A humiliating loss

Asia Cup sprung a huge shock for Pakistan cricket fans as their batting line-up caved-in limply for the umpteenth time

The Asia Cup Twenty20 tournament has sprung a huge shock for Pakistan cricket fans as their beleaguered batting line-up caved-in limply for the umpteenth time in recent months. The rapidly plummeting standards of the national team in limited-overs cricket have seen it crash out of the race for the final of the tournament with one group game still to be played. Against India, a bowler-friendly pitch and a combination of mindless batting saw the 2009 World Twenty20 champions crumble for 83. Against Bangladesh on a comparatively better batting strip, the abysmal surrender of the top-order restricted the team to 129 and that too was only made possible by a rearguard action from Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik.

The preparations for the coveted World Twenty20 title are clearly in disarray and the recent claims made by the team management of “heading in the right direction” sound hollow on the eve of the cricket extravaganza in India. Time and again, Pakistan’s substandard batting has let the team down and even the axing of the inconsistent trio of Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Rizwan and Sohaib Maqsood has not made any difference. Sharjeel Khan, Khurram Manzoor and the richly experienced Mohammad Hafeez were all at sea against some competent bowling in the tournament, and while the bowling managed to hold its own, with Mohammad Amir excelling, it was not enough to compensate for the horrendous batting displays. Since the Twenty20 series against England last November, Pakistan have now lost seven of their last nine matches. Captain Shahid Afridi has a dismal record at the helm and there is a pressing demand for his resignation before the World Twenty20. Head coach Waqar Younis and chief selector Haroon Rasheed are also in the firing line and if the board is ready to bite the bullet, we might see a whole lot of changes in the squad and support staff that travels to India next week, but it remains to be seen if even drastic changes will have any impact on Pakistan’s fortunes.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2016.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.