So the storm has passed over and there is now a semblance of gloomy tranquility around. Pakistan Cricket Team reached
Colombo with a reputation of a mercurial bunch that could surprise any
team on their day. They did surprise on a number of occasions, at time
outdid themselves too.
It is,
perhaps, not surprising that they managed to make the semi-finals, but
it is also a fact that they did not deserve to go beyond either. The
necessary ingredients to win a major tournament were, perhaps, not
lacking, but the planning and will to utilize those ingredients were
clearly missing. We lacked how to implement a plan B when a preset plan
failed.
A T20 team needs a good mixture of old and
young and a captain who could lead from the front while utilizing his
resources intelligently. The situation in a T20 can change in a blink of
an eye as a good over or a cameo from a batsman can turn the tables.
But the team which usually comes out on top is the one which has more cricketing sense. We lacked the cricketing intelligence.
Big tournaments are won when you show a brave
face. If you are willing to adapt to a situation, keep the team above
your personal likes and dislikes, and you are brave enough to go against
the tide, you invariably come on top. It is usually horses for courses
in cricket. If you are scared of dropping yourself down the order,
despite the obvious arguments favouring the move, for whatever reason,
then you do not deserve to sit on top. We lacked the unselfish approach.
If you are
reluctant to drop a player having a star value, who has become a
liability to the team, just to evade the wrath of fans and a section of
media, you do not deserve to be champions. It is no harm to support a
struggling player but ignoring the bigger picture and ditching the main
objective is the height of shortsightedness. We lacked courage; we could
not make bold decisions.
The problems started with the selection
process. Selection based on sort of a virtual quota system, nepotism,
and for appeasing different quarters do not produce good results. It is
baffling to see Junaid Khan being ignored for a habitual let-downer like
Mohammad Sami. It is beyond comprehension to see both Yasir Arafat, a
mediocre cosmopolitan T20 specialist and all-rounder, and Abdul Razzaq, a
proven match-winner, in the same team. Abdul Razzaq, inexplicably,
again failed to win the confidence of another World Cup captain. We
lacked reasoning.
There
were definitely few positives. The emergence of Raza Hasan and
re-incarnation of Nasir Jamshed are bright spots on our failed campaign.
Although Mohammad Hafeez as captain was disappointing, his ability to rally
his troops and keep everyone along has been quite impressive. With more
support and good results, he has the ability to become a good captain.
The day he dismisses the fear of losing his job from his system he would
become a brave captain, and of course you need not listen to
distracting voices. Our captain lacked backing of the fans and the board
by and large.
Now is the time to look into the future. We should
build our team around youngsters like Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal and Raza
Hasan. Although Kamran Akmal fills the void of a keeper batsman, but
his below-par wicket-keeping nullifies his exploits with the bat. Imran
Nazir cannot handle world class bowling. Asad Shafiq is being wasted –
he is a good batsman who can adapt to any format and has a big heart.
Shoaib Malik seems to be in no man’s land. He
is a good T20 player and can be a match-winner but he is a misfit in
the team unless he is made captain again. But handing him the reigns
will only ruin our team’s growth away from the ghosts of the past. Umar
Gul needs rest. He has lost the pinpoint accuracy in the death overs
which made him a lethal bowler. He needs to come back strong. It is time
that we do not put extra pressure on Saeed Ajmal. He is a match-winner
but needs support especially from the quicks. Sohail Tanvir was sent considering the ball might swing, but unidirectional and predictable swing at medium pace can never pose a threat. We missed Junaid Khan.
Boom boom Shahid Afridi has past his prime, if ever
there was any. His reflexes have slowed down and there are doubts over
his contribution to the team. If any other player had failed like
Afridi, he would have been shown the door, but it is Lala of course. He
needs to decide himself.
The world has not fallen with this loss. Our
cricket is growing albeit sluggishly. It is remarkable that with no
cricket on our soil for the last four years, we have managed to reach
semi-final of every ICC tournament since 2007. There is no reason to
lose hope for Team Green.
Image Credit: au.eurosport.com
Published in CricketSoccer.con on October 5, 2012
ReplyDelete- http://cricketsoccer.com/world-t20-2012-what-went-wrong-for-pakistan/
so cool!
ReplyDeletePakistan will take on Srilanka in 5th Odi today.. Pakistan already won the series. And Qualify for Champions Trophy 2017. Match will Start on 2:00pm time. Watch Pakistan vs Srilanka 5th ODI Live Streaming
ReplyDeletePakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st T20 Live Streaming Pak vs Sri 30 July 2015, 1st T20 Match of Pakistan tour to Sri Lanka at Colombo, 30 Jul 2015 Start time for PAK vs SL 1st T20 is 13:30 GMT, 06:30 PM of Pakistan time, 07:00 PM IST Watch Pakistan vs Srilanka 1st T20 Live Streaming
ReplyDelete2016 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup full Fixtures. which will be held in Bangladesh from January 27 to 14 February 2016, 48 matches to be played across eight venues in four cities of Bangladesh. Total 16 Teams will Participate in ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 the teams divided in 4 Groups. Pakistan are in Group B with Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Canada. Here is Full Schedule of Under-19 World Cup 2016 Fixtures, Time Table in GMT and PST (Pakistan Local time) and IST (Indian Local Time). Here is ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 Schedule.
ReplyDeletePakistan vs New Zealand Schedule 2016 is Confirmed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Pakistan Tour of New Zealand starting from January 15, 2016. Pakistan will Play Three Twenty20 and Three one-day International Match with New Zealand. Pakistan vs England 1st T20 will be played on Fri Jan 15 at Eden Park, Auckland. After 3 T20 match series of PAK vs NZ, Pakistan and New Zealand also play three match ODI series starting from 25 Jan. Here is Pakistan vs New Zealand Schedule 2016.
India tour to Australia next year to play five one day internationals and three match Twenty20 internationals series. Cricket Australia (CA) announced the India vs Australia 2016 Schedule. The ODI/T20I series will be played between January 12 to January 31, 2016. Here is India vs Australia 2016 Schedule.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the official Schedule of PSL 2016 fixtures. Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a first T20 Competition of its type organized by Pakistan in UAE (Sharjah and Dubai). The 1st season of T20 Tournament going to start from next year 4th Feb and final played on 23 February 2016. Total five teams will take part in PSL. Each franchise will play other four teams twice in the league stage and top four teams will qualify for the next round Playoffs. Here is PSL 2016 Schedule.
The KFC Big Bash League 2015/2016 season or BBL|05 is the 5th season of Big Bash League (BBL), the Big Bash T20 Competition will start from 17 December and will end on 24 January 2016 in Australia. The Complete schedule of Big Bash League T20 is announced, total 8 team will fight for Big Bash Trophy. Perth Scorchers is the defending champion of BBL T20 and also looking to win the third consecutive BBL title. Here is Big Bash League 2015-2016 Schedule.
ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Schedule announced by ICC ( International Cricket Council). T20 World Cup 2016 hosted in India and will begin from 8th March, Final match of Twent20 World Cup will played on 3 April at Kolkata. Total 16 teams participate in T20 World Cup 2016 and Total 35 matches played in World T20 2016. ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2016 will be the sixth ICC world T20 Tournament Sri Lanka are the defending Champion. Here is ICC T20 World Cup 2016 Schedule.