Pakistan, the Unpredictable Stars at Multi-national Events

Pakistan’s unpredictability does not go far behind the last T20 World Cup. They lost to India and then to Zimbabwe but found themselves in the Finals a few weeks later against England. In the last World Cup too Pakistan came in ranked number 8. Their preparation was terrible as they were whitewashed by England prior to the tournament.

Further, Pakistan picked Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, two bowlers who were nowhere near the side in the lead-up. A hammering to West Indies followed but the next week saw something that shook the 2019 World Cup. Pakistan outbatted the England batting line-up and beat the favorites of the tournament to announce themselves in the 2019 World Cup.

Looking at each World Cup, Pakistan have always managed to produce a moment that only they can produce. Losing to the weaker sides and beating sides they had no chance again has made their games fun to watch irrespective of the viewer’s fanbase.

When they won their major tournaments in 1992, 2009, and 2017, Pakistan fans endured some despair before facing happiness. On other occasions, Pakistan looked comfortable before stumbling in the end in embarrassing fashion. Which version of Pakistan will we see this time?

On paper, Pakistan does look fairly confident and settled. Their batting line-up has some good names with Imam Ul Haq in form. Babar Azam, their superstar, and Mohammad Rizwan form a strong middle-order while Ifthikar Ahmed is doing pretty well as a finisher. Their batting line-up has a lot of depth as well with all-rounders Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, and Agha Salman. Shaheen Shah Afridi too is a decent bat. Unpredictability though remains with Fakhar Zaman struggling for form.

With the ball too they have Shaheen who tends to be unplayable in the first few overs and Haris Rauf to shake things up with his pace. Naseem Shah’s absence though could be a concern. Their unpredictability though remains to leave a lot to wonder.

In 2019 for example, Pakistan looked like they could do a repeat of 1992 with a lot of comparisons made as the tournament progressed. Six members from 2019 remain and four members from the 2017 Champions Trophy are still around.

The team though remains in an awkward position. Not long ago they were number one on the ODI rankings. They started the Asia Cup pretty well too, rattling the Indian top order in their first game, which was washed out. Their second game though saw Pakistan hammered with both bat and ball as Virat Kohli had his fun yet again.

Prior to the Asia Cup they looked a proper threat and still do. Fakhar Zaman’s form is a huge part of their concerns. He has not been able to get a start and low scores continue to haunt him. He remains an important member though considering he is their most free-flowing batter and could be the difference between a good score and great score when he gets going.

Shadab Khan is another player who could decide their fortunes. With his 3-Dimensional ability, a good day for him makes life easy for Pakistan and a bad day leaves them in more trouble than ever. He has not played to much ODI Cricket since the 2019 World Cup and was poor in the Asia Cup as well.

The loss of Naseem Shah adds to the pressure. With Naseem, Pakistan has a player who supports their bigger superstar, Shaheen with the new ball. Now, Pakistan will be all the more reliant on Shaheen for early wickets. In his absence, Hasan Ali finds his way back in typical Pakistan-style unpredictable fashion. They also have Mohammad Wasim and it will be interesting to see who partners Shaheen in a few hours.

They are in India after ages and are ready to get their party started. For viewers, Pakistan games are full of entertainment with Pakistan known to do the unexpected. Starting with a game of Netherlands, Pakistan have a chance to settle into the tournament, but would not want to take the game lightly given their record against sides ranked lower than them.