Pak goes into World Cup after chaotic build-up
London:
The 1992 World champion has lost 10 ODIs in a row and a reverse against Afghanistan in a World Cup warm-up has added to its woes but no opposition can take it lightly when the tournament proper begins on May 30.
The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led squad was blanked by Australia in a five-match series in the UAE and its last ODI win came against South Africa in January when it eventually lost the rubber. A parallel of Pakistan’s winless run can be drawn with its poor start in the 1992 edition which it eventually won under Imran Khan’s inspiration leadership. Not to forget that it is the winner of the 2017 Champions Trophy which was also staged in England. Though it would be premature to write it off at this stage, Pakistan has very little time to fix the flaws in the bowling and fielding department.
Strengths: Ability or talent are not the areas where Pakistan is lacking. It has in its squad batsmen and bowlers who can single-handedly win games on their day. Babar Azam scored a century and three half centuries in the series against England and scored 112 in the warm-up match against Afghanistan on Friday.
Apart from him, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and veteran Shoaib Malik add firepower to the batting line-up. With the conditions expected to be better suited for the batsmen, Pakistan will be banking on them to lead the charge. The selectors decided to give Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz a look in, despite the pair’s dismal recent form. Mohammad Hasnain has been turning heads with his raw pace while Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali are both capable exponents.
Weaknesses: Pakistan’s problems starts with the selection itself. That Wahab Riaz has done precious little since bowling a fiery spell against Shane Watson at the 2015 World Cup should leave fans scratching their heads as to how he made the squad. But again, he showed a different side to himself on Friday in the warm-up game. The same goes for Mohammad Amir, who has picked 8 wickets in 16 matches since the 2017 Champions Trophy at an average of 59.87.
Opportunities: Despite all its failings, it is undeniable that Pakistan has a tendency to pull off the most astonishing wins at times when they look the least probable. Examples of these would be Imran Khan’s “Cornered Tigers” that went on to win the World Cup in 1992 or the red hot run in 2017 that helped it trounce outright favourite India in the final by 180 runs to lift the Champions Trophy.
Threats: In the past two years, Pakistan has faced five of the nine other teams playing in this World Cup in bilateral series and lost to four of them. Apart from the conditions, the other challenge that it will have to overcome is putting those results behind and going for the jugular.
Its brand of cricket often oscillates between brilliance and hara-kiri but the ability to win games purely on natural talent and chutzpah certainly makes Pakistan a fascinating team to follow during the ICC World Cup.
The 1992 World champion has lost 10 ODIs in a row and a reverse against Afghanistan in a World Cup warm-up has added to its woes but no opposition can take it lightly when the tournament proper begins on May 30.
The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led squad was blanked by Australia in a five-match series in the UAE and its last ODI win came against South Africa in January when it eventually lost the rubber. A parallel of Pakistan’s winless run can be drawn with its poor start in the 1992 edition which it eventually won under Imran Khan’s inspiration leadership. Not to forget that it is the winner of the 2017 Champions Trophy which was also staged in England. Though it would be premature to write it off at this stage, Pakistan has very little time to fix the flaws in the bowling and fielding department.
Strengths: Ability or talent are not the areas where Pakistan is lacking. It has in its squad batsmen and bowlers who can single-handedly win games on their day. Babar Azam scored a century and three half centuries in the series against England and scored 112 in the warm-up match against Afghanistan on Friday.
Apart from him, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and veteran Shoaib Malik add firepower to the batting line-up. With the conditions expected to be better suited for the batsmen, Pakistan will be banking on them to lead the charge. The selectors decided to give Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz a look in, despite the pair’s dismal recent form. Mohammad Hasnain has been turning heads with his raw pace while Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali are both capable exponents.
Weaknesses: Pakistan’s problems starts with the selection itself. That Wahab Riaz has done precious little since bowling a fiery spell against Shane Watson at the 2015 World Cup should leave fans scratching their heads as to how he made the squad. But again, he showed a different side to himself on Friday in the warm-up game. The same goes for Mohammad Amir, who has picked 8 wickets in 16 matches since the 2017 Champions Trophy at an average of 59.87.
Opportunities: Despite all its failings, it is undeniable that Pakistan has a tendency to pull off the most astonishing wins at times when they look the least probable. Examples of these would be Imran Khan’s “Cornered Tigers” that went on to win the World Cup in 1992 or the red hot run in 2017 that helped it trounce outright favourite India in the final by 180 runs to lift the Champions Trophy.
Threats: In the past two years, Pakistan has faced five of the nine other teams playing in this World Cup in bilateral series and lost to four of them. Apart from the conditions, the other challenge that it will have to overcome is putting those results behind and going for the jugular.