I didn’t get the chance to watch the game live. I tried to catch a bit on my phone but got busy and ended up missing most of it, especially Haris’s batting. I just watched the highlights and noticed that Haris seemed to take his time to settle in, though I’m not even sure if that was the case. Maybe he was just swinging his bat and not connecting. Ideally, though, a batter who is struggling should take a bit of time to get their eye in before looking to accelerate later.
An inconsistent player never allows the captain to plan properly or know what to expect, regardless of the format. A lot of people go on and on about strike rates, modern cricket, and so on, but at the end of the day, cricket is simple: you play according to the situation, the pitch, the ground conditions, and the strengths of your team, then strategize accordingly.
I really hope Haris can carry this kind of performance into the game against India on Sunday, that’s the match I’d love to see Pakistan win. But at the same time, I have to say that Haris often plays low percentage shots. Sometimes they come off, but other times they don’t. A player like Haris can never truly be trusted. From what I see, he plays those “tullaybaaz” shots that simply don’t succeed consistently.
If he proves me wrong, I’ll take my hat off to him. But until he does, I’ll continue to believe that Haris will remain a hit or miss player. Today was just against Oman, anyone can score runs against a team like that. Especially for someone who has failed so often recently, it was only a matter of time before some runs came. Consistency, however, is what truly matters in cricket. That’s what helps a team succeed over the long run.
I’m sorry, but this is how I see it.
- I was like wow, we do have players who follow the modern game.
