THE Pakistan cricket team’s 2-0 triumph in the Test series against South Africa has hopefully restored much of the confidence that the players had lost after a disastrous tour of New Zealand last December. The hosts were clearly the dominant side in the series which showcased some stellar performances, especially from fast bowler Hasan Ali, debut-making spinner Nauman Ali, batsmen Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf. The South Africans, on the other hand, maintained their poor record on Asian wickets, which has seen them losing nine Test matches on the trot since 2015 in this region. With reluctant skipper Quinton De Cock not leading the team from the front, the visiting side put up a lacklustre show in the series with only opener Aiden Markram, fast bowler Anrich Norte and George Linde turning in some notable performances. Having said that, the home side, though ostensibly in command during the series, can do much more to improve both batting and bowling which have hurt them on tours. The top order was virtually nonexistent and heavily burdened the middle and lower order that were required to put up a decent score on the board for the bowlers to defend.

The opening pair of Abid Ali and newcomer Imran Butt struggled throughout, while seasoned Azhar Ali now seriously must ponder retirement plans. Veteran spinner Yasir Shah, despite having captured seven wickets in the Karachi Test, failed to impress in Rawalpindi and should be asked to rediscover his Midas touch. A fair share of the credit for Pakistan’s victory must also go to newly appointed chief selector Mohammad Wasim who inducted a majority of leading domestic cricket performers into the Pakistan side, both in the Tests and for the upcoming T20 games. Indeed, it is the need of the hour to groom worthy replacements of veterans such as Azhar, Asad Shafiq, Yasir, Mohammad Abbas and others who could bring back the zest and spirit required to beat the best in the world of cricket.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2021