malik and Razzaq should be Kamran and Hafeez. Hafeez is in the side because of his uncanny ability to pick up a wicket and his excellent fielding skills are hard to ignore. Kamran and Hafeez both are flat track bullies and putting Razzaq after them minimizes risk. The bowlers we all pretty much agree on.

replacing inzi will b very difficult....cause younis nd yousuf performed well only cause inzi took d pressure of thm...they knew tht inzi was in next nd thtz y they playd ezily wid lesser pressure....i wonder where imran nazir went...he was a really gud player...but a few failures nd hez out of d team...faisal has been performin badly nd they still stick wid him...another option cud b hassan raza...not a test player but y not try him for one dayerz...so my line up wud b...
1.farhat
2.imran nazir
3.younis
4.yousuf
5.hassan raza
6.shahid afirdi
7.razzaq
8.akmal
9.shahid nazir
10.akhtar
11.asif

I think you are right on the money except you are missing Arafat. We need to look at him to provide the role of the slashing all-rounder/odi bowler

Inzy is irreplaceable and his absence will be sorely felt. But this provides a great opportunity for Mohd Hafeez, Imran Farhat, and Shoaib Malik. Malik has been a great stalwart for Pak ODI cricket in the past, and it is crucial that he get these matches in order to find his form ahead of the world cup. It also allows Farhat and/or Hafeez to further their case for being the second opener for the World Cup.

I think that it's a great opportunity. I liked the idea of Yasir Hameed being floated earlier, but is he even selected in the team?

Hi
i gueess inzi will surely be missed, because he was the one who was centre of tests in england and whole summer starting from england at home then india in their home. well. faisal iqbal i dunt think is good replacement for inzi, my line up would be

imran
shoaib M
hafeez
younis
yousaf
afridi
razzaq
kamran
shaoib A
rana
asif

This is simply a repeat of a vary familiar situtation experienced by Pakistan Cricket. A player who over time has become the backbone of the pakistani line up approaches the end of the line. We saw that with Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar, Wasim and Waqar. As followers of cricket, we base our opinions primarily on biases of our favorites. We feel that there will be a vacum, a void a gapping hole left by an exiting superstar. Yes, i agree that there will be a significant change felt, but nevertheless equilibrium will prevail. With the current form of Yousuf and Younis, I feel that we are much secure than we have ever been before.

Even so, i shall put my two cents in and give you what team i would prefer as our one day side with Inzamam on the sidelines.

1. Imran Farhat
2. Shoaib Malik/Mohammad Hafeez/Shahid Afridi (*)
3. Younis Khan
4. Mohammad Yousuf
5. Faisal Iqbal
6. Shahid Afridi/Shoaib Malik (*)
7. Abdul Razak
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naveed ul Hassan/Umar Gul (*)
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohammad Asif

(*)Shahid Afridi should open the innings when we need to chase a big target that requires some ball bashing at the top of the order. We have observed in the past that Shoaib Malik is more than capable of causing much damage in the final overs of the game. Mohammed Hafeez and Umar Gul ,no doubt good players, but will have to wait for their chances.

I personally would have Hasan Raza back. I know he failed against England in tests last winter...but for the Pak A team, he has been consistently excellent form especially in the ODI format.

An argument can be made for pretty much any batting order that Pakistan has ever flirted with in recent past. The fact though remains that even though the team looks formidable on paper, they must consistently perform to be considered in the same ranks as the Australians or even the Lankans these days. I feel that whatever decision is made about the batting order it must be taken as a firm stance rather than a 'lets try it' solution. It can be argued that Farhat and Hafeez performed quite well in England and should therefore be retained in the opening spot. I agree that Afridi can be great and that India is one of the few places where he will potentially shine but he is a 'hothead' who will never be dependable. We have seen how the game can change in the last ten overs or even the last two overs as Razzaq showed us recently and therefore with the focus on stability and longevity the team should go with dependable batsmen at the top and allrounders in the lower middle order so that they can build something concrete and stop being the laughing stock of the cricketing world.

What happened to Hassan Raza? Has everyone forgotten about him? Why did he get a chance 10 years back in the first place?

I would say the best replacement would be Yasir Hameed though, Hassan Raza despite being really good lacks Hameed's talent, Hameed has it in him to post a big total, espically lower down the order, all he needs to do is control his cover drives which besides getting him a lot of runs do get him out. I know his recent form hasn't been all that good but a guy like him deserves a lot more chances.

Why do Bazid Khan, Salman Butt and Mohammed Hafeez get so many chances? They obviously are less talented when compared to the likes of Hassan Raza, Asim Kamal and Yasir Hameed, and in Bazid Khans case I don't see any talent at all, I am sure my grand-dad can bat better than him hehe

Hi all.......what a topic to talk about; who can replace Inzamam?? For the most part i agree that Inzi cannot be replaced. However, that doesn't mean that everybody can just say that and get away with it. Someone has to step-up and take the charge. If younis wants to be or gets appointed as a captain, it will be his responsibility to keep everybody on the same page, take the responsibilty and step-up to the challenge. As far as batting line-up is concerned as to who should play at what number, I always thought that #6 position for Afridi was never for him. He is an ideal choice as an opener. Coming in early in the order gives him time to settle down and he does not panic as much as he does down the order, where there's a ton of pressure on him ((especially if Pakistan is chasing and there's still a huge total to get to)). PCB needs to take some chances/risks by allowing other younger talent to actually play in the international team and not just tour with the team for fun and bring the drinks or extra bat to the field. I think PCB is too scared to try new talent where they shouldn't be. I liked Dr. Tariq's team ((i.e.,))

1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahid Afridi
3. Mohd. Yousuf
4. Younis Khan
5. Faisal Iqbal
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Abdul Razzak
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naveed
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohd. Asif

And as we all know that Inzamam will be greatly missed. However, we have a very strong middle order with Younis and Yousuf followed by Faisal, Malik, Akmal, and Razzak. All these players will need to step-up individually and as a team and they can easily conquer the gap created by the departure of THE GREAT INZY.

First of all there is no reason for Faisal Iqbal to be in the playing 11. Going by past records he is more likely to weaken our middle order than strengthen it. So I would rather bring Mohd. Hafeez in -- at least he can contribute with the ball. I would also make Afridi open ... the reason for that is simply because we're playing on flat indian pitches and none of the teams in group B has a very threatning opeining ball attack ... afridi would be best used during the first powerplay. The third place where I disagree with most of the other posts is playing Rana. Umar Gul seemed a lot more threatening in England .. I would pick him.

As a side note why was Imran Farhat picked over Salman Butt???? Sure Butt has failed many times but so has Farhat .... dressing room politics???

The best lineup right now:

The best line up as per me right now is
1 Imran Farhat
2 Shahid Afridi (Faisal Iqbal)
3 Shoaib Malik
4 Younis Khan
5 Mohd. Yousuf
6 Mohd Hafeez
7 Abdul Razzak
8 Kamran Akmal
9 Shohaib Akhtar
10 Umar Gul
11 Mohd Asif

Mr Abbassi is talking about the retirement of Inzy, but I ask a very simple question, how many proven match-winners you have in the Champions Trophy squad or in Pakistan (both of present and the past). Inzy has won Pakistan more matches single-handedly than any other players in the history of Pakistan cricket, and he had repeated this feat on numerous occasions and, no doubt, he is capable of doing that in WC as well. I salute this greatest ever player Pakistan produced.

I think Pakistan cricket has had enough problems esp in the opening department over the last few years, and to drop Inzi from the ODI team would leave the team in further turmoil. We have all seen the opening combinations that have been tried over the years and on so many occasions most of them have failed leaving the middle order to fix the damage .. one of the best middle order (Younis, Yousaf & Inzi) and I dont think the team at this stage so close to the world cup can start experimenting with the middle order when the opening problem is still not fixed. Yes, at times his leadership has been questionable and I am sure Younis would make a fine captain after the world cup but the calm, cool & collected Inzi at this stage deserves a place in the team and InshaAllah would prove his critics wrong.

Bilal

Maybe the right question to ask is who will replace Bob Woolmer when he leaves. The man has turned Pakistan team around from being humiliated in the 2003 world cup to being strong contenders next year. Inzimam is not a good captain, never has been. Younis is a perfect replacement with the right attitude and temperament. Inzy is a good batsman and will be missed. Please dont let Faisal in the squad for ODI.

My team would be as follows...

1.Imran Farhat
2.Mohammad Hafeez
3.Younis Khan (captain)
4.Mohammad Yousuf (vice-captain)
5.Shoaib Malik
6.Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper)
7.Shahid Afridi
8.Abdul Razzaq
9.Shoaib Akhtar
10.Iftikhar Anjum
11.Mohammad Asif

Opening
We haven't had a stable opening pair for a long time now and everytime we think we have cracked it the openers sadly start to lose form. Yaseer Hameed's name has been floated around, Along with Salman Butt. I believe strongly that an opening pair should be a left/right opening combination as to perhaps try to 'upset' a bowlers line and length. Hazeez has definately improved as a player and it just remains now whether Farhat, Butt or Hameed will take the other spot now. If your chasing a big score there may be the option of pushing Afridi up the order cause if he tee's off and stay's around for at least 15 overs then he's sure to get you off to a good start, otherwise I would leave Mr Afridi at lower position.

Middle order speaks for itself really. Younis at 3, Yousaf at 4 and Malik at 5. I would take this as the long term view in the futuer when Inzi hangs up his boots after the world cup next year.

All rounders Razzaq, Afridi and Akmal can be lethal at the end of innings when you need a final push to set a total or chasing.

There is no reason why if Pakistan fire on all cylinders, click at the right time can't win this trophy without Inzi.

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

Besides giving emotional statmens for Inzi, if you really look at him, he looks like a liability. The guy can not even go down and stop the ball with his hands. His back is a burden. He literally stops the ball with his feet, that any coach will tell you not to.
He will make his place if he loses 60 to 80 pound.

i think that imran nazir should be given a chance either as a opener or in the middle order. Afridi and Imran can switch back and forth according to the circumstances and the other opener should be a left hander, and the only appropriate choice is imran farhat. malik should be at number 3 followed by younis and yousuf. pakistan should try this combination until world cup buh to bad Nazir is not in the squad. Hes also a superb fielder which might solve part of pakistans problems in the gully during fielding.

This sums it all up ....

Hazaro Saal Nargis Apni Be Noori Pe Roti Hai

Barri Mushkil Se Hota a Cricketer Inzi Jaisa Paida!

inzi cant be replaced period. we gotta face the reality .he ll last till worldcup hopefully.i think in test team his replacement shouldbe asim kamal.and in odi team hafeez i dun think we need faisal in odi my pakistan 11 would be.
hafeez
salman butt
younis
yousaf
shoaib malik
afridi
razzaq
kamran
shoaib akhtar
rana
asif

Inzi bhai is a massive asset to our team, my opinion is that he is the reputor of the pakistan tem and cannot b replaced but mashalah we have a very variable and solid team.My view is mr Afridi bhai should definetly open,i heard his interview that he would love to do it in the subcontinental pitches and so if he whants to do himself then let him b after all he is a player if he is in the mood on his day and up for it can demolish aside in timeless breathtake and the rest is simple with younis and yousuf bhai at 3 & 4 and faisal iqbal at 5 and hopefully inshalah we can pull it off. may Allah b with our team...

i think afridi should open with asif, and then followed by shoaib..
rana
and
afridi
afridi
afridi
afridi
razzaq
razzaq
and afridi again...trust me..they will bring the trophy home in flying colors...

its not easy to replace inzi but sooner or later pakistan has to accept this reality.i think pakistan should give one more chance to imran nazir.he is a fantastic player .he is in good form as well.now a days u need attacking players and he is a very fine stroke maker .alongwith that he is a very fine fielder.he and afridi should be pakistan long term openers

Kamran, I have watched Pakistan since I was a kid and think I know a little bit about the game. Inzamam is still, unequivocally the best batsmen in the team, by a long margin. His runs have been when they have mattered;we have won games due to Inzi's knocks, something that the the two 'y's' have nowhere near done as regularly. Inzi is also the best player of real pace in the team. He is the only one who can stand comparison with Javed and hold his head high. How many games have Pakistan won, when Inzi has failed, even though Younis and Yousef were in the team?

I think these two will have to step up and walk the talk! W

Why not Asim Kamal? I think Pakistan team needs a little Variation in the middle order, there are too many right handers.
I beleive on flat pitches of India Shoaib Malik should open.

I think that the person who can replace inzimam is only one and that is Yasir Hameed, as he is very sticky to the bat and he shud come as in middle order, or else we can opt salman butt and replaced as an opener with imran farhat

Imran Farhat
Salman Butt
Shoaib Malik
Younus Khan
Mohammed Yousuf
Kamran Akmal
Shahid Afridi
Abdur Razzak
Naved Rana
Shoaib Akhtar
and Md.Asif

This wud be my suggestion, and i personally feel that Coaches shud view, this so that they can realise different varities of batting orders.
Sho

Pakistan desperately needs a replacements for Inzi. The best replacement i can think of is Asim Kamal. In tests Asim Kamal has convinced us all of his potential. In onedays he has not been given a chance but i strongly believe that he will also do well in one-days. At least give him a chance. Don't discard him so early.
Shoaib Malik is also a good option in one-days at no. 5. For tests, he is okay in sub-continent and West Indies but i am not too sure about his stature on seeming pitches of England and bouncy pitches of Australia.
Faisal Iqbal is good in patches but he hasn't showed any consistency. Relation to Javed Miandad is also a hurdle in cementing his place in the team. This relation creates some doubts about his merit.
We can also try any good middle order batsman from domestic cricket. Personally i will go for Asim Kamal in tests, atleast. Shoaib Malik may succeed in one-days. Faisal Iqbal has no chance in one-days with limited stoke-play and defensive technique.
ICC Champions trophy will be a good reflection of the future without Inzamam. Let's hope for the best.

