How can Pakistan recover from the humiliating 228-run loss against India?

this wasn’t just a win over Pakistan, it was a hammering. Will psychologically damage our great rivals ahead of the World Cup.
So question is how will Pakistan recover from this humiliating loss .
Did India recover after 2017 and the 10 wicket win a couple years laters?
 
I always keep my hopes up high with this team no matter what. I have supported them in those golden moments. I will support them right now as well
 
Kohli has played more significant knocks in ICC tournaments than Babar can dream of. Yes Kohli has fallen short in ODI knockouts numerous times but that is a battle between him and his own legacy.

Babar wasn’t, isn’t and never will be at his level. He is not fit to lace his boots. Kohli belongs in the upper pantheons of batting greats, right next to Tendulkar, Sir Viv, Lara, Ponting etc. Babar is simply not in that league.

He doesn’t have the talent, the skill, the mentality, the charisma, the presence and the gravitas to be in that league but that is not his problem and not a big deal.

The problem are his deluded fans who try to portray him as someone he is not. Babar never asked to be compared to someone who is simply in a different league.

In the last 12 months, an old Kohli and a prime Babar have played three tournaments (Asia Cup 2022, T20 World Cup 2022, Asia Cup 2023) and Kohli has outclassed Babar.

Even an old, past his best Kohli is superior to a a prime Babar. I’m certain he will also outperform him in the upcoming World Cup but then the excuse will be that Kohli was playing at home, but if Babar is as good as Kohli (or better according to some special edition delusional folks), then prime Babar should be outperforming old Kohli even on Indian pitches.

Old Kohli is better than prime Babar and prime Kohli (2012-2018) was a completely different monster altogether and Pakistani fans are talking absolute nonsense by suggesting that Babar is or ever will be as good as prime Kohli.

Babar has done nothing special for Pakistan team. All this talk of him dealing with pressure and carrying the team by himself means nothing.

Babar has never carried the team on his own. He has rarely won matches for his team from precarious situations.

If you look at Kohli’s top 10 match-winning knocks, you won’t find a single knock that Babar is capable of replicating.

Furthermore, Babar has been a complete non-entity in Pakistan vs India encounter and now it is a very decent sample size.

Kohli has single-handedly defeated Pakistan more times than people can remember. He has like a dozen Man of the Match awards against Pakistan.

Babar hasn’t had 0.1% of the impact Kohli has had in Pakistan vs India encounters.

You will find players like Babar in every nook and corner of India. There is nothing that he does that they are incapable of.

He is just an excellent batsman and India have produced and continue to produce a truckload of excellent batsmen.

The difference between the two countries is the level of competition especially for top-order batsmen.

Players like Shaw can score double-hundreds in England’s domestic cricket and he is not even in contention, and the likes of Dhawan and Jaiswal are better than any ODI openers in Pakistan but they are out of the team.

It is completely futile to compare career trajectories and exposure of Pakistani and Indian batsmen because breaking into the Pakistan team - and establishing yourself - is a thousand times easier than doing the same in India.

If Babar was Indian, he would have played less than half of the matches by this point of his career and he would be far from a household name.

On the other hand, a lot of fringe Indian batsmen who are mocked by Pakistani fans right now would be superstars if they were in Pakistan.

For example, Rizwan wouldn’t play a single game across formats if Pakistan had KL Rahul, Kishan, Pant and Samson as WK options.
Okay, you've written quite a lengthy essay on what Kohli has achieved and what Babar may or may not accomplish in the future, all while considering yourself a great astrologer.

There is no doubt about Kohli's records and abilities, but the reality is he has failed to win ICC tournaments for India whenever it mattered (and they came very close to winning some of those tournaments). This remains a significant gap in his CV despite his illustrious career.

On the other hand, Babar has a long road ahead of him. If he stays fit, he can play for more than 7-8 years in international cricket. This means that the other half of his career is yet to unfold, leaving much to anticipate before we can conclusively assess the kind of player he will be known as. As of now, he is clearly the best batsman Pakistan has produced, and he is on his way to potentially becoming the world's best, which remains a big question mark. I still believe he has the potential to be anything; transformations can indeed occur in cricket, as it is a sport full of surprises.

