Bangladesh were able to chase down 320 against a bowling side that blew Pakistan batting away, only because they don't have plethora of Imam ul Haqs in their side. Except Tamim, almost all their batsmen have the capacity to maintain a strike rate of 85-90 throughout their innings.
Our mediocre team & its mediocrity loving apologists have consistently been hiding behind the excuse that PCT's pathetic performances are mainly down to our poor domestic structure. If that's really the case, then why has Bangladesh started to punch above its weight lately? It's not that their domestic structure is at par with any top cricket team. Then what's the reason they've started getting results? Simple. Their selectors are not as brainless as ours. They pick horses for courses and then give them complete freedom to express their talent. This has been Bangladesh's key to success.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not denying the importance of a vibrant domestic structure. It's as important as anything, but there are other ways too that may lead to success, besides improvement in the domestic structure. Till the time you get your domestic system right, you need to look at other avenues as means for quick fix. Just as Bangladesh have done.
Instead of completely downplaying genuine critique & shamelessly hiding behind "Sarfaraz Bechara kya kare, domestic structure he kharaab hai" excuse, it's important to call them out on their inability to produce results.
Here are a few things that Bangladesh did & have benefited from. Let's hope PCB emulates them & get headed in the right direction:
1) Bangladesh chose a decent leader in Mashrafe. He's no Imran Khan, but he doesn't carry a belly of a pregnant woman either. PCB should also look to appoint a less embarrassing captain. That would be the first step in the right direction.
2) Bangladesh chose a very good coach in Steve Rhodes, who helped them win 2 series against a resurging Windies team which had the better of England not so long ago. And now once again, he helped them score 2 crucial wins against South Africa/Windies at the WC. Rhodes looks well versed with the demands of modern day cricket and that shows in the way Bangladesh approach their game.
Despite being 2 down against South Africa in their opening WC encounter, they didn't let their run rate drop much (as Imam, Sarfaraz & Malik would do, on any given day) consequently they succeeded in making a mammoth 338 & also won the match.
On the flip side, our coach, Mickey 'The Clueless' Arthur, always his team to aim for scores that are at least 50 below par. On a 400 pitch, he'd be over the moon to see a score of 350. On a 300 pitch, he'd do Bhangra as soon as we reach 250. No wonder why our batting is so outdated as compared to other sides.
He needs to be shown the door for transforming a poor side into a pathetic one.
3) Last but not least, Bangladesh selectors are not blind & they don't pick cricketers prone to playing the brand of 80's cricket in this day and age. They pick horses for courses & give them complete freedom to showcase their talent.
On the other hand, when it comes to our selector Inzi, it's more about hypocrisy than anything else... Although I completely agree with his idea of keeping Fawad Alam away from the team because of his poor strike rate, but when he doesn't give two hoots about Imam's strike rate, which is very much comparable to Geoff Boycott's Grandma's, it makes him look extremely hypocritical... Not only that, Imam has been getting a free ride in Tests too, despite poor performances. That alone is a reason big enough to sack Chachu. Hopefully PCB does that immediately after PCB.
Now coming to the quick fix... We all know improvement in the domestic structure will take time, but there's no point accepting innumerable defeats citing that as an excuse... Instead of banking on TTFs, PCB should look to pick youngsters like Saud Shakeel, Zeeshan Malik, Khushdil Shah, Saif Badar, Amir Yamin, Haris Rauf.
These guys are no world beaters, but they have the potential to play the kind of cricket that's in demand nowadays. So, instead of hiding behind excuses all the time and recycling same old garbage over n over again, it's time we got rid of Sarfaraz Nihari & his ilk and gave youngsters a chance to prove their worth. Ziada se ziada kya ho ga? We'll have another slump. Koi masla nahi. Abhi konsa hum her maheenay rankings top karte hain? With new kids around, at least we'll be at peace knowing that they're not the same old garbage responsible for embarrassing the entire nation year in year out.
PCB will do this country a massive favor by sacking Mickey, Inzi, Sarfaraz & Malik like liabilities once and for all. Hope this happens soon, Insha Allah.
P.s: There's still an outside chance that we may make it to the knockouts. If that happens, it'll once again mask our frailties, just as the CT Fluke did... And would prove to be a massive liability in the long run, as has been the case post CT win.
