Pakistan played its first international match under the new regime of Misbah Ul Haq against Sri Lanka a couple of weeks back and convincingly won the ODI by 60 odd runs.

They posted a 300+ total on back of a Babar Azam century, a Fakhar Zaman fifty, and a late flourish from Iftikhar Ahmed who looked very promising on his return to the international fold.

Pakistan followed that win with another one, this time chasing down a 290 odd score with few balls to spare. They won it comfortably by 5 wickets and Iftikhar was there once again at the end.

The successful chase was set up by the openers - Fakhar who followed his 54 with a 76, and Abid Ali who impressed once again with a well made 74.

Abid looks like a million bucks in the middle.

ODI series won 2-0 and there was hardly any hue and cry about it. Pakistan extended its ODI winning streak to 7 and no one made any noise about it.

That's fine. It was a second string Sri Lankan team so wins were expected.

But chasing 290 odd is not something Pakistan does often, so I feel it was a great win.

Moving on to the T20s and Pakistan could not have started off on a worse footing.

The first public reaction was to the return of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal to Pakistan's T20 squad. Just this resulted in tremendous amount of criticism for the new Chief Selector / Head Coach, Misbah Ul Haq.

How could he bring both of them back into the team?

Shehzad and Umar Akmal are tried, tested, and failed batsmen at the International level so what really resulted in them being recalled?

For starters, Pakistan's two most experienced T20 batsmen, Shoaib Malik (averaging 44 in T20s since 2016) and Mohammad Hafeez (averaging 31 since 2016) were unavailable due to their CPL commitments.

This meant, Pakistan needed 2 replacements for the squad. But no one expected the 2 replacements to be Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal.

Umar Akmal had not played a T20 for Pakistan since he was axed in September 2016, while Shehzad was dropped in June 2018.

So they must have done something during this time to warrant selection, right? Let us take a look.


AHMED SHEHZAD

In PSL 2019, Ahmed Shehzad scored 311 runs at an average of 51.83 and strike rate of 126.93. He knocked 4 fifties in 8 innings with a highest score of 99.

Shehzad was one of the only two batsmen who averaged 50+ during the PSL. The other was AB De Villiers.

This performance justifies selection in my opinion. But what I don't understand is that while Pakistan's first choice openers in T20s - Fakhar and Babar - are fit and fine and performing, what is the need of an Ahmed Shehzad? And what is the need to drop Fakhar and play Shehzad? And what is the need of playing Shehzad at #3 when all his runs have been scored while opening?

Selection might be justified, but giving him opportunities over Fakhar makes no sense.

UMAR AKMAL
Umar did not even have a great PSL 2019 like Shehzad. He scored 277 runs in 10 innings at an average of 34.62 and strike rate of 137.12.

Decent numbers, but there were many who performed better than this; for example Imam Ul Haq (who is not considered a T20 batsman) and Umar's elder brother Kamran Akmal who was the leading national run scorer in PSL 2019 (behind only Shane Watson).

In December 2018, there was a National T20 Cup played in Pakistan. Umar Akmal played 5 matches scoring 109 runs at an average of 21.8.

Surely this performance does not deserve selection. There was a plethora of local batsmen who were far more impressive than Umar Akmal.

So while Shehzad's case of being selected still holds merit, Umar Akmal's does not.

Both of them however could have proven every one wrong through their performances but their failures in the two T20 losses to Sri Lanka have made them become a laughing stock.

Especially Umar Akmal who registered a golden duck in both games!

Misbah and Sarfraz have to be blamed for selecting them, playing them over the likes of Fakhar, Haris, and Iftikhar, and then persisting with them.

But I feel the reaction from the public has been a bit overboard.

I mean there are people out there calling for Misbah's head over this.

Give the guy a break for God's sake.

Pakistan just won the ODI series 2-0. I didn't see any praise from anyone. In fact no one even discussed the matches.

But the moment Pakistan loses two games, people are out with their knives and guns.

Bit overboard I feel.

