Starved of quality international cricket for over a decade, Pakistan’s hopes were once again derailed when New Zealand pulled out at the last minute and England followed suit. Apart from the political and financial fiasco, it impacted their preparations for the 2021 T20 World Cup.
The drama off the field continued with the new chairman coming in and the CEO, the head coach and bowling coach all resigning. And then three changes were made to their T20 World Cup squad. Pakistan cricket and chaos share an inseparable bond. But alarmingly, their cricket team has a knack for triumphing such adversities.
Three months after the Lahore bus attack on the Sri Lankan team, Pakistan had won their maiden T20 World Cup in 2009. Eight years later, they barely managed to qualify for the Champions Trophy. When they did, they had their back against the wall before scripting the unthinkable.
Three decades ago, Pakistan were far from being the best team in the 1992 World Cup. Not often do teams manage a point from a game after being bundled for 74. Had it not been for the Adelaide weather and poor cricket from Australia, would Pakistan even qualify to the semifinals?
Just when everything around seemed wrong, Imran Khan’s Cornered Tigers pounced, and the rest is history.
The cricket world has not been very kind to Pakistan lately. Is this their moment to seize? Apart from the eccentric ways of Pakistan being Pakistan, Babar Azam’s team is a unit that has a successful process and results backing them.
Since the 2016 T20 World Cup, Pakistan have reigned most days (884 days) as the top-ranked T20I side. They do not carry the tag of ‘favourite’ or ‘underdog’. They have been a consistent T20I unit. Their win-loss of 2.3 between the T20 World Cups is highest for a full member (excluding Afghanistan, who became a full member in 2017).
Pakistan squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf
Travel reserves: Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir
Head coach: Saqlain Mushtaq (interim)
T20 World Cup Editions Participated: All six editions since 2007
Best T20 World Cup results: Champions in 2009; runners-up in 2007
ICC T20I Ranking: 3
SWOT analysis
Strengths: Pakistan have heavily depended on their top order. Since 2020, their top three have scored 66.5% of the team runs. Babar and Rizwan have registered three century stands in T20Is this year. The duo averages 53 as a pair at a strike rate of 136.8.
In 2021:
- Babar: 1,363 runs @ 52.4 | SR 134.7 | 50+ 15
- Rizwan: 1,462 runs @ 56.2 | SR 133.4 | 50+ 14
Though the crux of the team remains the youngsters, there are enough experienced heads in the squad in Malik and Hafeez.
Historically, Pakistan’s fast bowling has given them the edge. Hasan has been phenomenal this year. Afridi, on the other hand, has had an off-year in T20Is but done very well in the format. Their spin attack is also versatile.
Trivia: Since his T20 debut in 2018, Afridi has 21 wickets in first overs from 61 outings. It is quite scary for an opener to learn this.
Pakistan are familiar with the UAE conditions better than their most opponents. Their last T20I loss in the country came against England in November 2015. Since then, they tied one and won 11 consecutive games.
Weakness: Since 2020, Pakistan’s middle-order has the second-worst batting average among the full members. They have scored less than 28% of the team runs. The middle-order averages 17, striking at 125. Over-reliance on the top-order not only puts more pressure on the in-form batters.
Rauf will be Pakistan’s third pacer, and his economy rate of 9.2 this year is a matter of significant concern. The 27-year-old is a wicket-taker, but leaking runs in low-scoring UAE surfaces can hurt Pakistan.
Once Pakistan’s premier white-ball wrist-spinner, Shadab is not the bowler that he used to be. While his batting has improved, the leg-spinner in him has lost the sting. He averages 37 with the ball in T20s in 2021, going at 8.4 an over.
Opportunity: Barring the series in England, Pakistan have won their other four T20I series in 2021. Ranked no.3 in T20Is, Pakistan have been in reasonable form.
The sluggish nature of the UAE surfaces may suit their batting, heavily dependent on Babar and Rizwan, who play anchor roles and accelerate towards the end.
Once their home, Pakistan have a good amount of exposure to these conditions. This could be their opportunity to make their experience count and make this a memorable tournament. Also, there are a few lesser-known entities in the Pakistani setup, and one of them should eye to do what Hasan Ali did in the 2017 Champions Trophy.
Threats: Pakistan’s bowling let them down against South Africa in the warm-up match. Hasan could not defend 19 off the final over. Such a blow leading to a big tournament can dent the confidence of the bowling unit.
Added to it is the unnecessary pressure that an India match brings. Twelve of their 15 members, including captain Babar, have not played a T20I against India. The stress or the euphoria of the result of the India contest shouldn’t decide the course for the young team.
Despite knowing the UAE conditions better than other opponents, they haven’t played a T20I there since 2018. In fact, the last competition held here was the Indian Premier League (IPL), where players from most countries except Pakistan participated.
Pakistan’s likely XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik/Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Pakistan’s Fixtures:
- Sunday, 24 October: Pakistan vs India, Dubai
- Tuesday, 26 October: Pakistan vs New Zealand, Sharjah
- Friday, 29 October: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Dubai
- Tuesday, 2 November: Pakistan vs Namibia, Abu Dhabi
- Sunday, 7 November: Pakistan vs Scotland, Sharjah