THE national cricket team’s clean sweep in the three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe is reassuring although the results were never in doubt considering the vast difference in strength between the two sides. Zimbabwe’s game has been in turmoil over the past two decades because of political unrest there and the exodus of key players. It is twelfth in the ICC T20 rankings while Pakistan occupies the fourth spot. But while Zimbabwe did not present much of a challenge to the national team, it was an opportunity for the latter to test young players and to practise ahead of a challenging tour of New Zealand in December. Khushdil Shah, Haider Ali, Usman Qadir, Abdullah Shafique, Haris Rauf and a few others had impressive outings in the T20 series which will contribute to their preparations. Usman was clearly the star of the series. His repertoire of leg-spin bowling kept the Zimbabweans guessing. Having said that, the positives Pakistan can draw from the contests must not make the team complacent. A clean sweep against a lowly ranked side in perfect home conditions is a far cry from what the players will face in New Zealand. Pakistan’s defeats in Australia and England in the past year means they need to work very hard. There is an abundance of young talent in both bowling and batting which is encouraging. However, with fewer international matches being played around the world, these players still have some way to go before they can be described as battle-hardened.
Experts are hoping that the recent change of guard, with Babar Azam replacing Azhar Ali as Test captain, will improve Pakistan’s fortunes. Babar, though still learning the ropes as captain of limited-over formats, is a world-class batsman who is expected to lead from the front, a trait sadly lacking in Azhar whose defensive mindset led to Pakistan’s overseas losses. The PCB now backs Babar as long-term skipper which could help him raise a competitive unit for the many international and home assignments that lie ahead.
Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2020
