Younis Khan's stint as Wicketkeeper over?

[Shaka]

I hope so. Today he missed two very simple chances, one a stumping and a dropped catch. It was worth a go and he did alright - maybe he can be groomed into a genuine w/k but at this level you can't afford to give let offs to top batsmen. Afridi missed out on 3 wickets today and two of them were down to Younis.

Moin will be back for the next match I feel.

[Zainub]

I agree, I'm a traditionalist in every imaginable respect and this experiment will not bear fruit against better oppositions than Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and we might ended up ruing our missed chances, remember that out next tour is to Australia. If the selectors don't have enough faith in Moin give chances to peoplel like Akmal and Zaman. No need of doing a Dravid - we've seen the results of such endavours only results in increasing the pressure and burden of responsibility on the batsmen asked to do the job. Batsmen need their breathing space.

Having said that I still have faith in Khan, and I would back him to force his way back into form, I'd play him in all remaining matches if he were fit.

[Shaka]

I still like Moin, he's been a big part of our side and he brings experience, vocal presence and a champion's heart to the team. I see Woolmer is also reluctant to write him off probably for those same reasons. I have seen Akmal, and I think he is ok but not sure if he is that much better a w/k than Moin even now. Maybe we could groom someone after the Australia tour?

[Zainub]

My nomination for that would be Atiqquzaman.

[Shaka]

I haven't seen him. Is he a better w/k than Akmal? Akmal is an ok w/k and not a bad bat but doesn't seem to do either too exceptionally. How is Attiquzaman's batting and keeping?

[fair_&_balance]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

No need of doing a Dravid - we've seen the results of such endavours only results in increasing the pressure and burden of responsibility on the batsmen asked to do the job. Batsmen need their breathing space.
.

Though I dont dispute your logic here but facts given to support your logic is not correct. There is no evidence to support that taking WK resposnsibility has effected Dravid's game in anyway. It totally depends on a person. If Younis can take and manage it both well then little bit of hit can be taken. You have to see what it brings to the table in terms of over all addition to team.I didnt see today's match so I dont know if he was totally horrible or if he was ok.

I think Woolmer is trying to do it , keeping AUS series in mind. He is just preparing himself for a situation where Pakistani top order will fail in AUS ( which is very likely scenario) then he can bank on depth of batting lineup and exploit their fifth bowler problem.

[Shaka]

f&b,

Dravid has turned into a pretty decnt w/k, i don't know what he was like when he first started. Younis missed a couple of chances today, maybe he just needs some more experience which is understandable. But I wouldn't want him making those mistakes in a bigger game. I think we can give him the gloves in matches against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe to get used to it.

[fair_&_balance]

Originally Posted by Shaka

f&b,

But I wouldn't want him making those mistakes in a bigger game. I think we can give him the gloves in matches against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe to get used to it.

YEP and then see how it goes. I think Wollmer is doing good here. It is worth a try. If this experiment works out then It will add good value.

[Zainub]

I never wanted to suggest Dravid has struggled since he took the gloves, I know he averages more playing as a wicket keeper batsman then just a genuine wicket keeper, in his case I just had sympathy for him, in my view asking your second best batsman and argubably one of the very best in the world right now to do the keeping is asking him for too much - yes he came up with the answers but he's a great team man, and will almost go any lengths to do the job for his team neglecting at all times his personal interests. I know he has done the job, but it's still too demanding for my money. And as the cliche goes "if six genuine batsman can't to a job what is the chance of a seventh genuine batsman doing it?".

In Younus Khan's respect , I did say using him as keeper was worth a gamble, may be we will go on using him for the rest of this series with decent results but what I want to point out is the future - I don't think he'll measure up to keeping against the likes of Kaneria - we might play him even in the ODIs in Australia, who knows. And in Australia where wickets generally have more pace and bounce then here in Pakistan his part time keeping will go under a much sterner test - and at the same time so will his batting. Extra pressure on him all the way through. The Aussies play their cricket hard, and they will not feel scared to tell Khan what they think of him , I'm not saying Younus is a player vulnerable to mental scars but asking him to keep against good sides on a consistent basis is asking him too much at one time, and in the end the keeper's position should be a specialist position. I maintain that always.

Ok for two matches, may be even 3-6 matches (not more than 2 for my liking) but not longer than that.

[Maranello]

Agree than Younis did cost us 10-20 runs behind the stumps, and missed two dismissals.. however, it was remarkable that despite this he remained very upbeat and positive..the guy seems to have a great attitude, and characters such as him are not the norm in current Pakistani cricketers ... generally, when things go wrong, heads begin to droop!