Is Pakistan the only cricket playing nation which takes bilateral, meaningless T20I's seriously?

[Savak]

We are probably the only cricket playing nation who habitually plays their best 11 or top players in this format whereas all the other nations barring the ICC T-20 WC or the Asia T-20 Cup routinely rests their senior players, top performing players who are in dire need of rest, workload management and just bloods a raw captain and tries their bench T-20 players.

In the recent T-20 series we tried to experiment by changing things i.e. trying a new opener Saim Ayub, asking Rizwan to bat in the middle order, playing Shadab as a batter, different bowling combinations. But its unbelievable how the media has launched into the failures of Saim Ayub and Usman Khan after just 3 failures in a bilateral T-20 series which will not even have any bearing in the long run.

Pakistan should do this sort of experimentations in T20 cricket repeatedly and preferably some time from the T-20 WC but atleast the present team management and PCB administration should be applauded for trying out new players, strategies offering a welcome break from the past.

Unfortunately even someone like Ramiz Raja criticized the PCB and team management for these decisions and went back to the out dated approach i.e. you do not have the talent, ability to play like Warner, Rohit Sharma therefore just stick to Babar Rizwan for the opening slot, winning is everything in cricket, there is no point of experimenting if you are losing. Our toxic media, ex players and fan base is the reason why our players play for their spots at the expense of the team.

 

[emranabbas]

A lot has transformed in Pakistan cricket over the past 15 years. In the 90s, it was typical to debut just one or two new players against teams like Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh. We usually introduced new players after the World Cup to groom them for the next one, but that seems to be missing now. Over-reliance on Babar and Rizwan could potentially harm Pakistan in the long term. Once they retire, there's a risk of Pakistan's cricket team declining to a level comparable to Uganda's because we're not adequately preparing for the future.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

If they had taken those bilateral matches more seriously so they wouldnt have faced the humiliation they did during the New Zealand D series.

 

[ahmadharis1]

Definitely, bilateral t20s are the most meaningless series in international cricket. Hardly anyone plays their best XI unless in preparation for a world cup.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Well nothing wrong if done for a major tournament preparation but otherwise the young lot must be tested.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

PCB are probably scared of fan backlash . They tried youngsters and lost to Afghanistan last year.

They played near full strength and nearly lost to NZ reserves side.

 

[Markhor]

Yes. We must explore the reasons why.

1) There could be a directive from PCB to name strong squads for all series. The PCB Chairmanship changes like a pair of socks, breeding insecurity. The Chairman knows they're one bad defeat or political event away from being replaced. Therefore they don't wish to risk losing these bilateral series, especially at home in front of our own people, by resting senior players.

2) Players are reluctant to ask for rest because they fear losing their spots, and for good reason given our scattergun selection policies over the years. They also generally come from humble backgrounds and often the sole breadwinner for their extended families, making them under pressure not to refuse any earning opportunities especially realising the limited shelf-life of a cricketer.

3) The extremely vociferous nature of the Pakistani media and fans is another. Passionate opinions are great but personal attacks and overreactions to every defeat must be rejected.

4) The worsening economic situation combined with deep political polarisation means cricket has become an even more precious distraction for people. The fact cricket is the only serious national sport in Pakistan is another problem. In England, fans can spread their emotional energy across different sports.

What PCB must realise: Name a full strength team and win - you'll get no credit beating weakened opponents. Name a rotated team and you lose - you'll still get criticised but not to same extent if you named a full strength team and draw/lose !

 

[Savak]

Yes. We must explore the reasons why.

1) There could be a directive from PCB to name strong squads for all series. The PCB Chairmanship changes like a pair of socks, breeding insecurity. The Chairman knows they're one bad defeat or political event away from being replaced. Therefore they don't wish to risk losing these bilateral series, especially at home in front of our own people, by resting senior players.

2) Players are reluctant to ask for rest because they fear losing their spots, and for good reason given our scattergun selection policies over the years. They also generally come from humble backgrounds and often the sole breadwinner for their extended families, making them under pressure not to refuse any earning opportunities especially realising the limited shelf-life of a cricketer.

3) The extremely vociferous nature of the Pakistani media and fans is another. Passionate opinions are great but personal attacks and overreactions to every defeat must be rejected.

4) The worsening economic situation combined with deep political polarisation means cricket has become an even more precious distraction for people. The fact cricket is the only serious national sport in Pakistan is another problem. In England, fans can spread their emotional energy across different sports.

