The atmosphere at the iconic MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai was brimming with expectation and excitement on Monday, October 22, as the fans were waiting to witness a historic Afghanistan victory against neighbouring Pakistan in the ongoing ICC cricket world cup. With Afghanistan requiring 68 runs with 11 overs remaining, Pakistan captain Babar Azam started a serious chat with his deputy, Mohammed Rizwan. Meanwhile in the commentary box, Pakistani commentator and former chairman of Pakistan cricket board Ramiz Raja was having fun at the expense of Azam and his team.
On air, Raja remarked how there was no change in Pakistan’s strategy during the last leg of their defense of a strong 282 run target, despite that meeting between Babar and Rizwan. During the commentary, Raja sounded quite sarcastic and was caustic about the lack of intent in Pakistan's field placements which allowed Afghanistan easy singles. Other experts also made critical comments regarding Pakistan’s sloppy fielding and lack of energy. Raja’s former teammate, the fast-bowling legend Waqar Younis, was crestfallen, when Hashmatullah Shahidi hit the winning runs in the 49th over.
Sarcasm and disappointment, more than anger and frustration, are emotions one can note among former Pakistan cricketers and fans on social media.
Pakistan’s performance in the 2023 world cup might definitely not be their worst; it will take a special effort to outdo 2007, where a loss to Ireland sealed a group-stage exit and was succeeded by the mysterious death of their coach Bob Woolmer. In fact, the latest PCB statement reiterates the fact that they still have a chance to make the semis if they win all their remaining games.
This may not be the worst Pakistan team in terms of cricketing skill but skill is not the only element that made Pakistan strong challengers. It was their unique sense of unpredictability to turn matches from nothing, to win games from nowhere and absolute stars emerging from the dust. Missing from Pakistan’s 2023 campaign are the aggression, chutzpah, unpredictability and a street-fighter quality that historically has been their hallmark.
For example, Pakistan was knocked out in the quarters in 2015 and 1996; but Wahab Riaz pounding Shane Watson with bouncers in Adelaide and Aamer Sohail’s taunting bat gesture to Venkatesh Prasad, in those respective editions, are still remembered. Compare that to 2023, where member of their World cup winning 1992 side and former captain Wasim Akram criticized captain Babar Azam for the public gesture of accepting a jersey from Virat Kohli after India thumped Pakistan.
The bowling has been listless and the fielding comically bad. The batting meanwhile, has evoked memories of ODIs played in 2000s or 90s.
Statistics as on October 26 evening show that of the top 10 on the batting leaderboard, Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique, the two Pakistanis on the list, have a strike rate of less than 100. The only other batter in that list striking at less than 100 is Virat Kohli, but his average is 118, highest of the World Cup so far. Compare this to other teams: the aggressive starts of Rohit Sharma, the late-order power hitting of Heinrich Klassen or even quick scoring of Rahamanullah Gurbaz and Kusal Mendis.
One of the reasons for this is that Pakistan did not hit a single six in the powerplay (first 10 overs) in any of the games till the one against Afghanistan. Sample this stat: Pakistan has so far hit 24 sixes, while Rohit Sharma himself has smashed 17 and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock and Klassen have 15 each.
Iftikhar Ahmed is the only batsman who has shown an intent to score runs quickly across all games; though he has made only 101 runs, it has come at a strike rate of 140. It is no surprise then that there have been calls to promote him in the batting order.
Polls and fan frenzy have been driving the debate over whether Babar Azam’s cover drive is better than Virat Kohli’s. But Azam has just 157 runs at a strike rate of 79. His cover drive might be exquisite, but as he has realized, cricket is not a beauty contest. Kohli’s has turned out to be far more effective.
Pakistan’s bowling is clearly struggling in the absence of Naseem Shah, who was ruled out due to an injury. This added pressure on Haris Rauf hasn’t helped. The only Pakistani bowler in the wickets leaderboard is Shaheen Shah Afridi; he has just one more than Netherlands’ Bas de Leede. No Pakistani bowler has an economy rate less than 5; compare that to New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner who has 12 wickets at an economy of 4.25 and India’s Jasprit Bumrah who has 11 wickets at an astounding economy of 3.8.
It is not surprising to hear former speedster Shoaib Akhtar remark that none from the current side is a cricketer ‘inspiring enough for kids to pick up the sport’, unlike legends like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan in the past.
It is a no-brainer that every game is a must-win for Pakistan now; but what they perhaps need is more than just match-winning performances. They need to invoke the street-fighter quality from the Pakistani World cup teams of yore.