Pakistanis were the inventors of reverse swing, but now our bowlers rarely use this weapon
Pakistan cricket team was not among the favourites for the World Twenty20, but the way they exited from the tournament was not expected. Even after the Asia Cup debacle in Bangladesh, Pakistanis expected that the national team would perform better in India. But Pakistan, after a brilliant start in the tournament against Bangladesh, scoring over 200 runs, lost against India, New Zealand and Australia.
Generally it is believed that India have the world’s best batting lineup and that Pakistan’s bowling attack is among the best. But Pakistani bowlers proved this perception wrong in the Asia Cup and then in World T20.
Pakistani pace attack consisted of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Sami. They collectively managed only 12 wickets in the World T20 while young Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh took nine wickets -- and in only three matches. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan took 12 and 11 wickets, respectively.
Only Amir and Imad Wasim remained effective. Irfan, who is considered one of the most dangerous bowlers due to his extra height, managed only two wickets and conceded 101 runs in just 10.5 overs -- a high economy rate of 9.32.
Sami with economy rate of 9.3, Shoaib Malik with 9 and Wahab Riaz with 8.2 also failed to restrict batsmen.
Coach Waqar also failed to teach our fast bowlers the skill of swinging the new ball for which he was known in the cricketing world. Our pacers only bowl fast and short. The era of effective yorkers seems to have ended with the careers of Wasim and Waqar. The two Ws got lots of wickets with their lethal yorkers, especially against the tail-enders.
Pakistanis were the inventors of reverse swing, but now our bowlers rarely use this weapon. Waqar himself was famous for his toe crushers so why has he not made efforts to teach our youngsters the method of reverse swing!
Our batsmen were not fully fit and their stamina was not up to the international standards. There was clear lack of unity and the fighting spirit. They lost the matches when win was just a few steps away. The problem with our batsmen is that either they will hit the ball for boundaries or they will play dot balls.
They think that they can score only through boundaries. Taking singles and rotating strike is not in their mind. This is why they throw their wickets with stupid shots when pressure develops. After losing every game, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said, "Credit to opposition side, they did well, we played well, missed some opportunities but will learn from our mistakes."
But when he and his lads will learn…only God knows.
Instead of praising other team’s performances, the captain should concentrate on the weaknesses of his players.
Afridi, Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad and Umar Akmal are not new in the game. They have a lot of international experience.
Afridi has been playing international cricket for almost two decades, but he keeps making the same mistakes that he did in his early years. Even an ordinary bowler knows how he can get this man.
Afridi’s commitment is never in doubt but critics say that he doesn’t play up to his potential and that Afridi’s career statistics do not indicate anything extraordinary.
We thought World T20 was the time for Afridi to take responsibility of batting in the middle and lower-middle order and end his career on a high note but he missed the opportunity.
The selectors surprised the experts when for the Indian spin-friendly conditions they chose not to pick any specialist spinner.
Head coach Waqar Younis also accepted that there were some problems in the team, "which we have to sort out," but how and when he didn’t disclose.
Waqar should take responsibility and accept his failure to make a bunch of individuals a fighting unit.
A good cricket coach is one who is good at team management and team strategy. He should know the weaknesses of his own players and the opponent teams apart from having multiple contingency plans.
He should motivate players to give optimum performances consistently. He should be a good thinker of the game and should be able to communicate effectively what he wants from the boys on the field. The management needs to prepare a solid young playing XI. Let them make mistakes, be aggressive, stumble and fall, let them grow. Our domestic structure has failed to provide replacements of Inzamam, Yousuf, Younis and Misbah.
The players who score record numbers of runs and take wickets regularly in domestic cricket fail to deliver when chances are provided to them at the international level.