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This thread is not a knee jerk reaction and I will try to be very constructive in here. There is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed in T20I which is the approach to use when batting first. This thread is only for batting first as in recent years we have seen we are a very capable side when it comes to chasing with some prolific chases over recent years now thanks to Babar and Rizwan.
From interviews of Babar and Rizwan we have established that they assess the conditions in the first 2 overs after which they play the game suited to conditions when batting first. This is the most sensible approach to take and with 2 world class players in the middle (Babar and Rizwan) there would be no better player to judge the condition in the initial overs.
The concern comes through when they either play too long and end up still in wickets post 14th over or they get out too early and we expose our prestigious trio of Ifti, Khushdil and Asif. In either of these cases Pakistan will fall short of their set targets which is ideally what we would like to avoid. It is not rocket science and this can be avoided by a simple change of mindset and attitude. The following are tactics which I believe we should implement when batting first.
1. Shan Masood - Too early to say but we now might have a dependable batter in case Babar / Rizwan fails. Lack of a dependable batter has been a reason for our failures in Asia Cup and even in T20WC last year in matches where either Babar or Rizwan were failing. Hopefully with Shan's inclusion we can have more assurances in our batting unit. Having Shan in lineup should also give Babar and Rizwan more confidence to play big shots earlier than what they would have liked. Previously they would like to preserve their wickets as long as possible given the prestigious trio waiting in the dugout is incapable of shaping an innings but with Shan Babar and Rizwan should look to take more risks so that if they fail Shan can carry their momentum through. Further, Shan is best utilised if a wicket falls in the first 6 overs to steady the innings for late burst. If wicket is falling after 6 overs then we should think more carefully about our XI positions however if the first wicket falls after 10+ overs then surely Shan should be pushed down the lineup. This was a mistake done yesterday and it should be avoided going forward.
2. Asif Ali - If we are batting first and this guy is playing and by the end of the innings if he is not out or haven't batted or just played less than 10 balls not out then consider our batting approach or methodology has totally failed. In instances we are batting first this guy should always have a role. I don't care if he get out 3rd ball but he should always get a chance to bat in we are batting first. Given he is our x factor player he should be given a chance at 3 or even in 12/14th over because we have nothing to lose in those situations and some power hitting from him can change equation of match. Its absolutely shambolic the way management has used Asif Ali in recent games. To add to my point we shouldn't rely on this guy when chasing.
3. Nawaz / Shadab - Given the turmoil in our middle order I would like to see either of them batting at 4. Shadab can come in if spinners are on and Nawaz can come if pacers are on. Its a blessing to have some good allrounders so we need to utilise them in perfect fashion which includes utilising their batting. Both of them had an impact in Asia Cup when promoted i.e. against India and Afghanistan. Pakistan should make this role permanently for them going forward in T20Is.
4. Rizwan - Atleast Babar has some power game for slog overs but Rizwan really struggles when he has to force the issue. Ideally when batting first Rizwan should not bat beyond 14 overs but if he does he would need a power game or a powerful couple of shots on offside otherwise any longer he bats beyond 14 overs will be detrimental for Pakistan's score. PS - I'm a big fan of the guy but what his shortcomings are needs to be mentioned and improved upon in a constructive fashion.
5. Fakhar - I'm not sure how many PPers on here have noticed this small fact about Fakhar but surely I have. This is that Fakhar is way more consistent and destructive when team is batting first. Even in last WC T20 where he failed all tournament lived up when team was batting first in semi-final. When we have got significant concerns in our approach when batting first maybe we need Fakhar in the lineup. To be fair I'm not sure who's brilliant idea it was to drop Fakhar but retain our prestigious trio.
Overall, we are something similar to a deer caught in headlights when batting first. We need to improve upon this aspect fairly quickly because in the upcoming WC we can be batting first in some important games something similar to last year's semi-final. We need a proper plan when we are batting first and just cannot rely on Babar and Rizwan to play all 20 all the time.
From interviews of Babar and Rizwan we have established that they assess the conditions in the first 2 overs after which they play the game suited to conditions when batting first. This is the most sensible approach to take and with 2 world class players in the middle (Babar and Rizwan) there would be no better player to judge the condition in the initial overs.
The concern comes through when they either play too long and end up still in wickets post 14th over or they get out too early and we expose our prestigious trio of Ifti, Khushdil and Asif. In either of these cases Pakistan will fall short of their set targets which is ideally what we would like to avoid. It is not rocket science and this can be avoided by a simple change of mindset and attitude. The following are tactics which I believe we should implement when batting first.
1. Shan Masood - Too early to say but we now might have a dependable batter in case Babar / Rizwan fails. Lack of a dependable batter has been a reason for our failures in Asia Cup and even in T20WC last year in matches where either Babar or Rizwan were failing. Hopefully with Shan's inclusion we can have more assurances in our batting unit. Having Shan in lineup should also give Babar and Rizwan more confidence to play big shots earlier than what they would have liked. Previously they would like to preserve their wickets as long as possible given the prestigious trio waiting in the dugout is incapable of shaping an innings but with Shan Babar and Rizwan should look to take more risks so that if they fail Shan can carry their momentum through. Further, Shan is best utilised if a wicket falls in the first 6 overs to steady the innings for late burst. If wicket is falling after 6 overs then we should think more carefully about our XI positions however if the first wicket falls after 10+ overs then surely Shan should be pushed down the lineup. This was a mistake done yesterday and it should be avoided going forward.
2. Asif Ali - If we are batting first and this guy is playing and by the end of the innings if he is not out or haven't batted or just played less than 10 balls not out then consider our batting approach or methodology has totally failed. In instances we are batting first this guy should always have a role. I don't care if he get out 3rd ball but he should always get a chance to bat in we are batting first. Given he is our x factor player he should be given a chance at 3 or even in 12/14th over because we have nothing to lose in those situations and some power hitting from him can change equation of match. Its absolutely shambolic the way management has used Asif Ali in recent games. To add to my point we shouldn't rely on this guy when chasing.
3. Nawaz / Shadab - Given the turmoil in our middle order I would like to see either of them batting at 4. Shadab can come in if spinners are on and Nawaz can come if pacers are on. Its a blessing to have some good allrounders so we need to utilise them in perfect fashion which includes utilising their batting. Both of them had an impact in Asia Cup when promoted i.e. against India and Afghanistan. Pakistan should make this role permanently for them going forward in T20Is.
4. Rizwan - Atleast Babar has some power game for slog overs but Rizwan really struggles when he has to force the issue. Ideally when batting first Rizwan should not bat beyond 14 overs but if he does he would need a power game or a powerful couple of shots on offside otherwise any longer he bats beyond 14 overs will be detrimental for Pakistan's score. PS - I'm a big fan of the guy but what his shortcomings are needs to be mentioned and improved upon in a constructive fashion.
5. Fakhar - I'm not sure how many PPers on here have noticed this small fact about Fakhar but surely I have. This is that Fakhar is way more consistent and destructive when team is batting first. Even in last WC T20 where he failed all tournament lived up when team was batting first in semi-final. When we have got significant concerns in our approach when batting first maybe we need Fakhar in the lineup. To be fair I'm not sure who's brilliant idea it was to drop Fakhar but retain our prestigious trio.
Overall, we are something similar to a deer caught in headlights when batting first. We need to improve upon this aspect fairly quickly because in the upcoming WC we can be batting first in some important games something similar to last year's semi-final. We need a proper plan when we are batting first and just cannot rely on Babar and Rizwan to play all 20 all the time.