I think that inzy may have played his last odi if the pakistan team take home this trophy. I also think that Mohammmed Yousuf should be appointed full time captain. When i have seen Yousuf fill in he provided excitement to the team. My 11 would be as follows.
Mohammed Hafeez
Imran Farhat
Shoaib Malik
Younis Khan
Mohammed Yousuf
Shahid Afridi
Kamran Akmal
Abdul Razzaq
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammed Asif

I for one believe that Inzamam is simply irreplacable. Having said that we dont need to bring any new faces to our ODI outfit. All that needs to be done is shuffling of our batting order.

While Afridi is an exciting prospect for the opener's slot, i personally believe he should bat at number 3. Younis Khan can bat number 4 and Mohammad Yusuf can bat at no. 5. Razzaq at 7 can be followed by Kamran Akmal at 8. Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat can open thus leaving the no. 6 slot open for speculation. Shoaib Malik can do a very good job in that role. Afridi at no. 3 might sound an interesting proposition but i honestly believe that we wont lose him as cheaply at no. 3 as we tend to do when he opens. Afridi is the only player who can take advantage of the power plays. If the openers can give us a good launching pad, then Afridi can capitalise on that and thus build a mammoth total for the team.

here i have seen and read all the coments..which heads inzi to finish his oneday career..i am strongly opposing the comments. keeping all those issue in mind ,weak fielder,weak running between wickets, not an agressive captain..bla bla bla...still pakistan doesnot have the replace of inzamam..perfect replacement of him. The truth is the unpredictable team is pakistan. when it will face a mini collapse, total collapse of batting order nobody knows.but the requirment of inzi is not yet finished. slow starts is managed by agressiveness with the time of his batting, dependable inzi has proved his class several times by match winning knock when whole pak team has faced total collpse of batting during run chase.The hard fact is inzi may not be in that form right at this moment as the expectation is sky high from him. Bring replacement of inzi.. then comment and say the requirment of inzi in one day is finished. Dont say let young get chance .Remember class is the prior than a good form .i wish Let pakistan be deafeted many matches upto world cup.. let inzi come in a good form right before world cup. Because he has already shown his class. i dont compromise class with form in case of inzi..make a replace by that class. i am ready to say good bye to inzi in oneday ..

You can not replace Inzamam, Can you? There is no better batsman in the histroy of Pak cricket to replace this man.
As far as Pak Team formation for the Champions Trophy is concern Pak should take chances with their openers but not with No.3,4 and 5. I think Younis, Yousaf and Malik would be more settle in those spots. Malik among all other allrounders has a better temperment and ability to play at No.5. Another approach which i would fancy is to fill spot 3,4 and 5 with professional batsmen. Otherwise we will be left with only two batsmen in the middle order surrounded by allrounders. It will be little unfair to depend on allrounder batsman to win you matches on his own.
Farhat does not get selected automatically neither does Hafeez, do not forget his miserable run as an opener in his debut series. In England against not so equipped attack he did well but not for too long. Pak must give Afridi a chance to open his arms in first 15 overs. Now either Afridi n Farhat or Afridi n Hafeez thats the Younis's call. Hafeez is capable of batting in the middle order as well.
Team I want to see is
1. Afridi
2. Hafeez
3. Younis
4. Yousaf
5. Iqbal
6. Malik
7. Razzaq
8. Akmal
9. Rana
10. Shoaib
11. Asif

Why all the love for Farhat? He has proven to be a liability throughout his career. Despite the occasional flashes of raw talent, he has yet to prove to me that he is a world class batsman, and that's what you need on this level.

My lineup is as follows.

Hafeez
Malik
Y. Khan
F. Iqbal
Mo Yo
Akmal
Afridi
Razzaq
Akhtar
Rana
Asif

A scary lineup on paper, but then again, PK always looks good on paper.

Most of your readers comments are filled with superlatives, Inzi is a good player but not a great one. Hoping for a fabulous inning from shahid Afridi is like searching for Dinosaur remains or panning for gold in your local river. A big yahoo down the pitch and he is back in pavillion. Yousuf, always overated is a good test palyer but reponsible for no less then three odi defeats in last 12 months due to his painfully slow batting prone to run outs and induces other to run out due to his habit of running first and deciding about the run later. Razzak is unreliable player but can fire like the lost cause in last odi in england.Pakistan will win if Imran farhat shoab malik, Hafeez and Asif shoab akhtar perform. Salman Butt AND Imran Nazir shoukd be given some respect ande cofidence as they can be a great asset for future.I dont think any player in team PK including inzi is outstanding, compare their performances with Upal tharanga, mahela jayewardenah, Damien martin, Ponting, Kallis and Rahul Dravid and you will see why.

Pakistani team will never win any game by changing their batting order. This team needs motivation to win. If you try to micro-manage the pakistani team you will have people being fired or dropped at the end of the tournament.
I have been following this team for the last 16 years. Losing Inzi as a batsman is a loss however the Pakistani team should be concerned with sorting their internal matters out. The batting order will sort itself out once that issue has been addressed.

Pakistani FAN who is tired by the antics of the team. I hope pakistan wins this tournament and the world cup

Well i will open with Boom Boom(Afridi) since we will be playing on indian tracks which are very flat and pretty good for batting. Afridi showed us previously how dangerous he can be in the powerplays. Well there is no doubt that anyone can replace the class of inzy. Well my eleven for champions trophy would be:

In batting order:

1) Afridi
2) Imran
3) Malik
4) Younis
5) Yusuf
6) Hafeez
7) Razzy
8) Kamran
9) Rana
10) Shoaib
11) Asif

Inshallah Pakistan will win the Champions trophy. We are all praying for Pak team. Come on Pakistan

Regards
Kashif Javed from Brunei Darussalam

I totally agree with abbassi regarding faisal, he will be our future match winner, most people only goes with performance they forget his 83 against australia when pakistan batsman even M.yousuf. yonis khan and inzi fails to deliver, people forget his match saving innings against srilanka when pakistan going for losing the test match and even in england he save the first test for pakistan with others how you unrate his skills. you should go for technique not performance now you have to replace inzi with good player , if you go in history you can see attapatu he give long run by srilanka even after he fall ducks in the start of his career because they know how good a technique will be and they find him captaining the side now. so people dont take faisal selection political it sole on his performance and technique. i dont feel shoib malik has good technique at all he can be good in south asia and we all see it in england when he fails but he is good allrounder too. my icc champions trophy team will be

Hafeez
afridi
younis
yousuf
faisal
shoib malik
kamran
razzak
rana
shoib akhtar
asif

Rahman
karachi

Given the recent squad i think Muhammad Hafeez on cost of Faisal should be allowed to open the inning with Imran Farhat and Afridi must be use as floater but mostly lower down the order. Hafeez is good agressive player at top and wil provide and extra spinning option which will be vital. middle order can be stabalized by yousuf younis and shoaib. afridi razzaq and akmal can burst on any team any and all beind excellent finisher except afridi. with devolped battind of Rana and Akhter Pakitan only have a tail ender at 11.

Muhammad Hafeez (b/b) Agressive, Stabalizer
Imran Farhat (b) Gifted but impatient
Younis Khan (b) new well his role
Muhammad Yousif (b) outstanding, learn to finish
Shoaib Malik (b/b) modrate, finisher, handy
Abdul Razzaq (b/b) two geared, but xelnt finis
Kamran Akmal (b/w) unmatchabe w/k
Shahid Afridi (b/b) simply devastating
Rana Naveed (b/b) lacking confidence
Shoaib Akhter (b/b) as firy with as with bowl
Muhammad Asif (b) keep his victom dancing

Hi Kamran,
I disagree completely with your opinion of inzi retiring from odis. I dont know if you had done any research on the stats that you came up with but if there is a need inzi does run his single and he is also a good catcher compared to other members in the team. He's going through a lame patch, but that would change.
From the names you have mentioned, none of those guys have proven to be even close to inzy in the ODI game. I dont remember Malik playing any critical innings outside Asia, the same with Hafeez. Those guys have a lot to learn before they can step into the massive shoes of Inzy, and the World cup is way to close for that.
Z

Well it seems that most of us agree that it be difficult to find a replacement for Inzy. However, in my opinion we shouldn't think this way to begin with. Inzy has become one of the greats already, he has made his place in the history books. Hence, we will be better of looking for another bright young player who has the potential of becoming great rather than trying to replace Inzy. Good thing is that both Younis and Yousuf has taken the responsibility of senior batsmen quite well. So I think together they will make up for the vacancy. Faisal Iqbal is a young talented player: though he was in disarray against the pacers on English pitches, he did good enough for his first tour and will get better. Although I would have rather gone for someone like Yasir Hameed or Asim Kamal and may even have considered Hasan Raza for Inzy's spot in the team; but we the spectators do not make the decisions and Faisal Iqbal is the one selected. Therefore I would go a head and play him on Inzy's spot at five. Yeah allrounders does sound great for ODIs but if one pays attention, ours aren't that consistent to be trusted enough (Shoaib Malik was but is sort of out of form); and need I say anything about the troubling openers that we have. This predicament leaves us with only two geninue trusted batsmen and when either one of them will fail, we'll lose most probably. That's why I would play Faisal Iqbal as if nothing else, he is capable of holding on for hours; also he is one of the best fielders we got and if we think about that, we can use a few good ones.

Well to find a replacement of Inzy is not only difficult it is nearly impossible,but i would go for Shoaib Mailk to bat on Inzy's position becus he is not technically(Not have good technique to face new ball) sound to bat as an opener and on the other hand if he gets the start we all no he is as reliable and fluant as Yousaf and Younis so we should not waste him as an opener and we shuld try him as a reliable middle order in place of Inzy.For an opener i will go for Shahid Afridi with either Hafeez or Imran Farhat becus we all know how well he performed on the last tour of india in the ODI's batting as an opener he can change the match on his day easily in a quick time samashing the new ball all around and putting the pressure on the opposition so i think pakistan playing 11 should be as follows :

1-Imran Farhat
2-Shahid Afridi
3-Younis Khan
4-Muhammad Yousaf
5-Shoaib Malik
6-Muhammad Hafeez
7-Abdul Razzaq
8-Kamran Akmal
9-Rana Naveed
10-Shoaib Akhtar
11-Muhammad Asif

For this tournament, I would prefer Shoaib Malik to Faisal Iqbal at 5, simply because he is more experienced in ODIs. Iqbal, if I am not wrong, last played an ODI three years ago.

We will have Inzi back after his ban (politics permitting) til atleast the world cup. Then the long term replacement becomes an issue. I hope the team management are already grooming someone, although I wouldnt hold my breath since Iqbal has only just been drafted in and Shoaib Malik has been pushed to become an opener (a policy I just can't get my head around. Malik an opener? In Tests?! Be serious Bob).

Okay, my laptop is now closing 'cause I am done with my sit-at-home-pseudo-selector bit. I am not expecting a call from the PCB offering me a selectors job, I promise. This week they announced (once again), paid selector positions. Yeah right.

I think Inzi is the right choice for captaincy of Pakistan Cricket Team and in his absence i will choose younas khan streight away. And as for as the order of Paki team is concerned so my team is as follow for ICC Champions Trophy:

Muhammad Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Younas Khan
Muhammad Yousaf
Faisal Iqbal
Shahid Afridi
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhtar
Rana Naveed
Muhammad Asif

This batting order can change acording to the situation, Afridi can play on 3 or 4 when need so as Kamran and Abdul Razzaq but the openers to me be the same Muhammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. This is the best choice in the current team. So I suggest the Pakistan Cricket Team that please dont experiment too much and just go for the win as the best team in the world.

Salam to everybody,
First of all I would like to say that nobody can replace Inzamam because he is a world class player but when he is missing the Champions Trophy so I we should solve the problem.At first we should solve the problem of openers, we have great options but we dont use it.I will 100 percent support Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez because others like Farhat And Butt have been given chances but they could not perform so it the time for Nazir and Hafeez. There is no need of Faisal Iqbal or any other player to place in middle order.Here is the most strong batting order which i would recommond.
1. Muhammad Hafeez
2. Imran Nazir
3. Shoib Malik
4. Younis khan
5. Muhammad Yousuf
6. Shahid Afridi
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Nave-ul-hasan
10.Shoib Akhter
11.Muhammad Asif

I have been a fan of Inzamam's ever since I first saw him in the semi final match of the 1992 World Cup against New Zealand. I was only 8 years old then and 14 years on I never cease to be amazed by the grace and power that he brings to the crease. He is without a doubt a pivotal player in the middle order. Well very intresting topic tht who can replace Inzi? i think no one can bcoz the way things are going in pakistan cricket team and the way the selection and things are going i think they wont be able to find inzaman replacement in next couple of years, but i think the best option is to give a all rounder a chance rather than giving faisal Iqbal a chance bcoz in one day cricket All Rounders plays important role so i think if younas comes to bat at no 4 or tht be good or if he take some more responsibility than bat at no 3 and drop Shoaib Malik to no 5 or 6 as he is the best player of spin in the team after Younis. and let afridi open the inning i think its gona help a lot but to be honest no one can replace inzi bcoz he got his own class like wasim akram he is a batsman and half and i think every1 knwz tht but i think to replace inzi as captain younas is a best option but as a batsman give some one new chance rather than faisal iqbal. I know some other players like FAISAL ATHER who is the leading scorer in QUAD-E-AZAM TROPHY he is an ideal one day player and have guds of test player. So basically heres my team which should bring Pakistan victory in the Champions Trophy. so gud luck pakistan in champion trophy.
1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahid Afridi
3. Younis Khan
4. Muhammad Yousuf
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Abdul Razzak
7. Kamran Akmal
8. Muhammad Hafeez – spinner
9. Shoaib Akhtar
10. Rana Naveed
11. Muhammad Asif

Hi kamran bahi,

Well well well, first of all I definitely agree with those who says no one can ever replace inzi. No doubt about that, he is one of the finest batsman ever and Pakistan is really lucky to have him for the last 15 years and so.
Now, remember we have to select from those 14 players who are selected for ICC Champions trophy. I am really surprised by those comments who says likes of imran nazir, bazid khan , hasan raza should replace inzi. Kamran bahi is aksing for replacing inzi in this tournament only and not for oters like WC or what ever rite now. If you want to replace any way, then Asim kamal is the best choice available in both form of the games but only after big man's (inzi) retirement.

