Head Coach Waqar Younis, batting coach Grant Flower, spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed and Manager Moin Khan have to return to the drawing board as the team turns focus on another gruelling series against the formidable Australians. The Australians have been decimated in England and South Africa in the Test format and Pakistan have not beaten them in a series for 20 years, and while the conditions suit the ‘hosts’ in the UAE the task is an extremely daunting one.
In this regard a thorough introspection of the failure in Sri Lanka needs to be done. Time and again Pakistan relinquished dominant positions in both Tests and ODIs and paid a heavy price for their inability to make most of their starts. Both bowling and batting departments are a worry as the prospects of losing Saeed Ajmal due to his suspect action loom large.
Abdur Rehman was left out of the Test squad while fellow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar wasn’t featured in any of the three ODIs. Similarly, the lanky Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan were patchy in their performances. The poor form of seasoned campaigners Misbahul Haq, Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi must have alarmed the management too. The trio, especially Akmal, looked completely out of sorts (managing a mere 26 runs in three matches) with the constant shuffling in the batting order and his average wicket-keeping increasing the worries for the youngest Akmal. A sound game plan to counter the Aussies is the only way ahead for Pakistan, the onus is now on the management and Misbah and they must pull their socks up.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2014.
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Go Misbah Go.... Go Najmal Soothy GO...Don't do any punctures for the Australians.