Is Pakistan finally finding balance in their T20I XI?

[Cricket Warrior]

After a T20I series win in the West Indies and now an emphatic 39-run win over Afghanistan in the Tri-Series opener questions are once again being raised and perhaps positively this time about Pakistan’s T20I combination. For a format that has often exposed their inconsistency, Pakistan looked sharp in all departments today. The batting unit delivered a solid performance, the bowling attack maintained pressure and the fielding usually their Achilles’ heel—showed marked improvement. It was a performance that felt less like a one-off and more like a team slowly getting its act together.

What stood out in this match was how roles seemed more defined. The top order played with clarity, the middle order showed intent and the bowlers operated with a clear plan. The inclusion of Sufiyan Muqeem added variety to the bowling unit, while Mohammad Nawaz’s presence gave depth with both bat and ball. Haris Rauf’s pace combined with spin control from Sufiyan Muqeem and Mohammad Nawaz gave Pakistan a balanced bowling attack capable of defending competitive totals—something they’ve struggled with in the recent past.

But one win doesn’t solve everything. The real question is whether this is the beginning of a settled T20I formula for Pakistan or just another glimpse of potential without consistency. With tougher matches ahead, fans and analysts alike will be watching closely to see if this new-look XI can deliver under pressure and prove that today’s win was more than just a good day at the office.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Not even close. There is something to work with, but better teams will provide much stiffer challenges.

It’s a good enough team to beat mid-tier teams but will look out of it’s depth against top teams.

Like watching them bat though, it’s been a while we have said this as a Pakistan fan.

 

[AZulfi]

Too early to say.

A stronger test awaits Pak. Let's see how they perform in the Asia Cup.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Still worried about our fast bowlers bowling at the death. Against the top teams, I wouldn’t back Rauf and Shaheen to defend anything under 50 in the last 4 overs.

I think we need Nawaz and Faheem in the XI to strengthen our batting, it allows the others at the top to play more freely.

All this team really needs is a proper death overs bowler. Bowlers like Yasir Arafat who have a ton of variations that back themselves to defend even 6-7 runs in the last over.

 

[hamzie]

We beat Afghanistan chill

 

[Rana]

On the right track

Boys coming in and out need to play with this mindset

 

[Rana]

Too early to say.

A stronger test awaits Pak. Let's see how they perform in the Asia Cup.

Afghanistan round 2 will be even more intense

Can see them drop a seamer for another spinner

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Afghanistan round 2 will be even more intense

Can see them drop a seamer for another spinner

Pakistan also need to make the change... drop Faheem and pick Salman Mirza

role which Faheem is playing down the order as a batter can also be fulfilled by Shaheen or Haris Rauf as they can also smash really hard in the last few overs.

 

[G0rmintAunty]

I think we need Nawaz and Faheem in the XI to strengthen our batting, it allows the others at the top to play more freely.

Just Nawaz will do, Abbas/Md Waseem can better do what Faheem does and their bowling is also much superior, it would open the way for a specialist spinnerr also as then we can play both Abrar and Muqeem

 

[Rana]

Pakistan also need to make the change... drop Faheem and pick Salman Mirza

role which Faheem is playing down the order as a batter can also be fulfilled by Shaheen or Haris Rauf as they can also smash really hard in the last few overs.

Easier said than done

Faheem in his last 2-3 outings has picked up low full tosses/close to Yorkers and hit them for 6 at the back end. You can’t expect that kind of skill from Shaheen or Rauf. They are not trained batters

I agree, Faheem really needs to sort out his bowling. You’ve lost your pace, so you adapt. Make better use of whatever energy you have left.

Just run in and bowl 5 cutters and bowl the odd pace on ball!

 

[ElRaja]

step in the right direction with the approach but a few massive issues still

1. fakhar and saim lack of form, you cant have your top three failing as consistently as this
2. reliance on nawaz is a ticking time bomb, he bombs in crunch moments, not a big game player
3. fahim is not an international quality bowler
4. no stand out fielders, rauf is a quality outfielder tho
5. haris need to up his consistency
6. pacers are one dimensional, shaheen and rauf both crumble in pressure situations against top players

 

[shamaan]

Afghanistan round 2 will be even more intense

Can see them drop a seamer for another spinner

Hopefully it's on a different strip.

 

[shamaan]

I would make one change either Salman Mirza or abrar for Fahim Ashraf.

