New Zealand captain Kane Williamson admitted on Tuesday after losing from Pakistan He Babri Azam’s men are one of the favorite players of the tournament. With two wins in as many games, Pakistan looks good to top the group unless something goes wrong.
But Pakistan was not exactly top billing before the tournament, especially after the uproar in the board and changes in the coaching staff. But things have gone downhill very fast for Pakistan.
TOI takes a look at the reasons behind the rise of the 2009 champions, who failed to make it to the semi-finals of 2014 and 16…
Exile became ‘home’
Since 2009, when the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked in Lahore, teams have often refused to tour Pakistan. Even New Zealand pulled out of a tour of Pakistan a few days before the T20 World Cup, meaning Pakistan has been forced to make the UAE its adopted home.
While it was not an ideal situation, the decade-long experience of playing in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi has meant that India’s domestic World Cup has become Pakistan’s domestic event. The team has a solid support base in desert locations and has a remarkable record there, winning 13 consecutive games for the past five years.
Revelation in Chaos
Pakistan always seems to come together as a team when there is an internal problem. In 1992, when they won the 50-over World Cup, the team had issues other than injuries to the players. waqar younis. In 2009, the year of their T20 World Cup victory, they were going through the Lahore tragedy. Also, chief selector Abdul Qadir had resigned after the removal of Shoaib Akhtar from the team.
Coach this time too Misbah Ul Haq And Waqar Younis resigned just before the World Cup because he believed he would be sacked by the new PCB chief Rameez Raja. But Ramiz, a respected figure in the international cricket circuit, brought in senior chiefs like Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander in the support staff and it all seems to have worked in his favor.
Babar’s team
It is important that a captain gets the team he wants and in the end Babar has got it. Three late changes were made in the 15-man squad and one of them was — to flaunt — Have played both the matches so far. Apart from this, Babur and Mohammad Rizwani, who have started opening together since 2021, have been phenomenal in T20Is averaging 67.30. There is variety in the bowling too and all bases are covered and there is a leader like Shaheen Afridi at the top of his game.
Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez Experience
Malik is probably the only player in this T20 World Cup Chris Gayle He made his international debut in the 1990s. Malik has kept himself fit, knows the ins and outs of the game and is a very low rated finisher. The right-handed batsman has 18 not out in successful run-chases, a world record in T20 cricket. Even against New Zealand, he displayed his finishing touches with a 20-ball 26* when Pakistan’s ship was finding it a bit difficult.
The fact that Hafeez, whose action has often been questioned, is bowling back, has helped Pakistan. This gives the team the extra cushion of an offspinner. Plus his street-smartness as a batsman and Pakistan is a complete package.
PSL spread wings
Pakistan started off as a powerhouse in T20 cricket, playing three finals first and winning one. But from 2009 onwards Pakistani players were not allowed in IPL and after 2010 the performance of the team declined. The subcontinent powerhouse also failed to make it to the semi-finals in 2014 and 16 and this has a lot to do with the fact that the players were not playing a high quality T20 event in the subcontinent.
But in the last five years, the Pakistan Super League, which started in 2015, has gradually become an important event. Except for Indian players, most of the superstars of the rest of the world are involved in this. This generation of Pakistan cricketers has got used to taking the pressure of tight T20 conditions on a regular basis and it is showing in their performances.
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