Win the World Cup and settle the Asia Cup

This time in the Asia Cup, cricket lovers including me had high expectations from the national team, it seemed like we would win the trophy.

On paper, our team looked stronger than India, but unfortunately the performance was not so good, at least the final should have been played, but the players could not live up to the expectations, even though this tournament is hosted by PCB. But only four matches could be held in the country, travel difficulties can also be attributed to the ups and downs in the Pakistani team’s game, but as a professional you have to deal with such problems.

Everyone was declaring Pakistan as the favorite, perhaps the cricketers suffered from additional pressure, then the bad weather in Sri Lanka did not allow the team to set, rain stopped the game again and again, if the Indian board and the Asian Cricket Council. If the top official Jay Shah had not been obstinate, the Asia Cup would have been held at an alternative venue, but he did not want to hold the Super Four matches anywhere other than Colombo. First, he spoiled the fun by not sending his team to Pakistan. Keep watching, in the present era cricket is played only for financial gain.

Everyone knows that the matches in Pakistan and India generate huge income, that’s why the reserve day was also kept. It was not like this in any other competition. It is surprising that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh also did not raise their voice about it. Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka was also repeatedly stopped due to the weather, there was no reserve day, if it had remained incomplete, the host team would have reached the final, Pakistan was also troubled by injuries in the tournament.

Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf were injured first, then before the crucial match Imamul Haq and Saud Shakeel were also beset by problems, Fakhr Zaman had to be fed despite being out of form but he could not take advantage of this opportunity, Abdullah Shafiq. batted well, the opening issues should be resolved soon, after watching Babar Azam’s batting, I felt that he will play a big innings but got out after being set, Mohammad Haris does not seem ready for international cricket yet. They should be given an opportunity to gain experience by playing domestic cricket.

If Muhammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed did not play responsibly, it would have been difficult for the team to make a big score. At one point in the bowling, the match seemed to be out of hand, but Shaheen Shah Afridi took 2 wickets in 2 consecutive balls to bring the team back into the game. Come on, Zaman Khan’s fame is due to his excellent bowling in the closing overs, he played well in his first international match, if not for the boundary from Edge, he could have given Pakistan victory.

If we analyze the entire tournament, our bowling was not great, we are most proud of our bowlers, but they could not get out of the burden of the worst defeat in the match against India, pacers still performed a little. But the performance of the spinners has been very disappointing, the World Cup is being held in India where the pitches will be favorable for slow bowlers, in such a case we should choose quality spinners, Shadab Khan is not living up to expectations, he should improve his game. , the top-order problems persist in the batting as well.

Babar Azam still needs to learn more as a captain, the World Cup is just a few days away, such a performance before that does not bode well, but it will surely give the players an opportunity to correct their mistakes, it felt like that. On many occasions, the team looked under pressure, this problem has to be overcome, in India, the host fans will also be under pressure in every match, in such a situation, if the players do not control their nerves, how will they win, especially one in Ahmedabad. In front of lakhs of people, one has to show one’s full potential while keeping one’s composure against the Indian team.

Although the performance in the Asia Cup has not been good, I still have high hopes for the Pakistan team to perform well in the World Cup. Such defeats help to keep a foot on the ground, the work of Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has increased now, forming a balanced squad is a challenge for him, some selected players of the Asia Cup team are being questioned. must be changed.

The most important task of the team management is to make the players believe in their abilities and bring out good performance. Psychologists are also there, they should also increase the confidence of the team. Pakistan made 5 changes for the match against Sri Lanka, World Cup. A few days ago, such a situation does not look good, fitness issues are also a cause of concern, Naseem Shah is at the peak of his career, but it is being said about him that he may not play the first few matches of the World Cup due to shoulder pain. If they can, it will be a big loss for the team.

Regardless of the results in Asia Cup, fans should support the team, these players are capable of giving the best results, once the team is on the winning track, it will not be easy for any opponent to stop it, I hope. The team will make up for the poor Asia Cup performance by winning the World Cup, I am eager to see Babar Azam scoring centuries on Indian soil and Shaheen Shah Afridi taking wickets, hopefully it will happen.

Former Member PCB Governing Board