 

[moghul]

What's Fahim Ashraf's role in the team , just a tail ender ??

 

[Hyder]

Pakistan also need to make the change... drop Faheem and pick Salman Mirza

role which Faheem is playing down the order as a batter can also be fulfilled by Shaheen or Haris Rauf as they can also smash really hard in the last few overs.

Salman mirza can also tonk some
But i d rather have another spin option in the form of abrar

 

[BouncerGuy]

They need to adjust Salman Mirza in the 11. He can be your trump card in Asia Cup...

 

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan went with just four proper bowlers again, and it showed—42 runs were leaked by the fifth bowling option. Faheem only bowled one over and gave away 14.

Many feel Abrar would be a better pick, offering control and spin with the new ball. In UAE conditions, a spin trio of Nawaz, Abrar, and Sufyan could be much stronger. But Pakistan still isn’t learning, and this same mistake could cost them in the Asia Cup.

 

[Energy]

Balance will only come with removal of Faheem. Can't hold a place for bowling 1 over spells at 15rpo each game.

Get Hassan Ali in his place and work on his power hitting.

 

[Rana]

Hopefully it's on a different strip.

A lot of my afghan friends very upset that the pitches in Sharjah have been upgraded

 

[mominsaigol]

A lot of my afghan friends very upset that the pitches in Sharjah have been upgraded

Ba/riz would have been out in the first few overs lol, lol at them playing spin on this pitch. Fakhar, Hasan Nawaz, Farhan, Agha are all better.

 

[Rana]

Ba/riz would have been out in the first few overs lol, lol at them playing spin on this pitch. Fakhar, Hasan Nawaz, Farhan, Agha are all better.

We still have work to do when it comes to attacking quality spin though

I wasn’t impressed with Saim, Fakhar, Harris and even Nawaz. Too many scratchy shots, too many mis-hits, too many swing and misses.

In comparison, Atal at 3 looked so comfortable against spin, so did Darvish.

 

[Devadwal]

India is going to expose Pakistan team in The Asia cup.

Afghanistan Missed the trick by not playing Noor Ahmed ahead of one of the pacer. Next match I can see Afghanistan beating Pakistan with little bit better thinking.

 

[mominsaigol]

We still have work to do when it comes to attacking quality spin though

I wasn’t impressed with Saim, Fakhar, Harris and even Nawaz. Too many scratchy shots, too many mis-hits, too many swing and misses.

In comparison, Atal at 3 looked so comfortable against spin, so did Darvish.

Afg spin quality is better then ours. That's the one area they are superior. Gotta give credit where its due.

 

[Devadwal]

Ba/riz would have been out in the first few overs lol, lol at them playing spin on this pitch. Fakhar, Hasan Nawaz, Farhan, Agha are all better.

Apart from Agha all the players struggled against Spinners yesterday so don't know which game you have watched

 

[Rana]

Afg spin quality is better then ours. That's the one area they are superior. Gotta give credit where its due.

You gotta respect Agha’s approach

He made a decision to just go after the spin. No double minded thinking. He looked so good and completely turned the pressure back on AFG.

I couldn’t believe how timid Saim and Nawaz were looking against their good spinners. You ain’t getting any better by being double minded! If you can’t pick it, your best option is to get on the knee and sweep!

 

[RidiculousMan]

Afg spin quality is better then ours. That's the one area they are superior. Gotta give credit where its due.

They didn't played Noor and Ghazanfar who have the best form right now.

 

[TheSultan]

As I said on the match thread - Pakistan cricket is healing.

The final product may take time, but the buzdil era is over

 

[IAJ]

I just watched 5-6 overs of the game yesterday. Really good batting by Salman. But I was not impressed by Mohammad Haris. I like that he is aggressive, but he just swings the bat. If we can get a better WK-batsman than him (Not Rizwan obviously) that would be better, but untill that happens he needs to play.

I know Rashid Khan is a good batter down the order, but to let him hit 5 sixes is not good. Did he target one single bowler or was he hitting everyone?

 

[mominsaigol]

Apart from Agha all the players struggled against Spinners yesterday so don't know which game you have watched

But I thought india was boycotting games from PK .

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan won't challenge big teams like NZ/Australia/India/SA/England in this format. Teams will come with sound strategies against players. There will be more chest height bouncers at the batsmen. May not work at UAE as the bounce is low. But in other parts bouncer will be used heavily. Pakistan can never outbat top teams. Their strength is traditionally bowling. That is when they won tournaments, matches consistently.