Moreover, I have never seen cricket pundits appreciating a batting talent from Pakistan like this before. There is clearly something very special about this boy, be it his wrist skills, bat speed, or reflexes, which makes him stand out among his peer batsmen in Pakistan. His attitude is great, but perhaps he needs to work on his confidence and temperament, which have been weaknesses for the majority of Pakistani players since 2003.
 
Okay, you've written quite a lengthy essay on what Kohli has achieved and what Babar may or may not accomplish in the future, all while considering yourself a great astrologer.

There is no doubt about Kohli's records and abilities, but the reality is he has failed to win ICC tournaments for India whenever it mattered (and they came very close to winning some of those tournaments). This remains a significant gap in his CV despite his illustrious career.

On the other hand, Babar has a long road ahead of him. If he stays fit, he can play for more than 7-8 years in international cricket. This means that the other half of his career is yet to unfold, leaving much to anticipate before we can conclusively assess the kind of player he will be known as. As of now, he is clearly the best batsman Pakistan has produced, and he is on his way to potentially becoming the world's best, which remains a big question mark. I still believe he has the potential to be anything; transformations can indeed occur in cricket, as it is a sport full of surprises.

Moreover, I have never seen cricket pundits appreciating a batting talent from Pakistan like this before. There is clearly something very special about this boy, be it his wrist skills, bat speed, or reflexes, which makes him stand out among his peer batsmen in Pakistan. His attitude is great, but perhaps he needs to work on his confidence and temperament, which have been weaknesses for the majority of Pakistani players since 2003.

Babar can play a billion games and he will not match Kohli’s legacy because he doesn’t have his talent, his skill, his mentality and his star power.

If Kohli and Babar were the same age in the same team, Kohli would still be the main guy with Babar his sidekick.

Babar gets a lot of praise and rightly so. He is a really good batsman, but the fact that is that the mediocrity surrounding him and the fact that it took 20+ years for Pakistan to produce another all- format batsman after Yousuf has elevated Babar’s stature.

It is easier to stand out and get noticed when you are way better than those around you. Babar would not have had the same status if Pakistan wasn’t short of world class batsmen.
 
Babar is so overrated it's unbelievable. Doesn't have a 5th gear and mentally he's very soft. We won't win an ICC trophy as long as he's captain.
 
Babar can play a billion games and he will not match Kohli’s legacy because he doesn’t have his talent, his skill, his mentality and his star power.

If Kohli and Babar were the same age in the same team, Kohli would still be the main guy with Babar his sidekick.

Babar gets a lot of praise and rightly so. He is a really good batsman, but the fact that is that the mediocrity surrounding him and the fact that it took 20+ years for Pakistan to produce another all- format batsman after Yousuf has elevated Babar’s stature.

It is easier to stand out and get noticed when you are way better than those around you. Babar would not have had the same status if Pakistan wasn’t short of world class batsmen.
Kohli has played alongside great batsmen such as Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, and Dhoni.

Babar, on the other hand, played under the captaincy of Misbah, Younis, and Azhar Ali.

While Kohli has consistently scored many runs, he may not come close to Sachin in terms of legacy and star power. When Sachin started, he was often the lone savior for the Indian team same like babar
 
Did India recover after 2017 and the 10 wicket win a couple years laters?
After 2017 CT we humiliated Pakistan twice in Asia Cup 2018 and that team were without Kohli and again we Smashed Pakistan in 2019 wc
After 2021 World T20 we beat Pakistan in 2022 Wt20 and now we just destroyed Pakistan couple a day ago .
 
Salman Butt on India's current form:

Jasprit Bumrah right now looks on a different level. Siraj has bowl well. Kuldeep is a special bowler. It is not easy check him, whether he'll bowl a googly or his leg-spin. Most batters struggle to pick him up. Sometimes they are late on his bowling, that's why it is not easy to hit him in the gap,"

"So, a lot of positives for India so far in the Asia Cup. Batters have done their job. Injured players are back to full fitness. The top four has scored runs. Pandya has been bowling well, looks fitter. The world has witnessed Bumrah's exceptional comeback. India have ticked all the boxes heading into the Asia Cup final and World Cup,"
 
After 2017 CT we humiliated Pakistan twice in Asia Cup 2018 and that team were without Kohli and again we Smashed Pakistan in 2019 wc
After 2021 World T20 we beat Pakistan in 2022 Wt20 and now we just destroyed Pakistan couple a day ago .
Then you answered your own question modi jee
 
India snatched Pakistan's soul and humiliated them like no tomorrow both on and off the field.
 