Pakistan team combination for me should be :

1- Imran farhat
2- Muhammad Hafeez or Afridi(if situation demands)
3- Younis Khan
4- Muhammad Yousaf
5- Shoaib Malik
6- Afridi
7- Razzaq
8- Kamran
9- Rana naveed or Umar gul
10 Shoaib Akhtar
11- Asif

This will be the ideal combination, and i agree with those that shoaib mailk is the best choice to bat at no. 5 as he is batting all rounder and plays both spinners and fast bowlers really well. Young Faisal Iqbal can come only in case on any injury.
I am shocked by those commsnts that Younis khan should bat at no. 4 or 5. If some one has ever listen to the Great Imran khan and Geffory boycott ever, they always say that the best batsman in the team should bat at top of the order i.e. position no. 1, 2 & 3, so rite now Younis and Yousad are our best batsman, so the best choice for younus is no. 3 only as Yousad is already settled at no. 4.
People who says afridi should bat at any cost at opening position, they live in fool's paradise. When ever he looses his wicket early, where ever he is playing, the pressure mounts on the team so soon and then our middle order batsman have to sustain pressure always. Every cricket expert knows that one day cricket is all about the handling the pressure. Also, do' nt forget that Imran ferhat and Muhammad hafeez re both hard hitting batsman, they can use the long handle any time and score quick runs in power plays.

I am of the view that some day one have to leave the field no matter how good and big he is. Same is for Inzi, there is no match to him but everyone has some limit (Physicaly).

So, I think its time for two Y's (Yousuf and Younas) to take responsibility for playing at 3 and 4 in ODIs. This position is been taken by key players in past. As, i am of the point that if you have to score something good, your big guns needs to fire. Like in the past, if we take a look as mighty WestIndians, Loyed and Viv Richards bat at 4 and 3 respectively then Ranatunga and DeSilva and more recently Ponting. So i think we have to make sure that two Y's are keen to take this oppertunity to prove that they are successors of the Inzi.

As per Test, it is upto Inzi fitness, if he feels fit engough to play, he must go on. I wonder how long we have to wait to see another gaint with such talent.

dear i will comment on the sellection of fasisal iqbal.i will say that its the worst choice for the team.he may be a telented batsman but v havent seen any high class performance from him which is evident from his bating average bot in test cricket and in the one dayers.
i want to remind u of a player name Asim Kamal. y the selectors r ignoring him. i accept that he is a test player but in my view he is a classic player and if pakistan selects him on regular basis he may be a player just like Michel Beven. coz his approach is very simmilar to the world class player of Australia. so i would have selected Asim Kamal on the retirement of Inzi

Players like inzi cant be replaced over night. Faisal Iqbal is Talented player but he is not yet played up to his capbilities in ODIs. Selectors Included Shahid Yousaf for ODIs in England but he didnt get a chance. his domestic performance is very good. he must be given a chance in India.

Mohammad Yousaf has the best Avg in the World at # 3 position . it is near 58. he scored 5 centuries in 1 year in 2001 at # 3 position.
He must be at # 3.

There is no Inzi, so we need to strengtn our middle order, therefore i would prefer the following team

Mohamad Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Mohamad Yousaf
Younis Khan
Faisal Iqbal
Kamran Akmal
Shahid Afridi
Abdul Razzak
Rana Naveed
Shoiab Akhtar
M. Asif

I would prefere to choose following order!

1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahid Afridi
3. Younis Khan (C)
4. Muhammad Yousuf
5. Soaib Malik
6. Muhammad Hafeez
7. Abdul Razzak
8. Kamran Akmal (W)
9. Rana Naveed
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohd. Asif

Hello everybody there!

Well! in my opinion, there is no replacement available for Inzy for Pakistan. He's been excellent. Although there are options that you can try.

The best option that comes to my mind is that of Yasir Hameed. For Heavens Sake PCB! Stop spoiling your talent. May be, one day, we find an Inzy or M. Yousaf out of him.

Those ones who are asking about the retirement of Inzy have forgotten that he is the best batsman of crisis and of big matches in the Pakistani side and it would be a disaster to go for the World Cup 2007 without Inzy (the only player of the World Cup 1992 Winning Squad present in the current team).

And about the batting order! well as everybody knows that there is almost nothing on the track for the bowler in the subcontinent so batting must be your strength to win something like CHAMPION'S TROPHY. Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez are at their best on these sort of pitches. So use them in appropriate manner. My perception of a winning batting order for Champion's Trophy would be:

Imran Farhat
Shahid Afridi
Younis Khan
Muhammad Yousaf
Muhammad Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhtar
Muhammad Asif

But i think that the final decision should be for the captain to make (i.e. Younis Khan).

Wish you best of luck Pakistan Team.

Shuaib

hello , i am an indian and a great fan of pakistani cricket since the last ball six by javed Miandad. Coming to the discussion i think Inji is arguably one of the best batsman in world cricket and given his ability to perform under pressure he is a geneous. We all talk about the six of javed Bhai but few of us will recall the last ball four inji hit at Ahmadabad last time when pak came to india. very few batsman will play a basic cricket shot under that situation and succeed.i am hurt by the comments of some of the members in this coloumn particularly Mr Ali Rizvi though he has a right to what he says.
As regards the team composition and the replacement for champions trophy pakistan shall play imraan farhat, malik and hafeez though the numbrs at which they bat is a team decision. faisal may have to wait for his turn which i hope will be the windies tour. Though the bowlers choose themselves still pak selectors should bear in mind the potential of Yasir Arafat as another all round choice in case the main bowlers are not fit.i wish the team success.

How about Prez Musharraf as Inzy's replacement? He seems to be a jack of all trades...

:)

The only thing required is Pakistan play as a team. If they respect each other and gel well as a team,they are unbeatable.

it is quite incredible that despite performing strongly each time he has been asked to in recent times Bazid Khan is kept out of the reckoning! Last time he played for Pakistan A (which is after all a shadow team of the Pakistan team) he single handedly took on the Aussie team outscoring all other Pakistani batsmen by a mile and a half...but still an unknown Shahid Yusuf got the nod. I am amazed that Bazid hasn't jacked in the sport altogether by now considering how he has been "rewarded" for his consistant performances....one reason might be that he doesnt wear facial hair in the prescribed manner...another that people have a grudge against his father. Surely, if anyone deserved at least an extended run in the team it is Bazid Khan. it will be tragic disaster if this very capable batsman isnt at least given an opportunity to settle into the team as he surely deserves. Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Hasan Raza, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal...all pretty mediocre players have each had a chance to build their career, why not Bazid?

Hi all.. I personally believe that we should always have specialist batsmen at positions from 1 to 4 and then have an allrounder at 5 who does not always whack the ball and has a good head on his shoulder to basically finish off the game. At numbers 6 and 7 we could swap between a hard hitting allrounder or a wicket keeper who could again rotate the strike. Number 8 to 11 should go to specialist bowlers. Therefore my team from the available 14 would be:

1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Younis Khan
3. Imran Farhat
4. Mohammad Yousuf
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Kamran Akmal/Abdul Razzak
7. Abdul Razzak/Kamran Akmal
8. Rana Naveed
9. Shoaib Akhtar
10.Rao Iftikhar
11.Mohammad Asif

I have always supported Imran Khan's point of being aggressive and we can only be aggressive when we play our specialist players for their specilaist roles because this is what they do and they are good enough specialists to be in our team. We all are praying forf Pakistan's success and wish all the luck to our team.

I cant understand what has happened to the openner imraan nazir he explosive when he came on the scene a brilliant close in fielder.its clear for anybody to see we(pakistan)are battling in that position.i am really keen to hear about this youngster.thanks

Who can replace Inzi? What a question? He is a world class player and he has earned this respect through his performance and class over the years. Greats like Inzi can not be replaced but obviously players have to retire but game goes on. Recent performances from Younis and Youssaf have shown that Pakistan batting does not depend on depend on Inzi's shoulders any more. With regard to batting order, i will stick with Imran Khan who said that he would play with 10 players (Afrid being the 11th). Afrid is being wasted down the order specially in the ODI's. In ODI's, he should always open regardless of his success or failure, He is someone who can take the game away from opponent everytime tiem he scuceeds. His stats are also more attractive at the top order rather than in the middle order. I hope Pakistan does well. I would like them to reach to the finals and then loose, i dont want this team to peak before the world cup as every time they are at the top of their game they fail. Good luck guys.

hi to all pakistan.as cricket is the game i love and respect.about inzy,he is the best batsman in the world.he has his own unique style of cricketing.at this time pakistan has no one to replace the greatest inzmam.you can fullfill his place just to have 11th player in team not as equal batsman.inzmam is a brave batsman.he never nervous in cricise.as he is out for 4 matches we should play and win without him.if pakistan team will win without inzmam.i,m sure that he,ll be very happy because he is a real sportsman.no doubt that younis khan can be a goog captain but i suggest him call inzmam and take good tips from him.he,ll be happy to give his suggetians to younis.in champions trophy pakistan need to make maximumefforts to win.they have an excelentteam with great batsmen and bowlers.i wish them best of luck.here is my champion team. 1=imran farhat or imran nazir
2=shahid afridi
3=shoaib malik
4=muhammad yousaf
5=younis khan(captain)
6=abdurrazaq
7=faisal iqbal or muhammad hafeez
8=kamran akmal(wicket keeper)
9=shoib akhtar
10=muhammad asif
11=umar gull or rana naveed

I don't think faisal iqbal is good enough. He is total faliure. I would say call bazid khan or misba-ul-haq. They are good middle order batsmen.

Much of the debate so far has centered around Afridi and where he should be placed in the batting order. Surely the Pakistan team need to have him as a 'floater', coming in to bat at strategic positions as demanded by the match situation. He is not a batsman who will bat out 40-odd overs, and personally I beleive that he is wasted as an opener. He should be given the last 20-25 overs of the innings.

who can replace the great inzamam? the answer is no body, inzamam will be sorely missed in the icc champions trophy, and any body who says something stupid like "it will be a blessing in disguise or it will be better for pak without inzi is really stupid.

lets see if the blessings of ramazan mubarak can help pakistan lift the tophy

INSHALLAH

Inzi has been shouldering the burden of brittle batting order for well over a decade. Is he going to be miseed? You bet we will.......... Who would not miss a batsman like him. And those of you who even think that he should be dropped from ODI team are nothing but lose cannons with short term memories.
Inzi is the best batsman ever produced by Pakistan. Better than the minadads, zaheers and all other put together. He may be slow in the field but when was the last time you saw him dropping a catch. He has safest pair of hands along with Afridi and Younis in the whole squad.
I hope that Inzi would return a stronger individual and make all his detractors hang their heads in shame.

Asim Kamal has performed in TESTS in the middle order when given the chance. He is a calm and solid player but at first glance it seems his unflashiness is not wanted (yet Pakistan have been crying out for his kind for years). On closer examination, Kamal has not the connections of the likes of Faisal Iqbal and so we can't consider him seriously - it goes unfortunately beyond merit. How else does one explain players like Faisal Iqbal being selected time and time again?!

People are going on about the same old openers and saving the best players for the middle order. Why have them there to rescue the team out of a crisis when you can AVERT a crisis in the first place by having your best batsmen at the top of the order?! If they can't cope with the new ball, then don't proclaim them to be world class.

To those wanting Afridi to open - is it more important to win the Champions Trophy or the World Cup? I think Pakistan should not look for short term fixes like sending him to open but should try to play as close to the WC strategy as they can.

To sum up, yes on merit it should be Asim Kamal in the middle order for his stickability. From the squad though - anyone but Faisal!

Inzy is a big loss for pakistan in champion Trophy. He is king to paly underpreasur.
Faisal Iqbal is wrong selection he should be replaced by shahid Yousaf and Malik should play at No.5 and Afridi should take the risk at open

I already posted a comment but looking at some of the crazy choices put in I have to say that Shoaib Malik is a great all-rounder. He does not bat well if he is not bowling or if he bowls just one or two overs a match. If he bowls seven or eight overs a match he would probably bat better too. So the order is

Yasir Hameed
Imran Nazir
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Abdul Razzaq
and then the bowlers.
Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Hafeez, Salman Butt and Imran Nazir are the only openers there actually are.

Vivian Richards ones said of Miandad that he is the one he would have bat for his life. I can solemnly swear on everything which is dear to me, that if I would have to choose someone to bat for my life, I would pick Inzamam. I am confident that many a cricketlover shares this sentiment. For grace and uninhibited play, my pick would be Saeed Anwar, A sight for sore eyes. But the only man who oozes total command of batting and with it the bowling, is Inzamam. He does not display it only in attacking intent, of which there is no shortage. But even in defence he sends out a statement saying:”How in the world can you even consider the thought that you have the remotest chance of troubling me, you are not worthy!!!”

In my time as a cricket fanatic I have seen numerous breathtaking, gorgeous, disciplined, calculated, accumulating and dashing innings, but none have been a total symbiosis of all the disciplines of batting as the innings of Inzimam have been. The only thing he does lack is communication when running between the wickets. Inzimam has always had the ability to leave me awestruck.

One stroke that is etched into my retina is the stroke he played in the final of the world cup of 1992. Ian Botham bowled a ball just outside the offstump and Inzi just tickled it, with the faintest of edges, for four past a diving Alec Stewart. Such strokes display for me the mastery of a batsman over the bowling.

One innings which always comes to mind is his century against Sri Lanka in Sharjah. Inzimam came in with the asking rate around 7. He had with him Navid Latif, who was finding it hard to get the ball of the square. Inzi just strolled in, I told my dad that Pakistan would win as long as Inzi was there, no stress. Without any fuss, Inzi took total command of the match and spurred Navid on to his century. Inzi himself made one of the finest centuries I have seen. Sri Lanka tried and tries but could not stem the flow, I can only imagine how the would have felt.

