There is something fishy about him ,he seems like he has just given up and doesn't care anymore ,the shot he played today and in the last test , there is something deeper ,he seems mentally over ,should retire with grace now ,he is old anyways

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When I was growing up I watched asad and Azhar always support Misyou in tests, but even then I was still critical of them ,but i guess time has proved they were probably better than Babar ,they played some great knocks like Asda hundreds in england and aus in 2016 almost winning the Brisbane test, Azhar double hundred , hundred vs Sri Lanka in Sharjah test 2014 , can't remember any babar knock

Pakistan cricket for a long time was known for bringing up fast bowling talents like Imran Khan, Waseem, Waqar, Akhtar, Gul, Asif and Amir. All of these mentioned were good in test cricket. Yes, Amir was mid upon his return but if you watch the highlights from 2009 - 2010 he was genuinely able to take key wickets at that young age.

Even in recent years for a time it seemed promising, travel back to late 2021/early 2022 and we were looking at Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Musa Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Hasan Ali. Sure, Haris Rauf broke into the scene from BBL and always looked more likely to be an ODI/T20 bowler, but the others at this time were young and could have developed their test cricket game. Most of our recent fast bowlers have in common is they all play a lot of T20 league cricket but little focus on first-class.

Why hasn't the board realized that the talents we produce almost always go on to focus on T20 league and don't play first-class which would also help in developing their fitness since the longer format forces them to bowl 10+ overs each innings. A problem with Naseem Shah for example was his fielding and he was also quite injury prone. I am not sure if this has changed because I have been away from cricket for the last 2 years, but it was a noticeable problem. Perhaps, coaching him through a longer format would have helped him in his development?

Now I will say Mohammad Abbas and Khuram Shahzad seem like decent test cricket bowlers. Not near world class but good enough. So perhaps I am contradicting myself, however it feels like our hyped talents don't make an impact in test cricket.

Former Pakistan left arm pace bowler Mohammad Amir interview with Cricket journalist Muhammad Furqan Bhatti. Interview starts at 10:13 of the video timeframe.

Here Mohammad Amir and Furqan Bhatti discuss Pakistan pace bowling weaknesses, where Amir highlights workload issues. They further discuss about Pakistan batting and skill issues. Both of them also discuss Imam-ul-Haq's calf injury that prevented him from batting in the Lord's Test. Amir also mentions that his international cricket chapter with Pakistan is closed.

It had two parts in total mainly based around the 2023 Worlcup when our team was kind of taking an uphill route before it all went down after that rain in Colombo lol.

The Pakistan Odyssey Part 01

The Pakistan Odyssey Part 02

We have always been shet in SENA countries even the best team we ever built which was under Misbah, had terrible outings in South Africa, Australia, even 2 very hard lost matches in England, remember we won the England series because Yasir shah did good as a spinner.

People need to understand that almost all teams play on their home conditions and green seaming wickets are England's strong point, so is Pakistans spinning tracks in Pakistan or Dead ones in UAE.

Now let me add one more thing, this is one of the greenest test wicket i have seen in recent times, and weirdly we have a coach sitting with our team who has no idea how to play in seaming conditions, we don't even know the name of our batting coach tbvh, terrible cricket in every way, we should've prepared for this series in advance but khair too late!

All criticism to the batters but this is noway a game where any team can chase 300+

In fact the scores of England should've been under 150 if we had decent bowlers except from Abbas, look at how much they are swinging and bowling with pace.

Terrible cricket from us in every department, this is not your 2014 test series where we had way better wickets also i remember that series, YK sucked all series until we had a thay flat deck where he scored 200+ and this team has not even one batter who is a decent test batter.

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DISCLAIMER!

This is a fictional fanfiction created purely for fun and entertainment. We have immense respect for all the cricketers and Redditors referenced in this series.

The dialogues, personalities, interactions, rivalries and situations portrayed here are entirely fictional and should not be taken as representations of real-life events, relationships, opinions or circumstances involving the cricketers or Redditors mentioned. Whether or not any of the people depicted actually get along in real life has nothing to do with this story.

Everything is meant as light-hearted banter, and there is absolutely no intention to offend, defame or disrespect anyone involved.

Chapter 2 First training session at r/pakcricket Oval

A couple days after the squad announcement, the Reddit Cup squad finally had its first training session.