The World T20 is a year away. Pakistan will play a dozen or so T20s before that tournament. This is not enough international exposure for new blood to be inducted into the team. There isn't enough time for preparation.

I also feel that Pakistan's T20 team is well set so you don't really need new players.

Shehzad and Akmal were brought back to fill in the shoes of Malik and Hafeez and with the CPL coming to a close, Pakistan's veterans will be back and the two prodigal sons will return to the wilderness.

I really don't think such reaction is warranted over what has happened. 

Pakistan are playing their first series since the World Cup, and while the results in ODIs were heartening, the team has been disastrous in the format in which they have been the top ranked side for some time now.

Before I talk about the series against Sri Lanka, I also want to take note of what happened during Pakistan's off season.

Pakistan got a new chief selector, they got a new head coach who is also the chief selector, got a new bowling coach too who is also the former head coach and former bowling coach, a new domestic structure was put in place, the newly designed Quaid-e-Azam Trophy kicked off, and as always there was an unlimited supply of drama, conjecture, and memes ... 

Misbah Ul Haq at the Helm ...Again!
For 7 years he ruled Pakistan cricket as captain. During that time, Pakistan's Test team reached unprecedented heights, but ODI and T20I cricket suffered like never before.

I feel the same may happen during his time as Head Coach. He is the best person for the job when it comes to Test Cricket, and given the start of the first ever World Test Championship, the timing could not have been more ideal for Misbah to take charge of Pakistan's Test Team.

But we also have two World T20 tournaments in the next two years, and for that I fear Misbah is perhaps not the right man to be coaching the team.

We can ignore ODIs for now as that is what all nations seem to be doing for the next two years.

Head Coach is also Chief Selector
Misbah is not only Pakistan's new Head Coach, he is also the new Chief Selector. This is the first time that anyone has been given this dual responsibility and it makes Misbah the most accountable person in Pakistan Cricket.

Not to mention the most Powerful too.

Pakistan, by all means, has become Misbah's team.

Only time will tell whether this dual role works or not, but in my view this structure has more merits than flaws.

Giving Misbah this dual role has taken away the blame game that has plagued Pakistan cricket for ages. Considering the close relationship between Captain and Coach, they will always get the squad that they want - which is great for Pakistan.

Waqar Younis is Back!
Again!? After several failed stints as head coach and bowling coach, Waqar is back as the new bowling coach of Pakistan. Not sure what Azhar Mahmood did wrong, neither sure of why we had to go back to Waqar rather than bringing in someone fresh.

Waqar has not had a good past as a coach. Pakistan has not had a good time with him as coach.

The only positive out of this is that Misbah and Waqar share a good working relationship.

Hopefully this time Waqar can focus on improving Pakistan's pacers and not worry about power struggles.

The New Domestic Cricket Structure
For 3 decades, Imran Khan has been voicing his opinion on how Pakistan's domestic cricket needs to be improved in order to achieve International success.

All these years, no one implemented Imran Khan's suggestions. But now that he is the Prime Minister, he can ensure that his plans are implemented.

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class domestic competition, featuring 6 regional teams under the new structure kicked off. Imran Khan believed that this format will provide for more quality cricket and will develop better cricketers for international cricket.

I am not too sure that has happened. But what we have seen is a number of tons and big scores by batsmen!

On the opening day, Sami Aslam and Abid Ali cracked unbeaten double centuries. Salman Butt even followed it up with one. Ashfaq Ahmed from KPK has already hit 3 centuries in as many matches, including a 173! International Azhar Ali, Kamran Akmal, and Mohammad Rizwan have both knocked two centuries each. And a number of others have scored tons too including Imam Ul Haq, Shan Masood, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, Fawad Alam, Adnan Akmal, and several others.

No bowler has really stood out. Yasir Shah is leading the wicket tally, but he has leaked so many runs resulting in a 40+ average, which at domestic level is quite mediocre. The finger spinners, Zafar Gohar and Bilal Asif have better returns and are a wicket behind Yasir.

