25 Years

25 years 
Nehru Cup Final
Glory at a six team tournament in India
The modern day equivalent of a Champions Trophy 
IK's second biggest achievement in the shorter form 

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/65932.html

Miandad WC Stat

Javed Miandad played in 3 60 overs World Cups (1975-1983) and 3 50 over World Cups (1987-1996)

Most World Cups by a Pakistan player

Miandad = 6 won 1
Imran = 5 won 1
Inzamam 5 = won 1
Wasim = 5 won 1
Afridi = 4 won 0
Waqar = 3 won 0
Razzaq = 3 won 0
Akhtar = 3 won 0
Azhar Mahmood = 3 won 0

Imran Khan in World Cups

1975 = Played
1979 = Played
1983 = 100 against Sri Lanka and captained side to the semi final
1987 = Captained the side to the semi final
1992 = Captain the side to glory 
1996 = Commentated
1999 = Commentated
2011 = Provided expert analysis 

Big Names Following U19CWC

Captain's Outstanding Performance & Fitness | Best Ageing Player Ever?

He can block all day. He can consistently hit sixes and find the fence at will. He can knock it around into gaps. He is a complete player. The most complete in his country. No one has looked more complete worldwide at such an age. Remarkable. One man keeps carrying the vast vast bulk of the work. Class personified. - Via KING Misbah 18/09/13

World Cup Winning Captains

1975 = Clive Lloyd (West Indies)
1979 = Clive Lloyd (West Indies)
1983 = Kapil Dev (India)
1987 = Allan Border (Australia)
1992 = Imran Khan (Pakistan)
1996 = Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka)
1999 = Steve Waugh (Australia)
2003 = Ricky Ponting (Australia)
2007 = Ricky Ponting (Australia)
2011 = MS Dhoni (India)
2015 = ????
2019 = ????
2023 = ????

Reminder Author: Analyst Maaz; Views: 520; Date: 30-01-2013, 13:23;

The Week it Starts Author: Analyst Maaz; Views: 1031; Comments: ; Date: 28-01-2013, 08:12;

Johannesburg’s best – Michael Atherton’s career defining defiance of 185* from 492 deliveries goes unmatched when it comes to acts of individualism as England’s opening bat in 1995. He dug in, absorbed the pressure, plodded his way through, batted time, batted long, battled for his runs and prided his wicket with utmost care. He who was ably supported by an extreme display of determined, repetitive, cautious, patient defensive application from wicket keeper and number 7 batsmen, Jack Russel who went unbeaten for 235 deliveries for a hard fought 29* as he put the shutters down to frustrate the life out of the South Africans, ensure both ends were firmly close and bore them into submission as proceedings eventually petered out with England achieving their desired outcome. FEC was the man of the moment nonetheless, managing to stay in for 167 overs in the 4^th innings when the tourists tried to dig themselves out of a mammoth hole with relentless and spirited occupation to avoid a major and inevitable defeat when they walked out after tea on the 4^th day to start their act of enduring survival.  The leading qualities of Athers of unflappability, gutsiness and stubbornness shone through in abundance when the situation was idealistic for a classical persevering defensive act of grafting his way to unlikely safety. If the tourists find themselves in a similar position in the series, they will be hoping their stodgy workhorses can stand up; Azhar and Taufeeq for example who have both played marathon vigils of over 440 deliveries within the last 4 test series Misbah’s men have contested. Most recently, Faf Du Plessis played an innings most reminiscent to the one of Atherton in 95. On his test debut in Adelaide he batted for the best part of 4 sessions for an unbeaten 110 as he made an uphill task seem straightforward and squeezed the oxygen out of the Aussie attack in large passages of the final day. It was a studious vigil of negotiating solidly and working his socks off. Imperatively, he lasted the course.