Live to exit another day

Pakistan cricket post 2019…we go again

Unfortunately no point living in false hope. Reality is we will not win a trophy under Babar.

India snatched Pakistan's soul and humiliated them like no tomorrow both on and off the field.

Yes we have issues and captaincy is one of them as is player selection.

Decisions that PCB and Team Management need to think about.
 
There is no doubt about Kohli's records and abilities, but the reality is he has failed to win ICC tournaments for India whenever it mattered (and they came very close to winning some of those tournaments). This remains a significant gap in his CV despite his illustrious career.

Kohli's innings in the 2013 CT final is the reason we could win that low-scoring thriller.

Kohli's partnership with Gambhir brought India back into the contest in the 2011 final.
 
-World Class bowling attack
- Number 1 ODI team
- Babar is no 1
- Best Pace trio

Pakistan knocked out from the Asia Cup
 
-World Class bowling attack
- Number 1 ODI team
- Babar is no 1
- Best Pace trio

Pakistan knocked out from the Asia Cup
Pace trio was injured mid-way through the India game.

Haris and Naseem are needed or we are toast. Losing two key bowlers will hurt any team in the world, India got knocked out of the Asia Cup without Bumrah last year.
 
Pace trio was injured mid-way through the India game.

Haris and Naseem are needed or we are toast. Losing two key bowlers will hurt any team in the world, India got knocked out of the Asia Cup without Bumrah last year.
Naseem bowled 9 over against India and Rauf five so this excuse is not valid for India match . This srilankan team is without their main bowlers still made to the final .
 
This was a repeat of the last ODI Asia Cup (2018).

Pakistan entered that tournament with their heads in the clouds - CT winner this and that, India is scared of playing us this and that, and India showed Pakistan its level.

Similarly, Pakistan entered this tournament with their heads in the clouds - number 1 ranking this and that, number 1 batsman this and that, best fast bowling this and that, and India showed Pakistan its level again.
 
Naseem bowled 9 over against India and Rauf five so this excuse is not valid for India match . This srilankan team is without their main bowlers still made to the final .
Naseem wasn’t fully fit, he aggravated the injury he sustained in the game against Bangladesh.

Rauf bowled five and India had just lost two wickets on 148 runs on the board.

No excuses, but our bench strength is also injured in Hasnain and Ihsanullah atleast in terms of pace bowling. Our spinners are terrible throughout, and Sri Lanka did well because they had better bowlers for the right conditions.
 
Pace trio was injured mid-way through the India game.

Haris and Naseem are needed or we are toast. Losing two key bowlers will hurt any team in the world, India got knocked out of the Asia Cup without Bumrah last year.
Your pace trio is very good but they are all T20 bowlers. More you play them in longer formats more they will get exposed. I have said the same here during last Asia cup as well and that is exactly what happened. There is a difference between bowling 4 overs in T20s when batsmen going after the bowling from first ball compared to bowling 10 and fielding 50 overs in ODIs. It requires different level of skill and fitness all together. Why you think Rauf just played the 1st test against England and then got injured?
 
The answer to the OP is that they cannot until they beat India the next time they play them.
 
Having a player of this caliber, it's surprising that we haven't seen him lead India to victory in a major tournament. Both he and Rohit are perfect examples of underperforming when it matters the most.
Massively overrated because of their stats, which is a function of their quality and the fact that they have played maximum number of useless matches in the last decade compared to their contemporaries from other countries, from bilateral odis to T20s. In big matches, they are the firsts to reach the dressing room from ground.
 
Kohli's innings in the 2013 CT final is the reason we could win that low-scoring thriller.

Kohli's partnership with Gambhir brought India back into the contest in the 2011 final.
When you have got dhoni, yuvraj and raina down in your lineup then you dont really need small 50 runs partnership from newbie on a flat dead track to win you matches
 
Naseem Shah seems to be out of World Cup.

Heated exchange among Pakistan players in dressing room.

That IND v PAK match did more damage to Pakistan than it shows.
 
Naseem Shah seems to be out of World Cup.

Heated exchange among Pakistan players in dressing room.

That IND v PAK match did more damage to Pakistan than it shows.

In the short run, certainly.
We should use it as a stepping stone to learn from, and IF (it's a big if) we do that, it would be a blessing in disguise
 
Big losses can happen. Even Australia lost by a huge margin against SA recently.

