Sport360° view: Time for Pakistan to bring Khan in from the cold

Joy Chakravarty 13:14 09/10/2014
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  • Veteran: Younis Khan.

    Pakistan have played just two matches in their ongoing series against Australia – a Twenty20 International and the first of the three-match ODI series – but already, the inexperience in their batting line-up is standing out like a sore thumb.

    As they have done so often in the past, Pakistan are not afraid to blood youngsters at the elite level of the game. The good thing for them, from a long-term point of view, is that with the exception of Misbah, the entire top-order for this series – which is more or less the expected composition for the World Cup – is extremely young.

    Misbah is 40, while the average age of the first five batsmen apart from him – Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam and Umar Akmal – is only 26.

    If these players are persisted with, and if they live up to their potential, Pakistan will be tough to beat when the competition is played in England in 2019.

    Misbah himself seems to have lost his batting touch after his superb run of form towards either side of the New Year, when he made four half centuries and a 40 in the five matches in which he got a chance to bat.

    In Sri Lanka in August this year, he averaged 22.3 in three matches, and in Sharjah on Tuesday, he was out for a golden duck. It was the manner in which Misbah got out that is providing fodder to those baying for his blood.

    As soon as he walked in, he could see a trap was set for him when George Bailey moved David Warner to the leg slip. Instead of playing with a straight bat, he played Nathan Lyon along with the turn and straight into the hands of Warner.

    The Pakistan line-up is full of swashbuckling batsmen, and perhaps now is the time to have somebody who has the ability to anchor the innings, especially as Misbah is not doing that job properly at the moment. Until such time that Mohammed Hafeez returns from his injury, Pakistan desperately need someone to hold up one end of the wicket.

    Among the options that they have right now, one is to promote Umar Akmal to No3 with specific instructions to see through a few overs before unleashing the fantastic array of shots that he has in his arsenal.

    In Sharjah, he was the only batsman who looked capable of handling the Australian attack.

    The other route would be to give 18-year-old Sami Aslam his debut. Having seen seen him bat various times in Under-19 World Cup in the UAE, he looks like he is possibly the next Pakistan batting superstar.

    He has shown a voracious appetite for runs at the junior level, and has a solid technique. It will be a huge step-up for him at senior level, but giving him a few matches before the World Cup would be a good idea, because if he scores in even one match, it would boost his confidence no end.

    But if it is just the 2015 World Cup that Pakistan want to target, then Younis Khan needs to be recalled.

    The veteran batsman has time and again showed his ability to stick around in the most difficult of conditions.

    It would be a step back considering that the PCB seem to have made up their mind on which way they want to go with the ODI and T20 teams, but sometimes retreating can work out to be a good strategy. And it’s not just the batting that Pakistan will have to bolster.

    While watching the Sharjah match, Sarfaraz Ahmed was caught yawning while keeping wicket, an inexcusable display considering the wicket-keeper's role at the nucleus of any team’s energy and enthusiasm.

    A wicket-keeper’s job is not just to make sure that byes are prevented, but because he is literally in the middle of the action throughout the innings, he needs to be vocal in not only keeping the fielders on their toes, but also getting into the ears of opposition batsmen with his constant chirping.

    Friday’s second ODI in Dubai should be a wake-up call, not just for Sarfaraz, but for the entire Pakistan team.

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