Pakistan team should focus on the positives
on March 16th, 2011 at 7:59 amThe three straight wins at the beginnings of the tournament turned Pakistan from an underdog to one of the main contenders for the title. Pakistan despite having a few weak spots in their combination played their first three matches quite positively, the results raised the expectations of their fans, but then came the shock, Kamran Akmal through his shady wicketkeeping helped New Zealand to win their match against Pakistan.
All of a sudden, the team which resurrected itself quite successfully after the mortal blow of the spot fixing scandal has once again began to crumble. The dropped catches by Akmal not only made Pakistan lose that match but have also triggered a series of events which have completely derailed the team from it’s course.
Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Akmal, the two most vital players in Pakistan team both lost their job because of Kamran Akmal’s latest blunders behind the stumps. Akhtar was made to pay the price for the crime of somebody else, and Umar Akmal is probably facing some sort of disciplinary action as once again he faked an injury to ensure that his brother retains his place in the team.
The shenanigans of Akmal brothers have once again destroyed the atmosphere in the dressing room, Shoaib Akhtar must be devastated, I’m sure he must have had shown his displeasure to the captain and the coach for punishing him for Akmal’s crime and must be holding a grudge against the Akmal brothers and the captain.
I feel sorry for Afridi and Waqar they had no choice but to surrender against the black mailing of Akmal brothers. The selectors created a serious handicap in the team by not selecting a reserve wicket keeper for which they solely should be held accountable.
Afridi who is usually quite aggressive as a leader has become extremely defensive, partly because he desperately wanted to qualify for the quarter finals and partly because he apparently is having some mistrust for some players in the team. He was already facing quite a few problems related to the combination of the team, the top three batsmen were consistently failing, him and Razzaq have not gotten many batting opportunities in the tournament so far. He has faced a lot of criticism for not playing Ajmal and not using Razzaq to his fullest potential. As a result he hasn’t looked very calm on the field, made some serious mistakes in the game against New Zealand and almost in every match thus far he has not utilized the batting power play properly.
Now that Pakistan has qualified for the Quarter finals, the team management should only focus on the postives and should leave all the negatives behind.
Only one team is going to win the world cup and the rest will have to go home empty handed. The fear of losing will not allow Pakistan team to play according to its potential, from the next match onwards Afridi will have to lead in his usual manner and will have to shed all the fears as Pakistan team plays it’s best cricket when they play aggressively.
It was a good decision by the team management to underplay the K Akmal incident. The team should move forward and forget the match against Newzealand and should focus on just the positives so that the whole team gains confidence and play their remaining matches with a positive attitude rather than in fear and in a negative frame of mind.
They should remember that so far they have only lost one match and they lost it because of those dropped catches and because they played poor cricket in five overs. Except those five overs our bowling has been at par with Australia and South Africa. The top three batsmen have failed but Pakistan still managed to win 4 out of 5 matches which shows that the batting has some strength especially because neither Afridi nor Razzaq has thus far contributed with the bat. The conditions on which Pakistan team have been playing it’s matches have been only seen in the games in which Pakistan has featured, other teams have consistently been getting flat tracks as a result their batting has looked much stronger than it really is, and there is a marked difference between the conditions in India and SriLanka in general.
The form of Ahmad Shahzad has been a concern but Afridi will have to persist with him, we can’t drop him at this stage, Inzamam failed through out the tournament in 1992 but his innings in semi final and the final helped Pakistan win that world cup. He has the capability but has been making silly mistakes to lose his wicket.
The biggest problem Pakistan team has been facing is their failure to pace the innings properly, if the top order attempts to play quickly they lose too many quick wickets and if they pace it slowly then they don’t leave enough overs for Afridi and Razzaq to get settled and then launch as a result they lose quick wickets in the end. I think this problem can be solved by changing the batting order a bit or using either Afridi or Razzaq as a floater.
The game against Australia is a critical one but Pakistan team should take no pressure of the outcome of that game and should just enjoy that game, every game is a new game, they should just go out and play their natural game and ignore all that talk of taking the momentum to the QF, as it will only add pressure on the players.
It doesn’t matter which team we face in QF because if winning the world cup is the objective then we should be ready to take on any team at any stage of the world cup. It’s time to shed all fears and focus just on the game.
Stani
That match fixer is definitely going to throw a big match as a precaution he should bat lower and should not open.
Dunno Wasim, big risk. He has done nothing so far. Just bring in Shafiq lower down and open with KA and Hafeez. That would do it no? KA loves India?
@Stani
I would still go with Shahzad especially if we play in India.
Maaz
If India loses to WI which I think they will
And if we beat Australia even then we will play India in QF.
