A board that is troubled, a side that is fickle, combine the two and what you have in front of you is this Pakistan team, who have now strung together a series of low performances one after the other. Their World T20 campaign demonstrates that the team is not only running out of steam but also continues to be marred by its own henchmen.
The endless cribbing about venue change, players complaining about wanting to bat up the order, former cricketers blaming the current ones and a captain who’s in the firing-line almost every day; you’ve got to believe that Pakistan needs to either put up or shut up. Their actions don’t back the stuff their mouth is spewing.
Else, how do you possibly explain this defeat against New Zealand from a position where they were the favourites to take it? Not only would it have opened the group, but a win against a side that is being currently tipped to win the trophy could have been the influx they needed. But no, a typical Pakistan performance unfolds and there it goes down the river: the possibility of showing some character. From 60/0 in five overs, they end at 155 without a single boundary in the final five overs.
It’s all muddled up; a mix of poor decision-making, sense of judgment and players being too actively or limitedly involved. First, Umar Akmal cries foul about wanting to bat higher, and when he’s given that opportunity, he scores a 26-ball 24 without a single four. That, when his side had lost two quick wickets and judging by his ability to score runs quickly.
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Secondly, their batting goes till No. 8, a spot that had it not been for his injury, currently belongs to Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s best T20 batsman. So the numbers suggest. One day Shahid Afridi bats at No. 3, then 4, and then 5, when a seasoned batsman in Shoaib Malik is right there waiting.
More baffling is to see Sarfaraz Khan was not getting to bat. Against India too, it was the same old narrative. Third and most important is their board and former players, whose crisis never seems to end. Afridi is to retire after the World T20, yet he is made the captain. When the poor guy shows some adulation towards the country he’s touring, and with which Pakistan needs to mend relations, receives a strong disapproval from a World Cup winning player.
To top it all, one day after Afridi tries to clarify the reasons behind those comments citing expectations; PCB announces he will be sacked as the Pakistan T20 captain, a day before the crunch match. What a move. When he’s already retiring, PCB opts to name a new captain.
Cut back to the players. Ahmed Shehzad, the marvellous starry-eyed batsman, who fails more than he contributes. Poor Sharjeel tried his bit, bashes the New Zealand all over the ground. As long as that’s happening, Shehzad biding his time at the other end is fine. But what when his partner departs? Instead of looking to stay there till the end, the wonder boy just casually goes about it, and then like it has always been the case with him, throws his wicket away. Oh Ahmed, will you ever get the T20 code? How about revisiting the century you once scored in the previous World T20? That ought to help.
Consistency has gone missing in their batting since the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq. And that’s where senior players in Malik and Hafeez need to lead from the front. It’s not a young side like Bangladesh or a team in transition like Sri Lanka. They’ve got players who were part of the inaugural World T20 nine years back. Hence, all the more reason why it’s disturbing to see Pakistan playing the way they do. The way Martin Guptill was batting, over 200 seemed obvious, but their bowlers must have taken heart from the fact that New Zealand were restricted to 180. If their bowlers can do it, what fodder are the batsmen lacking?
Also read: New Zealand beat Pakistan by 22 runs to book semi-final berth
Criticise as much as you want, but Misbah was a surgeon in his own way. He may have been slow, but showed the patience to bat through. He possessed an understanding of the game, and if many of his limited-over innings are to be remembered, his acceleration towards the end was one of the best in the business. Here, you’ve got two players who are capable of doing that, but they either don’t bat or bat too low.