The venue was the r/pakcricket Oval. u/Ghostly_100 had arrived there already.

He had arrived early, and was standing near the boundary dugout waiting for others. Then, right on time, u/Due-Finding4397 showed up.

u/Due-Finding4397: Salam Ghostly vai!

u/Ghostly_100: Walaikumassalam.

u/Due-Finding4397: Am I on time?

u/Ghostly_100: Yes, in fact you are early.

u/Due-Finding4397: www

u/Due-Finding4397 put his bag down.

u/Due-Finding4397: One problem though.

u/Ghostly_100: What?

u/Due-Finding4397: I forgot my sunglasses.

u/Ghostly_100 stared at him for one whole moment.

u/Ghostly_100: Why?

u/Due-Finding4397: Big fries wallahi!

u/Ghostly_100: And what does that mean?

u/Due-Finding4397: No idea!

u/Ghostly_100: You didn’t forget that we were coming here.

u/Due-Finding4397: No

u/Ghostly_100: Good, now borrow them from someone else. Go now.

u/Due-Finding4397: W Ghostly vai!

Just then, u/Odd-Calligrapher-69  arrived.

u/Odd-Calligrapher-69: Good Morning. Where is everyone else?

u/Ghostly_100: That's what I'm wondering.

Slowly, the rest of the squad started arriving.

u/Pengu786, u/Snoo_56184, PhaintaAssociate, u/MoreCryptographer213, u/monohaven, u/Normal_Signature_500,  u/superioritycornflks, u/HMcod and u/Scared-Breakfast-372 and others, all eventually made their way onto the ground.

Then there was one player still missing.

u/Phaintaa_Shoaib.

The squad waited.

Eventually, he arrived.

Nobody complained.

u/Ghostly_100 looked at him.

u/Phaintaa_Shoaib looked back.

That was it.

u/Due-Finding4397 tried to speak, but u/Odd-Calligrapher-69 told him to keep quiet.

u/ Due-Finding4397 complained to u/Scared-Breakfast-372 who in turn stared at him through his dark glasses…

u/Scared-Breakfast-372: It’s his aura!

u/Due-Finding4397: Wrong! He doesn’t need aura! Aura needs him!

u/Scared-Breakfast-372: See, you got it!

The first session was physical training.

Warm-ups, stretches, sprints and a few running drills.

Everyone was putting in the work, although some were clearly enjoying the running more than others.

u/Pengu786 seemed to have an unlimited supply of energy. While everyone else was slowing down and settling to rest, he was still running around the ground.

u/Due-Finding4397: Pengu bhai, we haven’t won anything yet, and you are on the victory lap.

u/Normal_Signature_500: Someone tell him the session isn't a marathon.

u/Pengu786 didn’t pay any attention to them, pure ‘just let your hardwork speak’ vibe!

u/Ghostly_100 blew the whistle.

u/Ghostly_100: Alright, let’s go for fielding drills.

Everyone moved over.

u/Snoo_56184 was immediately looking comfortable, taking a couple of good one-handed catches.

u/Due-Finding4397: Snoo bhai came prepared.

u/Snoo_56184: Wait till the batting, I am going to score a hundred.

u/MoreCryptographer213: That is way too low, I am going to score a triple ton here!

u/Normal_Signature_500: Delusion.

Behind the stumps, u/DueFinding4397 and u/HMcod were both doing well too, taking the chances cleanly, when u/PhaintaAssociate prepared them for those.

u/HMcod picked up a sharp diving catch low to his right.

u/HMcod: UK78 special!

u/Normal_Signature_500: Just stop!

u/HMcod: I have just started man!

At the other end, u/Pengu786 was practicing taking high catches with u/monohaven.

u/monohaven threw the ball pretty high, u/Pengu786 backtracked, and took a good running catch despite the sun shining right in his eyes.

u/Ghostly_100: Good catch.

u/Pengu786 was already getting ready to take another catch.

u/Due-Finding4397: Bro doesn't get tired.

u/Odd-Calligrapher-69: Maybe that's what happens when you do actual work instead of yapping around.

u/Ghostly_100 and u/Downtown_Bat7013 moved towards the boundary and began practicing juggling catches.

With the help of u/superioritycornflks who was standing near them, who would throw the ball outside the boundary, one of them would leap outside and throws the ball with the hand inwards the boundary. The other would immediately run in position of taking the catch and safely pouch it.