I think the team should do their best to win against Australia that will ensure that we stay in SriLanka for the QF which is more important at this stage.
Don’t care if we face India, we can beat them, actually I think we have less chance against SA.
The top order needs to have some self belief, the middle order is fine they just need to assume responsibility and the lower middle order should show some professionalism and should prove their worth by displaying their real game.
I am not worried about bowling, if we play Ajmal he needs to adjust his pace according to conditions, I think he bowls a tad slower than Murali and Harbhajan and gives more time to the batsman to pick his movement.
With the prospect of heavy showers tomorrow, the possibility of an India-Pakistan Quarter Final in Ahmedabad on the 24th is drastically increasing!
Yes, Windies definitely made a mistake dropping Chanderpaul. He would have brought them home in that situation against England. I have to say that Sarwan is a let down. He should be finishing games like that easily.
If we do face SA, one good thing is that Afridi usually does well against them. You are right, we have a decent chance and shouldnt fear anyone. That is as long as we go in with the right team. No more Shahzad please.
NewZealand will be facing India or South Africa most likely in Quarter finals.
NewZealand got crushed by SriLanka, even though they got defeated by a huge margin but the result didn’t had a considerable effect on the NRR.
Now unless the match between Australia and Pakistan doesn’t get tied, Pakistan will either be at #1 or #4 depending on the result of the match and most likely will meet either South Africa or England in the Quarter finals.
@ STani
PCB will drop Kamran Akmal this is for sure.
Our chance to win is as good as other teams. A little self belief will help the team a lot.
I expected WI to lose after Gayle departed they have too many inexperienced players in the lineup perhaps they made a mistake by dropping Chanderpaul.
Maz,
He looks promising, that keeper. Hope he concentrates on his own development and comes out the other side.
I agree, cannot keep playing Shahzad. He could lose us a vital knock-out match.
Hmm, yes, I just heard now that they fined Akhtar too Wasim for his reaction to Akmal’s dropped catches. You’re right, it’s disrespectful.
You really think they will get rid of Kamran? He seems untouchable, which is why I find it even difficult to comprehend him not being there.
The thing is, we say 3 straight wins but win the quarters and it becomes 2 straight games
get that into their psyche and all is possible 
How the hell did Windies lose that? Especially with the start they got.
A brisk 32 off 25 balls by Russell has brough WI back into the game still 47 runs required by WI. Can the Windies do it?
With Pollard gone WestIndies have no chance to win this match. Pollard kept on playing across the line and finally paid the price.
With Sarwan out of form and Chanderpaul out of the team there is nobody in the WestIndian team who can just work the ball for singles and doubles andplay risk free cricket they can only score off boundaries.
Swann’s second spell will be crucial for England.
WestIndies after a great start are in a precarious position, England held their nerve and fought back, the way WestIndian batsmen were attempting big shots they were bound to lose wickets and from 71/1 they have slipped to 125/5
they need a big innings from Pollard to win this match.
England are on top right now.
Sammy’s cameo came to an end, he scored 41 off just 29 balls. The plat form is set but Ithink West Indies have lost too many wickets. They still have to make 133 runs. Sarwan is in and he needs to bat till end.
WestIndies after a rollicking start are facing a minor collapse, three of their best batsmen are back in the pavillion, Gayle, Smith and Bravo.
England are back in the game.
Earlier Sammy lost grip of the match and allowed England to get off the hook by some poor leadership. His bowling changes and field placements were comical. England should have never been able to post more than 200 but they managed 240.
Sammy is at the crease and is continuing from where Gayle left, the resposibility to finish off the match rests on his shoulders. He hasn’t been able to play any role in this West Indies team so far in the tournament his bowling has been a burden, his leadership has been ordinary today is the time when he can prove his worth in the team as a batsman.
136 runs are required from 34.4 overs with Sarwan and Pollard still to come, the game is still in West Indies favor but they will have to preserve wickets.
Maaz
I think they should not give K Akmal any major role in batting especially as an opener he should be pushed at #8.
We should open with Asad Shafiq if Shahzad gets dropped.
Any other team I would have gone for Wahab but against Australia we need wickets upfront they do not have depth in their batting if we took early wickets we will win the match and nobody in our team is as dangerous upfront as Shoaib Akhtar.
Afridi was talking about opening the bowling with a spinner, I think that is would be just wasting the new ball and the overs of your premier spinner when the ball won’t turn.
They should only do it against teams which have pinch hitters as openers and not try out this experiment against every team.
I have been following Gulraiz Sadaf and would agree with you he is a much better prospect than K Akmal.