 

[Mamoon]

You can’t have balance with Fakhar in the top 3 and Haris part of the XI.

 

[cricketmania22]

Most of them looked like deer caught in headlights while playing their spinner. Harris was the ugliest.

 

[Ball Blazer]

Pakistan won't challenge big teams like NZ/Australia/India/SA/England in this format. Teams will come with sound strategies against players. There will be more chest height bouncers at the batsmen. May not work at UAE as the bounce is low. But in other parts bouncer will be used heavily. Pakistan can never outbat top teams. Their strength is traditionally bowling. That is when they won tournaments, matches consistently.

Agree. They had hard times vs teams like Ban n WI recently.

 

[Concerned]

Batting is probably the best that is available in Pakistan.

Bowling will remain incomplete until a reliable opening bowler is found.

Not sure Faheem deserves a place.

 

[Major]

I think fans and posters here concentrate too much on the batting and ignore the bowling altogether.

Naseem, shaheen and haris have been crap and dont really perform as much as they have been hyped up

 

[Major]

Batting is probably the best that is available in Pakistan.

Bowling will remain incomplete until a reliable opening bowler is found.

Not sure Faheem deserves a place.

Its not just opening bowler.

They dont have a guy for death overs. Rauf and Shaheen are crap death bowlers.

Than, although muqeem and abrar are playing, but these guys love to go back to Shadab Khan, the full tosser.

 

[Farabi]

You can’t have balance with Fakhar in the top 3 and Haris part of the XI.

Bookmark this. This may come back to haunt you.

 

[Rana]

Bookmark this. This may come back to haunt you.

Like his drivel about Agha came back to haunt him.

These guys look for a new scapegoat every game bro. Today it’s Fakhar and Harris

Tomorrow it’s Agha and Farhan

The next day it will be Saim and Nawaz


Every game, there will be a new scapegoat for them so that Babar and Rizwan can somehow be readjusted into the team.

 

[Caved12]

It’s tough to find the right balance right now since we’re carrying quite a few passengers in our T20I side. Saim, Hasan, Agha, and Farhan have shown some promise, but the rest still have a lot to prove. Our bowling looks at an all-time low, none of them inspire confidence in the death overs. Even in batting, most of the performances have come against weaker teams, and even then, players have gone missing here and there. Still a long way to go. Let’s see how they shape up in the Asia Cup, if they do well there, then at least we’ll have something solid to build on.

 

[Devadwal]

But I thought india was boycotting games from PK .

Lol now even Wannabe hiding behind boycott

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Pakistan needs an extra spinner in UAE, so we can't afford three pacers....Sufiyan and Abrar should be played in tandem against big sides.

 

[Devadwal]

Pakistan needs an extra spinner in UAE, so we can't afford three pacers....Sufiyan and Abrar should be played in tandem against big sides.

Sufiyan, Nawaz , Agha and saim - Four spin options are enough and by playing two proper spinners batting depth will be huge problem for any team. This is why India will not play Kuldeep/ Varun together in the playing Eleven

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Sufiyan, Nawaz , Agha and saim - Four spin options are enough and by playing two proper spinners batting depth will be huge problem for any team. This is why India will not play Kuldeep/ Varun together in the playing Eleven

Yes, it creates batting issues but specifically for UAE you need extra bowler to kill the opposition, rather than extra batter for runs cushion. The problem with PCT is that our pacers sometimes will concede way more than they can contribute. So guys like Faheem not deserve to be in XI

 

[Savak]

Bowling attack is not 100% especially with the death bowling.

Also while the batters are clearly showing intent with the bat and looking more for impact vs personal stat padded runs, they will have to balance this with better game awareness because good teams like Australia, India will not let you off the hook once they see an opening

 

[DeadlyVenom]

It is a long journey from losing to Ireland, Zimbabwe, USA, Bangladesh to going on to consistently beat Australia and India.

We can't expect such results overnight. It is an unreasonable expectation and sets the team up for failure.

Our first target needs to be to hammer the bottom teams and make sure we are winning against WIndies, Sri Lanka. Then we can build from there.

Let's see where the journey takes us.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Pakistan have one of the worst bowling attacks among all the major teams

 

[gazza619]

Pakistan have one of the worst bowling attacks among all the major teams

We dont help ourselves by picking a one legged Faheem as the third seamer. Drop him and play Abrar