Rahat Ali is the only pacer with some decent returns, but I refuse to mention any thing more about him.

While batsmen continue to make merry in the domestic circuit, they have struggled big time against Sri Lanka - particularly in the T20s.

Series vs Sri Lanka
Pakistan's first ODI assignment after the World Cup was a cakewalk. Their main batsmen - Babar, Imam, Fakhar, and Haris - all scored runs. When Abid Ali got an opportunity, he showed why he should be a regular in the ODI XI. And Iftikhar Ahmed, who seems to be the replacement for Shoaib Malik/Mohammad Hafeez, displayed enough potential to get a longer run with the team.

Iftikhar was there at the end in both the games finishing off Pakistan's innings in style.

Pakistan put up a score and defended it, and they also chased one down. Both with quite some ease.

ODIs won 2-0. Job Done. All praise for new support staff and Pakistan who took their ODI winning streak to 7.

Considering this performance, the T20s should have been a walk in the park. After all Pakistan are the #1 T20 team in the World. They have won more T20s and more T20 series than any other team in the past 2-3 years. They have beaten all comers, easily and comprehensively.

Yet, a new look Sri Lanka side has thrashed them in the first two T20s.

Prodigal Sons Return
The T20 series started on the worst possible foot with the inclusion of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal in the T20 squad.

I ignored it thinking that the presence of Babar, Fakhar, Haris, Asif Ali, Iftikhar, Nawaz, Imad, and the skipper Sarfraz would mean that Shehzad and Akmal will only warm the benches.

But no. They played. They played both T20s. They failed in both T20s.

What else was anyone expecting?

Shehzad and Akmal have been around for 10 years now, having made their International debut in 2009. This is enough time to realize that they will never fulfill the potential of their immense talent at this level. It is time to leave them forever in the domestic structure. It is fine, International cricket is not for them.

Had Pakistan invested this much time and  money in some other batsmen, they would be reaping the benefits by now.

I don't know what Misbah was thinking when including them in the squad and then in the playing XI. I don't know what Sarfraz was thinking when backing them. But at least we all know now that it is game over for them. Forever.

With Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez returning from the CPL and available for future T20 series, there will be no place for Shehzad and Akmal anyway.

Iftikhar is a good talent and he has shown in the 3 innings he has played so far that he is one for the long haul.

I hope Misbah has a better time when selecting and coaching the team for Australia !

Pakistan recently announced a 16-man squad for the 5 match ODI series against Australia, which will be played in the UAE, starting 22nd March.

Pakistan have decided to rest a number of their key players, including captain Sarfraz Ahmed, keeping in mind the hectic PSL schedule and the upcoming ICC World Cup.

There are more ODIs to be played leading up to the World Cup so Pakistan can afford to rest the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, and Shaheen Afridi who have been playing all formats for Pakistan since the start of this season.

This also gives the Green Caps a chance to test their bench strength and build a strong squad for the World Cup. There are still a few places up for grabs in the 15-man WC squad, and this series against Australia will help the selectors decide who will be on that plane to England in the summer.

Here is a look at the new additions to Pakistan's ODI squad.

THE BATSMEN
In my view, Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Hafeez, and Malik are automatic selections for Pakistan's World Cup Squad, which leaves space for two more batsmen.

Asif Ali wasted the ODI opportunities he was given, and Hussain Talat did not do enough either to grab his chances.

This sets up the competition among the 4 new names in Pakistan's ODI squad and any of these two have the chance to make it to the World Cup by impressing the selectors and team management against Australia.


UMAR AKMAL
Not a new name for anyone, but the last time Umar Akmal played an ODI was over two years ago in January 2017. He still has a healthy average and strike rate in ODIs but he was dumped by Pakistan following lackluster form that saw him make only two 50+ scores in his last 25 ODI innings.

Umar has been in scintillating form in the PSL having scored 228 runs in 8 innings at an average of 38 and strike rate of 136.5.

In addition to this, he has also performed well at the domestic level - in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup he was among the leading run scorers with 410 runs in 10 innings at an average of 41.

