Analyzing the Enigmatic Pakistan Cricket Team: Win Over Bangladesh Ends Nine Match Drought
Pakistan completed a comprehensive 139 run win against Bangladesh in their final match of the Asia Cup. It was a convincing performance from the former T20 champions, which makes one wonder what went wrong for them against Sri Lanka, and more recently, against India.
The talent and ability is there for everyone to see, but the ability to finish off matches against big teams is something that has been lacking in Pakistan for a while now. A disappointing statistic here is that a team like Pakistan managed to win a One Day International after 9 consecutive defeats, 5 of which were against Australia in the nightmare tour at the start of the year, 2 were before that against New Zealand, and the last 2 coming against India and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup.
On most of the times in the aforesaid matches, Pakistan did have a hold of the match, but managed to lose the plot right when it mattered. That means the ability to finish off teams, known as the killer instinct, is what is missing. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram used to say that ‘winning is a habit’, which is very true, but looking at this Pakistan team, one can safely say they have lost the habit to win. Because the players they have in the team are definitely a match for any team in the world. They lack direction and guidance.
Now that Shahid Afridi is in charge and a number of former captains such as Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf are no longer part of the set up, the team spirit is there for everyone to see. Once again the confidence to win matches is what is needed, and hopefully it will come with time. The most important thing for a team is to have a good dressing room environment which reflects the performance on the field. Now that the team does look as if they have the unity which had been missing for a long time, it’s only a matter of time before they put their act together and come up with some results.
And they will certainly have to, because a long and gruelling England tour is up next, where Pakistan are to play 2 test matches against Australia and 4 against England, with also a number of T20s and ODIs.
If Shahid Afridi is not able to get some respectable results in that tour, he may see the end of road as far as captaincy is concerned. Now even though he has been promised a long stint by the board, but considering what has been happening in Pakistan cricket over the years, one cannot be sure of what they are going to do next.
The media is reporting that Afridi should have been made captain soon after his debut. Because the amount of responsibility and common sense he has been showing since taking over the reins is phenomenal, and makes one wonder why did he not do this for all these years.
So now Pakistan are all set to embark on a long and testing journey to England which will determine what is to happen to Pakistan cricket in the future. The tour is also being termed as an acid test for Afridi and the team. The best thing for them will be to forget what happened in the Asia Cup and start afresh.
Who knows, this young team may once again bring back the golden days of Pakistan cricket, and come back with some new records to wipe away the embarrassment of records such as 9 consecutive ODIs defeats, and the worst ever tour by any team (the tour of Australia). If they manage to stay strong as a unit, and remain consistent with their performances, they might usher in a new era in Pakistan cricket.
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