They play so much cricket nowadays that it is pointless to focus on one result only.

Better to move on.
 
I think babar is a good batsmen, it's just o don't get why he's considered no 1. He isn't even top 10. He is a solid bat though, but his comparisons to kholi is insane.
 
Before that match Pakistan were most settled team but after this humiliation Pakistan is one of the last team to announce the world cup squad .it's just show they haven't recovered from this phainta
 
Before that match Pakistan were most settled team but after this humiliation Pakistan is one of the last team to announce the world cup squad .it's just show they haven't recovered from this phainta
Sri lanka also hasnt named their squad, bangladesh has not named their squad.

The deadline to name the squad is 28 sept.

You wanted to bump the thread as you wanted to troll around here and get attention.
 
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what a stupid post.

Sri lanka also hasnt named their squad, bangladesh has not named their squad.

The deadline to name the squad is 28 sept.

You wanted to bump the thread as you wanted to troll around here and get attention.
This boy was ghayab from PP when India got knocked out last year :LOL:
 
Before that match Pakistan were most settled team but after this humiliation Pakistan is one of the last team to announce the world cup squad .it's just show they haven't recovered from this phainta
Because 2/3rd of our pace attack got injured in that match. :facepalm:
 
Your pace trio is very good but they are all T20 bowlers. More you play them in longer formats more they will get exposed. I have said the same here during last Asia cup as well and that is exactly what happened. There is a difference between bowling 4 overs in T20s when batsmen going after the bowling from first ball compared to bowling 10 and fielding 50 overs in ODIs. It requires different level of skill and fitness all together. Why you think Rauf just played the 1st test against England and then got injured?
And you also said KL is the best opener in the world in tests or something like that. :ROFLMAO:
 
Probably it was better for Pakistan to have warm up match against India on indian soil. It would have boosted confidence of PCT. Pakistan will play warm up against New Zealand which will help them understand conditions of indian pitches because these bunch of guys in PCT have not ever played in India. Might be all of them have no exposure of indian pitches. Management should come ahead and help them to understand the wickets in India. Senior players like wasim akram , Shoaib akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Inziman Ul Haq , they have to volunterily guide players about wicket conditions in India.


Pakistan will play India in Capital of Gujrat Ahmedabad infront of millions of people. Certainly 1/10 will be supporters of PCT. It will challenging for Pakistan to handle such enormous pressure and focus on basics. They have done it before in recent past in T20WC 2022 in Australia in Melbourne stadium when crowd was almost a million. I hope boys will do well. Excited to watch
 
Pace trio was injured mid-way through the India game.

Haris and Naseem are needed or we are toast. Losing two key bowlers will hurt any team in the world, India got knocked out of the Asia Cup without Bumrah last year.
India would have got knocked out regardless because our LOI cricket and players are not good enough. Also, that's T20. Pakistan lost 2 consecutive matches to SL with full strength team as well. There is pace in your bench strength but no one capable of taking Naseem's role. Has somewhat exposed the team a little bit.
 
what a stupid post.

Sri lanka also hasnt named their squad, bangladesh has not named their squad.

The deadline to name the squad is 28 sept.

You wanted to bump the thread as you wanted to troll around here and get attention.
Whatever you can say but before that match your team was well settled. After that phainti everyone is panicking even PCB.
 
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This boy was ghayab from PP when India got knocked out last year :LOL:

Can I pls ask why would he become ghayab from PP last year? I think you are forgetting that India beat Pakistan in that world T20. 'Kohli goes down the ground...Kohli goes out of the ground'...remember?

Had Netherlands not fluked that game, Pak would be out in group stage.
 
Can I pls ask why would he become ghayab from PP last year? I think you are forgetting that India beat Pakistan in that world T20. 'Kohli goes down the ground...Kohli goes out of the ground'...remember?

Had Netherlands not fluked that game, Pak would be out in group stage.
Asia Cup
 
This was not the reason of loss (Naseem bowled 9 over and Rauf 5 ) but i agree Naseem injury has weaken Pakistan chance in world cup.
Pak took a beating. Yes. Rohit and co. did brilliant work. No one's denying it.
Pak team couldn't adapt against SL - yes definitely. But to say PCB is shattered now is an overstatement.