Umar Akmal has been given a great opportunity to extend his domestic form to the international level and cement a place in Pakistan's World Cup squad.

SHAN MASOOD
He is also not a new name, however Shan is yet to play ODI cricket for Pakistan. While he has been in and out of the test team for the past few years, he has been on the fringes of ODI selection on the back of his magnificent domestic form.

Shan's current List A average of 56.5 has just fallen behind Michael Bevan's, but a few months ago, Shan held the world record List A average.

Shan had a breakthrough 2018, finishing the year as the leading run scorer in all List A matches. He amassed 1,789 runs in 30 innings at an average of 74.54. His 30 innings included 7 hundreds and 10 fifties!

That run tally included 5 innings for Pakistan A against the England Lions, where Shan was the second highest run scorer between both sides, with 238 runs at an average of 47.6.

With Fakhar rested for the series against Australia, Shan will definitely make his ODI debut and he is in with a chance to make the World Cup squad as a third opener.

ABID ALI
He is a domestic veteran having been around Pakistan's domestic circuit for the past 14 years, during which Abid Ali has played 91 List A and 102 First Class Matches.

He averages 38 in both formats, which is not world class, but following a successful 2018, he was deserving of chance, which he has got now.

2018 was his most successful year yet, where he scored 1,318 runs in 24 List A innings, including 3 hundreds and 9 fifties. He ended the year with a List A average of 60! This included 299 runs in 5 innings in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup where he averaged 59.8. His 5 innings included 4 fifties with a top score of 91.

He got only two chances in the List A matches against England Lions, and in one of those he smashed 140. He was also among the leading run scorers in First Class matches against the England Lions and New Zealand A, scoring a century against each of the teams.

Abid Ali will have to make the most of his chances against Australia to be in the running for the 1-2 batting spots that are available in Pakistan's WC squad.

SAAD ALI
He has been around the domestic circuit for almost 7 years and has an impressive List A and First Class record, averaging over 46 in both formats.

Saad impressed in the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup scoring 243 runs in 5 innings at an average of 48.6. He was also impressive in the only First Class innings he got against New Zealand A scoring 144.

Like Abid Ali, Saad will also have to make the most of his chances against Australia to try and impress the selectors for a World Cup selection.

THE BOWLERS
Pakistan is spoiled for choice when it comes to pacers. The likes of Mohammad Aamir, Usman Khan Shinwari, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, and Hasan Ali are already in the fold.

And for the upcoming series against Australia, Pakistan have recalled Junaid Khan, given a first time chance to Mohammad Abbas, and are also going to try out the raw pace of 18-year old Mohammad Hasnain.

On the spin front, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim should be the first pick for Pakistan's World Cup Squad, but Yasir Shah could also be considered if he can replicate his test form into ODIs in the series against Australia.

It is going to be tough for Pakistan to pick 7 bowlers out of this talented line up for the World Cup.




























MOHAMMAD HASNAIN
He is only 18 years old and has only played 2 First Class Matches and 4 T20 Matches - all of them in the ongoing PSL.

He has picked up 5 wickets in the 4 PSL matches and has impressed everyone with his sheer pace, at times clocking over 150kmh!

Considering Pakistan's battery of pacers, Mohammad Hasnain may find it tough to make it to the World Cup squad, but you never know what could happen if he excels in the ODI series against Australia.

MOHAMMAD ABBAS
He has been Pakistan's Test spearhead for the past two years, picking up 66 wickets at an average of under 19 in the 14 tests he has played.

He has an impressive List A record too with an average a shade under 28 and an economy rate well under 5. Yet he has never been tried in ODIs by Pakistan.

He has had most of his test success on the docile UAE pitches, and he also spearheaded Pakistan's test win at Lord's last summer with an 8 wicket haul that got him the Man of the Match Award.

His bowling style is well suited for English pitches and if he performs in the ODIs against Australia he could be the first name on Pakistan's team sheet come the World Cup.

