While the Australia tour following the disastrous Asia Cup gives Pakistan the opportunity to retrace a positive trajectory immediately, it also means that the side don’t have much time to regroup before they take up what is now looking like a daunting challenge.
Let’s not forget that only a couple of years ago, Pakistan were overwhelming favourites to topple any side in the UAE in the longest format. In 2014, Pakistan whitewashed Australia on these very decks.
However, last year Pakistan themselves were whitewashed by a struggling Sri Lankan side, in what was their first ever complete series defeat in the UAE.
It was the first Test series under Sarfraz Ahmed, and while the talk of a rebuilding phase after the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan had been there, loss against Sri Lanka was a bolt from the blue. Even so, the management, rightfully, demanded patience in the Test format and earned a more-than-credible draw in England in the two match Test series in the summer.
Yasir Shah
Meanwhile, the T20 format has been Pakistan’s best by a considerable distance – with the side winning all the series it has participated in under Sarfraz, which includes Away tours to England and New Zealand, along with the tri-series win in Zimbabwe, which included Australia.
The ODI format remains Pakistan’s major concern, as has been ruthlessly exposed in the Asia Cup. When Pakistan won the Champions Trophy last year it was hoped that the side had finally turned the corner and was now ready to compete with the biggest sides and play modern-day fifty over cricket. That facade was maintained by clean sweeps against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe over the past year, with a sweep at the hands of New Zealand earlier this year deemed a glitch.
A glitch it was not. If anything Pakistan have made it appear as though the Champions Trophy was a fluke, given that it was the bowling that primarily won them the tournament last year, and the batting only seems to have fired against the likes of West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – other than the Champions Trophy final.
Mickey Arthur needs to rally his troops
Even so, one bad tournament cannot be deemed a curtain call on the team’s prospects moving forward. However, what Pakistan need to do now is learn the most important lesson from the Asia Cup: abandon the decades old batting style and embrace aggressive cricket, for modern day ODIs do not have space for batsmen whose regular job would be to ‘save wickets’.
First up though, it’s a two match Test series against Australia, which would be followed by a three match T20I series, with Pakistan’s next ODI assignment during New Zealand’s tour to the UAE next month.
In addition to the poor batting displays what was a primary cause of Pakistan’s abysmal showing in the Asia Cup was the fact that the bowling didn’t turn up either. That in turn was because for the first time in a long time Pakistan did not have a strong spin contingent for the UAE decks.
This is where Yasir Shah’s return to the Test side would be crucial. He should perhaps be given a run-out in the ODIs as well, most definitely in the UAE.
Shadab Khan has done more than decently in his first year and a half as an international player. But perhaps there have been too many billings on him to live up to. He’s definitely not at a level where he could spearhead Pakistan’s Test or even ODI spin department – let along the entire bowling contingent. And he most definitely isn’t an all-rounder as things stand.
Shadab Khan, and does, fulfill these roles in the T20s, but he needs to be given time to grow into it in the longer formats. Mohammed Nawaz too is more of a T20I player and can’t be relied on to do much – especially with the bat – outside the 20-over game.
As the first Test match against Australia kicks off on Sunday, Pakistan need to make sure they put the Asia Cup behind them and realise the fact that it’s a different day, opposition and format. And while none of those might make the challenge easier, Pakistan need to work on getting their ominous aura back at the Emirates, wherein Yasir Shah would have a major role to play.
