What a time to write about Pakistan cricket. On a day when the Green shirts were pushed into the abyss, not by the likes of formidable opponents England or Australia, but by the boys' next door', Bangladesh.
Before the ominous Sunday, Bangladesh had never beaten Pakistan in a Test match. In fact, the Bangladesh cricket team ranks several notches below Pakistan. However, like they say, what good are records if they are not broken, especially if the home team is as inviting as Pakistan? Being mindful visitors, the Bangladesh team beat their out-of-sync and disoriented hosts led by the suave Shan Masood.
For reasons best known to them, Pakistan came up with a faulty strategy of playing with four fast bowlers and no specialised spinner; dropping the highly-rated Abrar Ahmed like a hot potato. I wonder if everyone involved in this absurd strategy was under the influence of some questionable substances, or did they think they had travelled to an alternative universe where they were perhaps playing on the pitches of Perth or Barbados from four decades ago?
You can take your pick on the state of the team management, coaches and captain's mental health, but one thing is certain: Jason Gillespie and Shan weren't making the best decisions. Perhaps they saw grass on the track and got terribly excited, and, as usual, not much thought went into finalising the playing XI.
Another question instantly comes to mind: Who plays a modern-day Test match without a genuine spinner? Is it Australia, India, England or Sri Lanka? The correct answer is that no team goes into a Test match today without a genuine spinner, even if they are playing on the quickest wicket in the world. It was an insane decision not to include a spinner, and frankly, I expected better from Gillespie, an Australian.
Across the globe, Pakistan cricket fans are feeling gutted by the performance they witnessed over the five days in Rawalpindi. If the mass murderer of Pakistan Cricket has even an inkling of shame or guilt, he would be feeling like Lady Macbeth, and these famous lines would be echoing in the perpetrator's mind: "Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand."
These lines confirm Lady MacBeth's guilt.
I wonder if guilt or shame envelops cricket's decision-makers in Pakistan? I think not; alas, they're shameless. They will be sitting in their fancy corner offices, sipping tea and coffee while Pakistan cricket fans are left feeling hollow, disgusted and distressed.
What is a cause for concern is that the Pakistan Cricket Board, team management, and the team all appear clueless about fixing matters that are worrying everyone who loves the game of cricket!
I had expected the Test team to perform better under Shan Masood and Gillespie's guidance—an educated duo. Even after the whitewash in Australia, I admired Shan Masood as a captain, loved his aggressive field placement, and how he made good bowling changes. I genuinely thought the future would be brighter with Shan Masood at the helm than it had been under the non-leader Babar Azam.
I would love to imagine repaying Bangladesh with the same coin come the second test on August 30, and that is in spite of the dark road I see Pakistan cricket treading upon
However, the events surrounding this Rawalpindi Test have left me feeling dejected and hollow in my stomach!
I am someone who always likes to see the glass half full, hence, I would love to imagine repaying Bangladesh with the same coin come the second test on August 30, and that is in spite of the dark road I see Pakistan cricket treading upon.
With that being said, let's break down Pakistan's performance in the first test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. I shall remain true to Pakistan's mistakes in the first Test match in this article, and how we can sportingly avenge this historically embarrassing and stressful defeat. I shall also try not to speak about the disabled cricketing body, which is run by the most clueless men ever. I shall, however, address that issue in another article, and I promise it will come soon, where I shall discuss domestic cricket and how these Einsteins are ruining the sport we love dearly.
Now it's time to analyse the 'Pindi-Gate'
Pakistan lost the first Test match against Bangladesh by ten wickets. The biggest reason the Pakistan team lost was that those making the decisions in and around the team misread the pitch and failed to pick a spinner on a pitch where the opposition's spinners bagged nine out of Pakistan's 16 scalps, or around 60% of Pakistan's batters.
Isn't that a wow moment?
The second reason we lost was that Pakistan's batters were irresponsible and abject in the final innings.
We should begin with Shan Masood, the team leader and bats at the pivotal no. 3 position. Curiously, he averages 28 runs? If he has a real desire to remain as the Test team's captain and continue at the no. 3 spot, his batting average at this crucial spot needs to drastically rise to around 40 runs at the least. This is not to say that Shan Masood is a particularly poor batter. On the contrary, time and again, I've seen him bat flawlessly. But around the time his score is 30 runs, I swear upon my life that I know he's going to be dismantled. Mostly, he obliges my hunch. And therein lies the problem.
If Shan Masood wants to succeed, he needs to work on targeted areas with a glaring issue, such as his temperament. I do feel he appeared agitated at times during the last week, something that, too, he needs to address quickly. Basically, he needs to indulge in some yoga; it's imperative if you're captaining this squad of Aristotles.
I can assure you that without taking risks, you can not reap rewards. Besides, I am a true believer that playing five genuine bowlers can win you Tests
Elsewhere in the team, Babar Azam's form is worrying. Pakistan's top batsman hasn't scored a 50 in seven tests, which is beyond alarming. I think he has been too focused on off-the-field activities and needs to play domestic cricket to fix his temperament and glaring technical flaws.
I believe that Shan and Babar are mainly responsible for our batting woes. But this does not mean the rest are on top of their game. Abdullah Shafique and the extremely promising Saud Shakeel's shots were distasteful and ugly, to say the least. They need to look into that with utmost seriousness. I like how Salman Ali Agha plays, but he needs to develop his role at no. 7 while playing with the tail.
Overall, our batting needs to be more responsible and ambitious, individually and collectively. (The lessons of these Test matches can also be applied to other cricketing formats as well).
Wither strike bowling
A cricket match is not won or lost solely on batting. I have spoken about the lack of spinners and the impact it had on the match's outcome earlier, so I will not repeat that here. Instead, I want to focus on how our bowlers conceded 565 runs.
Pakistan's bowlers looked rusty, except perhaps Khurram Shahzad and Mohammed Ali, both of whom bowled quite well and impressed me.
The fast bowlers need to bowl fuller in the next test. The four to six-metre length needs to be exploited more, with the occasional two-metre-yorker, which needs to be a regular feature in our bowlers' repertoire.
I would like to see Pakistan play with five genuine bowlers. They should be brave and sacrifice a batter, perhaps opening with Shan while dropping Abdullah and moving Babar to the no. 3 spot. I can assure you that without taking risks, you can not reap rewards. Besides, I am a true believer that playing five genuine bowlers can win you Tests.
I hope the Pakistan cricket think-tank reads the pitch better for the next test and selects Abrar, who's got a massive record in Rawalpindi. If we are brave, I guarantee you we will avenge our thrashing. Otherwise, there is a real chance of suffering another clean sweep at home at the hands of a team that has never managed to inflict such a loss on us, and then we would be left licking our wounds endlessly.