JUNAID KHAN
Injuries and indifferent attitude of the selectors towards him has kept Junaid in and out of Pakistan's ODI squads.

He is among the senior bowlers for Pakistan and has a super international record with 104 wickets at an average of 27.8 and an economy rate of 5.2.

In my view he is an automatic selection for the World Cup, but with this ODI series against Australia being considered his comeback, he would need to impress the right people given the number of left arm pacers Pakistan already has.

YASIR SHAH
In the 19 ODIs that Yasir has played, of which the last was in July 2018, he has never really excelled the way he has in Tests.

He is Pakistan's go to spinner in tests, but Shadab and Imad have been preferred in the shorter formats.

Including Yasir in the presence of Shadab and Imad along with the part time of Hafeez and Malik seems superfluous, and two leg spinners in a playing XI never really makes sense.

I don't think Yasir has a chance to make it to the World Cup squad, and it could be that he was considered for this series to allow Shadab some rest.


Pakistan are going into the series against Australia with 5 uncapped players - Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Saad Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, and Mohammad Abbas; and 3 players who are returning to ODIs - Umar Akmal, Junaid Khan, and Yasir Shah.

It is the perfect opportunity for all of these players to display their talent and book a ticket to England for the summer.

It will be interesting to watch how these players perform in the ODI series against Australia and who from there makes it to the World Cup party.

The third ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was one of those ODIs where everything went according to plan. It happens rarely for Pakistan but when it does it feels like there is no team better than them.

The openers gave Pakistan a solid start. The middle order consolidated the platform. The late order accelerated and ended the innings on a high note. The new ball bowlers got early breakthroughs. The spinners choked the middle order. The fielders caught well. The wicketkeeper took some breathtaking catches.

Everyone clicked. Everything worked. Pakistan won comprehensively.

When they perform like this it makes you wonder why they can't do it more consistently. However, despite being notorious for playing like champions one day and like clowns the other, some semblance of consistency has definitely crept into this ODI team.

Since the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh, Pakistan has played 6 ODIs - 3 vs Zimbabwe and 3 vs Sri Lanka. In 4 of the ODIs, Pakistan batted first and posted a total in excess of 280; in the other 2 ODIs, they successfully chased targets above 250 comfortably.

Does anyone remember the last time Pakistan played 6 ODIs with this level of consistency?

Does anyone remember how many times Pakistan posted a total above 280 in the 4 years they played under Misbah?

Does anyone remember how many times Pakistan successfully chased a target above 250 under Misbah?

Lets answer these questions.

Batting First under Misbah
In the 4 years between 2011 and 2015, while Misbah was captain of the ODI team, Pakistan batted first in 40 ODIs (barring ODIs vs Associates). In those 40 ODIs, Pakistan scored over 280 a mere 5 times.

Moreover, Pakistan's average score in those 40 ODIs was 235.

Chasing under Misbah
In the 4 years between 2011 and 2015, while Misbah was captain of the ODI team, Pakistan chased targets in 37 ODIs (barring ODIs vs Associates). In these 37 ODIs, Pakistan successfully chased a target of 250 or above only twice!

So basically, what Pakistan achieved in 4 years and 77 ODIs under Misbah, is pretty much what Pakistan has managed to achieve in 4 months and 9 ODIs under Azhar Ali.

What a joke! What a waste of 4 years.

Batting First & Chasing under Azhar Ali

In 9 ODIs under Azhar Ali, whether batting first or second, Pakistan have failed to cross 250 only once.

So what has changed for Pakistan? What are they doing differently now? What were they missing under Misbah?

I can think of a few reasons.

1. The Captain's Attitude

It is no secret that Misbah had a defensive mindset and Pakistan never adopted the modern approach to ODIs under him. Not losing wickets was the order of the day instead of trying to take risks and bat with a high run rate. Misbah himself never tried to play his natural game and instead built a game that focused on blocking endlessly and cutting loose only near the end of the innings and losing his wicket while doing so. The entire batting order played defensively and as a result Pakistan hardly scored enough runs to win ODIs.