Naseem was a vital element of our pace attack especially as an opening bowler. We don't have another one to partner Shaheen at the moment. Naseem was the one who had been doing that in last 2 years. Haris, Wasim, Dhani and Hasnain were the other ones who performed that role in absence of Shaheen but no one did it well enough. Hasnain and Ihsanullah were the two options to take over that role but they have been injured as well (PCB's incompetence of not having managed their pacers well)

Haris and Hasan both are first change bowlers so there is a big disadvantage there. Selectors might have been trying to lure Amir back in the team (I don't agree with that route)
Apart from that, batting lineup is relatively settled (Fakhar's form has been an issue but he should be persisted with)

There's no real better option to replace an out of form Shadab honestly with Usama Mir being the only other viable option but that weakens the tail.

It's been a good reminder to have this setback before the wc rather than facing the scenario during it.
PCT needs to adapt quickly now.
 
The best way will be to put up a great performance against them on Saturday. They have a great win yesterday against Sri Lanka so they must be in high spirits going into this big game against their arch-rivals.
 
Only 3 more day left for India - Pakistan match . Pakistan is going to take revenge .India have to Play their best game now
 
Pakistan's 2 in 2 victories might have hid our glaring weaknesses but next match is ominous for us. Shaheen's opening spell, Haris's first spell, middle overs spin, Imam and Babar's batting in important games all can be exploited to dangerous levels.
In batting if you lose 2-3 wickets early you will lose most of the matches.
 
By replicating it.

Pakistani have to bat first and somehow make 330+ which still won't be enough
 
Shaheen is not recovered so far after that Phainti by gill and Sharma
Naw, it's pcb mismanagement, their playing him with a broken finger unlike bumrah who India refused to play until he was 110% fit.

Theirs a reason bumrah came back as if he never left. It's because bcci made sure their lead pacer only plays once he's fully ready. No broken fingers, cramps or any rush to play until he's good and ready.

Guarantee pcb will ruin naseem as well. They'll rush him back.
 
Naw, it's pcb mismanagement, their playing him with a broken finger unlike bumrah who India refused to play until he was 110% fit.

Theirs a reason bumrah came back as if he never left. It's because bcci made sure their lead pacer only plays once he's fully ready. No broken fingers, cramps or any rush to play until he's good and ready.

Guarantee pcb will ruin naseem as well. They'll rush him back.
100% we will rush him back and we did exactly that.

He is trundling at 129-136

I badly wanted ihansullah to be ready. 6'5 135 - 145 bowler. Should have been earmarked to be our next recruit for odi. But we just let him continue with t20 instead of training and propping him for longer formats. Delay until the last minute. Rinse and repeat.
 
100% we will rush him back and we did exactly that.

He is trundling at 129-136

I badly wanted ihansullah to be ready. 6'5 135 - 145 bowler. Should have been earmarked to be our next recruit for odi. But we just let him continue with t20 instead of training and propping him for longer formats. Delay until the last minute. Rinse and repeat.
We would be seeing Ihsanullah playing in this World Cup if he was fit.
 
No they dont .
Another humiliation defeat for Pakistan against india in ICC world cup 2023.
India won the match by 7 wickets with 20 over left .
 
We have a before India and after India tournament. In the last World Cup Pakistan came back to win 4 on the trot
In 2019 also, Pakistan almost recovered from defeat to us to reach the semis. They almost did
 
The bowling has not recovered from that drubbing. The bowling has been very ordinary since that match. That match was a brutal reality check which has completely destroyed the self belief of the team.
 
No . Pakistan hasn't recovered from that humiliation .India were just not beat them but destroy all the hype of Nom1 team .Number 1 batsman and world best bowling attack. all the hype were Created by Pakistani fan's and Media after beating Minnow and B ,C teams .
 
World Cup records broken by this Pakistan team:

Allowed Afghanistan to chase 274+ against Pakistan (the highest total ever chased against Pakistan in world cups)

Allowed South Africa to win their first ever ICC tournament match against Pakistan in the 21st century

Lost four consecutive matches in a row

Allowed South Africa to also chase their highest ever total in ODI cricket against Pakistan
 
No . Pakistan hasn't recovered from that humiliation .India were just not beat them but destroy all the hype of Nom1 team .Number 1 batsman and world best bowling attack. all the hype were Created by Pakistani fan's and Media after beating Minnow and B ,C teams .
What does losing to SA have to do with India? Yes we lost to India, move on.

it seems as if that was your teams biggest achievement and still living in the past. Well if that was your team goal than good for them.

