After a month long post-mortem of the 3-0 whitewash in the T20I series at home against Sri Lanka, Pakistan have a chance to redeem themselves at arguably the place which would be their last preferred choice to do so.
Pakistan begin their T20I and Test tour of Australia with a three-match T20I series beginning on Sunday, knowing that their first position in the ICC rankings is at stake. And while T20 is the only format where Pakistan have a winning head to head over Australia – 13-7 – the national side haven’t done particularly well in their tours Down Under since the turn of the century.
As we have discussed in this space in recent weeks, the criticism of the national side has risen manifold since Misbah-ul-Haq took over his dual role as the chief selector and coach. And after Sarfaraz Ahmed’s removal as captain, literally everything in and around the cricket team should now be as per Misbah’s wishes – which in turn means the burden of everything, henceforth, will be on him.
Mohammad Rizwan
Pakistan’s T20I squad: Babar Azam (c), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imamul Haq, Shadab Khan, Moosa Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Khushdil Shah, and Usman Qadir
Of course, Misbah’s first task after Sarfaraz’s departure was to appoint a successor, which in the shortest format will be Babar Azam. The decision in large part has been dictated by the fact that he’s virtually the only person whose position is nailed in the side.
As far as the T20I squad is concerned, it has a palpable injection of fresh blood. The likes of Moosa khan and Mohammad Hasnain, despite the latter already having been selected for the national side previously, could be a part of the future of Pakistan’s pace attack.
Khushdil Shah has consistently impressed domestically and has absolutely earned his spot in the squad. Similarly, Iftikhar Ahmed has done well in the domestic circuit and managed to cement his place in the national side during the ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka last month.
There have been question-marks over the inclusion of Usman Qadir, who Misbah said will be the ‘backup for Shadab Khan’. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of strong limited-overs wrist spinners in Pakistan, which has meant that Shadab has continued to retain his place in the side, despite having done little of note over the past season or so.
Harris Sohail and Misbah-ul-Haq
eanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan has been recalled in the side as the wicketkeeper batsman in place of Sarfaraz. Rizwan’s inclusion in the Test side makes much sense, and should’ve happened much earlier, but his place in the limited-overs teams – most definitely the T20Is, because he did make centuries against Australia in the UAE earlier this year – is debatable. Rizwan lacks power-hitting ability in the lower middle-order, which was the final nail for Sarfaraz as well.
Elsewhere, Imam-ul-Haq’s inclusion in the T20Is might be surprising, but he has done decently in shortest format domestically – especially in this year’s Pakistan Super League – despite not being naturally suited to the format. At same time, the T20I series would be crucial for Fakhar Zaman, because the pressure is on him to come good, having failed to deliver in big matches over the past year or so.
Along with Babar Azam, Haris Sohail looks like becoming a permanent fixture in the middle order for Pakistan in all formats. Imad Wasim, who was a contender for the captaincy, and Mohammed Amir are the other permanent fixtures in the shortest format.
Mohammed Irfan is making a return to the national side as well. His pace and bounce could be damaging for the hosts in their conditions.
Australia is not the ideal country for anyone to make their captaincy debut, but Babar Azam might feel he has little to lose – even though there would be the additional scrutiny on how the leadership affects his batting.
For Misbah though, losing the T20I number one ranking, would signal crisis mode two months into his new job. A Pakistan win would calm things down and help him focus on the long road ahead for the national side.