The other innings is arguably his finest, even if it was in defeat. At Karachi, India had massacred the Pakistani bowling and had amassed a monstrous target of 350. Pakistan were 34-2 after 7.4 overs. In walked Inzi and changed the complexion of the match. He played with the bowling and made the impossible possible, until he got out. In his stay he had out-batted the most powerfull batting line-up in the world on his own. Al of them looked like mere mortals in the presence of Inzamam.

My case for Inzi is, just let the man bat. The hole he leaves by his absence is to large to be filled on a fulltime basis with the same effect, especially with a major tournament like the world cup coming. After Inzi's retirement, Faisal Igbal seems a good option for his spot. Let us just pray that Allah sends us a worthy succesor for the gift he sent us before, namely Inzamam-ul-Haq.

HI all........nice conversation going on...
But if we stick to the question....simply no replacement for inzamam is possible coz he has been the best batsman over the decads...
he is greatest in the likes of Brian Lara then comes like tendulkersssss.............
any how in current scenario i think Afridi is better option as an opener.........
leaving faisal out of the team.....

Yasir Hameed is being wasted on the side lines despite being consistent scorer in ODI's. One also feels that the failure of the selectors to protect and nourish the genius of a player like Imran Nazir is a travesty. On hard surfaces like India and Pakistan and also West Indies he could be brutal. His explosive 100 agaisnst Indian doemstic champions in India few weeks back should have been ample evidence.

Imran Nazir should definitely be given a chance to open he is a very good batsman especially in odi's, he should open with Hafeez.

I understand the arguement for left and right hand openers but face it farhat or butt are no Saeed anwars - so there is no point sticking with them only because they are left handers - they are decent openers but inconsistent .

Pakistan has so many talented youngsters who should be given a chance hameed, hasan raza, misbah ul haq, shahid yousaf in the middle order and the young bowlers who won us the under 19 world cup last year....

also we need to sort out our wicket keeping problem..akmal is under no pressure to perform and lately his overall performances have ben lacking hunger - and his batting has been disappointing from someone who was touted as one of the best wicket-keeping batsmen in the world...we need to get some wicket keeping competition going.

on a final note.....Faisal Iqbal should not even be in the squad let a,one the starting XI

I Think now the pakistani team should be able to play in the absence of Inzy because after world cup Inzy will have Retire due to his fitness problem and overweight.
The Team Should Be As Follows
Mohammad Hafeez
Shahid Afridi
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Shoaib Malik
Bazid Khan
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Naveed-ul-Hassan
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif

In such an absence of Inzy the batsman, the role of Shoaib Malik 'the batsman' has become more important than ever as he is a talent who can survive and hold things together. Add Afridi & Razzak's explosiveness to that, on Indian flat pitchess; one as an opener, other as a finisher. And, we get a combination that can serve the absence of Big Man. But, taking the 'uncertainity' character of this combination..Yousuf & Younis must remain as always. Now the thing is, put someone young who is technically solid in between them. This decision making will be a challenge that may benefit Pakistan in the future...world cup & so on, specially when INZI retires. Good Luck Pakistan.

In this entire discussion,one name that seems to be missing is Salman Butt. True, he did not do well in England but i do think he was axed a little premturely. He has done well in India and to me clearly better any of the openers currently in the running. He alongwith Imran Farhat should get Pakistan out of the opening woes.

Inzi is still your premier batsman. Any opposition would relish playing pakisthan without him. Pakisthan fast bowlers are never reliable except for Asif and some times they go into games expecting their allrounders to fill in 20 overs. I dont think their bownling line up is not as deadly as it used to be in the past. Which makes their inconsistent batsmen their main strength. Without Inzi the hold no chance of winning the world cup.

PS: I wonder what happened to pak's spin cupboard. They could do really well with a decent left arm orthodox spinner.

Hi,
Inzi is a master, a legend and yet still a human being. Few will reach his zeanth and class and that makes replacing his position even more difficult. I belive the Shoaib as an opener gave Pak more versatility and his absence in Eng was felt dearly...so i would like to see him open with farhat or butt.
Faisal is a person who promises much yet doesnt give you the air of a player who can be effective aggressor as n when needed. His style is more suggestive of an accumulator mode batsman. Inzi is a forceful player with ability to make things happen.
Whoever will replace inzi in long term will have to play under the shadow of his performances and comparison drawn making life no easier for him. Guys like faisal or Hafeez or Nazeer i suspect juggle around with places. One player who is being neglected for no good reason esp in Test is Asim, left hander middle order player. He would be my first choice in test, while for one dayer i would be inclined to give Hafeez the first go due to his added benifit of bowling and excellent feilding.
but someone will have a tuff time fillin the great shoes of inzi...which i suspect will lead to juggling of these players with each other for the position...until survival of the fittest takes effect...

regards

to find replacement for inzimam is almost impossible but for champions trophy from the available squad in my view line up should be.................
Imran farhat
Muhammad hafeez
younis khan
Muhammad yousaf
shoaib malik
shahid afridi
abdul razzak
kamran akmal
shoaib akhtar
Umar gul(rana out of form)
Muhammad asif
............................
but i also think shahid afridi can be moved up the order acording to the satuation.

i dont understand how the public of pakistan can change so quickly. it was last year in the series against england that inzi was being hailed as one of the greatest batsmen and captain of pakistan maybe the best after imran khan, and less then a year later we are doubting the mans abilities. Just going by the stats inzimam is the best batsman pakitsan has produced, but i think the best ability he has is that he brings the best out of his team mates when batting with them and gives confidence to the team when being the captian, at the moment there is no1 else who can do that in the pakistan team so i think we need him around till atleast the world cup, i hope for mine and everyother pakistan cricket fans sake the he is not replaced till atleast the world cup and i think after producing soo many legend atleast 1 should get a proper farewell and not be treated like many b4 him, wasim akram, saeed anwar just to name a couple

The biggest issue for the Pakistan team at the moment is obviously a direct replacement for Inzimam. In my opinion, at this point in time - Pakistan do not have a player in the current crop that can be labelled as a direct replacement for the man who is arguably the greatest batman that Pakistan has produced. The stratgegy in India for the Champions Trophy should ultimately be built around Younis and Yousaf. Younis should bat at 3 and this should not change under any situation. The position of Yousaf could be more flexible depending on the situation. Yousaf could possibly fluctuate between the batting positions of 4, 5 and 6 based on the needs of the team. Flat tracks in India should definitely allow these two greats to perform to the best of their ability - the other players should rally around them and if the performances of Afridi, Razzaq and Malik (during their last ODI series in India) are anything to go by then Pakistan fans do not have much to be worried about. Chasing large totals could see either Razaaq or Malik coming in before Yousaf in a pinch hitting role.This kind of flexibility could be ideal for the team. Afridi should perhaps open (prefarably with Farhat)and the middle order should be completed by playing either Faisal or Hafeez. Their will be two very divided camps on this topic - some will back Faisal saying that he is a genuine middle order batsman while others would voice their support for Hafeez as he is also a competent off spinner. This decison should be made based on the track and the conditions on the day of play (how useful will another spinner be if the team is defending a total and bowling at night - afterall they do already have Malik and the deadly Afridi to call upon). One point that I would like to raise is the unexplained abscence of Yasir Hameed from the international set up. All he did wrong was score two half centuries against a full strength Australian side on their turf. How a player can be dropped after scoring two fifties is still a mystery. Pakistan fans have not missed him in the last two years as the team has been playing so well (apart from the recent series in England - before that they had been undefeated for 5 test series). If Hameed had been in the squad, I would have had no hesitation in saying that in the abscence of Inzi - he should definitely find a place in the side.

I think you can never replace a great player with any other player because its a time which makes a Player Great an I know we will call the same thing after 4 years about Muhammad Yousuf.

Pakistan have been here before. In fact in the early 80's Pakistan faced losing several high quality players at virtually the same time. Think back and remember greats like Zaheer Abbas and Sarfraz Nawaz. There is an abundance of talent, but Pakistan must fnd a way of nurturing talent better than they have in recent years.
My team:
1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahid Afridi (only because he likes flat Inidan tracks)
3. Mohammad Yousaf
4. Younis Khan
5. Faisal Iqbal
6. Shohaib Malik
7. Kamran Akmal
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Shohaib Akhtar
10. Rana Naveed
11. Mohammad Asif

I cant believe no one did not mention imran nazir, and afridi opening. Pakistan picked imran nazir when he was too young and now that he is ready, they wont bring him back. i thing it should be like this
Imran, Afridi, malik, younis, yousif,faisal, akmal, razzak,rana, asif, akthar.

"inzy's replacement" seems to be a difficult phrase to comprehend....unless our domestic circuit can generate prodigies like mike hussey or michael bevan.

For Pakistan to replace Inzamam Ul Haq is going to very difficult. The man has scored countless runs for his team under the most extreme pressure. I think he should go after the world cup, on a high note, by winning the competition. He is still the best Pakistani batman out there, however Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf have exploded, in terms of responsibility and run scoring. Inzamam’s qualities as a batsman are numerous. He has so much time at the crease, has batted under the most extreme pressure, knows instinctively when to consolidate an innings, has judgment of line and length, can increase the tempo of the innings and most importantly picks the best shots. The man is a truly an amazing talent, and is rightly considered the greatest Pakistani batsman of his generation. Inzamam should have scored well over 10,000 test match runs, if he converted his 1's to 2's and 2's to '3's. He still is a great modern day batsman and without him, I truly feel Pakistan is much weaker side. His coolness, tempo and hitting I feel, are unmatched in the Pakistan team and world cricket. Only recently Inzamam scored 9 consecutive 50 + scores
against England. So to say he should retire now, is complete folly.
Nobody can replace Inzamam Ul Haq, for he is a modern day GREAT.
Pakistan’s weaknesses should be addressed, such as the opening combination, fielding, running between the wickets and the batting line up, which should never be juggled. Why would you want to change a winning formula? I have seen the Pakistani’s do this on countless occasions. One minute Afridi’s opening the innings and the next millisecond he’s batting at number 8!! We can continue with Pakistani’s failings the list is about as long as my arm!! Pakistan need to concentrate on the most important weakness I feel which puts the rest of the team under unnecessary stress, tension and pressure. I have not seen the solid opening stands, which are required at the highest level. Pakistani’s cannot always try to relay on the middle order to fire day in day out. They need to understand the importance of laying the foundations for a good score. And not give away wickets too cheaply as they have done in recent times. Salman Butt is a prime example, when he came onto the scene I thought he would be an ideal replacement for Saeed Anwar. He has scored a couple of great hundreds one against in India, which was awesome. But repeatedly he has given his wicket away and always in the same manner. Irfan Pathan ruthlessly exposed this technical flaw with which he got out to a number of times. I feel Shahid Afridi should never open mainly because he is a proven failure in that position. He cannot deal with the moving bowl and will try a daring stroke too early (however this what makes Afridi who he is). He is an integral part of the team and Pakistan should utilize him in the most efficient way possible by playing him at number 6 or 7. Shahid Afridi brings entertainment to the world of cricket. An on song Afridi can turn the game on its head and demolish the opposition on his own. I remember a certain century he scored against India in 2004 off 45 deliveries, it was simply brutal murder. I think either Yasir Hameed or Imran Farhat should open with Mohammed Hafeez. The following is my line up:

Imran Farhat / Hameed
Hafeez
Younis Khan
Mohammed Yousuf
Iqbal / Shoaib Malik
Afridi
Razzaq
Akmal
Akthar
Rana / Gul
Asif

talking is very easy but performing is to do

like in urdu we baatein karna bara asaan hai andar jaake kaam karna buht mushkil

Inzamam replacement i dotn think anyone has that kind of talent to whom PCB could groom into like Inzy I think Asim Kamal had that kind of personality but inclusion inc hampions tropy would be a daft decision made and people whos ay 100 of inzy there an dhe shoudl retire

I think till the time inzy is on the crease and even if pakistan wants 10 runs an over to win the pakistan dressing room is calm coz they know till the time he is there its pakistans game but whne he is out thats it chances become even then like veryone can remember the pakistan india game of chasing 350 pakistan was winning it till inzy was there but when he got out pakistan lost it from winning

I have seen Shahid Yousaf bating a few times on TV and he has looked to me a very promising and talented batsman. I just don't understand why the selectors and the team management are not giving him a proper chance to showcase his talent in the national team as he has been one of the most consistant performers at domestic level plus he is only 20 or 21. we have got less than a year to go till the world cup and as of now, we don't have a reliable backup to Inzi or for that matter Mohammad Yousaf or Younis Khan. What if this same situation arises in the world cup with Inzi (given his age and a bad back) becoming unfit? Who would replace him then? On so many occasions in the recent past, Pakistani think tank had the opportunity to try out other batsman but have failed to do so.

Faisal Iqbal has been given ample opportunities to prove his worth but has failed because of his limited talent. Even if he scores heavily in champions trophy, he would still not change my opinion about him. I can never see him getting any runs in conditions more conducive to fast bowling such as in Australia, South Africa and England.

It makes perfect sense for Shoaib Malik to replace Inzi in the bating order and bat at number five with Younis and Yousaf coming to bat at three & four spot. Bating at nubmer five, one needs to be a good finisher, which Shoaib Malik has proved that he is perfectly capable of; as initially in his career, he bated at number five/six for a while and played some really good inings. Apart from his batting, he is very quick between the wickets and is a very good fielder also. So definitely in my opinion, he should replace Inzi.

To my perception, it's not just the middle order suffering without great Inzi but also big loss of a cool head. No doubt that new blood should be promoted but not at stake of experience. His presence, even without scoring much is a support for team. In big tournaments, pressure is the main thing.

One day, every stalwart has to leave. To be pro-active, I must say that PCB will have to adopt a consistent policy. Running the whole scenario on adhoc is another issue responsible for these concerns. An independent board might solve these issues well.

We have confused Afridi by shuffling his position. After knowing his abilities, this weapon, either should be used accordingly as per its strength or should be replaced with other better more consistent options. He should be allowed to play his natural game with Hafeez at the top order. We should have a back up plan. If Afridi fails then we should introduce shoib Malik at No 3, otherwise, he is better option for Inzi's Replacement at his position. I don't feel that Faisal Iqbal is an ideal choice. Shahid Yousaf could be a better choice. In future, we might have to work on wicket keeper as well. Akmal'a performance has been not upto the mark behind the wickets. We should have specialist players for their postions instead jack for all trades. Define team & then fill the roles. Add people as per the role required not as per availibility.

