Former champions Pakistan’s journey in the 13th World Cup came to an end at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on a day when the whole of India was celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights. In such a situation, apparently there was gloom, despair and darkness in Pakistan’s camp.
For the Asian teams, the moment of concern is watching the four teams in the semi-finals. Three non-Asian teams took full advantage of the conditions here. According to Zaheer Abbas, the great batsman of the past, Pakistan’s performance in neither batting nor bowling was consistent.
This third The World Cup Unfortunately, Pakistan could not qualify for the semifinals. The way the World Cup campaign, which started with hopes, wishes and claims, proceeded in a dull manner, despite the help of nature, it was not exactly a mirror of any campaign.
The last match was against a team that was the defending champion but also had the worst performance in the current World Cup. If this match was a faint hope for the semi-finals for Pakistan, then for England it was a guarantee of participation in the Champions Trophy. Another defeat could have knocked him out of the crucial tournament hosted by Pakistan.
Pakistan’s expectations were among the impossible but England had a lot to offer and they got it all. The Pakistan team was a model of helplessness and indolence, while England was brimming with passion and enthusiasm.
According to tradition, the Pakistani bowling also brought back the form of the batsman who was constantly failing. Jonny Bairstow finally scored a half-century in the match, found form and won, while the Pakistani batsmen could not do anything they had done so far.
Lost something?
Before the World Cup, the Pakistan team was in the race to become the world champion in the opinion of every pundit due to the fact that they were at the top of the ICC rankings. Many were watching him in the final in Ahmedabad. Everyone expected centuries from Babar Azam and dangerous bowling from Shaheen Shah Afridi, but Pakistan lost not only its enthusiasm but also its glory.
Most of all they lost the trust of the fans. Those who were looking at Babar and Rizwan as great batsmen were disappointed. Rizwan scored a century but Babar failed completely. Three half-centuries were not his glory. They couldn’t do anything even against weaker opponents.
If the first failure is observed, then the bat has completely failed. The openers could never get off to a big start. Abdullah Shafiq failed to score a century while Imamul Haq’s batting gave Pakistan a lot of credit. He could not run himself and could not give fellowship.
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Fakhar Zaman once showed the essence of his batting when the water almost went over his head. They won against New Zealand with a stormy batting but failed again against England.
Fans are confused as to why Fakhar Zaman was dropped after the first match, but even if he played all the matches, a couple of innings would have been good. They have failed to show consistent performance till date. Fakhar Zaman’s limitation is that he does not know the selection of shots and often gets out by playing the wrong shot.
Saud Shakeel played all the matches but he couldn’t play any big innings, he doesn’t look fit in modern cricket at all.
Former PCB chairman and player Rameez Raja released an angry video message on Pakistan’s poor performance.
My Man #ramizraja said it all. As i said previously as well This whole infrastructure of PCB needs a revamp. Changes faces at Cricket team level is just an excuse and its been happening since long. Its high time now to take out these culprits in PCB and take seriousness regarding… pic.twitter.com/nmOeW3maAS
— Haris Arshad (@harris00071) November 12, 2023
The rest of Pakistan’s batting remained merely an advertisement for Khana Pari. Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, Salman Ali Agha, like their predecessors, proved to be dead horses in due course. Iftikhar Ahmed disappointed badly while Salman Agha got to play only three matches in which he could not do anything.
Bowling failure
Pakistan’s bowling arrived in India with the reputation of having the best fast bowling in the world, but it was also expensive and harmless.
Shaheen Shah Afridi took 18 wickets and Haris Rauf took 16 wickets, but both got most of their wickets when the opposing team’s batsmen were playing aggressively for quick runs. Therefore, the bowling of both did not appear to be effective anywhere.
Haris Rauf won the title of the most expensive bowler of the World Cup by scoring 533 runs. His bowling led Pakistan to defeat in every match while Shaheen Shah’s bowling failed to get a wicket at the right time.
Spin bowling was the worst
The Indian pitches, which were no less than heaven for spin bowling, left Pakistani spinners hungry for wickets. Australia’s second-ranked spinner Adam Zampa took 22 wickets, but all Pakistan’s spinners could take only 16 wickets.
