Bilal7
T20I Star
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2012
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They barely made it into this tournament, are competing with the West Indies and Bangladesh for a qualifying spot in the 2019 World Cup and have lost more One Day Internationals than almost any other team in the last two years. Oh, and because this is Pakistan, two of their opening batsmen went and got themselves into un-selectable territory by associating themselves with bookies and not informing the authorities of said bookies.
All of this, along with a squad selection that is hardly crowd-pleasing has meant that the Pakistani cricket team is not only going to get bashed by opposing fans in England, but they won't get the kind of support every team dreams of from their own fans. "A team containing Junaid, Azhar, Hafeez and Wahab will go far?" "Inzamam is only selecting his friends" "Where is Haris Sohail?" are just some of the oft-repeated phrases making the rounds among the Pakistani fans. As if they weren't fickle enough as it were, the non-selection of their favorites and a couple of perceived 'tried and tested failures' making the cut has meant that their displeasure has reached maximum intensity.
So with turmoil within and criticism bombarding them from outside, the Pakistan cricket team seemingly has nothing going for it. The players are not in any rich vein of form, barring Babar Azam and perhaps Shoaib Malik, and their last showing in the Champions Trophy, also held in England for some strange reason, was hardly encouraging and they failed to make the second round. You would think it was a foregone conclusion that this team is going to flop, embarrass themselves and all the critics would be proven right...
... Except that this is Team Pakistan!
With fan expectations at an all-time low and no pressure on their shoulders, we will see an unshackled Pakistani team take the field, come June. The fans may not agree with the selection of Hafeez, Azhar, Junaid, Riaz and Akmal but there is no doubt that each and every single one of these players has proven themselves in the past and have shown that they can come good against the very best. Not all of them will play and not all of them should, but whoever is given a chance will be gunning to prove his critics wrong and you can be dead sure that it will make for beautiful viewing.
Hurt, humiliated and with their backs against the wall, the cornered tigers shall launch their assault.
All of this, along with a squad selection that is hardly crowd-pleasing has meant that the Pakistani cricket team is not only going to get bashed by opposing fans in England, but they won't get the kind of support every team dreams of from their own fans. "A team containing Junaid, Azhar, Hafeez and Wahab will go far?" "Inzamam is only selecting his friends" "Where is Haris Sohail?" are just some of the oft-repeated phrases making the rounds among the Pakistani fans. As if they weren't fickle enough as it were, the non-selection of their favorites and a couple of perceived 'tried and tested failures' making the cut has meant that their displeasure has reached maximum intensity.
So with turmoil within and criticism bombarding them from outside, the Pakistan cricket team seemingly has nothing going for it. The players are not in any rich vein of form, barring Babar Azam and perhaps Shoaib Malik, and their last showing in the Champions Trophy, also held in England for some strange reason, was hardly encouraging and they failed to make the second round. You would think it was a foregone conclusion that this team is going to flop, embarrass themselves and all the critics would be proven right...
... Except that this is Team Pakistan!
With fan expectations at an all-time low and no pressure on their shoulders, we will see an unshackled Pakistani team take the field, come June. The fans may not agree with the selection of Hafeez, Azhar, Junaid, Riaz and Akmal but there is no doubt that each and every single one of these players has proven themselves in the past and have shown that they can come good against the very best. Not all of them will play and not all of them should, but whoever is given a chance will be gunning to prove his critics wrong and you can be dead sure that it will make for beautiful viewing.
Hurt, humiliated and with their backs against the wall, the cornered tigers shall launch their assault.
:
.png "Kumar Sangakkara :sanga")
:
but I'd bet on Junaid reminding Virat who is daddy is 
Group stage knockout. Lucky to even have qualified. We are no.8 ranked team.
