Even after reasonable starts provided by the openers, the middle order failed to put up any significant resistance against a high-class bowling attack. The lack of meaningful partnerships and the inability to close out matches was the most disappointing factor. It seems that Pakistan have developed a mental block that is preventing them from chasing down even below-par scores. More worryingly, Misbahul Haq sitting out the final match of the series has given rise to all kinds of rumours regarding his continuation as captain of the ODI team. Though the PCB chief later said that Misbah himself decided to sit out the match because of recent low scores, to do so in the middle of a series would appear unusual.
With Pakistan having lost five of their last six ODIs, any thoughts of glory at the World Cup in Australia in a few months’ time seem far-fetched at this point. While the performances of some of the newer members of the side are encouraging, they are clearly not enough. What Pakistan require urgently is for the captain to return to form and for the batting line-up to stop completely freezing under pressure. Without this, the future of the team indeed looks bleak.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2014.
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Changing the captain again and again does not and never makes any improvement in the team because the players remain the same. The major problem in team is that there is no team work, everyone is playing for the money and inclusion of players which are highly out of merit. The whole management and the team must be changed on strict merit basis to bring out the world class cricket performance for which Pakistan was once known for.
The worst Pakistan can do is to appoint a rash, brash, rude, crude and politician with love for media as captain. There are no youngsters who are showing any justification for their selection and no seniors who are performing. There are no dependable middle order batsman or genuine all-rounder that Pakistan always had. The next captain should be a polished, educated and responsible person who is not a big mouth politician and lets his game do all the talking. I have not named names but if the shoe fits wear it.