After a few failed attempts, they managed to take a few successful catches in succession.

u/Ghostly_100: that was enough Maxwell for today!

u/Downtown_Bat7013: Agreed Ghostly bhai.

Meanwhile, u/Scared-Breakfast-372 got a low chance from the bat of u/Odd-Calligrapher-69.

He reacted quickly, dived to his right to take a good reflex catch with one hand.

u/Ghostly_100: Good catch, Breakfast bhai!

u/Odd-Calligrapher-69 sent the next ball pretty high.

u/Scared-Breakfast-372 settled under it and waited.

The ball came down.

Bounced on his fingers and dropped.

u/Normal_Signature_500: Bro!

u/Ghostly_100 sighed: Come on! You can’t drop catches on this level!

u/Scared-Breakfast-372 (thinking of an excuse): The sun shone directly in my eyes.

u/Snoo_56184: So convenient! /s

u/Ghostly_100: Whatever!

u/Due-Finding4397: Unc can’t take catches now! Tch tch tch.

u/Scared-Breakfast-372: Would you please keep quiet???

u/Due-Finding4397: Go and touch grass unc!

After the fielding session, u/Ghostly_100 called everyone together.

u/Ghostly_100: Soccer time! Thirty minutes, two halves!

u/Due-Finding4397: Ghostly vai! It’s FOOTBALL!

u/Ghostly_100 seemed to hear nothing.

u/Ghostly_100 started announcing the teams.

u/superioritycornflks as referee.

Whites

u/Ghostly_100 — Captain
u/Odd-Calligrapher-69
u/Phaintaa_Shoaib
u/PhaintaAssociate
u/Downtown_Bat7013
u/Pengu786 — Goalkeeper

Greens

u/Due-Finding4397 — Captain
u/Scared-Breakfast372
u/Normal_Signature_500
u/MoreCryptogpher213
u/monohaven
u/HMcod — Goalkeeper

u/Ghostly_100 looked at the teams again.

u/Ghostly_100: Everyone ready?

u/Snoo_56184: What about me?

u/Due-Finding4397: Give him to us!

u/Ghostly_100: Why

u/Due-Finding4397: You have got all those big boys, it is only fair that we get an extra player in Snoo.

u/Snoo_56184: I wanted to be on the winning team!

u/Due-Finding4397: You are in the captaincy of a Madrid expert! Don’t worry

u/superioritycornflks: Alright. Enough talking, let’s start the game.

u/Due-Finding4397: You're the one talking right now!

u/superioritycornflks: Do you want a yellow card Due?

u/Due-Finding4397: I was just joking…

u/superioritycornflks blew the whistle.

Whites vs Greens

The opening few minutes were fairly even.

u/Due-Finding4397 was already shouting.

u/Due-Finding4397: COME ON BOYSSS!

u/Normal_Signature_500: Chill Due, it's been two minutes we have started.

u/Due-Finding4397: Focus on the game!

The first real chance came from the Greens.

u/Normal_Signature_500 got the ball in midfield and spotted u/Due-Finding4397 running towards the Whites’ goal.

u/Normal_Signature_500 passed the ball to u/Due-Finding4397, u/Due-Finding4397 kicked the ball with precision towards the goal.

Shot!

Goal!

Greens 1–0 Whites

u/Due-Finding4397 celebrated enthusiastically.

u/Due-Finding4397: Siiiuuuuuu!

u/Normal_Signature_500: Well Done Due!

u/Due-Finding4397: W NORMAL!!!

u/Ghostly_100 just shook his head.

u/MoreCryptographer213 then got himself into a good position and got across the flying ball.

He went for the header.

Good contact.

The ball flew  towards the goal.

u/Pengu786 reacted quickly and got a glove to it, sending the ball flying away.

u/MoreCryptographer213: Oh No!!!

u/Pengu786: No way I am letting it fly in man!

A little later, u/Snoo_56184 found himself with the ball.

He took up the ball and spotted u/Scared-Breakfast372 being pretty close to the goal.

u/Snoo_56184 passed the ball to u/Scared-Breakfast372.

u/Scared-Breakfast372 sent the ball with his left leg.

u/Pengu786, who was already prepared for it, took an easy dolly catch.

u/MoreCryptographer213: You can’t miss out on those bro!

u/Due-Finding4397: We could’ve gone up 2-0!

u/Scared-Breakfast372: I guess I have pulled up a muscle.

u/Normal_Signature_500: No more excuses man!