PCB
I didn’t knew that Asad can keep wickets, and if Waqar is preferring Wahab then he is taking out his longtime grudge against Shoaib. I think if we have to play Asad Shafiq then we should use him as an opener.
I don’t want Kamran Akmal to open he is in much worse form than Shahzad.
Shahzad has been just making poor decisions out there but he still can play shots all around the wicket but Akmal has a very limted game and that too is off right now.
I agree that U Akmal should bat at #3.
then Younis, Misbah, Razzaq, Afridi and then K Akmal.
I think Shoaib Akhtar won’t play against Australia they will persist with Wahab and might play Ajmal instead of Rahman.
We have a good chance of beating Australia as they haven’t faced any tough competition in the tournament so far.
But there is a forecast of heavy rain and thunderstorms that day and the match might get spoiled by the rain interruptions.
It will be a really brave move if they persist with Shehzad from here on in. I have rated him very highly, but he may just to have to make way now that Shafiq has established himself and Umar Akmal is expected to come back in. There are hints that Kamran and Hafeez will open up against Australia. Also, if they do go in with an extra bowler against Australia as they are playing a bowler short as everyone has been emphasising throughout the tournament, than there is a selection dilemma on our hands about which batter to drop.
So Shoaib was actually dropped you think? Now that’s interesting. I personally would like to see Akhtar play, but at the same time Wahab should play every match as well. He is a really useful asset and strengthens and balances the attack. In my view, he should have been playing every match from the start of the tournament, especially as he was the best bowler on show during the ODI Series in New Zealand.
Wasim/TJ
Talking of keepers. Check this one out. A young lad with impressive stats. A long term future keeping prospect waiting in the wings potentially? Will be keeping a close eye on him from now on.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakdomestic-2010/content/player/279506.html
I think this should be the team for next match. Shehzad needs to be dropped. He was dropped in the WC T20 09 and that made a massive difference. He has looked horribly out of form and under pressure. Inzamam was batting lower down the order which is completely different.
1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Kamran Akmal (wkt)
3. Umar Akmal
4. Younis Khan
5. Misbah Ul-Haq
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Umar Gul
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
Waqar Younis wants Riaz whereas Afridi wants Akhtar in the team.
I don’t think Umar Akmal did fake an injury. But even if he did, I disagree that Afridi and Waqar had no choice. The following team would be very good:
1. Ahmed Shehzad
2. Asad Shafiq (Wkt)
3. Mohammad Hafeez
4. Younis Khan
5. Misbah Ul-Haq
6. Shahid Afridi
7. Abdul Razzaq
8. Umar Gul
9. Wahab Riaz
10. Shoaib Akhtar
11. Saeed Ajmal
Asad Shafiq has kept wicket before and is no worse than Umar Akmal.
@ Stani
Before the match they said that Shoaib has been dropped,they have made million excuses for the shenanigans of Khatmals but can’t believe how they are disrespecting Akhtar.
You are right we probably can’t win three straight matches but I think if they just go out and play their natural game without taking any pressure of the result they can win.
I think this is probably the last time we are seeing Akmal brothers. PCB might pardon them but right now K Akmal is the most hated person in Pakistan.
Wasim,
I just feel we won’t be able to do it for three games in a row. That is the issue I think. We can beat anyone, no doubt, but we will have to do it three times against three good teams. That is a rarity.
I think Shoaib was rested to be honest. We all know how vital he is to our attack and he looked fatigued during the Taylor blitz. Umar Akmal may just have been dropped to teach him a lesson. Waqar was quoted as saying that Umar had a few problems, hinting at something other than injury.
I agree, there was no point in bashing Kamran now as it would have done the team no good as he is the only keeper here and the part-time stand in is his brother! But, it is only good if something is done about the keeping situation after the tournament. There is no point just forgetting and carrying on like we have done in the past because the Kamran issue will pop up again in a vital game as it has done again and again.
@Ilyas
U Akmal will get back into the team but if we continued with Asad Shafiq who is a solid batsman but then we will have three batsmen in the team who bat slowly and take a lot of time to get settled.
I Know it will be an injustice with Shafiq but we were already struggling to score runs quickly and that problem will further compound.
Dear sir!
I m completely agree with you. But i am not in the favour of Ahmed Shehzad. you mentioned earlier that afridi should persist with Shehzad but i am in contradiction to this. if umar akmal is fit then team management should try the old policy i.e to open the innings with kamran and hafeez and exclude shehzad from the playing eleven. by doing so we shall get an extra solid batsman asad shafiq at number 3 and umar akmal will come back at 6.
the forthcoming clash of pakistan against Australia is a tough cal for Pakistan. we can try akmal and hafeez combination against them