What PCB must realise: Name a full strength team and win - you'll get no credit beating weakened opponents. Name a rotated team and you lose - you'll still get criticised but not to same extent if you named a full strength team and draw/lose !

This is where strong leadership is the order of the day. Any PCB Chairman who comes in must adopt the mindset that the second name for the Pakistani Cricket team is politics, player power has wrecked many talented Pakistani teams which ended up underachieving, the ex Pakistan players all have their own angles, axes to grind and therefore cannot be trusted. The PCB Chairman must be a visionary, modern individual with MNC Corporate experience but must rule with an iron fist and must tell the players at the end of the day the PCB is the boss, it decides who the captain is, coaches are, you guys get paid and rewarded very handsomely, you get the best facilities, there is no reason why you guys cannot upgrade your skills to be the best in the world, we will implement a reasonable rotation policy keeping in mind the team's goals, need to develop bench strength and monitoring players workload, if you don't like it, you are welcome to leave the team and another player will take your place.

Keep in mind not every Pakistani player can do an Amir, Imad Wasim i.e. where they are in demand in the Hundred, BBL, BPL, CPL, ILT20, LPL e.t.c, the likes of Babar, Rizwan at best will only have the BPL and LPL option and these leagues alone will not compensate them for missing out on Pakistan unlike Imad, Amir who have 6-7 leagues in their kitty and have performances to keep getting selected.

PCB must eliminate player power in the team first and foremost.

 

[Rana]

PCB must eliminate player power in the team first and foremost.

How do you do that when you re-appoint a captain well known for abusing his position of power for no good reason?

 

[jnaveen1980]

England was whitewashed by Bangladesh in T20. They didnt' care. Australia lost 5 T20 series in a row before winning the world T20 in 2021. They didn't care. I did a calculation of how many matches missed by top players. Babar and Rizwan missed the least amount of matches for their country. All the others missed 18 or 20 matches.

 

[Asad T]

I think as a Pakistan player, there is always this insecurity that if you are rested, and the person who is replacing you (or rotating in your place) does well, it could be the end of your place in the side.

I remember Naseem Shah, saying in an interview, something along the lines of: "If you take off a game to rest, then it could be rest in peace forever for you in the playing XI."

Senior players simply don't want to rest and rotate out. And since it's a dosti-yaar XI, they can persuade Babar to play. But I hope this mindset is now changing, considering some players were rotated in the last series.

 

[Savak]

I think as a Pakistan player, there is always this insecurity that if you are rested, and the person who is replacing you (or rotating in your place) does well, it could be the end of your place in the side.

I remember Naseem Shah, saying in an interview, something along the lines of: "If you take off a game to rest, then it could be rest in peace forever for you in the playing XI."

Senior players simply don't want to rest and rotate out. And since it's a dosti-yaar XI, they can persuade Babar to play. But I hope this mindset is now changing, considering some players were rotated in the last series.

This is where a strong cricket board must step in to dictate to the players.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Last 2 years stat

India 60 T20is

Kohlii missed 40 of them
Rohit missed 34 of them
SKY missed 14 of them
Gill missed 46 of them
Rahul missed 44 of them

England 34 T20Is
Buttler missed 8 of them
They rotated opener between Buttler, Malan, Salt, Roy, Bairstow, Hales.

Australia 29 T20is
Warner missed 14 of them

NZ 56 T20is
Kane missed 41 of them

Pakistan 46 T20is
Babar missed 6 of them
Rizwan missed 9 of them

 

[cricketmania22]

Last 2 years stat

India 60 T20is

Kohlii missed 40 of them
Rohit missed 34 of them
SKY missed 14 of them
Gill missed 46 of them
Rahul missed 44 of them

England 34 T20Is
Buttler missed 8 of them
They rotated opener between Buttler, Malan, Salt, Roy, Bairstow, Hales.

Australia 29 T20is
Warner missed 14 of them

NZ 56 T20is
Kane missed 41 of them

Pakistan 46 T20is
Babar missed 6 of them
Rizwan missed 9 of them

Would have been relevant if you had mentioned the number of days these guys played cricket vs number of days Babar and Rizwan. My assumption is it won’t even be close. Also, some of these guys are older than Babar and Rizwan so they need to manage their workload.

 

[Savak]

Would have been relevant if you had mentioned the number of days these guys played cricket vs number of days Babar and Rizwan. My assumption is it won’t even be close. Also, some of these guys are older than Babar and Rizwan so they need to manage their workload.

