The Pakistan cricket crew underneath the management of skipper Babar Azam did not impress throughout the Asia Cup 2023 — the primary substantial take a look at of the Inexperienced Shirts within the One Day Internationals (ODIs).
Apparent flaws have been seen from the very first sport of the match, particularly in batting and fielding however no enhancements have been made.
Pakistan’s top-order Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Azam couldn’t carry out in accordance with expectations within the Asian occasion, which has raised severe issues among the many cricketing circles.
Listed here are the stats of them within the Asia Cup 2023:
| Participant | Runs | Innings /Common |
| Fakhar Zaman | 65 | 4 / @ 16.25 |
| Imam ul Haq | 92 | 3 / @ 30.66 |
| Babar Azam | 207 | 4 / @51.75 |
It needs to be talked about that out of the 207 runs Azam scored, 151 got here in opposition to Nepal whereas in opposition to the remainder of the three groups (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India) he solely managed to attain a complete of 56 runs.
In the meantime, Abdullah Shafique solely acquired an opportunity to bat in a single match, which was a must-win encounter in opposition to Sri Lanka however the 24-year-old delivered, enjoying a cultured knock which included his maiden ODI half-century and making his case for the World Cup 2023 a lot stronger.
One other optimistic from Pakistan’s batting was the constant show from Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
The wicketkeeper batter scored 195 runs in 4 innings at a formidable common of 97.50 which included a match-winning half-century in opposition to Bangladesh within the first Tremendous 4 encounter and one other essential knock of 86 runs in opposition to Sri Lanka in a must-win match.
Iftikhar additionally impressed with the bat, scoring 179 runs in three innings. His 47 off 40 in opposition to the Islanders have been essential as he helped the Inexperienced Shirts survive after an early collapse.
All in all, Pakistan would want to evaluate their choices to repair their batting lineup. With Abdullah delivering and Saud Shakeel — who performs spin properly — nonetheless but to be examined, the Inexperienced Shirts, to an extent, can convey stability to their struggling batting.
One other massive concern for the Pakistani crew is the subpar efficiency of all-rounders, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
Shadab is the vice-captain of the crew and the 24-year-old did not step up massive time when Pakistan required him essentially the most.
Within the Asian occasion, Shadab batted in three innings and he scored a complete of 13 runs at a mean of 4.33. In the meantime, with the ball, he bowled 250 balls and conceded 245 runs whereas taking six wickets.
Out of his six wickets, 4 got here in opposition to Nepal, who have been the Asia Cup debutants.
Aside from Shadab, Faheem batted in a single inning scoring 4 runs. Whereas he bowled in two innings, bowling a complete of 102 balls and conceding 101 runs with solely two wickets to his identify.
Nawaz is one other identify that underperformed in spinning situations. He batted in a single inning and scored 12 runs. In the meantime, with the ball, the left-armer bowled 102 balls and conceded 94 runs however failed to offer Pakistan a breakthrough as he solely bagged one wicket.
The stats are fairly worrying, and with gamers like Usama Mir sitting on the bench and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 lower than 20 days forward, the Inexperienced Shirts have to analyse their choices and repair their beginning XI.
Nonetheless, amid the chaos, Pakistan managed to justify the “Land of Pacers” tag because the tempo trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah picked 26 wickets within the Asia Cup.
Shaheen, who is taken into account arguably essentially the most harmful bowler with the brand new ball, picked ten wickets in 5 innings. Haris bagged 9 whereas Naseem acquired seven to his identify.
Though, one other massive blow that will need to have left the already-shattered Pakistani crew devastated was ESPNcricinfo’s information stating that pacer Naseem Shah is prone to miss all the World Cup following a shoulder damage.
Pakistan have many pacers who can probably cowl for the 20-year-old with Zaman Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani main the charts.
Pakistan are prone to announce their squad for the mega occasion quickly and it could be fascinating to see who makes the lower.
