ODI, T20I and FYI

Next week onwards, the attention would be fixed on the shortest format with the third edition of the Pakistan Super League about to get underway, and the buildup well and truly on. Hence, the time might be ripe to look back to the New Zealand and dig out reasons behind the national team’s contrasting fortunes at the two limited-overs formats.

Of course, there’s no reason for Pakistan to hit the panic button in the ODIs. They won the Champions Trophy only eight months ago, and have since whitewashed Sri Lanka as well. But ironically it was the T20 side, which features many of the same players from the ODI squad, that underscored the many problems in the longer version for Pakistan.

Even after comprehensively losing the first T20 in New Zealand, in turn making it six losses on the bounce on the tour, Pakistan oozed with confidence in the second T20. Yes, the start provided by Fakhar Zaman and Ahmed Shehzad was important in easing any concerns regarding the T20Is going the same way as the ODIs, but that in itself was a corollary of the self-confidence that the squad has in the 20 over format, which they do not in the 50 overs game.

Pakistan will be focusing on T20s for the time being, but they need to start planning for next year's ODI World Cup

This also reflected in the way the side bowled in the T20s as compared to the ODIs, even though the nine-match winnings streak in the latter, before the start of the New Zealand tour, was based almost entirely on strong bowling performances, restricting the opposition to less than 250.

The disparity in the two squads lies in the question over consistency. Those things that the T20 side manages to do well in 20 overs, the same players aren’t able to replicate in 50 overs – at least not with the same intensity or frequency.

All top teams around the world gradually took their ODI levels up, based on the frequency of the T20 cricket that they’ve been playing.

Even though Pakistan started off as the top T20 side in the world, making both the finals of the first two World T20s, winning the latter, and are still the top ranked T20 side in the world, they have suffered from the lack of a local franchise league for almost a decade, the players’ omission from the Indian Premier League – which became the breeding ground for modern limited-overs cricket – and the lack of cricket at home.

These losses are now being overcame, as the PSL has helped Pakistan be successful in limited-overs cricket and bring international cricket back home. And it is PSL where the team can find answers to the problems that have still put question marks over the ODI side.

PSL has given Pakistan the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan. They are now integral features of both the ODI and T20 sides. In fact, it is PSL that truly established Sarfraz Ahmed’s captaincy credentials as well.

Now that the core squad – more or less the one that won the Champions Trophy – has been earmarked, the PSL would be the opportunity for them to perform match in match out to boost the levels of consistency.

Of course, the third edition would come up with more youngsters that would provide competition to the first team and in turn provide the selectors and the management an even bigger pool of players to choose from.

Pakistan don’t play any ODI cricket for a few months, and hence can focus on the T20s for the time being. But FYI, with the ODI World Cup next year – and that, too, in England where they won the Champions Trophy last year – a clear strategy should be formulated so that the players that fit that billing are accordingly shortlisted.