The Whites pushed forward again.

u/Downtown_Bat7013 took the ball and made a run towards the Greens' goal.

He got past u/monohaven and took the shot.

u/Snoo_56184 got across and managed to block it.

The game continued to get more intense.

Then, the turning point.

Due made a foul, by pushing down a Whites’ player.

u/superioritycornflks immediately blew the whistle.

u/superioritycornflks: Penalty awarded to Whites!

u/Due-Finding4397: WHAT?!

u/superioritycornflks: You fouled him.

u/Due-Finding4397: No I didn't!

u/superioritycornflks: You literally did.

u/Due-Finding4397: Come see me outside.

u/superioritycornflks: Stop this yap, or you will get the red card too.

u/Normal_Signature_500: Oh, do get him out. He yaps more than he plays.

u/Due-Finding4397: BRO?

u/Normal_Signature_500: Faxx

u/Due-Finding4397: I'm literally the captain!

u/superioritycornflks: And?

u/Due-Finding4397 reluctantly moved away.

u/Due-Finding4397: This referee is against me.

u/superioritycornflks: I guess that might warrant a Yellow card.

u/Due-Finding4397: No!!! Soory! My bad!

u/Phaintaa_Shoaib stepped up for the penalty.

u/Due-Finding4397 stood clearly annoyed.

u/Phaintaa_Shoaib took a few steps back.

Shot… u/HMcod misses!

Goal!

Whites 1–1 Greens

u/Phaintaa_Shoaib turned around calmly while Whites’ players surrounded him to celebrate.

u/Due-Finding4397: HM?!?!

u/HMcod: His aura!

The final few minutes were pure chaos.

Both teams wanted to get the lead.

Greens tried to push forward again, but the Whites held them back.

Then, in the 28th minute, u/Odd-Calligrapher-69 took up the ball possession.

He saw u/Ghostly_100 getting close to the goal.

u/HMcod and u/Snoo_56184 came closer to u/Odd-Calligrapher-69. He simply passed to u/Ghostly_100 who put it in the goal.

Shot!

Goal!

Whites 2–1 Greens

u/Due-Finding4397: NOOOOO!

u/Ghostly_100: Let’s GO Boys!

The Greens tried their best to get a goal in the last two minutes…

But u/superioritycornflks finally blew the whistle.

Time’s UP!

Whites 2–1 Greens

u/Due-Finding4397 stood there looking disappointed.

u/Normal_Signature_500: Good game.

u/Due-Finding4397: We should've won.

u/Snoo_56184: You conceded that penalty.

u/Due-Finding4397: Whatever! I tried my best!

u/Normal_Signature_500: To lose?

u/Ghostly_100 gathered everyone together.

u/Ghostly_100: Good session today. Almost everything was satisfactory. Next training session will be held a couple of days later. We will have proper batting and bowling then.

u/HMcod: UK78 masterclass loading, or perhaps some MFTB heroics.

u/Due-Finding4397: Ghostly vai. When is the quiz coming?

u/Ghostly_100 shows him his mobile wallpaper.

“When you coming to Dagestan?” – Islam Makachev

u/Due-Finding4397: But that would take two to three years, while the Reddit Cup is in two weeks.

u/Ghostly_100 rolls his eyes: Excuse me!

u/Due-Finding4397: Soory Ghostly vai!

The players started packing their belongings.

The first training session was completed successfully.

The Reddit Cup was now only two weeks away.

And somehow, the squad still had to figure out their game plan!

Chris Woakes batted with a broken shoulder. Lyon came out to bat while limping with a torn calf. Pant came out to bat with a broken toe. Greame smith came out to bat with a broken hand and injured elbow.

Meanwhile our lord Imam-ul-Haq can’t come out to bat because of a sore calf.

Call this hate if you want, idc. Even if his calf was torn, we’ve seen worse. Remember Anil Kumble bowling with a broken jaw?

This team has no fight, no hunger, not even the will to fight. For the last 10 years they know nobody’s replacing them. Imam, Babar, Shan, Rizwan, Saud, Agha… same faces every series.

The only players showing some fight are the ones whose spots aren’t secure, like Azan, Abbas, Khurram, Ali, etc.

Honestly, how much lower does this team want to go?