Unfortunately, we lack tremendously in pressure sustainability & discipline. We need to improve it. I wish PCB bring discipline in its governance & game. If we wish success, we must learn the art of striving in odds because big games are not won just with big names, it’s your team behavior, decision making, leadership & strategic approach that lead you to win. Younus could be good choice for captainship after Inzamam. Wishing a wonderful success to ill-discipline Pakistan team in Champions trophy and World Cup.

The Best Pakistani team in the absence of Inzy
1. Sahid afridi
2. Imran Farhat
3. Sohaib malik
4. Mo. Yousuf
5. Yunis khan
6. Hasan Raza
7. Kamaran Akmal
8. Abdul Razak
9. sohaib Akhthar
10. mohamad Asif
11. Danish Kaneria

I agree with your article Kamran. Inzamam is a liability in the ODI team. ODI cricket needs young legs, and Inzy's are far from young. As good a batsman that he is - I think Pakistan should play this team for ODI Cricket:

Salman Butt
Imran Nazir
Mohammad Hafeez
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousef
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Abdur Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhter
Mohammad Asif

We need to have a PROPER left/right hand opening partnership - Salman Butt is tougher than Imran Farhat and he should do well in that position along with Imran Nazir who has been given a raw deal by selectors time and time again. With this line up we bat all the way down to number 9 which is Kamran Akmal - Plus our bowling would be Shoaib, Asif, Razzaq, Afridi, Malik, and Hafeez - thats 6 bowlers. Afridi can also be a floater going up and down the order but I think with this line up - we have depth and experience. Younis should go in at number 4 after Hafeez who is more experienced at playing the new ball in case the openers go early. Plus - this is an EXCELLENT fielding side - with people like Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Afridi - With this team I truly believe we can win the World Cup.

Hasan Raza! Hasan Raza! Hasan Raza! Hasan Raza!

Inzamam is a legend but I think he's better than ODIs than in tests these days. I was at Old Trafford and was shocked to see him lob one up from Harmison on a quick, bouncy pitch.

He needs to make an effort on his fitness too.

I think that Pakistan need PROPER SPECIALIST cricketers to win them matches- like Yasir Hameed and Salman Butt at the top to score big runs, not Malik and Hafeez up there. There are already enough all-round match winners.

Imran Khan would be angry to see all these all-rounders trying to open the batting. He won the World Cup with Aamir Sohail and Ramiz Raja at the top, Pakistan had Saeed Anwar and Wasti in 1999 and in 1996 when the team was extremely strong, there was Sohail and Anwar.

Pakistan's concerns will also be about Akmal and Naved. Both need to come back to their best, otherwise it's an early trip back to Pakistan.

This would be my team:-

Butt
Hameed
Younis (c)(don't shove him down the order- look at the Indian debacle where we lost 4-1)
Yousuf
Hafeez
Razzaq
Afridi
Akmal (w/k)
Rana
Shoaib
Asif

replacing inzi is a tough question, but i would choose asim kamal,because he have been consistent performer and also indian pitches suits him well,but there is no one beside him except maybe imran nazir.so here's my starting 11.
1.imran farhat
2.shoaib malik
3.younis khan
4.mohammed yousaf
5.asim kamal/faisal iqbal
6.abdur razzaq
7.shahid afridi
8.kamran akmal
9.rana naveed
10.shoaib akhtar
11.mohammed asif

No one is irreplaceable. Not even Inzy. Esp. on tours down under, Inzy has been more of a liability than an asset.

We survived after Miandad retired. We shall survive again.

In my opinion Inzi is still going great guns and is hard to replace. Only his presence in the team scares other teams off. His experience and guidence is very much required, now that he has developed into a very good leader. He is capable to keep the team united which itself is a great feet. He is capable to carry on for another couple of years.

However no one can last for ever and eventually he will need replacement. His replacement is Younis or Yousuf for now, in terms of his role. Currently, if in form, Pak batsmen are capable to do wonders and perhaps anyone could be fitted in to fill up the position. However more concentration is needed to discover new bowlers. The current bowlers have lost confidence as they have all had good beating in last couple of years, except for Asif. Shoaib is injury prone and higly unlikely to complete full series. I suspect he will breakdown during current championship as well. Rana, Gul and Sami have all been tamed and hardly look wicket takers or match winners. Shoib Malik's wicket taking abilities have considerably dropped as is of Afridi.

So Inzi's replacement should be another good allrounder or a good match winning bowlers. Pak should try out new bowlers in the build up to the world cup, whom the world has not known yet. There were few names recently like Zeeshan from Karachi and another one from Gilgit, bowling fast in the nets. They should be tried on. If we don't have wicket taking bowlers, other teams could chase 350 runs even more against us as has happened in the past.

Hi

I have not followed much cricket off late but whatever little I saw of Imran Nazir made me think very highly of him as an opening bat and a brilliant fielder.

Why not bring him in as a regular opener and strengthenthe middle order with Younis and Yousuf?

younis deserves NO 3 Position and afridi should open, with Hard Hitting shahid yousuf at No 5

No FUSSSS
i think whoever plays he has to perform. Any one who plays for the country not for place he will succeed definitely. I Think the biggest problem pakistan players will face (not all but few of them, probalbly 3 or 4) is dehydration and cramps, as they might keep fast. those who will you would see if they are batting after few balls (take to set the eye in) start thowing their bats either they score quick and big or they trow their woodwork.
INZY REPLACEABLE BUT A CONFIDENT GUY CAN REPLACE HIM NOT A BLOKE WHO IS PLAYING FOR HIS PLACE
Regads

I always rate Inzimam ahead of Tendulkar and Lara, Inzi is a class cricket does not produce such talented players very easy. Anyway how good a batsman or a bowler he has to go out one day be it Javed Miadad or Imran Khan, just imagine what we use to think at that time how Pakistan team will manage without the Greats Javed & Imran or even Saeed Anwar, but the game & team never waits for anyone we have to move ahead and Pakistan should start looking for a replacement of Inzimam within the playing 11 and not from outside. I feel Younis Khan or Yousef are better choices right now, even better if Yousef fill the place of Inzimam the batsman and Younis Inzimam the captain, so that the immense pressure Inzimam use to handle can be divided between the two Ys. And its peak time Pakistan should settle down with 1 or 2 playing combination without experimenting too much specially on the opening slot because the coming days are tough and a very well fit & combined unit can only manage to move ahead. I wish Pakistan the very best of luck in future specially for the World Cup and pray to Allah that Inzimam retiren on a very high note ala Imran Khan....

We have to see beyond the 2007 world cup, because i think it is then that inzamam should retire.And instead of experimenting with faisal iqbal who i think is just an average player, why not bring in asim kamal.the person averages almost 40, has prooved he can play under pressure.The maturity he showed in australia was very impressive.He has the ability to play a long innings, can nudge the ball around and has a very good defence.I think he is the natural replacement for inzamam.Pakistan must look for a middle order batsman who can play inzis role.how long can u depend on just two batsmen.(Younis and yousuf).I think the need a good player in the middle order with them and Asim Kamal is the best option.

I think Imran Nazir should replace inzy

Who should replace Inzi? Its easy. ME! I am same height, same wieght (well may be not), 10 yrs younger, primarily batsman, equally bad runner between the wicket, average fielder ... that is a streight swap !!!
Cheers mates

Asalaam o Alaikum,
Well i think that the following team is better for Pakistan side in the ICC Champions Trophy & Insha Allah Pakistan will be the Champion in this Taurnament.

Imran Farhat
Shahid Afridi
Muhammad Hafeez
Younis Khan
Muhammad Yousaf
Shoaib Malik
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhtar
Muhammad Asif
May Allah help our team and they win the trophy Amin.

Removing Inzi from either form of the game at this stage is not an option if you ask me. Younis Khan has shown great signs of leading the side but then again he has also shown signs of not being the most mature. Inzi might be slow in the field but Pakistan still needs him there till the world cup as our strongest, most experienced middle order batsman and a Captain who commands respect from all the players. Chances are he will most probably retire after the world cup and Younis will take over automatically. Till then I think he is our best option. We need proper fulltime openers not alrounders. Slotting all rounders as a stop gap arrangement is never going to work. If it was such a succesfull idea then the great teams of past and present would have tried it as well. Shoaib Malik and Afridi need to come lower down the order. I think we should look beyond the Champions trophy with the following squad:

1. Salman Butt
2. Mohammad Hafeez
3. Younis khan
4. Inzamam Ul Haq
5. Mohammad Yusuf
6. Shahid Afridi/Shoaib Mailk
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naveed
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohammad Asif

Reserves:
Yasir Hameed
Imran Farhat
Mohammad Sami
Umar Gul
Asim Kamal
Danish Kaneria
Imran Nazir

I think inzi is definitely the best batsman pakistan have ever produced.Many say javed miandad is better than inzi but I think not.As for this opening and middle order crisis.I would play farhat and hafeez as openers and malik at no5.I would not play faisal as I do not rate him one bit.I would not even play farhat in the team I would instead pick hameed to open with hafeez after champions tophy.

Here is my team:

1.Imran Farhat
2.Mohammad Hafeez
3.Younis khan
4.Muhammad Yousuf
5.Shoaib Malik
6.Kamran Akmal
7.Shahid Afridi
8.Abdul Razzaq
9.Rana Naveed
10.Shoaib Akhtar
11.Muhammad Asif

Note that I would have Akmal in at no6 because I feel he needs more time to come in and bat and regain his form.

I suggest 2 combinations:

Hafeez
Afridi
Younis Khan
M Usuf
Shoaib Malik
Akmal
Razzak
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhter
Umar Gul
M Asif

Flat tracks in India will allow a Full strength Pakistan bowling side to restrict opposition.

2nd combination:

Imran farhat
Hafeez
Younis Khan
M Usuf
Shoaib Malik
Afridi
Akmal
Razzak
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhter
M asif

This combination looks a setled outfit but i beleive that the 1st combination gives a peeling that Pakis are coming at you with a 4 man pace attack.

Cheers

Fahad Siddiqui

I totally agree with the comments of Mr. M. Pasha and I guess the team he selected is a good one. Here it is again.

1. Imran Farhat
2. Shahid Afridi
3. Mohd. Yousuf
4. Younis Khan
5. Faisal Iqbal
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Abdul Razzak
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naveed
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohd. Asif

The only change could be moving Abdul Razzak up the order if situation demands. As regards Afridi, I'm a big fan of him but unfortunately he fails more than he succeeds; and in both cases the match is affected because his early departure put tremendous pressure on the middle order and, in case of his success, his quick scoring almost ensures a Pakistan victory. Finally, I believe that Inzamam should definitely play until the world cup because besides being good for the team, he also holds the record for the most fifties in ODIs and he should add more to his tally.

Well, i think first of all faisal iqbal is not worth playing as he has got many chances and he is rather a slow batsman and his strike rate is not acceptable in the current ODI form of cricket, secondly i would really want to see SHAHID YOUSIF playing in pakistan team coz i've seen him batting in domestic cricket and he is really a good and stylish batsman. I would also like to see Umar Gul in bowlling line up as Rana has been out of form. even i thought he should have got chance in england series when Rana was out of form in ODIs he should have been tried so if Rana contines in his poor form Gul should be Given a chance.

I dont know why there is such a great deal of uncetainty regarding Pakistan captaincy. What is wrong with Inzy being the captain in both Tests and ODI? Younis Khan, there is nothing wrong with him, he is a great player just like Yousuf. He has the talent but come on, give it to him after the world cup. Stop putting pressure on him. If Inzy is not there before the world cup, he should be the captain (not a dummy captain). And we need to BRING BACK Imran Nazir and Yasir Hameed. They are explosive batsmen. Farhat, Taufeeq and Butt are not very consistent. Politics needs to be taken out. PCB should consist of former greats like the majestic Imran Khan, Wasim Bhai and Waqar Bhai as they are respected by everyone.

Imran Nazir
Yasir Hameed or Shoaib Malik
Younis Khan
Mohd. Yosuf
Inzy (CAPTAIN) PCB Chairman: Imran Khan
Shahid Afridi
Kamran Akmal Coach: Wasim Akram
Abdur Razzak
Shoaib Akhtar
Rana Naved
Mhod. Asif

Come on its just basic stuff. People know who are good players and who are not, who need to be brought back and who needs to be taken out. Please think CRICKET, PAKISTAN CRICKET.

Thats crazy. There really is opnly one tried and tested option to replace Inzi, its having Malik at 3. He has performed superbly at this position, 3x better than when he opens the batting.

Sure, Yunis drops down the order, but Malik is just as capable. Yunis and Yusuf are always there in case the top 3 dont quite click. Here we go:

Muhammed Hafiz
Imran Farhat (2 solid openers)
Shoaeeb Malik
Yunis Khan
Muhammad Yusuf
Shaheed Afridi
Abdul Razzak
Kamraan Akmal
Shoaeeb Akhtar
Rana Naveed-Ul Hasan
Muhammad Asif

7 bowling options: genuine batting down to 8, akhtar and rana can slog a bit.

Who needs Inzi eh?

i dunno why imran farhat is being persisited fr ages

If you guys remember what Kamran Akmal did at the top of the order on the sub-continental tracks, than you all would definitely love to have him back on the opening slot. So by keeping that stat in my mind, I would love to have him in the opening slot. His partner should be Imran Farhat (since he's the only regular opener I think we have) and push Muhammad Hafeez in the middle order because of the versatile nature of Pakistani middle order in the absense of Inzamam Ul Haq. Pakistan have got a good bowling attack with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Muhammad Asif, Rana Naveed, Abdul Razzaq and few spinners in Shahid Afridi, Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. But by analysing the form of the players Pakistan can shuffle between Faisal and Shoaib Malik. So my line up for the Champions Trophy would be...