Now if Pakistan tomr losses to England you will still bump this thread? ok, but than when Pakistan wins against NZ, does this thread get bumped? of course not, because that is not related so is the game england not related.

Still if Indians want to take that as celebration than fair enough.

India never won an ICC tournament after the defeat against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World T20. Now each time India gets knocked out from the KO we bring up that Sri Lanka game?
 
The warning bells for Pakistan were not this match but rather the first Asia Cup match against India. Where despite 3 pacers bowling outstandingly Shadab and Nawaz got whacked at 6.5 rpo for no wickets.

What should have been a 160-170 blowout swelled to a reasonably competitive 266.

Pak should have seen them itself that the spin attack was absolutely pathetic. Batting and pace bowling has been weak yes but atleast they have shown some fight at times.

Fans are lamenting loss of Naseem, but that absence could still be reasonably covered via Hasan/Wasim. Reality is that any of Sandeep Lamicchane, Noor Ahmad, Nasum Ahmed, Dunith Wellalage would walk into the Pak XI today and outperform their spinners.
 
In hindsight, that partnership between Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya in the first match of Asia Cup proved to be a turning point for the mindset, confidence level and momentum of both teams involved.
 
World Cup records broken by this Pakistan team:

Allowed Afghanistan to chase 274+ against Pakistan (the highest total ever chased against Pakistan in world cups)

Allowed South Africa to win their first ever ICC tournament match against Pakistan in the 21st century

Lost four consecutive matches in a row

Allowed South Africa to also chase their highest ever total in ODI cricket against Pakistan
Bangladesh will be fired up. Maybe they can break their loosing streak in Kolkata.
 
Bangladesh will be fired up. Maybe they can break their loosing streak in Kolkata.
Well they won’t want to return to Bangladesh without having won something meaningful after all that drama they have had in the build up to this tournament
 
Must say, PCB agreeing to the reserve day at the Asia Cup will be one of the big "what ifs" in cricket.

Pakistan conceded 200+ at 8 RPO and got bundled out for 120ish on the reserve day. Proceeded to crash out of the Asia Cup and simply haven't recovered since (WC record chase notwithstanding).

What if PCB hadn't agreed? The game would've been washed out with India at 147/2 in 24.1 overs. India wouldn't carry as much confidence going forward and Pakistan wouldn't have lost as much confidence as they did.

In all probability, Pakistan would beat SL to set up an India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. Who knows what may have happened with the pressure of a final, and what bearing that might have had on the subsequent WC fixture.

What transpired instead is the stuff of nightmares. I don't think Pakistan would have won the WC, but they would've made the semis at least. But now, a relatively young team (the best players are under 30) will carry deep scars for the foreseeable future.
 
Big defeat can happen to any team. England lost by 229 runs against South Africa, for example.

One big defeat shouldn't dent a team's confidence.
 
Kohli and KL Rahul burst Pakistan’s bubble. They showed Pakistan their level. It was a brutal reality check that they never recovered from.

It is not the first time though - Rohit and Dhawan handed similar brutal reality check to Sarfaraz’s Champions Trophy winning team in 2018

India 🤝 brutal reality checks to Pakistan in ODI Asia Cups.
 
Must say, PCB agreeing to the reserve day at the Asia Cup will be one of the big "what ifs" in cricket.

Pakistan conceded 200+ at 8 RPO and got bundled out for 120ish on the reserve day. Proceeded to crash out of the Asia Cup and simply haven't recovered since (WC record chase notwithstanding).

What if PCB hadn't agreed? The game would've been washed out with India at 147/2 in 24.1 overs. India wouldn't carry as much confidence going forward and Pakistan wouldn't have lost as much confidence as they did.

In all probability, Pakistan would beat SL to set up an India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. Who knows what may have happened with the pressure of a final, and what bearing that might have had on the subsequent WC fixture.

What transpired instead is the stuff of nightmares. I don't think Pakistan would have won the WC, but they would've made the semis at least. But now, a relatively young team (the best players are under 30) will carry deep scars for the foreseeable future.

The entire post is on the premise that Pakistan is a great team and simply short of confidence.

I propose the following.

