Despite all the noise against him, from multiple quarters, Azhar Ali has been handed a lifeline to prolong his ODI career - at least as the skipper. Despite leading Pakistan to convincing series defeats against England (H), New Zealand (A) and England (A), Azhar will be captaining the side in the ODI series against the West Indies, which kicks off today at 1600 (PST).
This piece is being scribed before the third T20 kicks off in a series where the Sarfraz Ahmed led Pakistan are making little work of a second string West Indies side. It is a similarly stringed squad that will take on Azhar Ali’s ODI side, with anything less than a series win definitely pulling the curtains down for the captain.
Sarfraz Ahmed
Anything barring an ODI series win against West Indies would be catastrophic for Pakistan
West Indies are without Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell - all four huge names, pivotal for the West Indies’ limited overs sides. Not being able to beat this Windies line-up would be catastrophic for both the skipper and the team, but winning the series wouldn’t help tell us much about Pakistan in the long run either.
The struggles of the ODI side - with Pakistan languishing at number 9 in the ICC rankings and facing a possible qualifying tournament for the 2019 World Cup - become all the more prominent considering the success of the Test team and the resurgence of the T20 side. With all of the leading figures spearheading the upsurge of the shortest format side featuring in the ODI side as well, failing to perform in the 50-over contest would be put squarely on Azhar Ali’s shoulders.
Mohammed Amir
The problem with Azhar Ali’s ODI side is that it has to include him. Azhar at his best is a 90s model ODI player, who wouldn’t have been able to feature in the batting order of any Top 6 side since the turn of the century. It is his place up the batting order that actually destablises the lineup.
Among those making a comeback to the ODI squad are Asad Shafiq and Umar Akmal, both with lifelines of their own, considering that most places in the ODI side are up for grabs. While Asad - like Azhar - has cemented himself as an integral part of what now is the world’s best Test side, he too - like Azhar - has a batting mould that is a glaring square peg in the round hole that modern day 50-over cricket is. It is hard to imagine both Azhar and Asad playing in the same side - but then again the current West Indies squad can be beaten with multiple permutations, no matter how regressive they might be in the long run.
Umar Akmal
For Umar Akmal, the current situation is no different to how the rest of his career so far has panned out. But unlike Azhar and Asad, when he is at his best - as rare though as it might be - he does qualify as a modern-day limited-overs batsman. He could present a case for him being considered for the lower middle-order in the long run, should he perform in the 3-match series.
Of those currently spearheading the T20 successes, the names of Sarfraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim and Sharjeel Khan stand out. Add Mohammed Amir’s name into the mix and these are virtually the only four players guaranteed to feature in the next few series for Pakistan.
Amidst the positive headlines the Test and T20 sides are making, the ODI side needs a lot of work to keep pace. With the next ODI series in Australia, and the Champions Trophy next summer as well, the series win against a depleted West Indies might not tell us much going on to stiffer challenges. But anything barring a series win would tell everyone concerned that the ODI squad needs dismantling from the top.
Pakistan squad:
Azhar Ali (c), Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Rahat Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah
