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Local Club Star
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2017
- Runs
- 2,033
- Post of the Week
- 8
A defeat hurts, period. However the sting from the defeat is slightly reduced when we can see our players put in their best performance regardless of the result. This loss to England had mixed reactions whilst I would say chin up bowlers you held your head high at the same time I would say batsmen you should literally be ashamed. I personally believe that Pakistan had better chances of win on that wicket than England. I firmly believe that only good players with sound technical ability would be able to score runs that would be crucial on this wicket. Pakistan had more accumulators than England that should have been the difference and hence I'm a little upset with our accumulators who failed to accumulate in that all important game.
Well let's start with positives.
1. Bowling - By far our bowling has been the best in the tournament. Frankly speaking it has been the best T20 bowling since last T20 world cup. Its important to note that Shaheen was not fully fit throughout the tournament yet he was not dominated by any opponent. Haris and Shadab are at their absolute peak as bowlers I feel and they have had a remarkable year with the ball. Naseem has a very bright future ahead of him. I liked the fact that Tait is being given an extended run with these bowlers hopefully he would build on their confidence. To think we have got Hasnain on bench shows the depth we have in our bowling department.
2. Fielding - Whilst we were not amazing per say and we did miss some half runouts in the final I still see this as a positive. Historically we have lost finals and important games usually by dropping some catches given that this time around we haven't done so its slightly better feeling. Having said that this is a basic thing and we should ensure our crunch match fielding standards do not drop.
3. Mohammad Haris - He is the darling of the PP at the moment and rightly so. However, I have a good feeling that he would be a frustrating performer whose inconsistencies will be lambasted here by same posters. Regardless this is a young man's game and we should start grooming Haris for the 2024 WC.
Let's take a look at some of the development areas or takeaways from this campaign.
1. Riz / Bab - I'm a firm believer that combinations in cricket are not for lifetime they are for winning tournaments. I distinctly remember that Rizwan was a make shift opener and given the numbers he started posting it was decided that he would open until the world cup and he never disappointed. Babar is class. Therefore, given we had this amazing opening combination our target were obviously trophies. 2 WCs and 1 Asia Cup where we have come close but not delivered I say its time we move onto another combination for upcoming trophy. I respect their contribution a lot and thankful for some amazing performance. But it would be a mistake now not to change this combination with next trophy in mind. I would suggest Haris deserves his position at top now with Fakhar.
2. Haider/Asif/Khushdil - We knew they were trouble when they were on flight from Pakistan to New Zealand however the management did not had the guts to correct their failure before the tournament which is very unfortunate to see.
3. Team plan / management role - Let's be very honest I do not expect intelligence of highest order from Saqlain or Yousuf so I'm really not sure what they are doing in there. Even with Hayden I expect a lot of confidence building rather than developing a great team plan. Have a look at England / New Zealand, they have tacticians as their coaches which is absolutely the right way forward. The players playing at this level does not need an updated technique or resolution of their play making. The players need mental support together with guidance on developing the perfect game plan. We absolutely need to replace our thinktank with actual thinktank comprised of tacticians. The cricket coaches can stay in the role of the coach for red ball cricket.
What do we need to do going forward now?
We have the next WC coming up in 2024 in West Indies. Its imperative to understand that this Pakistan has a strong core and combinations should be made to ensure we win the next trophy. In my personal opinion combinations are absolutely important part of success. For example, I would normally play 2 accumulators in a T20 line-up however when the wicket is tricky then we should play 3 accumulators as the target on that tricky wicket is not 180+ its mere 150. So its important combinations are spot on. An ideal T20 line-up for a flat track will be following:
1. Stroke player - Haris
2. Stroke player - Fakhar
3. Accumulator - Babar
4. Stroke player - Shadab
5. Accumulator - ???
6. Stroke player - ??? (Haider is not the answer as he is top order bat)
7. All rounder - Wasim / Faheem?
8. Spinner - Nawaz (more all rounder than spinner)
9. Fast Bowler - Shaheen
10. Fast Bowler - Haris
11. Fast Bowler - Naseem
The striking and most glaring omission in above is that of Rizwan. The question is can he play at 5? I don't think so. I feel we need someone who can hit spinners for sixes at that position, something Malik or Afridi used to do for us. We need to find someone who can also absorb pressure there and is not a youngster. Another solution to have Rizwan in the line-up would be to pick him as an opener and drop Haris to 4. Its pros vs cons here who would bear more impact
For 6, we need to find someone asap. This is the most important position according to me in a T20 lineup and with glimpses from Asif Ali in last year's world cup we thought this problem is addressed but alas its not. I'm hoping for a miracle in the upcoming PSL that we can find the person who fits this bill.
Overall, we have had a great T20 run from last year's world cup will yesterday. I don't want our T20 to fizz out and we need to build whilst maintaining the same standards. I have high hopes from this team going forward.
Well let's start with positives.
1. Bowling - By far our bowling has been the best in the tournament. Frankly speaking it has been the best T20 bowling since last T20 world cup. Its important to note that Shaheen was not fully fit throughout the tournament yet he was not dominated by any opponent. Haris and Shadab are at their absolute peak as bowlers I feel and they have had a remarkable year with the ball. Naseem has a very bright future ahead of him. I liked the fact that Tait is being given an extended run with these bowlers hopefully he would build on their confidence. To think we have got Hasnain on bench shows the depth we have in our bowling department.
2. Fielding - Whilst we were not amazing per say and we did miss some half runouts in the final I still see this as a positive. Historically we have lost finals and important games usually by dropping some catches given that this time around we haven't done so its slightly better feeling. Having said that this is a basic thing and we should ensure our crunch match fielding standards do not drop.
3. Mohammad Haris - He is the darling of the PP at the moment and rightly so. However, I have a good feeling that he would be a frustrating performer whose inconsistencies will be lambasted here by same posters. Regardless this is a young man's game and we should start grooming Haris for the 2024 WC.
Let's take a look at some of the development areas or takeaways from this campaign.
1. Riz / Bab - I'm a firm believer that combinations in cricket are not for lifetime they are for winning tournaments. I distinctly remember that Rizwan was a make shift opener and given the numbers he started posting it was decided that he would open until the world cup and he never disappointed. Babar is class. Therefore, given we had this amazing opening combination our target were obviously trophies. 2 WCs and 1 Asia Cup where we have come close but not delivered I say its time we move onto another combination for upcoming trophy. I respect their contribution a lot and thankful for some amazing performance. But it would be a mistake now not to change this combination with next trophy in mind. I would suggest Haris deserves his position at top now with Fakhar.
2. Haider/Asif/Khushdil - We knew they were trouble when they were on flight from Pakistan to New Zealand however the management did not had the guts to correct their failure before the tournament which is very unfortunate to see.
3. Team plan / management role - Let's be very honest I do not expect intelligence of highest order from Saqlain or Yousuf so I'm really not sure what they are doing in there. Even with Hayden I expect a lot of confidence building rather than developing a great team plan. Have a look at England / New Zealand, they have tacticians as their coaches which is absolutely the right way forward. The players playing at this level does not need an updated technique or resolution of their play making. The players need mental support together with guidance on developing the perfect game plan. We absolutely need to replace our thinktank with actual thinktank comprised of tacticians. The cricket coaches can stay in the role of the coach for red ball cricket.
What do we need to do going forward now?
We have the next WC coming up in 2024 in West Indies. Its imperative to understand that this Pakistan has a strong core and combinations should be made to ensure we win the next trophy. In my personal opinion combinations are absolutely important part of success. For example, I would normally play 2 accumulators in a T20 line-up however when the wicket is tricky then we should play 3 accumulators as the target on that tricky wicket is not 180+ its mere 150. So its important combinations are spot on. An ideal T20 line-up for a flat track will be following:
1. Stroke player - Haris
2. Stroke player - Fakhar
3. Accumulator - Babar
4. Stroke player - Shadab
5. Accumulator - ???
6. Stroke player - ??? (Haider is not the answer as he is top order bat)
7. All rounder - Wasim / Faheem?
8. Spinner - Nawaz (more all rounder than spinner)
9. Fast Bowler - Shaheen
10. Fast Bowler - Haris
11. Fast Bowler - Naseem
The striking and most glaring omission in above is that of Rizwan. The question is can he play at 5? I don't think so. I feel we need someone who can hit spinners for sixes at that position, something Malik or Afridi used to do for us. We need to find someone who can also absorb pressure there and is not a youngster. Another solution to have Rizwan in the line-up would be to pick him as an opener and drop Haris to 4. Its pros vs cons here who would bear more impact
For 6, we need to find someone asap. This is the most important position according to me in a T20 lineup and with glimpses from Asif Ali in last year's world cup we thought this problem is addressed but alas its not. I'm hoping for a miracle in the upcoming PSL that we can find the person who fits this bill.
Overall, we have had a great T20 run from last year's world cup will yesterday. I don't want our T20 to fizz out and we need to build whilst maintaining the same standards. I have high hopes from this team going forward.
