Heading into the T20 World Cup down under, Pakistan have had a mixed bag of results. Despite the ups and downs, there have been plenty of positive takeaways and performances to appreciate.
I'm joined today by Pakistan fan Salaar Waqar, from London. Thanks a lot for sharing some quality cricketing takes and all the best to the guys in what will be a potential blockbuster of a tournament final. AS: Let’s start with a general assessment of how Pakistan has done in the Asia Cup. What do you feel were some of the instances where they did nicely and where can they improve? SW: Overall, and not just limited to Asia Cup but I think the good thing about our team set up has been that we are becoming less mercurial as a side, Pakistan over the last 2-3 years has very rarely thrown in the towel. I can't remember the last time I said Pakistan just didn't turn up today, despite losing. I think a lot of this comes from the more professional modern set up we have finally been able to instill in the setup over the last couple of years. In terms of specifics, our bowling line up looks great with the pacers all putting their hands up at various points. The 2 spinners were also excellent throughout. Fielding and fitness was outstanding and continues to move in the right direction. On the flip side, I'm slightly concerned about the batting, with the middle order very uninspiring. Fakhar, Iftikhar, Khushdil and Asif had a series to forget. Our tactics in the way we approach our batting are also very high risk with us often leaving too much to do for the end. Sometimes leaving it late is the smart thing to do, but equally there is a lot to be said about getting ahead of the game early. I know Babar’s and Fakhar’s poor form didn't help and exaggerated the situation, but our tactics still follow this situation. It gives some thrilling wins sometimes like the Afghanistan games (in the Asia cup + T20 world cup), but if you want to be a top-quality side, you should be chasing those totals down without much trouble. AS: The middle order definitely looks questionable but there is some talent there. By the way, Shan Masood got picked for this Cup and he hasn’t played a T20I yet. What do you make of his selection? SW: He will have a series against Eng to show what he is capable of as the current squad is only initial. For those who haven't seen him recently, his game is unrecognizable for the T20 format. He's developed the reverse sweep, scoop and the leg side big shot by unlocking his hips. I think he is a solid, but unspectacular option for the format. My concern is with a Babar Rizwan Shan top 3, we may leave ourselves too much to do in the last few overs without any clutch hitters. AS: He did well in the T20 Blast, as far as I’m aware. Then again, the international stage is a bigger challenge and we’ll have to see how well he can adjust. Also don’t you feel Pakistan badly needs a Powerplay enforcer? Babar and Rizwan are fairly similar players in terms of their approach and even if they lay down the platform nicely, there’s more pressure on the middle-order guys to provide the much-needed boost at the back end. SW: I think in the top 3, definitely. I'd still be inclined to open with Babar and Rizwan, they've done a stellar job and won us many games. Australia will also suit them and I feel they won't be tied down as much on the fast and bouncy wickets as both like pace on the ball. However, if you've got that formula, they do need to be a bit braver themselves. AS: They’re definitely very consistent but if they can capitalize on the Powerplay, that’ll be even better. Finally, as far as squad selection is concerned, do you feel all bases are covered? Why or why not? SW: Absolutely not, there is loads of batting talent coming through in Pakistan and I'm disappointed a couple of players didn't get a look earlier, for instance instead of guys like Fakhar and Iftikhar. We recently had the national T20 and the quality of the batting has gone to another level (Saim Ayub, Qasim Akram, Shan Masood, Sahibzada Farhan, Kamran Ghulam, Huraira, Sharoon Siraj, to name a few). For some the time has come to early but look out for some exciting batting talent to emerge from Pakistan I think the fast bowling and spin areas are well covered and there are no obvious replacements for the incumbents. Perhaps we could have tried a fast bowling all rounder (Aamir Jamal, Amad Butt, Fahim Ashraf) as they are handy options in Aus conditions
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