Before the team went to India for World T20, this scribe pointed out the many flaws in the Pakistan team selection. But as always, nobody paid heed to it. Pakistan didn’t lose matches against India and New Zealand; they surrendered without putting up a fight, which is what makes it even worse. The Usual Suspects failed miserably but in Pakistan, one of them would be chosen as the successor to Shahid Afridi (I feel Sarfraz Ahmed will not get the job) and the rest will return in a month or two to their respective positions in the hierarchy of the Pakistan XI.

Lala let-down

As I had pointed earlier, why would Shahid Afridi be interested in the future of Pakistan cricket when he has no future in Pakistan Cricket! He did show glimpses of his old self in the match against Bangladesh but whenever Pakistan have played against the Bangladeshis outside their homeland, they have usually won. So the win shouldn’t have been the news. A loss would have been. But the minute-minded followers of the game raised their hopes so high that they pinned their hopes on Afridi and his men without realising that in order to win a match, you have to play to win, not spend time in the middle and act as if you don’t care.

The ghosts of the many losses Afridi incurred with his stupidity will continue to haunt Pakistan Cricket for a long time.

Enough is enough!

What else would Umar Akmal have to do to prove that he is one of the worst cricketers on the entire planet? Ahmed Shehzad considers himself a copy of Virat Kohli but does he realise that people actually make fun of this comparison. Doesn’t Shoaib Malik realise that he is a burden on the Pakistan cricket team and that players like Imad Wasim have a better future than him. It’s not just these players who one should blame for the losses but the selectors as well who first selected an out-of-sorts Khurram Manzoor, then an out-of-favour Ahmed Shehzad and persisted with out-of-luck Shoaib Malik who was unceremoniously dumped as skipper of his PSL side Karachi Kings. Yet the Haroon Rasheed-led Selection Committee gave them another chance for no reason and the result is in front of all.

No wow on expected woes

Since the retirement of Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s middle order has become a joke; they used to be bad chasers but now they are known as those who can’t set a target. They have a batsman who has all the ingredients to become World Class (I mean Sarfraz Ahmed, not Umar Akmal) but they don’t utilise him because the Coach and the Captain don’t like him much. But when your captain can’t read the pitch after 20 years of playing international cricket, you can’t blame him but feel sorry for him.

Then there was the person who promoted Khalid Latif to one-down position when Shoaib Malik was also in the XI -- this should be considered a crime because everyone watching the match knew Khalid would falter and he did. His dismissal against New Zealand dented Pakistan as much as the slow batting of Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik. It is time India’s Son-In-Law quit Cricket and played Tennis because he loves hitting Tennis-type shots and missing the ball in the process.

Then there was the performance of Mohammad Amir in the match against Kiwis. The left armer didn’t look fit in the match and should have been rested but the management decided to go ahead with him and he went for 40 odds runs. The fans of Mohammad Amir were hurt but then they should have been ready because there are two more left armers in the team who usually go for that many runs every day. One of them is 7 feet tall Mohammad Irfan who delivers really loose deliveries when he is not in the mood; the other’s name is Riaz, Wahab Riaz and the coach Waqar Younis should be questioned for persisting with this out-of-ideas bowler. With two spells in two separate World Cups being his only legacy, Wahab Riaz needs to go back to the domestic structure and improve his conduct, his technique and his temperament. It would have been much better had Junaid Khan been used in his place because he is a talented cricketer who needs the push, something Wahab and even Irfan have been getting for a long time. When you fail to deliver when it matters the most, you are considered a failure despite the record you may have.

Then there were spinners

Thank God the ban on Yasir Shah is near its end as Pakistan missed him big time on tracks supporting slow bowlers. Instead of playing a regular spinner in the final XI, Shahid Afridi decided to use himself and Shoaib Malik as full time spinners in India and the move backfired as expected. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal who was giving his views on TV during the event was stunned on the bowling performance of his former teammates who didn’t turn the bowl, didn’t test the batsmen and went for runs when the going got tough. For a country that has produced world class spinners, Pakistan’s performance in India was shameful, disgraceful and pathetic but when you select incompetent individuals, incompetent performance is all you get. 

Bottom below rock bottom

Before the World T20, I pointed out that it would be a bonus if Pakistan managed to reach the last-4 stage of the event without a specialist spinner, without a batsman who can build the innings and with a captain who has nothing to lose and who cares about nothing.

Trust me, nothing will change as the team will return amidst protest from the fans of the game, the Head of the Selection Committee (the Selectors will not be changed, trust me) will be sacked in a ceremonial gesture.

The pathetic run in Limited Overs Internationals will continue until and unless someone with a good Cricketing Brain and Love for Pakistan takes over the Board. I don’t see anyone from the Board (or PSL Committee) resigning after the debacle so things will go on as they have been for the last 20 years. The ‘Boys will do well; will try to beat India’ mentality will have to be replaced with ‘You Can Win Them All’ approach. Otherwise many people will start supporting the Smart Afghan team which may have lost its matches in World T20 but won the hearts of all those who saw them play.