PAKISTAN’S T-20 win against West Indies has come as something of a surprise given the ease with which the success was achieved. It was billed as a contest between two mercurial sides that could go either way. Like Pakistan, the West Indies have had their own troubles in recent times, including their players’ relationship with the Caribbean cricket board. Yet they are the T-20 world champions who, despite the omission of a few players since they won the title in April this year, were expected to give Pakistan a tough time. In the event, they proved to be just too weak and at times disinterested an outfit. Their ordinary performance will most definitely retrigger the argument about the surgery carried out by the West Indies cricket managers. The attempts at corrections, including the sacking of World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy, have drastically weakened the team.
Sarfraz Ahmed as captain, on the other hand, brought quick dividends — a clean sweep — for Pakistan. There was clearly positivity and greater energy in the manner in which the national team conducted itself, the freshness of approach most strikingly reflected in the much-improved fielding effort by the team. The series was yet another reminder of just how much Pakistan relies on its bowling. Imad Wasim stood out. His confidence was obviously high after his good showing in the recent Caribbean T-20 league; he once again demonstrated that all the Pakistan players needed was international competition to achieve the efficacy and skill seen in cricketers from other countries. Since the national side’s batting was not fully tried in this T-20 series, it was not clear whether or how much it had benefited from the new policy which encourages players to display their skills with fewer inhibitions. In this rebuilding phase, that aspect of the game will most likely come under scrutiny in the forthcoming One-Day Internationals against the West Indies. Needless to say, Pakistan must take the Sarfraz initiative into the ODIs as well.
Published in Dawn September 29th, 2016