Presidents Trophy Final – Misbah ul Haq’s Sui Gas took the silverware. The intellectual high achieving well rounded national captain himself got the man of the match award for an 80 odd in the first innings. His innings was reminiscent of the one he played in the Abu Dhabi test last year. It was mainly real hard graft to work for his runs and set out his stall for a long vigil, however it was combined with some moments of calculated explosiveness as his innings progressed. Fahad Masood, the HBL seam bowler deserves a mention here, too. Azhar Ali spent valuable time in the middle, lasting 201 deliveries across 2 innings for some patiently compiled 30s as he prided his wicket, applied himself to the task and engaged in some significant partnerships, specifically referring to the one in the first innings which grinded down the HBL bowlers and bored them into submission as many an Azhar-Misbah partnership would. Azhar, also has had chances to captain the departmental side this season, even when Misbah and Hafeez have been playing in the side. Umar Gul, bagged 6 2^nd innings wickets and with the kind of rhythm bowler he is, this was a sign of great positivity. Taufeeq Umar hasn’t had the best of seasons in the domestic arena and the final was little different for the test match opener. Shafiq, who was returning from injury, found some form in the 4^thinnings, however after the 1^st innings deficit a defeat was always the likelihood. Basit Ali has been coaching Sui Gas this season and saw them take the honours in his home city.

Leading Concerns: Pakistan will be playing their first test match after over 200 days. They will be playing only 1 warm up in testing conditions in a place where they have only come home once without being beaten in 4 visits since South Africa’s re-admission. They played the least number of test matches by a major side in 2012. South Africa have played the double the number of tests as them since January 2012. PCB as always continue to show a lack of preparation, focus and desire towards test cricket, especially compared with England, Australia and more recently South Africa. It’s nothing to do with the players, more of an administrative issue. They do have some serious and complete test players in their ranks though. If they can come through and out of this game without a defeat or with a less humiliating loss they’d have done well. They will have their work cut out to compete and I’d go far as saying this is their hardest challenge since 2009/10 down under. I expect a test win along the course of the series, but they will be rusty to begin with.

How fellow Asian rivals have fared in SA – No Asian side has won a test series here. India drew 1-1 in the tests here in 2010/11 and Sri Lanka won a historical test, but lost the 3 match rubber 2-1 in the previous SA home international test summer.  Pakistan should be looking to match them at least, if not better.

Word on Indian tour (I didn’t cover it) – 3/5 wins is an overwhelming success. I said 2 would be reasonable and that’s what I anticipated. However, sterner challenges were always ahead of them which should warn them against any degree of overconfidence or complacency. The resumption of Indo-Pak ties were exciting times for both sides, but more so Pakistan who tend to more passionate about it as many Indians feel the contest has been watered down. It was the PCB who did the running for this tour and the series win in the one dayers was yet another  feather in the cap for Misbah’s captaincy profile and among his biggest captaincy achievements in ODIs along with beating Sri Lanka 4-1 and winning the 11^th edition of the Asia Cup. It was the first time Pakistan have beaten India in a series in India since 2005 and the first time they have beaten them in any format home or away since 2006. Hence, it’s after the Inzamam era, the first time Pakistan have got one over India and the likes of Misbah, Hafeez and Whatmore deserve their due. It’s always bigger when it happens in their back yard, especially.

Jamshed was a revelation and I think it’s only a matter of time before he will play the longer form of the game, too. At some point or another he will have the get a chance. 3 successive 100s against India and 4 100+ stands for the opening wicket in 10 ODIs since returning are top numbers. Junaid was a talking point, regularly troubling Virat Kohli with his pace, movement and whole heartedness to the task. If anyone now deserves the chance to bowl on seaming wickets it’s him. 8 wickets in 3 ODIs, taking the key wicket of Kohli in each one of them should give him plenty of confidence. Jamshed is a touch reminiscent of Graeme Smith given his favourability towards the on side. Coming back to the bilateral ties, here’s hoping we get to have a crack at them in test matches, home, away or neutrally sooner than later, because we have a top chance given how settled our side are who have been one of the best we have ever produced and produced for a very long time whereas they are going through a transitional re building phase.

Mohammad Akram – Appointed bowling coach in August. This is his first test series in charge. Seems to be working well given the vastly improved seam bowling performance in India. Conditions were helpful given the time of the year they were playing. They were up against a top batting outfit and made them look ordinary which compensates it out. Junaid and Irfan formed a mouth watering new ball pair for Misbah and both were men who could be trusted. Gul is still there or thereabouts as the more experienced seamer.

Warm up

Day 1: Misbah won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers posted 100 for the opening stand. Jamshed was played ahead of Taufeeq due to Taufeeq sustaining an injury while warming up prior to this first class fixture. However, the middle order could only post fewer than 20 between them and the run rate dropped significantly as the day progressed. Pakistan concluded on 168/6 with Gul and Safraz unbeaten overnight.

