Major reasons behind Pakistan’s debacle in ODIs

Major reasons behind Pakistan’s debacle in ODIs: After a convincing victory in the Test series, Pakistan were seemingly better prepared for the One Day Internationals than a young England side. The history was surely not favoring Pakistan as they had constantly produced horror results following a remarkable Test series in the UAE.

The first match though was a dream start for the green shirts with England bowing down to a ruthless performance led by Muhammad Hafeez in the batting department. The bowling was at times unplayable for the English batsmen who found life difficult on a dead track. However, the story unfolded in a completely different manner in the next three games where Pakistan were on the receiving end. Here are some major reasons behind Pakistan’s slump:

The combination:

It was quite evident that Pakistan was going nowhere with the team combination. Throughout the series perhaps, the Shaheens were failing to find the right mix.

The decision to open the innings with Babar Azam who is still finding his feet in the team backfired. His performance in the first game as a middle order batsman was a promising one, a run a ball fifty showed sensible head on young shoulders. It was indeed surprising to see a makeshift opener when you have Ahmed Shahzad on the bench along with Hafeez and Sarfaraz in the team.

The sudden retirement of Younis Khan also didn’t help Pakistan’s quest against Eoin Morgan’s men. The decision to call it a day came all of a sudden and took everyone by surprise including the selectors. This unexpected exit also disturbed the team combination as the selectors were in a situation of panic.

The bowling mix:

Usually, all-rounders help skippers and fill the void as the fifth bowler. However, Pakistan were in a confusing sort of tangling altogether. The problem here was that Pakistan had no backup plan. Shoaib Malik was given the responsibility to fill the gap. Anwar Ali was also a matter of concern who failed to answer the prayers of his captain. He was exposed by the explosive batting from Jos Buttler. With the lack of pace, Ali was not trusted to bowl the complete quota. Azhar also didn’t look at him as a wicket-taking option in the penultimate One Day International.

The exclusion of Zafar Gohar was a bad idea after his promising debut in the third game. The boy looks a promising prospect who is surely the future of Pakistan’s spin bowling department. Not too bad with the bat as well, Gohar is one for the future who was sacrificed for the incoming Yasir Shah. Pakistan could’ve gone for two spinners in the last game where fast bowlers were hammered all around the park.

The unpredictable nature strikes again:

It was all going smooth until Pakistan were in deep trouble out of nowhere. Such unpredictability was somewhat visible in the third game where Pakistan were set for a huge total and ended up scoring just beyond two hundred. The lack of responsibility in the middle order and throwing wickets away was the major reason behind the downfall.

The planning didn’t exist especially in the batting department. The roles weren’t defined or understood in the right manner. The last game could’ve been a successful chase if at least for once the anchor sheet role was highlighted. Everyone was busy going big in order to chase the humongous target.

Pakistan must bounce back in the T20 internationals where the mood should be entirely different. Pakistan must follow the footsteps of England and learn the art of bouncing back. The squad carries talented individuals who must perform as a unit under the leadership of Shahid Afridi.

Written by Asif Mathani