Cricket Xtra: Pakistan can challenge at ICC World T20

Ajit Vijaykumar 08:24 07/03/2016
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  • Real contenders: Pakistan T20 side.

    Pakistan are in a tough spot going into the World T20. While they will be glad that the tournament is being played in conditions pretty close to home and that strategies can be formulated according to their strengths, their recent setbacks in the Asia Cup will be a cause for concern.

    On the face of it, Pakistan have a decent, if not top-class, Twenty20 side. Shahid Afridi is their inspirational leader and even though his bat rarely makes its presence felt in international cricket, his leg-spin is as deadly as anything else out there in T20 cricket.

    Their left-arm pacers are probably the most menacing in operation, with Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz all seriously quick and capable of generating conventional and reverse swing.

    They have experienced batsmen in Mohammad Hafeez at the top of the order and Shoaib Malik in the middle. Umar Akmal and Sarfaraz Ahmed can provide the late-order fireworks. So why did Pakistan lose to India and Bangladesh in the Asia Cup?

    Yes, they did beat Sri Lanka but that was an inconsequential match. The reasons behind those losses were pretty straightforward and there is still time for them to make the necessary changes ahead of the World T20.

    The first they have made. Ahmed Shehzad was the big name missing at the top of the order and Pakistan’s decision to keep him out and instead play the untested Khurram Manzoor and the unfit Sharjeel Khan defied logic.

    Pakistan could not have afforded for both Manzoor and Sharjeel to feature in the playing eleven and so it made sense that on Monday they opted to drop Manzoor to make way for Shehzad. The right-handed batsman is by far the most dynamic top-order player in the country.

    The next step Pakistan need to take is move Sarfaraz Ahmed permanently up the order.

    The wicketkeeper is a fearless batsman and regularly anchors the innings whenever the top order fails to do its job. Now if he gets to bat earlier, he can still play that innings which will allow the rest of the batsmen to play more freely as they will have a stable batsman at the other end.

    Ahmed batted at No. 6 against India and top scored with 25, out of a total of 83. Against Bangladesh, he came in at No4 and was again the top-scorer – 58. He batted at No. 3 during the chase against Sri Lanka and held the innings together with a run-a-ball 38.

    It’s a move that makes perfect sense and allows power hitters like Afridi and Akmal the license to go after the bowlers.

    On the bowling front, they don’t have many issues as their pace attack is firing and spinners Afridi and Malik will definitely have their say with the ball in India. However, the one area where Afridi’s captaincy came up short was his handling of the bowlers.

    Invariably, he ended up using the full quota of overs of his frontline bowlers before the death and that meant a bowler like Anwar Ali bowling the crucial final overs.

    Afridi made that correction in the match against Sri Lanka, where the final overs were bowled by Amir, Irfan and Riaz. He should stick to that strategy at the World T20.

    While many fans and commentators are expecting the worst from Pakistan in India, in reality they have a decent squad that can challenge any team, especially on Asian tracks. It’s just a matter of tweaking a few things here and there.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board is ready to crack the whip and said it will make changes in the team set-up. While the idea is good, they should not uproot the entire structure in haste and instead look to get the maximum out of the resources they have.

    They do have the talent and experience in the batting and bowling departments to succeed in the T20 format. They only need to make a couple of personnel changes and shuffle the batting order for a better shot at the title.

    A faster Bhuvi

    India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar got a game against the UAE in the Asia Cup. He lost his spot in the team after that trademark swing deserted him and his pace became none too threatening on placid surfaces.

    With India having unearthed the talented Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra enjoying a much-deserved recall, Kumar fell a few rungs down the pecking order. However, against the UAE, Kumar showed that he has not let the setback slow him down.

    The 26-year-old generated appreciable movement and was consistently clocked close to the 140kmph mark. Pace on its own isn’t scary but add swing to the equation and that game changes.

    India captain MS Dhoni said that he was pleased with the new-look Kumar. There was a lot more energy in his bowling and while a regular Test spot might not be his for some time, Kumar can certainly hope to win back his spot in the limited overs side. It’s amazing what competition for a spot in the team does to quick bowlers.

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