Cricket World Cup 2023: Assessing Pakistan’s Hopes, Historical Patterns, and Middle Order Challenges in Golden Generation of Cricketers
In the cricket world, do you recall the last ICC World Cup when Pakistan was an early favorite? Most likely, your mind goes back to the 2003 World Cup, where Pakistan’s status as a favorite fell after losing to India. Legends like Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam, Shoaib, and Shahid Afridi exited early that tournament. In fact, the 1999 World Cup remains a memorable one, where Pakistan faced a ‘dream team’ label but lost to Australia in the final.
Cricket World Cup 2023 Assessing Pakistan Hopes and Historical Patterns
Fast forward two decades, and another chance arises as the Cricket World Cup 2023 is just months away. Pakistani fans hold hope that their team will shine. We are Assessing Pakistan hopes in this world cup. During these years, the team has let down supporters on various occasions, causing heartaches. Whether it was the shock exit in 2007, the 2011 semifinal loss to India, quarter-final defeats in 2015 and 2019, the pattern of disappointments has been hard to bear. Yet this time, believers in the Pakistani team find validation in their ICC ODI ranking, which just topped the charts following a series victory against Afghanistan.
The batting lineup showcases stars: Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Imam-ul-Haq, all ranking high. In bowling, the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah are prominent. Spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, and leg-spinner Usama Mir are shaping up well. The middle order boasts talents like Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha.
Critical Analysis of Pakistan cricket Team
Critics, however, call for careful assessment, considering the relatively weaker opposition Afghanistan. While hope is valid, questions about the team’s overall improvement remain. In a podcast discussion with Imran Tahir Arbab and journalist Omar Farooq Kalson, the consensus is that Pakistan is now a top-four favorite before the World Cup.
Imran Arbab emphasizes that Pakistan’s ranking reflects its recent strength, and past concerns like the middle-order seem to be resolving. He believes they have players for every role, and the difference in talent between the playing XI and alternates is diminishing.
Omar Farooq Kalson echoes this sentiment. He highlights that the current squad of 16 is robust, addressing the earlier discrepancy in talent levels. The question now centers on creating the right combination from these talented players. This shift is welcomed, indicating Pakistan’s strengthening stance on the cricket stage. With the World Cup on the horizon, the team’s capabilities and potential for further improvement are subjects of anticipation and analysis.
It seems that we are not fully prepared with an 11 yet. In One Day cricket, there are more overs, so specialized players are needed for each position. So far, we have some issues in our middle order that need to be addressed before the World Cup. However, Omar’s point was that Pakistan is definitely among the top four favorite teams to win the World Cup. He said, “Pakistan is included in the top four favorite teams to win the World Cup.” The Golden Generation of Pakistani cricketers is something we can rely on. It’s worth noting that Pakistan often faces cricket-related controversies during World Cup years, and discussions about captaincy continue during this time.
The golden generation of cricketers we can trust
Before the World Cups of 2011 and 2015, there were ongoing disputes about the captaincy between Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq, while in the run-up to the 2003 World Cup, there was a similar tussle between Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Similarly, in the lead-up to the current World Cup, there were reports circulating before the series against Afghanistan, raising questions about Babar Azam’s captaincy, and even PCB Chairman Najam Sethi’s statements weren’t exactly encouraging.
However, the messages of encouragement from the players themselves, particularly Babar Azam, seem to have dispelled these notions, and after winning the series against New Zealand, it’s almost impossible to remove Babar Azam from the captaincy position before the World Cup. Speaking about this, Omar Farooq mentioned that the environment created by the PCB before the World Cup has had negative effects on the team’s preparation. “They hold press conferences to suggest that they are considering the World Cup, but in reality, that’s not the case.”
He said, “The reason is that despite having a good squad, we often falter on the big stage in major tournaments, just as it happened in previous T20 World Cups.” Imaad Wasim mentioned that the PCB doesn’t make an effort to transition players from one format to another. He said, “This time, it was also believed that when Shadab Khan was appointed as the head of the selection committee, something significant would occur.” Then the discussions began about making Shahnawaz Dahani the vice-captain, but the strength of this team is that it remains united at such times and respects each other, including the captain.”
Imaad mentioned, “Our generation has started to believe in this team due to the presence of the Golden Generation of cricketers. This is important because they support each other, they are talented, and at the moment, a team has formed in which we can have confidence.” The term “Golden Generation” has been used for these players for the past few years, ever since they emerged on the scene after the start of the Pakistan Super League, and most of them have become part of the Pakistan team through this format. However, after the World Cup 2019, Pakistan has played significantly fewer ODIs compared to other teams. During this period, apart from Afghanistan, all other teams have played more ODIs than us.
Mix-up Of Top Order With Middle Order
“The issue of middle-order can’t be resolved by using top-order players,” journalist Omar Farooq detailed while talking about it. He said, ” Why are openers being used at number four? If Haris Sohail hadn’t been injured, Fakhar Zaman wouldn’t even have been a part of this team, and they’ve shown better performance in domestic cricket in this format.” Omar Farooq’s point was that it’s better to drop or select players for another format based on their performance in that particular format rather than transitioning players from one format to another. He referenced the case of Shadab Khan, who was dropped from ODIs due to poor performance in T20s.
Omar Farooq mentioned that now you should inform players from one to number seven about their roles and give them game time in the future games. Imaan Tariq mentioned that “In my opinion, Agha Salman has shown a very good performance, and people are undermining him. He has come forward as a solution to the middle-order issues for Pakistan. Similarly, Saud Shakeel is performing really well, and there are players like Mohammad Haris and Fakhar Zaman who can finish the matches for you.” They are also against trying Shahnawaz Masood and Abdullah Shafique as openers. They said, ” Both Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood can be considered as backup openers, but there will still be questions regarding their role in the middle order..”
