Pakistan cricket is falling behind — and the trend is becoming difficult to ignore. The latest Twenty20 World Cup marked the fifth time in the last seven ICC global tournaments that Pakistan failed to reach the semi-final stage.
Teams are progressing at a rapid pace. India ended their global trophy drought at the 2024 T20I World Cup and has since won the Champions Trophy and defended the T20I title. New Zealand has been consistent, as have South Africa and England.
Imagine India’s aggressive style of play. They have amassed 50 totals of above 200 in 599 T20 internationals. Suryakumar’s team now has seven 250-plus totals, three of them came in this World Cup, two in the semi- final and final. The second best is 29 totals of above 200 by South Africa. Guess how many times Pakistan has crossed the 200- mark! A poor 18 occasions.
This has to be rectified. The first task will be to improve and prepare the ODI side, as next year will be the 50-over World Cup in Africa.
Since finishing runners-up in the 1999 World Cup, Pakistan have only reached the semis on one occasion out of six events, which was in 2011.
Pakistan’s problems (read: ailment) are the same in both white-ball formats. Pakistan’s batting is full of fear and lacks aggression. The dot ball syndrome hurts their batting in the end. Add to that misery, Pakistan batters lack the skill and brutality to hit sixes.
PCB has taken the first step towards building the side for the ODI World Cup. They have sent a relatively new side to Bangladesh with six players yet to feature in the 50-over format.
Amongst them, Sahibzada Farhan stands out with loads of performances at the domestic level. He can cement his place and go on to play another mega event. Shamyl Hussain and Maaz Sadaqat are also ready with Abdul Samad, destined to take a role in the middle order.
This young team may lose the bilateral series, which, for the better future, must be ignored. Pakistan has a series with Australia, which will also help in grooming the team.
It is up to the PCB international department to arrange series in South Africa and Zimbabwe – two of the three hosts of the 2027 World Cup, with Namibia the third. A series each in South Africa and Zimbabwe will help.
Pakistan clean-swept South Africa 3-0 in December 2024, which will be fresh in the memories and serve the team well.
Similarly, a pool of 25-30 players should be prepared for the next Twenty20 World Cup, which Australia and New Zealand will host in October-November 2028. PCB must send a Shaheens team to Australia and New Zealand to groom the players for the World Cup.
They must request Cricket Australia to hire 12-15 Pakistan players in their Big Bash League next year so that they can learn how to bat and bowl on the hard and bouncy tracks of Australia.
Benjamin Franklin, the famous American writer, once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” and this highlights that success hinges on proactive effort. The preparedness emphasizes that fortune favors the ready, not those who only get ready when the event is just around the corner.
This is the right time to get the Pakistan cricket teams ready for global events.