1. Imran Farhat
2. Kamran Akmal
3. Younis Khan
4. Muhammad Yousuf
5. Muhammad Hafeez
6. Shoaib Malik / Faisal Iqbal
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Rana Naveed Ul Hassan
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Muhammad Asif

I still believe, If Akmal fires at the top of the order, Pakistan have every chance to progress in the ICC Champions Trophy!

I think it's about time to give Asim Kamal a chance in the One dayers who some think reminds them of Javed Miandad. He is certaily an able middle order batsman. We finaly have a charismatic, positive and able leader in Younis Khan, a reminiscent of Imran Khan so let history repeat itself, let us see the Imran and Javed duo come alive in Younis and Asim. If I am not mistaken, didn't younis Khan want Asim Kamal as well?

I am a believer that anyone can be replaced no matter how great a player youe are. If we look back in the history then we will realize that it is true. This does not mean that Inzi is not a great player. Perhaps he will always be remembered as one of the great batsmen that Pakistan has ever produced.

As far as the replacement for the current tournament is concerned, I think Younis and Woolmer are not left with many choices as the selection team has already named Faisal Iqbal as the replacement. Now the question is who should make it to the playing 11. Pakistan should not experiment like India with the batting positions. No 3 and 4 should always remain with Younis and Yousaf..no question..do not touch them. Problem is at the top. I think Hafeez is a enuine opener and should stay at No.1. He brings additional value with his economical off spin and sharp fielding, that is a rare commodity in the Pakistani outfit. Afridi is best suited at the top. If we look at the past, most of his good performances are at the top. He is undoubtedly a major threat to any bowling side. On his day he can win a match within the span of 5 overs. Or at least provide advantage and put pressure on the oposition. even if he fails, he make 15-25 runs in no time unlike other choices that Pakistan has that make the same number of runs ata snail's pace and still fail. Shoaib Malik has done reasonable at the top but I think he can be better placed at No.5 in the absense of Inzi. When Inzi is back he can go at No.6. Pakistan should take a good look at Faisal by playing him all the mathes in the Champions Trophy to make a final decision on him. If he proves good then problem of Inzi's permanent replacement is solved. If he doen't deliver then give other young talent opportunity e.g. Shahid Yousaf who is being talked about a lot recently.

Rest of the Pakistani team selets itself and there are no ifs and buts there.

Thanks,
Shahid

Most of the comments suggest that people have forgotten the way Malik perfomed last year when we won 4-2 against India in India. His performance was very consistent at that No.3 position and his average at No.3 position is a staggering 43 which is better than his overall average of 33. I would rather push Younis down the order as he has the ability to rotate the strike in the middle overs and repair the damge if we lose early wickets. Afridi should open because thats his best chance of performing with fieldinf restrictions in place.

Well all said and done, I think Pakistan has tried alot of openers in the recent past with no real success. I think this is the right time to try out one last combination. Open with Afridi and Faisal. Sure, Afridi has been a disappointment but remember if he fires, he is very very capable of destroying the opposition. In Faisal we have a batsment who has performed but not upto his potential. People only talk of his innings against Australia, but noone remembers that last time Waqar was the captain in Zimbabwe, he had Faisal opening and scoring his maiden century in ODIs. Faisal is a grafter and likes to stick it out at the wicket. He can play the anchor role. the rest of the batting should read as follows:

Afridi
Faisal Iqbal
Younis
Yousuf
Hafeez
Malik
Razzak
Kamran
Shoaib
Asif
Gul or Rana

remember this is in India, where wickets will be pretty similar to West Indies and

Indeed, its a interesting topic. I completely understand that Inzi will be missed but this is international cricket and all the batsmen currently contracted with PCB should be versatile and confident enough to bat anywhere under any situation. now i totally believe that only depends on your belief level. I personally feel no player in our team at this moment is 100% confident of their abilities. I recommend PCB to have a program for their players where their mindset and thoughtprocess should be developed which is extremely important in any battlefield without that chances of success are very limited. This is one of the reason why australia is the best team in the world. well enough about that. Only player who can take Inzi spot is Mohammad Yousaf. He needs to bat at the same position where inzi used to bat. We dont even need faisal abbass. i see no reason for him to be in one day team. I made the list of my team at the bottom including there batting order and i am extremely confident with these players we will defintely be champions.

Imran Farhat
Mohammad Hafeez
Shoaib Mailk
Younis Khan
MOHAMMAD YOUSAF
Abdur Razzaq
Shahid Afridi
Kamran Akmal
Naved ul Hassan
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif

assalam u alaykum

atlhough, i am satisfied with the call of faisal iqbal, we would have definetly had a better chance if we had inzi in our line up, in my opinion the best team is this for the champions trophy:

m. hafeez
1. s. afridi
2. s.malik
3. y. khan
4. m. yousuf
5. f. iqbal
6. a. razzaq
7. k. akmal
8. s. akhtar
9. r. naved
10. m. asif

in my opinion if that doesn't work, they should switch afridi and put him in at n. 6

People:

This debate is insane. Inzy is in prime form, the brief slip in England notwithstanding. Under no circumstances should he be pushed out or made to feel unwanted. Many, in fact most, great bastmen have carried on until till nearly 40 (Steve Waugh, Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border, and so on), why should Inzi be any different? Also, it's not as if there are hordes of talent waiting in the wings? There really is no viable replacement for dear old Inzy at the moment. So let him be!

H

NO one can replace"INZIMAM ul HAQ".He is "the match winner"only next to legendary Don bradman.pakistan might get a high scorer than him.in both forms of a game.the world does posses higher scorer than him, but a "Match winner"???
Mohammed hafiz
imran farhat
younis khan
faisal iqbal
Mohamed yousaf
shahid afridi
shoaib malik
kamran akmal
abdur razzak
shoaib akhtar
Mohammed asif

Inzi is no doubt, high class batsman and he lies amongst the quality of Tendulkar,Lara,Kallis,Dravid,Ponting etc.
We all shall miss inzamam in champions trophy and we hope he wiil be back against w.indies and straigt away he will be amongst chief contributors.
The best for inzi could be Shahid Yousaf.
But as he has been not picked so the best team for champions trophy may be

1. Mohammad Hafiz
2. Imran Farhat
3. Younis Khan
4. Mohammd Yousaf
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Shaid Afridi
7. Abdur razaq
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Shoaib Akhtar
10. Rana naved
11. Mohammad Asif

I think that shahid yousaf, Yasir arfat,Riaz afridi and Imran nazir should also be considered for upcoming challenges.

i dont think it is practically possible to replace inzy....but as the qs arises someone has to fill his boots...now i believe shoaib or hafeez should cont opening with farhat and the one left should be at no5 the rest probble should be the same coz it will give the team flexibilty in difficult situations.....as may have mentioned that younis should drop at 4 and shoaib at 3...i dont think it would a good idea coz if the top 3 arene't able to perform well then it will create alot of prssure on younis and yousuf and that might not be good for the team.....faisal iqbal i dont think deserves to be in the startin 11 firstly coz he is very very inconsistent secondly he is not a good ODI player and hafeez and co. would do a better job than him.....he can never replace inzy on longterm basis....the team line up should be...

1 farhat
2 hafeez/shoaib
3 younis
4 yousuf
5 shoaib/hafeez
6 afridi
7 razzaq
8 kamran
9 rana naveed
10 akhtar
11 asif

ok faisal iqbal can't play he only plays ewwhen he is under absolutely no stress at all. All hes good for is chatting witht eh players and thats it
play shahid yousuf or mhd hafeez or shoib malik down the order.
just anything but faisal is better

Yes, Inzy has entertained us for many years and it has been sheer delight to watch his grace. But all good things come to an end. In my view he was never a capt quality-not an Imran Khan nor a Wasim Akram.
Time has rendered him more of a liability. He lacks in speed and his body language says, "I dont know" as a capt.
Pakistan has a tremendous stock of great all-rounders. A match for the best team out there.
Amongst others it is surprise if not shocking that Yasir's name has not popped up. I see a ton of potential in him.
Lets go and do the job. Lets win, win win!

Where is Yasir Hameed? He seemed to be a better long term opening prospect but once again got wasted by the politics.

He seemed to be a little stupid at times by throwing away his wicket when things would be going right for him but something that could have been fixed. Imagine if he was consistently being part of the team uptill now...

Who Can Replace Inzi ???

In the current talent pool "NO ONE"

At present we don't have a batsman that can replace Inzi. Loosing Inzi would be like loosing Miandad still waiting on his replacement to arrive!

In my opinion, our 2 most senior batters in Inzy's absence should bad at No. 3 & 4. Inzy is irreplaceable at this stage. He is simply the best ever bastman produced by Pakistan. Hafeez is a must because of his spin bowling. He can even be used in the powerplays. Since Malik doesn't bowl much nowadays, Hafeez has to be there as a bowling option.

My first 11 for Champions Trophy is:

Hafeez
Farhat
Younis
Yousuf
Malik
Afridi
Razzaq
kamran
Rana
Shoaib
Asif

Afridi can be used at any number depedning on the need of the team.

May the best team win this tournament (and inshAllah that will be Pakistan:))

Ali Cheema (Malaysia)

Inzamam is still a class player and Pakistan Team still requires him. We should not forget that just two years back entire batting revolved around him, he played so beautifully that now the level of our batting has improved tremendously.Inzi is the obvious choice as captain for the World cup. In Champions Trophy Hafeez is a real good option, as he is more then a handy all-rounder.

All rounders are key to ODI, i think following combination can win us champions trophy

I would prefere to choose following order!

1. Imran Farhat
2. Muhammad Hafeez
3. Younis Khan (C)
4. Muhammad Yousuf
5. Soaib Malik
6. Shahid Afridi
7. Abdul Razzak
8. Kamran Akmal (W)
9. Rana Naveed
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Mohd. Asif

Why dont selecters give a good run to yasir Arafat? he has good pace and can bat. he has been in rich form in domestic and county cricket for a good while now. He can prove handy on pitches in WI.
Faisal Iqbal doesnt make it to my 11. I'd prefer Shahid yousaf if it is that necessary to have an additional batsman.

I think missing Inzimam havent too many effects for the champions trophy! as Inzimam is not a player of big events execpt WCI 1992, he has an almost average of 28.47 in the big events (5~6 Teams playing), in my opinion Muhammad Hafeez alongwith Shahid Affridi should be promted to open the innings till the world cup 2007. Or Pakistan should have a combination of left handed striker & a right handed placing batsman, Muhammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir etc to open, Pakistan has just short of middle oreders as Younus, Yousuf, Inzimam well performers has played almost their carrier ends (more than 250 matches) so 3~4 middle order batsman should be prepared and given chances (wicket stayers), Faisal Iqbal is an oppurtunity sholud have given a chnace but after the Champions Trophy 2006 in my opinion the selected Pakistan 11 Should be
1. Muhammad Hafeez (Keeping wicket)
2. Shahid Afridi (Strike the ball on merit)
3. Imran Farhat
4. Muhammad Yousuf
5. Younus Khan
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Abdur Razzak
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Rana Naveed / Rao Iftikhar Anjum
10.Shoib Akhtar
11.Mohammad Asif

Well wishes! Pakistan.

I would strongly suggest 2 regular specialist openers to be included in the side. Shoab Malik is not a specialist opener, he is good at number 3 and Younis Khan can play anywhere in top to middle order. the order should be

Muhammed Hafeez
Imran Farhat
Shoab Malik
Younis Khan
Muhammed Yousuf
Kamran Akmal

Shaihd Afridi and Abdul Razzaq can play according to the situation of the match.

Player of Inzimam's class, stature are born in decades.

Pakistan has seen many greats, People like Javed Maindad, Zaheer Abbas etc. But as composed as stylish, such a clarm and cool character will be missed for for a long time when inzi retires. I believe still a lot is still there in inzi. Lets just stop the disucssion of replacing him.

On Indian tracks, opening with Afridi is a good option as on his day he can tear any opposition. He should be given at least a couple of chances at the top. Younis Khan should definitely come in at number three and Hafeez should fill the other opening spot. Inzi is somebody who cannot be replaced but still we have a good enough side to win even in his absence if all players perform well and stay away from politics.

when a legend is retiring it seems no one will replace him,but new faces comes and they fill the boots.i cant say about inzi replacement but i must remind about the fast bowler needed to replace rana and need of a quality spinner in tests as danish is failed against quality teams or he performs in losing matches.where is SAQLAIN can any body tell.and we are losing a great talent in form of IMRAN NAZIR.

In my opinion, there are a few problems in the batting lineup of the Pakistan Team. First of all, lets recollect the last couple of years of Inzi's batting in the Pakistan lineup. He has been the primary successful finisher for Pakistan. A number of matches Pakistan won chasing because Inzi held the most important batting position at No. 5. Now when you have to replace Inzi, he should be one of Yousaf or Younis; the best batsmen; and I prefer Younis for a number of reasons. I always thought that Younis should bat at No. 5 after Inzimam's retirement because he has the guts to succede him.
Secondly we have problem in the top order. We have Hafeez, Farhat, Malik as the options, but I think Kamran Akmal should be doing opening in ODIs permanently. He is a good opener and he had proven his skills too. Second opener should be Hafeez or Farhat, although I dont think both should be here. Hafeez is a good batsman in all matches except international ones where strangely he just can't perform as he should be. Pakistan's run rate could not rise well everytime he opens. Imran Farhat is a class act when playing his shots, but he always do some crazy carelessness to loose his wicket. and he has disappointed record in Fielding and dropped catches.
And the most importantly I would prefer Malik to bat at No. 3 position, which he has performed so well for the last couple of years. He has been the main planner in the run chases Pakistan has successfully accomplished during this era. And S. Rajesh had also noted that in his numbers game that he has been the best No. 3 batsman since 2004 ahead of Ponting.
http://content-www4.cricinfo.com/columns/content/story/237528.html

My prefered batting order would be:

Kamran Akmal
Farhat/Hafeez (Imran Nazir is my first choice)
Shoaib Malik
Yousaf
Younis
Afridi
Razzaq
Rana Naved
and rest....