Pakistan’s spin bowling was better than Sri Lanka only, otherwise all other teams had better spin bowling.
Pakistan could not decide till the last day whether Osama Mir is a sniper or Shadab Khan. However, both failed and burdened the team. Shadab Khan took two wickets in six matches and Osama took four wickets in four matches.
Mohammad Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed remained part-time bowlers and could not get anything from their aimless bowling.
An example of Pakistan’s fast bowling failure is not being able to get South Africa’s last tail-enders out in ten overs and losing the match.
Has anything positive happened?
If anything positive has happened for the Pakistan team, stuck under the burden of failures in this World Cup, it is the opening of the fortress of the Star Dome. When the great batsmen, who piled up runs against weaker teams, were met by Tucker bowlers in the World Cup, everything became clear. This shows that some changes are necessary in this team. Although all the burdens on the team should have changed after the failure in the Asia Cup, the situation might have been different.
The fielding of the Pakistan team was somewhat good and the catch drop rate was low. Fielding went against tradition a bit better.
Captaincy issues
Babur Azam His captaincy was very disappointing. He was accused of cronyism and could not take correct decisions on important occasions. In the match against Australia, he could not stop the pace of runs, while against South Africa, he could not get effective bowling from his bowlers in the last overs.
At one point when there was a need to take the field offensively, he continued to set up a defensive field which could not increase the pressure on the tail-ends Maharaj and Shamsi. Pakistan should have won matches against Afghanistan and South Africa but they could not. If his captaincy is to be discussed in one sentence, he kept trying old cartridges or conventional captaincy while other captains won matches with aggressive tactics.
Babar Azam also suffered from lack of self-confidence. And keep defending the worst performance of the team while he should discuss the wrong choice whether this team was selected by him or by the head coach and chief selector.
Babar Azam might want to be freed from the burden of captaincy. Sarfraz Ahmed and Shaan Masood are the best choices for him. Both have batted very well this season and Karachi won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy under the leadership of Sarfraz Ahmed. Both can play a better role in what could be a tough tour of Australia. Shaun Masood is captaining Yorkshire and has come into the county season with good batting.
Are changes necessary?
If all the nine matches of Pakistan are analyzed, the five matches that Pakistan lost were against Afghanistan, South Africa and Australia due to substandard bowling. Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan and Osama Mir bowled substandardly. These four players must be dropped. Batting against India and England was very poor. The biggest problem for Pakistan was the failure of the middle order. Rizwan could play only two good innings while Babar Azam could also play three good innings but Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz failed. Pakistan will have to replace these three players with new players.
Among the openers, Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafiq played two good innings but apart from that they could not do anything. Imam al-Haq completely failed. They must be dropped. Saeem Ayubay Ali Zaryab and Shaan Masood are ready to replace him while Asad Shafiq has batted well this domestic season for the middle order and can take the place. His experience may come in handy in the Australian tour. He has scored a century on the fastest pitch in Brisbane. On the other hand, Shaan Masood is the strongest candidate for the opening.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan reacts on his way back to the pavilion after being dismissed during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (ODI) match between England and Pakistan at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 11, 2023 (DeBengshu Government/AFP)
Will the board be accountable?
In the defeats of the Pakistan team pcb The irresponsible behavior and statements of Chairman Zaka Ashraf continues to make childish statements due to his inability to play cricket, while the wrong advice of advisers has also strained relations with Babar Azam. Salman Naseer, COO of the board, promoted mistrust by publicizing Babar Azam’s WhatsApp messages. The board’s untimely statements and changes have made Pakistan cricket a joke. Indian media mocked the PCB by likening it to musical chairs, and former players called it incompetent.
The information minister of Balochistan had to hold a press conference on the bias and nepotism shown by the board in the accreditation of journalists.
The World Cup journey is over but cricket is not over. There is a need for strict accountability in Pakistan cricket now. And it is very important to relieve the coaching staff including the captain. The coaching staff has not developed a strategy despite the huge compensation. Director of Cricket Mickey Arthur’s wrong thinking and glaring mistakes in selection have brought the team to this point.
If the factors of this terrible defeat and the board officials are not held accountable, the series of defeats will continue to increase and the deserving and talented players will continue to be in the dark.
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2024-09-21 04:04:37