Day 2: Safraz and tail wagged to push Pakistan’s total to 329. Safraz fell 7 short of a first class century for his country while Gul and Junaid both scored quickly and played aggressively. Pakistan were bowled out in just over 100 overs. South Africa’s side XI were 213/7 at stumps with the experienced Martin Van stealing the show with the bat. Saeed Ajmal bowled economically and Irfan fielded impressively.

Day 3: Ajmal and Junaid cleaned up the tail to provide Pakistan with a lead of 79. Both had 3 a piece in the wickets column. Hafeez and Jamshed posted their 6^th 100+ partnership in 12 innings as an opening pair for the greens at all major levels combined. Azhar Ali and Younis Khan missed out, however Misbah ul Haq continued his splendid touch that he had shown in the PT final as he was unbeaten on 52 at stumps with Pakistan leading handsomely by 312 with 5 wickets in the tank.

Day 4: Once more Misbah gets out in the first 30 minutes of the day after being well set the previous evening and not out at stumps. Pakistan declared, setting the invitation XI 323 to take the first class encounter. The visitors had around 80 overs to try and knock them over. SA concluded on 190/5 as both skippers shake hands. Winning draw for Misbah.

Extra Stat – Both captains are undefeated in 12 consecutive test matches. South Africa have won 5 test series in a row. They are undefeated in 11 series in a row.

Hafeez has been involved in the most 100+ opening stands for Pakistan in both tests with Taufeeq and in ODIs with Jamshed

Fielding first – WAY TO GO

1)      Traditionally the way they (visitors) have won tests

2)      The way Misbah has won most of his 9 tests

3)      All 3 tests in 2007 were won by the fielding side on this tour

Congratulations Saeed Ajmal – Leading international wicket taker 2011 with 89 scalps, leading international wicket taker in 2012 with 95 scalps and already has 8 wickets in 2 ODIs in 2013. He was the only player to feature in ESPN cricinfo team of the year for all forms of the game for 2 years running which is a testimony to his performance and versatility. As the Sri Lankan captain who has recently departed from the job said last year, he’s sheer class.

Sad News – Passing away of Tony Greig and Christopher Martin Jenkins in their mid 60s between the last time I wrote. Fitting tributes have poured in, in abundance for two influential men in the game. They will be deeply missed and condolences go out to their respective families at this time of great sadness.

Bangladesh – One aspect I struggle to comprehend is why Zaka Ashraf was as angered as he way  upon Bangladesh’s refusal to break the drought when he went on to say that QEA Trophy and South Africa series is more important than their tour. If it’s not that important, why show such anger over the cancellation? It would have only been a limited over series in any case and not the best of ways to prepare for South Africa by any stretch of the imagination so on cricketing terms it mightn’t have been a bad thing to see the tour cancelled and players can prepare for South Africa by playing the QEA, PT final or training in camps by focussing on their long format skills. His lack of prioritisation on priding and protecting Pakistan’s top 4 test status doesn’t feed well with me.

New Zealand beating SA in an ODI series – don’t read too much into it at all

Concluding

We will provide a harder challenge to South Africa than Sri Lanka did in their last international summer and what New Zealand have given them recently. Having seen the way Irfan and Junaid bowled in India I am now more confident of the team’s chances than say 3 months ago when I previewed the series well in advance.

Playing the number 1 ranked side once more, but a better number 1 ranked side than India or England in recent times, the best ever South African side and in their own backyard where no Asian side have won a test series.  They are undefeated in 11 series in a row with 5 series wins in a row including series wins in England and Australia.  I expect Smith’s men to win the series if they play to their potential, but Pakistan might be able to do as well as India did in 2010/11 (1-1) mainly thanks to Dravid and Tendulkar’s final day resistance or Sri Lanka (lost 2-1) in the last South African season. Given they are playing their first test after 200 days you’d expect them to be rusty to begin with (in same time SA have played 3 more series). Probably, it’s Pakistan's hardest series since Australia 2009/10. It is their first major series outside Asia against a better ranked side since England 2010.  Both teams have beaten England in 2012, and have captains who are unbeaten in 12 tests in a row.

However, apart from Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the hosts haven't beaten anyone major at home since 2009. Australia, England and India have all drawn in their previous visit. They are stronger on paper, though their home record is not a ruthless one in recent years. 