I definitely think Yasir Hameed should open either with Farhat or Hafeez.

inzy is 4ever!!!!! no 1 is thr in the world to replace the inzy.in this critical situation my suggestion is as follows.
1.Shahid Afridi
2.Abdul Razzaq / Imran Farhat
3.Imran Farhat / Abdul Razzaq
4.younis Khan (Captain)
5.Mohammad Yousuf (v.Captain)
6.Shoaib Malik
7.Kamran Akmal (Wicket Keeper)
8.Shoaib Akthar
9.Rana Naved
10.Umar Gul
11.Mohammad Asif

so that the team will have 7 Batsmans (Afridi,Razzaq,Farhat,Younis,Yousuf,Malik & Akmal) & 7 Bowlers (Afridi,Razzaq,Malik,Akthar,Rana,Gul & Asif) Therefore i think this may a balance team & the team can win the entire series.

MAY ALLAH BLESS & PAKISTAN ZINDABAD !!!

Hasan Raza

He is the one who has the ability to replace Inzamam in the long term after 2007 WC.

Misbah-ul-Haq

Personally, I think he's the best domestic batsman in Pakistan.

I think SALMAN BUTT should replace INZAMAM.
And MOHAMMAD YOUSUF should be dropped because
he is very slow on the field and does not has
higher strike rate.SHOAIB MALIK should play at N0.4 because his best average is at 4.HAFEEZ should be in the middle-order.The team line-up should be like this:

01.IMRAN FARHAT
02.SALMAN BUTT
03.YOUNIS KHAN
04.SHOAIB MALIK
05.MOHAMMAD HAFEEZ
06.SHAHID AFRIDI
07.ABDUL RAZZAQ
08.KAMRAN AKMAL
09.RANA NAVED
10.SHOAIB AKHTAR
11.MOHAMMAD ASIF

hi guys

Well i wont go writing great words of praise for inzi cos i think a player of his class and stature do not need mine or anyone's assurance. For faisal iqbal, i dont know who the hell in the world thinks that he is an ODI stuff cos he is not by any standards. though might be tried in TESTs but ODI...ah....i simply do not believe him replacing inzi in ODIs. Guys in PCB pls wake up and atleast read this Kamran's blog to know what masses think. Anyway my team would be:
1: Imran Farhat
2: M Hafeez
3: Y Khan
4: M Yousaf
5: Shaoib malik
6: Abdul Razzak
7: Shahid Afridi
8: Kamran Akmal
9: Shoaib Akhtar
10: Rana Naveed or Umar Gul
11: M Asif

Afridi's place with m hafeez might be shuffeled for opening slot depending on situation with hafeez coming one down but for team pakistan, this is the best combiantion in my view. But then i am not chief selector.

god bless you all.

I think that the pakistan team can suceed without inzy for one tournament. Younis khan and mohamed yousuf are already two of the best batsman in the world but I think that Inzamam isn't able to be replaced. he's is one of the best batsmans in the world and his carrer average shows that not many have an average like his. I think Shahid Nazir or salman butt would be an ok replacement.
ps Im nine years old.

faisal iqbal is a wrong choic. i think asim kmal or sahid yousuf should be played in no 5

Yasir hameed has to be in the set up, he deserves another chance in the team, he did well in a recent odi against england in pakistan.

I think i agree with you Kamraan.
Faisal has that much needed brilliance.

He should be given an opportunity.he has i in him which can make go bowlers weak in their knees and somewhere else too.

So you guys hv a match coming up on 17th. Wish you loads of luck.

I think Pakistan will really miss Inzamam's presence.

As far as i think the best team is this.

Imran Nazir
Imran Farhat
Muhammad Yousuf
Younis Khan
Faisal Iqbal
Shoaib Malik
Shahid afridi
Abdul Razak
Kamran Akmal
Shoaib Akhtar
Muhammad Asif

Inzamam is presently simply the best batsman in the world. Calm, cool and composed, players are Lara and Tendulkar can wish but not reach his class. There has perhaps been no better match winner then him, rightly regarded by Imran Khan as the best batsman of fast bowling since Viv Richards. Had he been bornin Australia, people probably would have compared him with Bradman. Tendulkar is a great batsman, but not a team batsman and has never hit the winning runs, even Andrew Symonds is more threatening in this regard. Those who think that he is lesser then Lara and Tendulkar, they line in a fool's paradise. Pakistan team will miss him in the champions trophy.

Lets start with the fact that Inzi is irreplaceable. Anyone who has argument with this fact knows nothing about the game or has personal grudge. However like any other great player who leaves the game life goes on and eventually someone will arrive who might even be better than Inzi, but he will never be Inzi. The sheer joy that Inzi's batting gives can only be surpassed by the batting of Viv Richards. We forget the zillions of time he has saved Pakistan from defeats and brought us victories...Lets appreciate the guy's genius as we will never have a true batting collosal like him again...The rest os the team is like pygmies in every sense of the word compared to him....

Huy Guys,

I think best option is to Shahid Afridi to open with Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik took one down position because he got wonderful average in that number specially in indian conditions.

In Chanpions trophy it should come to know that what importance inzamams character in the team and what younis is capable of.

Let's see the tournament but in my opinion in the mean time there is no replacement I found compare to fulfill Inzamam's Place in the team he is the best and you all see in this tournament.

This is how I think the team should line up:

Asif
shoiab akhter
Rana
kamran
Razzaq
Malik
younis
faisal
Yousaf
Afridi
imran...

yaar its nice to see so many poeple coming to the discussion. it shows our love to the game and it shows a trust that our team can do good.
now just remember the team which was given to
Inzamam ul haq in 2003. all those who think he is not a good captain just recall the distanse this team has travlled in these three years. dont bother england tour. we were without our key players. just give him a due credit of running this show with grace and calm for three years. he is out for one tournament and you have seen what mess happened in one week. so let us all praise him for this one goal that he achieved that he transformed a team of young players into a unit that can challenge anyone in the world. and for his replacment its a stupid thing to even think of his replacment. the only think that you could tell yousaf and younus that they have to produce, more frequently, innings like inzamam produced in banglore, jamica, faisalabad, karachi and Lords. have you noticed that Inzamam always played NO 4 in tests and one days, but after becoming captain he has shifted to No 5 because its a more pressure bearing position. you need to develop this sence of taking responsibilty in to yousaf and younus.
for champians trophy i beleive any body would do. in indian pitches, shoib malik will be proved as a deman to other teams. so take anybody as replacment. i personally think younus at no 3 is not a good choice. he should come at 5 .

I think Pakistan should persist with Imran Farhat and M. Hafiz as openers, let them open for an year or so, they will show result……don’t spook them every time they fail. Shahid Afridi should be the wild card, he should come at three or six depending on the situation.By teh way there is no place for Faisal in my team...

Mohammed Hafeez
Imran Farhat
Shahid Afridi
Younis Khan
Mohammed Yousuf
Asim Kamal
Kamran Akmal
Abdul Razzaq
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammed Asif

my team in odi witout inzamam (if it has to be) wud b:
m hafeez
i nazeer
y khan
m yousuf
s malik / a razzak
s afridi
a razzak / s malik
k akmal
s akhtar
u gul
m asif

I think we should give Imran Nazir a chance cause he is a good batsman as well as a good fielder

I think they should gIve IMRAN NAZIR a chance once again i think if he opens with taufeeq umer pakistans problem of opening is going to be resolved to be honest i dont like imran farhat and faisal iqbal dont know why are tehy even in the team the only fact why faisal iqbal is surviving in the team is beacuse of his uncle he is no where near inzamam he should'nt be replaced for inzamam and that shouldnt be a problem anyway if there opening issue is resolved. i think pakistans batting order should be like this ;

1. TAUFEEQ UMER
2. IMRAN NAZIR
3. SHOAIB MALIK
4. YUNIS KHAN
5. MOHAMMAD YUSUF
6. KAMRAN AKMAL
7. SHAHID AFRIDI
8. ABDUL RAZZAQ
9. NAVED-UL-HASSAN
10.SHOAIB AKHTAR
11.MOHAMMAD ASIF
12.FAISAL IQBAL

IN MY VIEW THIS BATTING LINE UP CAN BRING THE CHAMPIONS TROPHY HOME. BUT IMRAN NAZIR IS NOT IN THE SQUAD LETS HOPE FOR SOMETHING BETTER TO HAPPEN....

hi,

i think playing Faisal Iqbal would be a huge risk for Pakistan as the man never delivered under pressure. Shahid Yousaf is a better choice, a gutsy two-down player, i have seen him several times playing under lots of pressure and scoring. i can't understand under what pressure PCB's selection committee is,, is it miandad or someone else who is pressurizing board. we should take example of india, that how Chappel sidelined BIG names and made it sure that inclusions in the team will only be the basis of performance.

I think Faisal Iqbal would be a good replacement for Inzimam. He's a very similar sort of player and we have enough experience in the middle order to accomodate a relatively young player

I guess we have forgotten Asim Kamal. Someone very sensible, with concentration and application. Surely worth giving a chance in Tests replacing Inzi, unless his confidence is totaly destroyed (like Taufeek). Good left hand combination as much of the middle order bats right. Hasan Raza is another one who comes to mind and in my view deserves a run! Yasser, Salman, Imran Nazir - one has to come good at the openor slot. Yasser may be a better number 4 or 5. Asad

Inzamam is a fantastic cricketer, but no player is indispensable and his performance wasnt fantastic in england but pakistan managed ok without him .Also, Inzamam, fantastic player that he is, does not perform fantastically in big ODI tournaments, so if anything affects Pakistan, concerning Inzy, it will be the psychological damage of not having him. Someone has to pick up, however, and I believe that the incentive will be on YK to lead from the front as skipper and Yusuf to show his class as a one day player on the big stage. I also believe that at least one of the openers has to fire.As for the Iqbal debate, I believe this will be one of his last chances , but he is a classy individual and my gut feeling is that he will come good. Malik has just had surgery and is not looking fantastic, if he is not going to be used as a bowling option , then I believe that there is not much room for him in the Pakistan side.Farhat is a very good player in my opinion and must play. My side to take on srilanka would be:
Hafeez/ Malik
Farhat
Younus Khan
Mo. Yusuf
Faisal Iqbal
Abdul Razzaq
Shahid Afridi
Kamran Akmal
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammad Asif

In the absence of Inzi role gets split , Younis as skipper and Yousef as senior batsman/anchor

Faisal Iqbal is a good batsman in Tests but is he better than Shahid Afridi, Shoiab Malik, Abdur Razzaq, Asim Kamal, Yaser Hameed, Mohammed Hafeez, or Imran Nazir ?

Based on existing squad in CT

Imran Farhat
Mohd Hafeez
Shoaib Malik
Younis Khan
Mohd Yousef
Shahid Afridi
Abdur Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Rana Naved
Shoaid Ahktar
Mohd Asif

Hi Guys,

I am and will be one of the g8 fans of Inzi. But since inzi is no more there in Champions trophy, PCB should have seized this opportunity and should have selected someone else in place of Faisal Iqbal. I donot think that there is no one in Pakistan who can replace Inzi but it needs a fair selection and judgement process and whoever is brought in, should be given enough time and support coz International Cricket is totally different from the domestic and one has to face alot of pressure.

" Good time always follows after bad"

Best of luck for Pakistan Cricket.

Hello guys ! I wouls like MoYo at no.3 & Younis at no.4 as they will be the best batsmen fro Pakistan in Champions trophy , The batting order I will prefer is like -

Mohammed Hafeez
Imran Farhat
Mohammed Yousuf
Younis Khan
Shoaib Malik
Shahid Afridi
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal
Rana Naved
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohammed Asif

In this way , they have 4 allrounders ( including 3 spinners & on Indian tracks ) , a potentially good bowling attack & a deep batting line-up in which if the two y's fail , there are the likes of Malik & razzaq to steady the innings & Afridi & Akmal to blow the oppositon apart in the late overs .

The 11 players I would pick for the Champions Trophy are as follows;

1. Imran Farhat
2. Mohd. Hafeez
3. Younis Khan
4. Mohd. Yousuf
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Shahid Afridi
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Shoab Akhtar
10.Rana Naved
11.Mohd. Asif

I would change Afridi's order with the situation in the game. Also no. 10 position is one that I would consider changing if Rana does not perform. This could be taken up by Shahid Nazir or Umar Gul.

i guess the only player who can replace Inzi is Inzi himself ..... the best there is ..... the best there was ..... n the best there ever will be .....

in order to fill in the spot during the champions trophy Imran Nazir should be given a recall ..... the lad deserves it !!!

I full agree with Kamran Abbasi's view of using shoaib malik in the middle order and opening with two specialis openers. Another reason for this, apart from the ones mentioned by Mr. Abbasi is that shoaib malikwas playing so brilliantly in the middle order before he was made to open. HE can be played at 6 because he can is a big hitter, but even playing him at number 3 wouldn't be bad at all. However, in such a case, his role can be modified a bit, with instructions to come in , take a few overs to sette in and then go after the bowling. IF he plays we,, it will pay off, if he gets out, you always have younis and yousuf waiting to come out.

Its imposible to replace inzi.He is the Pakistan's best player,but in this tournament Pakistan has to do without inzi.I think we should send Afridi as an opener with Farhat because i dont think there is any point keeping him for last over when we have already Razaq for hitting .Number three should go to Younas and number four Malik five Yousef so he can hold the inning incase of collapse(i hope not,but most likely when Inzi is not there) then Hafeez Razak and Kamran . I dont see a point playing with Faisal Iqbal because Malik is better player then Faisal Iqbal.

i think fasiel iqbal is the worst player in the histroy of pakistan cricket just look at his record and u will get the answer. that diffently shows that he is in the team just because his uncle is maindad. why dont they have asim kamal he is diffently the no 5 batsman after inzy leaves. this is really unfair for a guy that never let the team down even when he had a brusied elbow. i think pakistan has the best talent but the worst system of cricket.