That can be a factor too but the the likes of Babar and Rizwan have achieved seniority in the Pakistani team and they can comfortably sit out of a series against minnows and out of 2-3 games in a 5 Match series against a C team of the major nations.

 

[cricketmania22]

Pakistan plays noway near amount of cricket Australia, England and India do. Average number of test matches Pakistan play is 3-5 per year vs 13-15 played by these teams. Therefore, Pakistani players are not overworked, so there is no need to rotate them.

T20s is a money making tool for PCB.if PCB starts resting their superstars, sponsors and media companies are not going to pay what they are paying PCB. Unlike other counties Pakistan doesn’t have too many superstars in their team, so if they rest 2-3 they have, no one is going to pay them big bucks. Further, like other rich boards PCB don’t make much from tests matches or even ODIs (unless they are against big three).

Further, Babar and Rizwan would not want to sit out if they are not playing much cricket anyway. They would want to remain relevant and connected to their fans and sponsors.

 

[Savak]

I think as a Pakistan player, there is always this insecurity that if you are rested, and the person who is replacing you (or rotating in your place) does well, it could be the end of your place in the side.

I remember Naseem Shah, saying in an interview, something along the lines of: "If you take off a game to rest, then it could be rest in peace forever for you in the playing XI."

Senior players simply don't want to rest and rotate out. And since it's a dosti-yaar XI, they can persuade Babar to play. But I hope this mindset is now changing, considering some players were rotated in the last series.

I remember when YK wanted to rest Shoaib Malik from an ODI game against NZ in UAE and try out a youngster in 2009.

Shoaib Malik threw a fit and even mocked YK and said "Did I walk on foot from Pakistan to UAE that I need rest?". Mohd Yousaf was rested from the next game and even he threw an emotional fit.

This is a cultural problem which has to change. One of the things the PCB has introduced in recent years that any player who actually gets rested from a game is still paid the match fee to put him at ease but even this hasn't done enough to remove the players insecurity.

 

[cricketmania22]

That can be a factor too but the the likes of Babar and Rizwan have achieved seniority in the Pakistani team and they can comfortably sit out of a series against minnows and out of 2-3 games in a 5 Match series against a C team of the major nations.

I think this was too close to the WC so that would have made sense anyway.

They can rest but then they will lose their brand value as Pakistan doesn’t play too much cricket unlike other teams.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Would have been relevant if you had mentioned the number of days these guys played cricket vs number of days Babar and Rizwan. My assumption is it won’t even be close. Also, some of these guys are older than Babar and Rizwan so they need to manage their workload.

SKY is a specialist T20 batsman. Sure here and there played ODI. But not much. Since Test matches are 5 days

In the last 2 years

Kane 14 tests
Babar 12 tests
Warner 18 tests
Rohit 14 tests
Kohli 12 tests
Gill 15 tests
Rahul 7 tests

More or less the same for all players.

In ODIs

Babar 31
Kohlii 32
Sharma 32
Rahul 33
Warner 33
Williamson 12

So not much difference there.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan plays noway near amount of cricket Australia, England and India do. Average number of test matches Pakistan play is 3-5 per year vs 13-15 played by these teams. Therefore, Pakistani players are not overworked, so there is no need to rotate them.

T20s is a moneymaking tool for PCB.if PCB starts resting their superstars, sponsors and media companies are not going to pay what they are paying PCB. Unlike other counties Pakistan doesn’t have too many superstars in their team, so if they rest 2-3 they have, no one is going to pay them big bucks. Further, like other rich boards PCB don’t make much from tests matches or even ODIs (unless they are against big three).

Further, Babar and Rizwan would not want to sit out if they are not playing much cricket anyway. They would want to remain relevant and connected to their fans and sponsors.

I do not completely agree with this stance, come the Asia ODI Cup and the ODI WC 2023, a lot of Pakistani players clearly looked jaded, over worked and unfit and Shaheen was mostly operating at 129-132 km/hr in his opening spells and looked pedestrian, ineffective.

Shadab too looked out of form, ineffective and his bowling action had started to show terrible technical flaws.

We had lost Naseem Shah because he kept playing too many T20 leagues inspite of carrying a shoulder injury.

Because we didn't bother playing our bench or developing our bench we had no ready replacements for our injured or out of form players. The PCB and team management must ensure that this does not happen again.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Given that they all play more or less the same amount of tests

Highet matches in all 3 formats in the last 2 years

Mendis 95
Mitchell 88
Babar 83
SKY 77
Asalnka 75


Top 5

among the rest

Rizwan 75
Rohit 72
Gill 70
Warner 66
Kohli 64
Buttler 59 (doesn't play tests)
'

 

[jnaveen1980]

IF you look at Indiian they don't play any other matches other than IPL. Babar plays other leagues. I don't have data on what are the leagues he takes part in besides PSL.

