When it comes to top-quality cricket, Pakistan is a perennial frontrunner for playing some of the best cricket. But this time, they are going against the odds by losing 2 matches in an already difficult tour. Since the last few days all the focus has been on Karachi, and so I want to discuss what could go wrong now that the other games have gone through with no more drama or any big score.

 

One thing that will go wrong if we see Karachi again is their fielding choices. They just have not shown enough character in both first innings and second innings with many times running out of fielders. We saw it after Sohaib Maqsood was injured and how Shaheen Afridi started his captaincy and then later he decided to run the rest of the way even if the game became too tight. No matter how much bowling pressure Pakistan had during the entire past match that’s how crucial it might be to get them back into form.

 

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was outstanding as usual and was always looking at scoring maximum runs at every ball. He missed one or two deliveries but he made sure he is getting his team back into a position where they can take the game to the opposition. However due to the rain, Pakistan lost only three out of 17 overs and their batting wasn’t good enough to play well. As many teams have done before when given more time than West Indies but unfortunately those same teams could not make them payback and were defeated as well. This is where Babar Azam stepped in and proved his worth once again.

 

The bowling department is another area where Pakistan faltered. Even though Kagiso Rabada and Sohaib Maqsood took care of the bowlers and gave excellent support the likes of Yasir Shah and Anrich Nortje didn't do well enough. Rabada's bowling also did not help much and conceded most of the total which makes it hard to trust him at the right position. It is also important to keep in mind that Bhuvneshwar Kumar started off as batsman but his decision to bring left-arm spinner Hasan Ali into the team seems like it’s meant to be used for spinners and not batsmen and I am not buying that at any cost. So let us hope his decision might be for batsmen and not spinner’s.

 

One player who should be seen playing alongside Khaleel Ahmed who is yet to get his place in the side was wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. He did everything in his power but couldn't convert his opportunities and failed to keep his shots away from his body. His poor shot selection allowed Usman Khan to break the shackles of batting in front of the stumps and that’s where the mistakes lie and you need everyone behind the stumps to hit those fielders.

 

Another question would be whether they have tried playing Mohammad Amir for someone else. If they have, things could have got really messy for them. At least he could have kept pace with the bat which might have kept them close to winning. That’s not to say that we don’t know that he's capable of doing anything but in my opinion that depends on how they look at him and how he feels about the situation. It won't do any harm if Mohammad Amir plays along with Fawad Alam but if I have to pick between this pair, I am leaning towards Mohammad Amir in this case. The reason is, he can do whatever he wants to and the fact that he’s not a great batter.

 

It’s extremely tough to tell if they would try to play Babar Azam as Shoaib Malik or Asif Ali but personally I think Babar Azam is better player of the job than Naseem Shah because if Malik is there, he can lift these batsmen and lead the innings. But if I was Azam, I'd try and hold off the start till I get into the middle order. Because I have been to know that I’d never be able to come up with such a brilliant move and when I take that risk I get myself beaten. It’s something that Muhammad Hafeez talked about and that no one can deny him but it’s very difficult to explain it to people. And, if I’m having fun I know you can make me play with you and I would rather play under your guidance.

 

So here I want to end with saying that, they didn’t play the fast one properly and they certainly didn’t play their best batsman. To improve upon their performance, I think team management and coaches need to give chances and players need to play without thinking twice. You need to understand the tactics and what they mean! Also, keep in mind that they won’t have anyone to cover for them and that’s something they will have to deal with. Lastly, make sure you give your batsmen room and let the loose and that will help them win the match. There’s nothing better than watching them fail and then trying to fix the problem and getting them back on track.