From poor fitness and fielding to PCB chaos: Decoding Pakistan's dismal run in ODI World Cup
Pakistan are on the verge of early exit from the ODI World Cup 2023 edition. Here's decoding their struggles -
2) Fielding being their Achilles heels
Pakistan have never been a good fielding side. While in the recent years, they did showcase some improvement, they return to their below-par fielding in big-ticket events. In this World Cup, they have dropped quite a few sitters and given reprieves to oppositions. The likes of Usama Mir, Iftikhar Ahmed, etc. have let go off some easy chances as fielding remains Pakistan's Achilles heels.
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3) Babar Azam's disappointing run with the bat, captaincy pressure
Babar Azam's disappointing run with the bat has also not helped Pakistan. Yes, he has three fifties but has not been able to get a big score. Moreover, questions have often been raised on his strike rate. In this World Cup, he is striking at 79 in six innings.
Questions have also been raised on Babar's leadership as former cricketers have pointed fingers at his bowling changes, team selections and body language during crunch situations. Reports have also claimed that the board is already pressing hard for wholesome changes after the World Cup (with Shaheen Afridi, Md Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed in contention to replace Babar as captain).
Meanwhile, Babar has shared that his side has batted well but not turned up with the ball whereas the opposite has also happened on several occasions. In short, Pakistan have not managed a complete team effort so far.
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4) Zaka Ashraf-Babar Azam controversy
In an ARY News broadcast, hosted by Waseem Badami, an alleged screenshot of Pakistan captain Babar's chat with the PCB COO Salman Naseer was shown on live tv. In the chat, the board official was asking whether Babar had called or texted the PCB chief Zaka Ashraf in the middle of the World Cup, as claimed by various media outlets in the country. To this, Babar denied making any such attempt to get in touch with the PCB chairman. However, the screenshot of Babar's chat was shown on live tv, as reportedly instructed by Ashraf to Salman, which caught everyone's attention.
This was severely criticised by former Pakistani players such as Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi, etc. as all this has exposed the chaos in PCB setup and was a breach to Babar's privacy,
While all this might not have a direct effect on the team collectively, it is sure to have impacted Babar in a negative way.
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5) Inzamam-ul-Haq's untimely resigination
On Monday evening, Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down as the PCB chief selector amid allegations of conflict of interest by the board. Inzamam resigned after media reports indicated that the former captain had a stake in a player’s management company registered with the PCB. The reports further claimed that several top players including Babar and Mohammad Rizwan were associated with the company. Amid all this drama and allegations, Inzamam announced his resignation. He has already been criticised left, right and centre for the team selection.
Thus, apart from fielding, fitness and lack of collective effort, Pakistan is tottering outside the field as well with several drama and chaos within the PCB-team management.
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