Team Pakistan barely saved the humiliation. Taking on what is rightly labelled as the ‘B’ team of New Zealand and that too on its home soil, the Babar Azam Eleven could only manage a draw in the five-match T20I series. Babar’s first assignments on being reinstated at the helm is nothing much to write home about. After the first game was washed out due to rain, Pakistan went one up in the series winning the second game, but then lost two in succession to go down 2-1. Pakistan did win the final game to square the series – albeit unconvincingly.
Team Pakistan’s mediocre performance rings a timely alarm given that the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled in the United States and the West Indies, is starting in a little over a month – from June 1 to be precise. Pakistan’s full strength team, also including the recalled pacer Muhammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim, struggled against a New Zealand touring party that was devoid of the services of literally all of their first-choice players, including skipper Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, etc. That most of the 13 Kiwi players who opted out of the Pakistan series and preferred playing IPL is – by the way – nothing short of a snub to Pakistan cricket.
Indeed, it’s incomprehensible to see Pakistan – having a much-vaunted blowing line-up and considerable talent in the batting department – struggle to find a winning combination. With seven more T20I games to play, three against Ireland and four against England, before going into the World Cup, the Pakistan think-tank has its task cut out: it needs to try various combinations to find the right mix of players for the world contest. With a pool of talented probables available, finding a fighting unit should not be a difficult job.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2024.
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