Albert Einstein famously said, "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it's life feeling its dumb"
It's one thing not having the right resources and talent to be a consistently good team, but it's another thing not using the resources that you have for them to have an optimum effect on the team. The former is often outside your control but the later is absolutely criminal!
And the Pakistan think-tank is often guilty of letting go of games just because they don't utilize their resources properly. Now, while I understand that this is a matter of perspective and what I think is right may not be right in another person's eyes, let me try to attempt to justify this by using some statistics.
Babar Azam - in a One Day game, the number 3 position is probably THE most important position. Thats where you dictate play from . . thats the batsman that sets the tone for the innings. Babar has gotten 4 centuries and an 80 odd (1 century in Australia and 80 also in australia) playing at that crucial number 3 position in his last 8 innings there. Most Pakistani fans agree, that after a very long time we have a batting talent that we could be excited about. After a very long time, we have someone who could be a long term number 3 and could be a real gem for Pakistan. And what do you do?! you fiddle with his position . . you move him down . . expect him to do something that he is not " that " good at .. coming in and playing at a 120 strike rate from the get go isn't his game! it hurts him . . and it hurts us! I am not saying that he shouldn't be flexible enough to adapt . . but why fiddle with his position, when you know his best output is at number 3 . . and he has proved it!
Sarfaraz Ahmed - I don't know how many of you know but he has the least dot ball percentage in our entire batting line up. That's his game . . he is not a big striker! I know it . . you know it . . everyone knows it! It's not his game! But again, going back to what I said earlier . . we can't judge him by his ability to hit big! He is the best accumulator we have in the side . . he is the best at playing risk free cricket and maintaining a strike rate of over 90 throughout his innings . . that's his game and that's when he will give you the most valuable runs! In the last 1 year, he has a batting average in ODI cricket of 63!!!! at a strike rate of 95!!! . . He has been at his best when he has batted at 5 . . and what do we do?! we drop him down to 6!! (or should I say he himself dropped him down to 6) . . . How does that make any sense?! He has to bat at either 4 or 5 . . thats when he will give the most benefit to Pakistan cricket team! So rather than judging him on his ability to hit big, the think tank should realize what he's best at and make use of that to benefit the team the most!
Shoaib Malik - similar story . . Everytime we have sent him down the order, he fails . . because again, it his not his game to come in and start smacking it from the get go . . however, unlike Babar and Sarfaraz, Shoaib does have the game to amp it up when he is set . . and especially dominate the spinners . . He has played exceptionally well in the number 4/5 position . . thats where he needs to be! stop moving him around so much . . Ever since his come back, he is averaging 56 at 103 strike rate In fact, I would even send sarfaraz at 4 and shoaib at 5 just because shoaib is more adept at the power game . . but regardless . . shoaib and sarfaraz should be 4 and 5!!
Imad Wasim - Again, not a power player . . I have seen him play some very good innings though . . he plays with a straight bat and is a very decent batsman . . his performances in england are testament to that where he was super consistent because he got time in the middle! By that logic, we should use him at number 6, where he still has a bit of time . . we are again judging him by his ability to come in and add a quick 30 of 10 balls . . he isn't the batsman for that! he isn't an Afridi . . so either he is good enough to bat for you at number 6, or he is good enough to play as ONLY a bowler . . you will not extract his all round ability by having him bat at 7 or below . . so for me again, another case of not using him efficiently . .
the last point, I want to make is that you definitely do not change your batting order to accommodate other people . . I don't care whether it's Hafeez or whoever else . . Your batting order stays the same and you play people who give you the best result at the number they are most likely to give you the best result . . you don't bring hafeez into the team and change everything around just to fit him in . . Hafeez only comes in, if he is good enough to play at the open spots . . which are either opening or number 6 . . if you think he isn't good enough to perform at those position, then he shouldn't be in the team at all! But you absolutely can not change everything around just to have him at 3
Contrary to what a lot of PPer's think, ODI games are not won by your ability to hit big all the time . . today, they are won by your ability to maintain a 100 strike rate while playing risk free cricket. Let's take yesterday as an example . . if we had Sarfaraz playing instead of Hafeez in the middle . . while hafeez was 30 of 55 balls, Sarfaraz would have been 50 of 55 . . and that would have made a world of difference
I understand we don't have power hitters today . . I understand we have issues with our team . . but I am convinced that we are not using the resources that we do have in the best way . . and that hinders our ability even more! You gotta get the best out of what you've got! We simply don't . . and this mistake is criminal!
"If you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's life thinking it's dumb", Albert Einstein