Misbah’s Pakistan have won series in the sub continent (Bangladesh) and won series/drawn in the Middle East against higher ranked opposition (Sri Lanka, South Africa and England) along with defeating or drawing average test sides outside the sub continent (Zimbabwe, West Indies and New Zealand). His record against them is as good as it can get and he’s done everything possible on that front. However, now he will be up against a higher ranked opposition outside Asia for the first time. As well as he has done and as great a reputation he has gained, you’d have to fancy South Africa beating Pakistan here, but history is always there to be created and re-written.

Misbah’s philosophy

Slow and steady wins the race

It is better to win defensively than lose play aggressively

Predictable boring consistency is not a bad thing

Sports is a results business first and foremost

It is a game of focus and patience, these qualities are promoted and encouraged in a time consuming sport

You can do wonders with a simplistic, conventional, uncomplicated method to batting

Self belief, mental toughness, self determination, methodology and a principled attitude are key ingredients to success

You can pride you’re game on discipline, perseverance, reliability, consistency, statistical landmarks and make a healthy reputation out of it

Flair, instinct, glamour can only take you can so far

Every great captain has an element of uniqueness attached with them. Misbah’s prosaic and stoic nature has orchestrated a chapter of terms that are never being associated with Pakistan, being associated with them and more importantly resulting in consistent success through them. This includes dogged batting, reliance on spin, channel bowling from the seamers, experience and youth balance,  stability in selection matters, better fielding unit, well conducted side, no in house fighting and more focus being invested in the ‘thinking’ aspect of the game as opposed to just going for instinct first.

Best Captain since Imran based on:

Statistically high achieving

Stable

Intellect

Well-roundedness (off field accomplishments)

Individually performing (while captain)

Respected (by team-mates, commanding but approachable presence)

Credited (Western journos etc)

Influential (handling adversity, changing the dynamics of the side, reviving the broken side with an unbelievable success rate over a sustained period of time)

Continuity (being in the job for long enough)

The Week He Turns 60: The Influential Imran Khan. Author: Maaz; Views: 2131; Date: 19-11-2012, 04:56;

He was Pakistan’s greatest all-rounder and captain and arguably their greatest ever player. He has led Pakistan to more test wins than any captain. He led Pakistan to their first series win in England and India. He claimed a match winning 10 wicket haul against the West Indies in their prime to win a test and draw an away series against a side which is regarded by many as the greatest sporting unit of all time. He played in 5 World Cups, captaining in 3 and every one of them he led in they reached the semi-final or beyond, in the case of Melbourne 1992. He was Pakistan’s 3^rd leading test wicket taker of all time. He was a father figure in the dressing room who saw the value of having  leg-spinners in the side and spotted talents like Inzamam, Waqar & Wasim who gave great memories to Pakistan fans and fans of the world game all across the globe. He is one of 4 Pakistan cricketers to be inducted into the ICC hall of fame. Talent was there, but self-belief, ambition and courage to stand up to take on the big guns were his biggest attributes. Pakistan Cricket, Pakistan as a country would have had a considerably lower profile without their genuinely great player, without their genuinely great man. Imran epitomised what was attainable through high standards, personal drive, and boy he achieved a lot in his 21 year international career and afterwards as well with his political and social work. As he turns 60 in the 20^th anniversary of Pakistan clinching status as champions at the MCG and in their 60^th anniversary since debuting as an international side, we pay tribute to our potential future president.

Imran won many man of the match and man of the series awards in tough contested test series. During his first tour of England as captain in 1982 although Pakistan lost the 3 match affair 2-1, Imran won 2 man of the match awards and won the player of the series award. When Pakistan beat India 3-0 in a 6 match test series under his captaincy during the home season which followed Imran won 2 man of the match awards and the player of the series award. When Pakistan won their first series in England in 1987 Imran was the player of the series and won the man of the match award during the only result of the series. During the same year he was man of the series in a 5 match series in India as Pakistan claimed their first series honours on Indian soil. During the 1988 tour of the West Indies he was awarded the man of the series in the 1-1 series, a moral win for any side visiting the Caribbean at the time. In one day cricket Pakistan won a 6 team tournament in 1989 under his captaincy and he also was awarded the player of the final and player of the tournament too. Not only did he lead successfully, he individually performed outstandingly well while doing it with both ball and bat.  