Pakistan's strength lies in our flexibility and the presence of match winners on the team. Faisal Iqbal has shows some progress in the test team, but as of now I would leave him out of the one day squad. Here are ten players who should be on the team:
Hafeez
Afridi
Malik
Younis
Yousuf
Abdul Razaq
Akmal
Rana Naved
Akhtar
Asif

There are seven bowlers in there provided Malik can bowl so we don't need any more bowlers. We have hitters in Afridi, Malik, Razaq, and Akmal. Afridi will have a field day opening in India, so I would let him open. I'd bat Malik at 3, because he was batting there before the injuries and he was devastating compiling some huge innings on the subcontinent. Hafeez role should be to play as an anchor. If the hitters fail (Afridi, Malik) out early then Younis and Yousuf will consolidate the innings. But Pakistan can use one more batsman in the middle to consolidate the innings and my choice would be a man who lights up the averages in domestic Pakistani cricket every year, Hasan Raza. Could we please leave him in the team for a year and then make an evaluation on him rather than yanking him in and out after a handful of games? Given time, Hasan Raza will follow in Miandad, Inzamam, Yousuf's footsteps.

I think that Pakistan should bring in Asim Kamal in place Faisal Iqbal because Faisal have had enough chances but he has NOT proved that he can do IT!

I think this will be a perfect opportunity for pakistan to look towards the future. Inzi will be retired after the World cup. I believe it is time for someone to seize this opportunity and fulfil this gap in the batting order. I believe that Pakistan is a very flexible team with the amount of all rounders we have. But we need some stability at the top of the innings. I think pakistan's best team should include Salman Butt. He is easily the most talented young batsman in the Pakistani team and has to be picked. Him and Mohammed Hafeez should open the batting. With Younis kHAN at 3 Mohammad Yousuf at 4. At 5 I would have Shoaib malik.

So my team would be

1 S.BUTT
2.M.HAFEEZ
3.Y.Khan
4.M.Yousuf
5.s.Malik.
6.A.Razzaq.
7.S.K.Afridi
8.K.Akmal
9.Rana (Maybe Yasir/or Rao)
10.S.Akhter
11.M.Asif

The number 9 position is also up to date BUT i will talk about that in a another post

Well i guess Asim Kamal should make ODI debut. We need some one as solid as inzi is/was to give Pakistan some stand if the top order (as always) collapse. Faisal Iqbal already got many chances, and probably will get one more chance in ICC Champions Trophy, but after CWC 2007. I guess Asim Kamal should get his chance.

The players with the caliber of Inzamam are not born everyday. We donot have anyone who can replace Inzamam, we have some hopeful who have some talent which can be groomed to provide support to the team at Inzi’s position in his absence.

well.it is not just about the immense batting skills of inzi,its something more than that.the way he combines the team to form a compact unit is examplery.it has to leave a big hole that is near to impossible to be filled.i think that there is absolutely no reason for shoaib malik and hafeez to play in one playing eleven.shoaib malik deserves to be eliminated from the side as he is nothing with the bowl in hand and also has not done anything with the bat recently.with afridi and farhat opening,hafeez can also be excluded.then the four main batsmen and then allrounders and bowlers make it up.

Given the recent squad i think Muhammad Hafeez on cost of Faisal should be allowed to open the inning with Imran Farhat and Afridi must be use as floater but mostly lower down the order. Hafeez is good agressive player at top and wil provide and extra spinning option which will be vital. middle order can be stabalized by yousuf younis and shoaib. afridi razzaq and akmal can burst on any team any and all beind excellent finisher except afridi. with devolped battind of Rana and Akhter Pakitan only have a tail ender at 11.

Muhammad Hafeez (b/b) Agressive, Stabalizer
Imran Farhat (b) Gifted but impatient
Younis Khan (b) new well his role
Muhammad Yousif (b) outstanding, learn to finish
Shoaib Malik (b/b) modrate, finisher, handy
Abdul Razzaq (b/b) two geared, but xelnt finis
Kamran Akmal (b/w) unmatchabe w/k
Shahid Afridi (b/b) simply devastating
Rana Naveed (b/b) lacking confidence
Shoaib Akhter (b/b) as firy with as with bowl
Muhammad Asif (b) keep his victom dancing

aslaam o alykum,
first of all no body can replace inzybut i think his time has come to retire from cricket or step down from captaincy.younis khan is a very good choice as a captain.i would like to see this team with out inzy.why we are having faisal iqbal for replacing inzy. this is ashamed to have players like faisal iqbal keep getting a chance on relationship.he should not be in the team period. we are missing a player here .since he is in the team so no other option .instead of him i would like to send imran farhat after yousaf no choice.

m hafeez
shoaib malik
younis khan
shahid afridy
muhammad yousaf
abddul razzak
kamran akmal
rana naveed
shoaib akhtar
muhammad asif

...contrary to what majority has been saying here i think inzy is well past his expiry date...he WAS a great player but is a baggage in one day games specially...having settled the inzy query let's look at the availablee talent...my team would be:

hafeez
yasser hamid
yunus
yusuf
shoaib malik
razzaq
afridi
kamran
shoaib
rana navid
asif

choosing a pakistan team has always been a big dilema for pcb. missing imzi for the champion trophy is even a biggger blow since his batting will be missed alot. in my eyes imran farhat would have been a good pick or even hafeez. my starting lie up will be hafeez or farhat depending on who is in better form
shohaib malik
mohammed yousaf
younis khan
abdul razzaq
kamran akmal
rana naved
shohaib
muhammed asif

Old is Gold, INZI should stay in ODI and bring the cup. we have young talent but till now the team does not work as a unit like the Australians.

We should include Hasan Raza.

I have been one of the biggest followers of Pakistan cricket from a very long tim and still there seems to be too much favouritism in the side.With respect to Inzamam playing in the side i strongly believe that Inzamam is now a test cricketer than a one day cricketer.Now cricketers are expected to be agile which we all know is no Inzys department.If he wants to play ODI cricket he has to improve his fielding and running between the wickets which can not happen overnight and definitely is too late.Possibilities for Inzys replacement are Faisal Iqbal and Shahid Yousuf.A lot of people might not have heard of Shahid but he was in Englands tour to Pakistan and I have seen him bat for the A side and looks like a class act and to me he should be more effective than Faisal Iqbal as he is more aggresive and is capable of placing the ball in the gaps.Also Pakistan must start to limit the number of all-rounders they play as Pakistans bowling becomes extremely ineffective after powerplays as there are no wicket taking bowlers.Razzaq is not at his best any more and is only effective on seaming and fast tracks and Pakistan must decide whether to play Hafeez or Malik as they are taking positions of genuine batsmen or bowlers.Maliks form of late has been very poor .
The team should be:
Imran Farhat
Mohd Hafeez
Younis Khan(c)
Shahid Yousuf
Mohd Yousuf
Kamran Akmal
Shahid Afridi/Abdul Razzaq(respect to conditions)
Rana Naveed Ul Hasan
Shoaib Akhtar
Mohd Asif
Danish Kaneria
This shortens the batting line up but bowling attack becomes more effective.

Its ridiculous to criticise a batsman like Inzamam-ul-Huq. Before u start putting some down like that you should see his stats. We will definitley miss INZI no shout of a doubt. We shouldntbe worried and aso long as Younis and Mohammad Yousuf are conisistent and our opening pair can see off the first 10 overs every game.

Mr. Inzamam is the key figure in the green land without a doubt. However, someone has to take his responsibility now and after the 2007 world cup. The question is who will? This is an imperative and testing time to check our Pakistani team to survive without the Multani Sultan. There are few personalities out there which obtain similar characters like of Inzi’s, such as players like Mohammad Yosuf and Younis Khan. These two players are major figures who can take up the pressure and observe it in a manner which will benefit the team. Nevertheless, Inzamam will be missed throughout the tournament; especially his quiet walk towards the crease and the next thing you know is he bombarded the bowlers with his massive power. Our team still is very young, and does not engrain much experience. The young lads have to step up and learn to adopt various situations in a rapid manner. In my perspective, Pakistan team will be fine in this tournament the reason being; the pitches of India are flat. Hell for the bowlers, and paradise for the batsmen’s. Players like Shoaib Malik, Sehwag, and Afridi these are the players that have diminish amount of footwork; however they have been very successful on Indian pitches because of the lack of movement. My team for this tournament will be:

(1)Imran Farhat (A touch of elegance)
(2)Shahid Afridi (A Pathan who is always mad at the crease)
(3)Younis Khan (Aggressive captain)
(4)Mohammad Yusuf (My man!)
(5)Asim Kamal (obtains good batting technique; if compared to Faisal Iqbal has high lift while batting, very bad player of Yorkers.)
(6)Shoaib Malik (Awesome cricketer)
(7)Abdul Razzak (Great all rounder)
(8)Kamran Akmal (This guy has so much potential just going through a bad patch)
(9)Shoaib Akhtar (Thanks god his attitude has come down; focusing on his cricket now)
(10)Rana Naved (Needs to get some hair to look like a professional bowler; although great supporting all rounder)
(11)Mohammad Asif (Second Glenn McGrath; awesome seamer)

I think we needed a person like Basset Ali unfortunately was revolved around politics and destroyed his cricket.

It is funny to see people writing-off Inzamam in ODI's. Inzamam is one of the better fielders on the team, though age and size do matter. What he lacks in running, he can make up in power hitting. If you look at Inzi's records in the last year, he has a good strike-rate, and though he might not have scored a lot of runs recently, he has done a good job in the team. I would certainly back him up to be the captain until the world cup (and he can stay in the test side for later if he is close to the 10000 mark)

The best possible team in the absence of Inzy would be
M hafeez/Imran Farhat
shahid afridy
shohaib malik
younis khan
muhammad yousaf
Abdul razzak
kamran akmal
Rana naveed
shoaib akhtar
muhammad asif
I think bringing Afridi up in the order will help the team in power play overs especially on sucontinent pitche..... As in his own words he is a risky player...what if team get benefit from his "Risky play".we are waisting shohaib malik`s talent by doing experiments on him as an opener, he is such a telented plyer in top midle order

i would think pakistan have only one player who can replace inzi, which is mohammed yusaf. who's currently playing in elevin. i been watching pakistani cricket from years and i don't seen anyone who can replace inzi. it will be a big lose to pakistani cricket.

I live in a community that is represented by Pakistani and Indian cricket fans. Its very obvious that nobody but INZI has been able to achieve the respect and the status that can come any close to THE GREAT IMRAN KHAN. I hope that MOHD YOUSUF can become the next INZI.

No one can replace Inzy. He is the best batsman Pakistan has ever produced (Miandad, Hanif, Zaheer and Malik included). Havind said that, guys, Faysal is not the right person. That is for sure. If they were gonna pick some one from Karachi, Asim was a better option. But that should not be the criterion. It should be purely on merit. It is a shame that it happened that way. Ever since the increase in street violence and exit of a lot of talented Karachites to oversees, we have not seen a decent batsman from Karachi. There was a time we had more than half the side from Karachi. Why, let the Karachites decide that, but please do not tell me there is regional or linguistic reason.

I agree with some people's views that it is goignt o be very hard to repalce Inzi however he is drawing to the end of his career and most likely the world cup will be his last tournament so pakistan needs to prepare for life after Inzi. I think we should have younis and yousaf coming in at 4 and 5. The openers in my opinion should be yasir Hameed and imran nazir two batsmen which great talent but not given enough opportunities. Coming in at number 3 should be shoaib malik in my opinion. With that we will have younis and yousaf to stablize our order at 4 and 5. With razzaq afridi and akmal to follow. Therefore I feel this is the solution to solving who can replace Inzi but even than we wills till miss him as he has been the backbone of our batting for the last 12 years. Thanks Inzi and when the time comes for you to go we'll miss u.

iam surprised everyone is thinking abt dropping down SHoaib Malik, because of Younis Khan he had to compromise, he should have stayed as the no 3, he made runs almost every time he batted there, younis khan in my opinion is not that good of a one day player, but he should come at no 5, mohammad yousuf should be 4, salman butt should be given another shot, and wat abt Asim Kamal, Faisal Iqbal is good, Asim kamal played well everytime the team was in trouble, he has been very unfairly treated

Inzamam is one player. Agreed he is the player on which pakistan cricket has laregely ridden on since the turn of the century, but still he is only 1 of 11 men who play for pakistan, each match. In regards to who should take is spot, i really believe that it's time Hasan Raza is given a permanent shot in the team, both in tests and one-dayers. There are enough destructive batsman in the team, to make up for his slow scoring. Plus he really deserves to have a decent shot at making it in int cricket.

Slamz,
I'm big fan of inzy, it would be great test for pakistan team without inzy during championans trophy. So far the replacement is concerns, i read few of the suggestions, but i wonder that no body even discussed about Asim Kamal.
I think Asim kamal is the best replacement, because he is left handed specialist batsman in the middle order and so far i saw his inning he very much competent for no. 5 position.
An other reason to include specialist batsman in the team is already pakistan have more than 4 alroundrz. sometimes it create problem on tough batting conditions.

Farhat
Akmal
Younis
Yousaf
Asim Kamal
Malik
Afridi
Razzaq
Rana
Shoaib
Asif

I would rate inzy the best bastsman in the world. No one can replace Inzy because YOU WON'T FIND A PLAYER EASILY WHO CAN ALWAYS PERFORM WELL UNDER PRESSURE & NEVER SHOWS HIS EXPRESSIONS TO THE OPPOSITIONS while players like tendulkar & lara don't have such qualities. And yes if you mean replacement after he retires then i would say adding a left handed bastman in the middle order will add spice in pakistani line up so i would say asim kamal and offcourse not to forget faisal iqbal and hassan raza.

Well Inzy has been a great player of course. But if we analyze the 2005 batting performance of all pakistan players - 4 names come up:
Abdul Razzaq
Shoaib Malik
Inzamamul Haq
Younis Khan

all had an average of 33-39 and a strike rates of 70-78. So all were about the same. yes, Abdul Razzaq remained till the end in 7 matches in 2007 so he is a worthy batsman to watch for. And with a good bowling skill he must always be a part of the team. All others flattered to decieve. So bottomline is that Inzy has got people who'd be there after him to serve pakistan.. so Cheers!!