 

[cricketmania22]

SKY is a specialist T20 batsman. Sure here and there played ODI. But not much. Since Test matches are 5 days

In the last 2 years

Kane 14 tests
Babar 12 tests
Warner 18 tests
Rohit 14 tests
Kohli 12 tests
Gill 15 tests
Rahul 7 tests

More or less the same for all players.

In ODIs

Babar 31
Kohlii 32
Sharma 32
Rahul 33
Warner 33
Williamson 12

So not much difference there.

You’re missing IPL. That’s 2 months of cricket vs PSL 3 weeks. So based upon what you posted about above all of them had played almost same number of international games (Maybe due to the WC India didn’t play much test cricket) but then Indians play 2 months of IPL cricket also.

Also not sure why SKY and Rahul missed so many T20s? They must be injured or were not selected.

 

[jnaveen1980]

You’re missing IPL. That’s 2 months of cricket vs PSL 3 weeks. So based upon what you posted about above all of them had played almost same number of international games (Maybe due to the WC India didn’t play much test cricket) but then Indians play 2 months of IPL cricket also.

Also not sure why SKY and Rahul missed so many T20s? They must be injured or were not selected.

Indians play just IPL. Babar plays more than one league right?

 

[cricketmania22]

I do not completely agree with this stance, come the Asia ODI Cup and the ODI WC 2023, a lot of Pakistani players clearly looked jaded, over worked and unfit and Shaheen was mostly operating at 129-132 km/hr in his opening spells and looked pedestrian, ineffective.

Shadab too looked out of form, ineffective and his bowling action had started to show terrible technical flaws.

We had lost Naseem Shah because he kept playing too many T20 leagues inspite of carrying a shoulder injury.

Because we didn't bother playing our bench or developing our bench we had no ready replacements for our injured or out of form players. The PCB and team management must ensure that this does not happen again.

Sharen was rushed back, they didn’t allow him complete his rehab.

Shadab has regressed. I don’t think he is ever going to develop into a good spinner.

Nasim shah his workload should have been managed well.

Bowlers rotation is more important then batsmen.

 

[cricketmania22]

Indians play just IPL. Babar plays more than one league right?

I don’t he plays full leagues. Maybe a few matches here and there. But yea he does play other leagues.

 

[Savak]

I think this was too close to the WC so that would have made sense anyway.

They can rest but then they will lose their brand value as Pakistan doesn’t play too much cricket unlike other teams.

They will lose their brand value if they don't win big games against the big teams, there is nothing to be gained brand value wise by playing minnows or C teams.

 

[jnaveen1980]

You’re missing IPL. That’s 2 months of cricket vs PSL 3 weeks. So based upon what you posted about above all of them had played almost same number of international games (Maybe due to the WC India didn’t play much test cricket) but then Indians play 2 months of IPL cricket also.

Also not sure why SKY and Rahul missed so many T20s? They must be injured or were not selected.

The thing is India constantly rotates their players because too many options are still untested. There are times they send two teams. When India was on the plane to Autralia for world T20, 2022. India had a completely new team playing full strength South Africa in a ODI series and beat them 2-1. Pakistan should find a way to test different combination irrespective of the outcome. India did lose in Srilanka with D team.

 

[cricketmania22]

The thing is India constantly rotates their players because too many options are still untested. There are times they send two teams. When India was on the plane to Autralia for world T20, 2022. India had a completely new team playing full strength South Africa in a ODI series and beat them 2-1. Pakistan should find a way to test different combination irrespective of the outcome. India did lose in Srilanka with D team.

Pakistan doesn’t have that means players to play two different teams. And unlike BCCI, PCB won’t make money if they field 2nd string players which are pretty poor to begin with.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan doesn’t have that means players to play two different teams. And unlike BCCI, PCB won’t make money if they field 2nd string players which are pretty poor to begin with.

This is the problem with risk averse, defensive thinking. Why not think positive ie the PCB by playing the bench and other 2nd string players they might un earth a few Super stars through whom the PCB can end up earning more money than the players they replaced?

Mickey Arthur coaching regime decided to dump the experienced Ahmed Shehzad and replaced him with the raw inexperienced Fakhar and Fakhar became a superstar immediately.

Even Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan were tried in that tournament and they became instant hits.