Imran had a beautiful classical bowling action, the jump transformed his bowling. Genuinely was sharp with a vicious inswinger. Later on in his career, when the bowling took its toll on the body, Imran cut down on his pace and bowled some handy slower deliveries.

Even when injured towards the latter half of his career he did his best to serve his country as a leader, by focussing on his batting. As a batsman he was more than capable of leading by example, playing to the needs, demands and requirements of the team situation. Imran possessed match awareness and read situations exceedingly well. Through attack or defence he played with positive intentions.

His man-of-the-match award in Georgetown 1988 against the feared West Indies side is unforgettable. Imran was contemplating retirement, but knew the significance of the tour and was persuaded to carry on. Teams during this time went to the Islands, expecting to lose, but hoping to lose respectfully, minimising the levels of ruthlessness. However, to win a test by a margin of 9 wickets and prevent them from beating you’re side in the series required a lot of skill, courage & hard work. Imran managed to achieve it and for me this was his biggest feat. Imran was on the brink of defeating the best number 1 side in the world for many old folks. The World Cup in 1992 was the icing on the cake and a sensible time to bow out which completed his CV as Pakistan became the 4^th winner of the trophy, but there is much more to him as a player and leader before that which tends to go unnoticed amongst today’s youth. We sell him short, by just considering the World Cup triumph when he was on his last legs as a player to summarise his career achievements.

Imran believed in specialists in selection of the best XI whether they were good batsmen, solid or destructive or specialist spinners, particularly leg-spinners or Wicket taking fast bowlers. Having experienced first class structures in England with counties and Australia with states, he knows how far Pakistan are lacking in having a reliable first class domestic structure and has been critical of it for a number of years. Less team, better competition is what he wants to see and abandoning departmental associations. Although he acknowledges the talent and raw ability is there to flourish, he feels it’s badly underutilised through a failing system. Imran also, was not a big fan of coaches, once saying that the role of the coach was nothing more than booking the hotels. He felt the captain and players are the ones who matter and can make a difference and all the attention should be given to that. This is similar to Warne’s view of coaching isn’t necessary at the very top level.

Those who got to see him play were fortunate and indeed it was a special time for Pakistan’s rapid progress as a major force in the world game. Whether he was the greatest all-rounder the game has seen can be debated endlessly as it’s a subjective matter. However, I will go far as saying he was the greatest ‘playing captain’, in the sense that he was as good a player as he led, but could have easily made the side as a specialist captain. A complete player and a well-rounded individual who was an intellectual, articulate, highly educated leader of men or leader of people. Few players or leaders have influenced a country to the extent Imran has and there could be more to follow from him yet, but this time away from the field of play with the 2013 elections fast approaching.

2 Decades Today Photo Collection & Summary Author: Maaz; Views: 717; Date: 25-03-2012, 08:06;

Pakistan Winning the 5th CWC down under

- Aamir Sohail giving Botham a send off

- Miandad's reverse sweep

- Imran’s mighty 6 clubbed over long on

- Miandad & Imran anchoring the innings with determined half centuries

- Inzamam & Wasim with quick fire cameos at the death to swift the momentum

- Wasim Akram castling Allan Lamb from around the wicket

- Wasim Akram cleaning up Chris Lewis first ball with a big in ducker

- Mushy trapping Hick in front with the perfectly pitched googly

- Rameez taking the winning catch from the last delivery Imran sent down at top level cricket

- MCG turned into a sea of green

Team Misbah Means Business Author: Maaz; Views: 722; Comments: 10; Date: 20-01-2012, 09:59;

This surely has to be right up there with some of the very best Pakistan test sides we have seen ......

0-0 vs South Africa DRAW

1-0 vs New Zealand away WIN

1-1 vs West Indies away DRAW

1-0 vs Zimbabwe away WIN

1-0 vs Sri Lanka UAE WIN

2-0 vs Bangladesh away WIN

1-0 up vs England UAE (2 to play)

The current Pakistan test team has an uncanny resemblance with its greatest ever test team of the 80s which was their most consistent period in test cricket and towards the end of it they also reached the number 1 spot on the test rankings for a short while. This test team have only lost 1 in 13 tests since the infamous Lords test in 2010 and won 7 tests in between that time including 2 emphatic wins inside 3 days by margins as high as 10 wickets when a tough test was expected.A draw in Abu Dhabi will give Pakistan their 2nd longest undefeated test series streak of 7 series without losing one and ofcourse they will have the chance to extend that even further. The highest was by the team captained by Imran in the 80s who went 10 test series without losing any. Therefore, it wouldn’t be wrong to conclude that the team of the 80s and the current test team are the two of the best Pakistan have ever had in the 5 day arena. The team of the 90s had out and out match winners and record breakers, they were probably the most entertaining, but as a unit they were less consistent and stable in their performances, although they had their moments of spark in between. Below, I look at some of the current players with those of the 80s and early 90s and see where the similarities are. 