Since the World Cup was going to be played with all teams playing their best players and no "attacks to feast on", Pakistan would have performed the same as they are doing now.

You cant wake up 1 match before the World Cup is about to be over and cry when you lose that match.

Our team is not short of confidence but short of skills required to play the semi final.

And it is clearly showing in EVERY result.

And the points table will keep vindicating that as we move on with remaining matches.
 
Must say, PCB agreeing to the reserve day at the Asia Cup will be one of the big "what ifs" in cricket.

Pakistan conceded 200+ at 8 RPO and got bundled out for 120ish on the reserve day. Proceeded to crash out of the Asia Cup and simply haven't recovered since (WC record chase notwithstanding).

What if PCB hadn't agreed? The game would've been washed out with India at 147/2 in 24.1 overs. India wouldn't carry as much confidence going forward and Pakistan wouldn't have lost as much confidence as they did.

In all probability, Pakistan would beat SL to set up an India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. Who knows what may have happened with the pressure of a final, and what bearing that might have had on the subsequent WC fixture.

What transpired instead is the stuff of nightmares. I don't think Pakistan would have won the WC, but they would've made the semis at least. But now, a relatively young team (the best players are under 30) will carry deep scars for the foreseeable future.
The Asia Cup was indeed the death blow to Babar’s side.

On the field their confidence was blown to pieces and all the travelling took its toll on morale and unity.
 
The entire post is on the premise that Pakistan is a great team and simply short of confidence.

I propose the following.

Since the World Cup was going to be played with all teams playing their best players and no "attacks to feast on", Pakistan would have performed the same as they are doing now.

You cant wake up 1 match before the World Cup is about to be over and cry when you lose that match.

Our team is not short of confidence but short of skills required to play the semi final.

And it is clearly showing in EVERY result.

And the points table will keep vindicating that as we move on with remaining matches.
Not a great team by any means, but a fit and in-form first XI (i.e. Fakhar, Naseem, and Shadab performing well) is among the top 4 sides in the world.

But the confidence jolt from the Asia Cup drubbing is reflected in the defensive squad selections.

Let's just take the examples of the three players I named:

- The natural replacement for an out-of-form Fakhar is Mohd Harris. Instead, you have Abdullah Shafique, who in combination with his clones in the top 5, means Pakistan's totals have a lower ceiling.

- A higher morale unit would've picked an attacking spinner from the get-go. Imagine if Usama (or Abrar) started against the Dutch lineup and had some confidence going into tougher fixtures? Instead, you have a liability like Mohd Nawaz in the XI to cover for Shadab's form with bat and bowl.

- Lastly, Mohd Wasim should've been a starter and another attacking bowler (I know a bunch are injured) should've been picked instead of Hasan Ali to rotate the pace attack.

Anyway, I know I'm speculating a lot, but the PCB might have kicked the can (of fixing the team's now evident problems) down the road if they hadn't agreed to the reserve day.
 
Not a great team by any means, but a fit and in-form first XI (i.e. Fakhar, Naseem, and Shadab performing well) is among the top 4 sides in the world.

But the confidence jolt from the Asia Cup drubbing is reflected in the defensive squad selections.

Let's just take the examples of the three players I named:

- The natural replacement for an out-of-form Fakhar is Mohd Harris. Instead, you have Abdullah Shafique, who in combination with his clones in the top 5, means Pakistan's totals have a lower ceiling.

- A higher morale unit would've picked an attacking spinner from the get-go. Imagine if Usama (or Abrar) started against the Dutch lineup and had some confidence going into tougher fixtures? Instead, you have a liability like Mohd Nawaz in the XI to cover for Shadab's form with bat and bowl.

- Lastly, Mohd Wasim should've been a starter and another attacking bowler (I know a bunch are injured) should've been picked instead of Hasan Ali to rotate the pace attack.

Anyway, I know I'm speculating a lot, but the PCB might have kicked the can (of fixing the team's now evident problems) down the road if they hadn't agreed to the reserve day.
Sorry but I do not buy this logic.

India got hammered in the 2017 CT but did it “dent their confidence”??

Absolutely not - Rohit Sharma scored a double century a few months later and India went on to win the Asia Cup next year.

Same thing in the 2021 WorldT20. India got hammered by Pakistan and NZ in the group stages but reached the SF in 2022 (they got hammered in the SF but that is besides the point!)
 
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