In the build up to the Cricket World Cup, Pakistan had a very disappointing few series: they lost almost every game they played in in the months leading up to the warm-up matches for the huge event. The Pakistan selectors had a tough task to choose the best possible team for the 2015 World Cup. Certainly, it was bad luck that two of Pakistan’s best bowlers were unable to make the tournament: one through injury; the other through having an illegal action, but that was just a precursor to the disaster that would unfold.
PCB selectors chose a team with experience as well as talent, but there was a problem when the selectors ignored those in-form and chose those who had not performed well for many months. Many people criticized the team selection; many called the system flawed, but the team selection was final and the nation was looking forward to seeing them perform well in the World Cup.
The warm-ups went perfectly well, compared to their previous series against New Zealand; they beat England and a comparatively weak Bangladesh with not too much trouble. The absence of a fast bowler like Junaid Khan and a magic spinner like Saeed Ajmal certainly felt even in the matches they won, but one cannot complain about positive results.
When the real event started, the first match was against a very strong India team, who were going into the tournament looking to defend their title. Pakistan had never beaten India in the Cricket World Cup going into that match; history repeated itself. The Pakistani side bowled first and restricted the Indian total to 300, which was fine, considering that at one point it looked like the Indians might reach 350.
The weak point in that innings was not the bowling, but the fielding. Whether the players were too lazy or the pressure just go to them, we do not know, but had they worked harder I the field that total would have been much smaller to say the least. It turned out that hardest thing for Pakistan players was catching the ball. The number of dropped catches caused the match to go from a very even one to a relatively comfortable one for India.
300 runs is par for the course in the modern One Day game, particularly on the hard Oceanian pitches, but Pakistan’s batting was just as weak as their fielding. No batsman could stay at the crease for long enough. The start by the openers was great, but once Haris Sohail got out, there was a collapse; only the skipper, Misbah-ul-haq, was able to show some resistance. Pakistan lost that match by 76 runs.
Their second fixture was against West Indies at Christchurch. Pakistan chose to bowl in the first innings after winning the toss. The bowlers put their best effort in their department but the fielders, once again, let them down. Missed runout chances and even more dropped catches than before meant that the West Indies were able to race from four runs per over to setting Pakistan 311 to win.
With that big a target, again the batsmen needed to perform well, but the resulting demolition of the Pakistani team was even worse than against India. Pakistan lost their first four runs for just a solitary run; not a single top order batsmen could stay at the crease for longer than five overs. At one point it looked like they would not even reach fifty, but Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood scored half centuries to give their team some support; once they were out, however, that was the end of that. Pakistan lost that match by an enormous margin of 150 runs.
One particular player who has proved a total flop until now in the tournament is Younis Khan. With all the experience he has, he would have been expected to perform much better than many in the team. In future matches, while the batting line-up needs to be checked and fielding needs to be improved, bowling has to be kept up to at least the level it is currently at as well. The whole team must become much more serious as Pakistan are lagging behind in their bid to get out of the group, and the rest of the games they have to play will be tough.
Just as legend Jawed Miandad said, no further experimentation should be done. They have to play a regular wicket-keeper, i.e. Sarfraz Ahmed, who is in good form, and players who are not performing up to standard must be dropped. If the selectors don’t take action soon, Pakistan’s World Cup campaign might just be over in a few days’ time.
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