Misbah ul Haq may not have the charismatic and talisman vibe of Imran Khan, but his own performance levels as a captain are definitely comparable where the added responsibility of leadership has positively affected his individual contributions – having the highest average by a Pakistan captain of all time with 11 50s and 1 century in 13 tests as captain including 4 unbeaten 50+ scores in that package. In terms of educations levels, he is up there and has been able to command the respect of the players as a result. Misbah ul Haq has always been renowned as one of the smarter men in the team and has been identified as genuine captaincy material throughout his career at the first class level and even in the Pakistan team where he was promoted to the post of vice captaincy just a few months after his comeback and went on to captain Pakistan when previously he did not even have a place in the side, giving clear indications of a captain who is strategically astute. Both Imran and Misbah have played their part in changing the face of Pakistan Cricket when they were totally up against it either through unbearable controversies or lack of firepower in comparison to opponents. Both have provided vast stability and continuity with their presence and acted as the father figure to the team who exceeded expectations and made the team believe in themselves. Statistically, with results under his leadership Misbah’s record is about as great as it gets. Both captained in their late 30s when most would be considering packing up and calling it a day.

Abdur Rehman can be compared to Iqbal Qasim, the slow arm orthodox bowler, who will plug away at the batsmen economically and accurately with tremendous control, building pressure, racking up the maidens and enticing mistakes from the batsmen, enabling the more superior spinner to attack and experiment more in shorter bursts as they already have a reliable, but touch defensive persevering spinner holding an end up to keep proceedings tidy with nagging craft.

Saeed Ajmal’s psychological tactics to send jitters down the throat of batsmen and give the sleepless nights with his hard-to-negotiate unorthodox variations can only be comparable to Abdul Qadir’s mixture of leg breaks, googlies and flippers which got him 236 test scalps, famously bamboozling England in his home city. Only had he been playing in an era of DRS where batsmen could not use their pad as a second line of defence, he would have had countless more wickets to add to that record. Both have been revolutionising the art of spin, although the obvious difference between an off spinner and leg spinner stands, but both are seen as strike weapons by Imran/Miandad and Misbah who had great faith in their abilities.

Azhar Ali as the firm and steady stodgy accumulator who prizes his wicket head and shoulders above anything else, preciously, can only be compared to the immaculate resistance of Mudassar Nazar who based his game around crease occupation for lengthy periods with a high level of discipline, unfazed character and application. Both have the capabilities to play a dogged innings with regularity, basing their batting around workman like values, making batting seem as survival of the fittest in trench warfare, although the approach will be labelled inevitability as pedestrian and sedate from the critics.

Adnan Akmal can be compared to Wasim Bari who is a safe bet behind the stumps with his neat and efficient glove work. As a batsmen his FC record is a misleading reflection of his talent with the bat as he has demonstrated in some busy, invaluable lower order contributions he has notched up for the team although Bari was no great batsmen in his day, but a very reliable and technically sound wicket keeper who will not be in the headlines, indicating he was getting the job done and dusted without any fuss.

Younis Khan can be compared to Miandad  at the time – a worthy street fighter with the bat who will make the most of what he has got and a sharp cricketing mind to pick up on aspects quicker than others and really apply this in match scenarios. Both Miandad and Younis average in excess of 50 for Pakistan at test match level and were/are the influential middle order batsmen who played  spin expertly. Their mental toughness and spirited nature cannot be doubted. Additionally, a comparison can be drawn from their catching and fielding in general where both are amongst the best around if not the best.

Aamir Sohail can be compared to Mohammad Hafeez – a smart and knowledgeable cricketer who opens the innings with consistency and can attack classily or defend stoutly, playing according to the situation. Also,both can turn their arm over when required for more than handy finger spin.