 

[cricketmania22]

This is the problem with risk averse, defensive thinking. Why not think positive ie the PCB by playing the bench and other 2nd string players they might un earth a few Super stars through whom the PCB can end up earning more money than the players they replaced?

Mickey Arthur coaching regime decided to dump the experienced Ahmed Shehzad and replaced him with the raw inexperienced Fakhar and Fakhar became a superstar immediately.

Even Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan were tried in that tournament and they became instant hits.

I agree but I think PCB believes they will lose money if they do so.

 

[cricketmania22]

This is the problem with risk averse, defensive thinking. Why not think positive ie the PCB by playing the bench and other 2nd string players they might un earth a few Super stars through whom the PCB can end up earning more money than the players they replaced?

Mickey Arthur coaching regime decided to dump the experienced Ahmed Shehzad and replaced him with the raw inexperienced Fakhar and Fakhar became a superstar immediately.

Even Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan were tried in that tournament and they became instant hits.

Also, it’s not just about being risk averse but being realistic as well. Hassan Ali and Shadab did well in PSL side before they were included in the side. Right now I don’t see any good domestic players that haven’t been given a chance.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan doesn’t have that means players to play two different teams. And unlike BCCI, PCB won’t make money if they field 2nd string players which are pretty poor to begin with.

Problem with Babar and Rizwan playing together is they eat almot 60% of the deliveries in a useless bilaterals leaving very little balls for others to make an impact. Best way to groom the talent is by throwing them in the deep end. If you don't do that progressively when these players get injured or unavailable for some reason or out of form you will see a massive vaccuum.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I agree but I think PCB believes they will lose money if they do so.

This i agree. The amount of publicity i see for some random bilateral T20s on social media is mind boggling. Generally it is a run of the mill affair for most team. It is treated like a big event. I understand it is a marketinig ploy to keep the fans interested in every series. But because of that Pakistan ends up playing their superstars in every game.

 

[cricketmania22]

Problem with Babar and Rizwan playing together is they eat almot 60% of the deliveries in a useless bilaterals leaving very little balls for others to make an impact. Best way to groom the talent is by throwing them in the deep end. If you don't do that progressively when these players get injured or unavailable for some reason or out of form you will see a massive vaccuum.

I agree they need to increase their strike rates.

In the series against NZ, Rizwan didn’t play and Pakistan gave a chance to a bunch of rookies. However none of them took the opportunity and cemented their spot or performed well. In the end, burden again fell on Babar’s shoulders and his performance won us the last T20 to level the series. If these newbies are not going to perform against a third string bowling lineup in their own backyard when would they?

Babar and Rizwan are not Chris Gayle, they have limitations, when no one else performs all the burden falls on their shoulders, and they crumble under that pressure. Again, it’s not an excuse for them not increase their strike rate but this is a team sports and other batsmen should step up as well and take the pressure away.

 

[Savak]

I agree but I think PCB believes they will lose money if they do so.

The PCB rested Babar Rizwan and Shaheen against Afghanistan in the T-20 series.

The PCB via the selectors and team management is now promoting the rotation policy amid criticism from Fans, ex players and critics. Don't think money is that big of a factor, they are now thinking about the long run i.e. they need to develop the bench and have competition for spots.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I think among the full members, Pakistan will definitely be on top that take every bilateral series very seriously. Playing full strength against teams like Nepal, Canada, Zimbabwe etc is never the way to go and you are not going to polish any young blood with such an approach.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I agree they need to increase their strike rates.

In the series against NZ, Rizwan didn’t play and Pakistan gave a chance to a bunch of rookies. However none of them took the opportunity and cemented their spot or performed well. In the end, burden again fell on Babar’s shoulders and his performance won us the last T20 to level the series. If these newbies are not going to perform against a third string bowling lineup in their own backyard when would they?

Babar and Rizwan are not Chris Gayle, they have limitations, when no one else performs all the burden falls on their shoulders, and they crumble under that pressure. Again, it’s not an excuse for them not increase their strike rate but this is a team sports and other batsmen should step up as well and take the pressure away.

If you identify a potential you need to back them. I don't have details about how good they are technically. If you think they are total hacks and they will be exposed by quality attacks then don't introduce them at all. Just back guys that have potential and wait for them to realize their potential. During this phase, you should be prepared to take losses. Nobody remembers even World T20 results let alone bi-laterals. I understand the talent pool for Pakistan has shrunk. So learning curve will be steep for these individuals. Fans have no option but to wait and see how they progress. As a result Pakistan will suffer more losses.