No matter what the results are, PCB must not get itself fooled by Sarfaraz & Co. Sending them home is the only way forward if we want our team to be consistently at par with England/India/Australia.
Our mediocre team & its mediocrity loving apologists have consistently been hiding behind the excuse that PCT's pathetic performances are mainly down to our poor domestic structure. If that's really the case, then why has Bangladesh started to punch above its weight lately? It's not that their domestic structure is at par with any top cricket team. Then what's the reason they've started getting results? Simple. Their selectors are not as brainless as ours. They pick horses for courses and then give them complete freedom to express their talent. This has been Bangladesh's key to success.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not denying the importance of a vibrant domestic structure. It's as important as anything, but there are other ways too that may lead to success, besides improvement in the domestic structure. Till the time you get your domestic system right, you need to look at other avenues as means for quick fix. Just as Bangladesh have done.
Instead of completely downplaying genuine critique & shamelessly hiding behind "Sarfaraz Bechara kya kare, domestic structure he kharaab hai" excuse, it's important to call them out on their inability to produce results.
Here are a few things that Bangladesh did & have benefited from. Let's hope PCB emulates them & get headed in the right direction:
1) Bangladesh chose a decent leader in Mashrafe. He's no Imran Khan, but he doesn't carry a belly of a pregnant woman either. PCB should also look to appoint a less embarrassing captain. That would be the first step in the right direction.
2) Bangladesh chose a very good coach in Steve Rhodes, who helped them win 2 series against a resurging Windies team which had the better of England not so long ago. And now once again, he helped them score 2 crucial wins against South Africa/Windies at the WC. Rhodes looks well versed with the demands of modern day cricket and that shows in the way Bangladesh approach their game.
Despite being 2 down against South Africa in their opening WC encounter, they didn't let their run rate drop much (as Imam, Sarfaraz & Malik would do, on any given day) consequently they succeeded in making a mammoth 338 & also won the match.
On the flip side, our coach, Mickey 'The Clueless' Arthur, always his team to aim for scores that are at least 50 below par. On a 400 pitch, he'd be over the moon to see a score of 350. On a 300 pitch, he'd do Bhangra as soon as we reach 250. No wonder why our batting is so outdated as compared to other sides.
He needs to be shown the door for transforming a poor side into a pathetic one.
3) Last but not least, Bangladesh selectors are not blind & they don't pick cricketers prone to playing the brand of 80's cricket in this day and age. They pick horses for courses & give them complete freedom to showcase their talent.
On the other hand, when it comes to our selector Inzi, it's more about hypocrisy than anything else... Although I completely agree with his idea of keeping Fawad Alam away from the team because of his poor strike rate, but when he doesn't give two hoots about Imam's strike rate, which is very much comparable to Geoff Boycott's Grandma's, it makes him look extremely hypocritical... Not only that, Imam has been getting a free ride in Tests too, despite poor performances. That alone is a reason big enough to sack Chachu. Hopefully PCB does that immediately after PCB.
Now coming to the quick fix... We all know improvement in the domestic structure will take time, but there's no point accepting innumerable defeats citing that as an excuse... Instead of banking on TTFs, PCB should look to pick youngsters like Saud Shakeel, Zeeshan Malik, Khushdil Shah, Saif Badar, Amir Yamin, Haris Rauf.
These guys are no world beaters, but they have the potential to play the kind of cricket that's in demand nowadays. So, instead of hiding behind excuses all the time and recycling same old garbage over n over again, it's time we got rid of Sarfaraz Nihari & his ilk and gave youngsters a chance to prove their worth. Ziada se ziada kya ho ga? We'll have another slump. Koi masla nahi. Abhi konsa hum her maheenay rankings top karte hain? With new kids around, at least we'll be at peace knowing that they're not the same old garbage responsible for embarrassing the entire nation year in year out.
PCB will do this country a massive favor by sacking Mickey, Inzi, Sarfaraz & Malik like liabilities once and for all. Hope this happens soon, Insha Allah.
P.s: There's still an outside chance that we may make it to the knockouts. If that happens, it'll once again mask our frailties, just as the CT Fluke did... And would prove to be a massive liability in the long run, as has been the case post CT win.
No matter what the results are, PCB must not get itself fooled by Sarfaraz & Co. Sending them home is the only way forward if we want our team to be consistently at par with England/India/Australia.