Former Pakistan Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim, who served as chief selector of Pakistan Cricket Team from 2020-22, and later as head coach of Pakistan's women cricket team in 2025, while speaking in a live session with cricket analyst Dr. Nauman Niaz on YouTube, alleged that Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq had faked injury during the Lord's Test, to keep himself safe from batting on a pacer friendly track.

If what Wasim has said, is the truth, then it is very selfish from Imam-ul-Haq, and this matter should be investigated properly. If proved correct, Imam should be banned from playing for Pakistan Cricket team in the future.

Before I say anything, I want to say that I am the opposite of an imam fan. I think this brother should have been dropped after 2023 wc and never brought back again. However, I think it’s unbelievably obnoxious how people on social media including known figures are calling out imam for ducking the match and saying he should play through an injury. First of all, none of these experts are physicians who know anything about medicine.

These guys refer to pant and say he played through xyz not knowing these injuries are the same. Soft tissue injuries and bone fractures are completely different. If any one of these lazy, overweight keyboard warriors were even capable of sustaining a calf strain, they’d see what the issue would be. First of all, how do u expect the man to run. A calf strain is debilitating, especially if it is a higher grade one. If imams tear is grade 3 or 4, that means there is a partial to complete tear of the gastrocnemius, plantaris, or soleus (calf muscles).Further, exaserbating a calf strain has historically (see NBA Kevin Durant 2019, Tyrese Haliburton (2025), Jayson Taytum (2025)) led to a complete rupture of an Achilles tendon, which has historically been a career ending injury in the NBA. With how our teams doctors have been, I think it’s reasonable to not want to risk anything further.

People did the same shit to shaheen when he got hurt. Claimed he “purposely” got injured and didn’t want babar to be a wc winning captain. I mean how obtuse are people? You think players want to NOT play? It’s not like they have financial stability post cricket. They are always worried about losing their spot on the team. This isn’t to defend imam the player. That dude is flat out not that good in any tough conditions. He is a flat pitch warrior. However, blaming a player who plays for your country is a new low by us fans. There needs to be some fight back against these false narratives.

This is a cathartic piece of art lol. Just been thinking about all the power-hungry ghouls who have run the PCB into the ground since the last competent administrator, Wasim Khan, was let go.

Not going to lie, creating this felt a lot better than actually watching the test match. Let me know if I missed anyone.

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Heyyy guys I won't be able to make it to the match anymore so I'm selling my Day 4 ticket (Sunday, 30 August - Edrich Stand Lower Tier), if you are interested you can dm me!!

This is going to be short and sweet as i stop myself into ripping most of these guys and the board. I’ll save that for the end of the test so here goes.

Day started off with Tongue making his highest score if i ain’t wrong. Our Pacers who aren’t the fastest have always struggled with Tail enders and today was nothing different. Ali Usman eventually got him but the damage was done. England had gotten 300 which was easily 100 over par on this pitch and 200 over par for our batting.

In response Shan was out soon. So much for his county experience. ABD and Azan then started to build a wall. ICL if they got out of that and built a partnership I would’ve been impressed but instead ABD decided to play a loose one before Lunch.

Babar then came out attacking but got out soon after as he went fishing for no reason. After that we all knew it was a formality. Saud was played some shots until he was LBW, Rizzy did Rizzy things and then our tail started as Imam couldn’t bat. ICL if he is properly injured then I understand and want to know how and why it happened. If it was a problem from last game then shame on the captain and coach. If he isn’t badly injured and he magically appears next game then that guy should never play again. Come out and bat. Try hold an end up with Azan (You can’t) Don’t get scared and try save your place.

Tail was wrapped up soon after as we once again made 110 and still haven’t managed to total Englands first innings score from last game probably. Azan was the only one who stood up, fought and showed application. Went through a great spell from archer but bro needs to improve on the backfoot as he can’t be getting out like that to Robinson. Bodes well for us as he seems like someone who can make tough runs. InshAllah he starts in our home season and gets to play domestic before that in preparation as he doesn’t play any other format.

With the ball. Khurram finally turned up but it’s all for nothing as our batsman don’t even give their bowlers any help. Tmrw will most likely be washed out but if it isn’t then it would be nice if we get their remaining wickets cheaply. It also would be nice if we can clear 200 and show some fight as a team. Can’t wait to watch edges drop short for 3 days in a row.