Pakistan need positive World Twenty20 start against Bangladesh
Pakistan left their winless 2009/10 tour of Australia as a team besieged by internal issues, and while the PCB has since sanctioned the players they believe were at the root of that disharmony, the effect those punishments have had on the overall morale of the side remain to be seen.
Shahid Afridi (pictured), whose own inconsistent performances are a microcosm of those of his team, heads a squad that is well suited to the shortest format of the game, and which proved their Twenty20 prowess by winning the title at the competition last year.
Even without the injured Umar Gul in the Caribbean, Pakistan still boasts a formidable bowling attack that should be able to put Bangladesh’s batting attack under considerable pressure.
To that end, Pakistan much-vaunted youngster, the teenaged Mohammad Aamer, and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal – who took the equal second-most wickets at last year’s World Twenty20 – among those at their disposal.
The worry is that while Pakistan tick the boxes as a balanced Twenty20 unit, it’s hard to know which team will turn up on the day. Will it be the one who played a measured match in the final of the 2009 World Twenty20 to win the title, or the one that Zimbabwe just defeated by 12-runs in the warm-ups for this year’s competition.
And if Zimbabwe can beat Pakistan, then Bangladesh will surely start to fancy their chances, even though they’ve lost on each of the three previous occasions the sides have played in a Twenty20 International in the past.
Shakib Al Hasan’s team could be a real threat to Pakistan, and the defending champions will surely breathe a sigh of relief if they can ensure the exciting youngster Tamim Iqbal and the Bangladesh skipper don’t stick around too long in the middle.
At the World Twenty20, Pakistan have a chance to show that they’ve picked up the pieces after imploding against Australia during the southern-hemisphere summer, and we’ll start to get some idea of how quickly and successfully they can do that against Bangladesh at Beausejour Stadium on day two of the competition.
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