Misbah's approach to batting was so outdated that instead of progressing, Pakistan's ODI cricket actually regressed during his 4-year tenure, which ended with Pakistan languishing at number 8 in ODI rankings.

Azhar Ali, on the other hand, started his ODI captaincy career by accepting the fact that ODI cricket can no longer be played the way Pakistan had been playing it for the past 4 years. He showed awareness of his own game and focused on improving his own strike rate and asking the same of his team mates.

While Misbah mostly played at number 5 and blocked away his time at the crease, Azhar Ali took on the responsibility of opening the innings and taking charge from the get go. Misbah was happy blocking the ball back to the bowlers, Azhar Ali charges down and clubs the ball over the bowlers' heads.

Talk about taking responsibility head on and leading from the front.

While Misbah the batsman did alright as captain, it was never enough. He also pales in comparison to Azhar Ali the batsman in the short period that Azhar has been captain.

2. Utilization of Key Players

Mohammad Hafeez is a key batsman in Pakistan's line up and he was key under Misbah as well. However, under Misbah, Hafeez was entrusted with playing the anchor role and his instructions were largely to keep one end intact. Not only did that curb the scoring rate but also denied Pakistan of aggressive starts considering that Hafeez either opens or plays at number 3.

Under Azhar Ali however, Hafeez has shown more aggression. The change is apparent and it is quite visible that the instructions from the captain and the dressing room are quite different from what they used to be with Misbah in charge.

The difference is highlighted by Hafeez' significantly higher strike rate under Azhar Ali as compared to under Misbah.

Shoaib Malik is a player who suffered a lot under Misbah. He lost his touch around the same time that he lost his captaincy to Younis Khan in 2009, however under Misbah he was constantly in and out of the team and did not seem to have a permanent position in the batting order.

Every time Malik would make a comeback to the team on the back of his prolific domestic form, Misbah would use him sparingly at 6 or 7. Malik was never able to translate his domestic form on the international stage and finally was out of favor with the selectors.

Out of the 21 innings that Malik batted in under Misbah, 15 of them were at 6 or 7. It makes you wonder why you would use him there considering that he bats at 4 in domestic cricket and that majority of his international success has also come at numbers 3 and 4.

The difference between his performance under Misbah and under Azhar Ali is drastic!

Under Azhar, Malik has comfortably slotted at number 5 from where he has successfully finished games for Pakistan while chasing, and he has taken advantage of solid platforms and played aggressively to give Pakistan strong finishes while batting first.

We finally have the Malik of the mid-2000s back. Unfortunately, Misbah never utilized him to his full potential.

Haris Sohail made his debut under Misbah after several successful domestic seasons. He displayed his prowess soon enough, yet for some reason he too had to curb his natural aggressive instinct under Misbah. Just take a look at the drastic difference between his strike rates under the different captains he has played under thus far in his short career.

Umar Akmal is another player who was wasted under Misbah. The junior Akmal played 67 ODIs under Misbah and batted in 59 of those. In 15 innings he batted at number 5, while in 35 innings he batted at number 6. Umar averaged 35 and had a strike rate of 86.6 under Misbah, which is similar to his career stats. He is one of the only 3 batsmen from Pakistan who average above 35 with a strike rate above 80 (other two being Saeed Anwar and Zaheer Abbas).

Umar is by far the most talented batsman to come out of Pakistan in the past decade, yet today he finds himself out of the international scene. Under Misbah, he was used as merely a slogger, despite various requests from him to play up the order. A batsman with his ability and stats to match should have been playing at 3 or 4, yet Misbah continuously played him at 6 while persisting with the likes of Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan in the top order.

Even Azhar Ali has been performing far better as captain than he did in his initial ODIs under Misbah. He had a pretty good average back then, but look at the difference in strike rates, which clearly highlights the changing mindset and approach.

3. Persistence with Non-Performers

I will never understand Misbah's fascination with the likes of Asad Shafiq. It is obvious to everyone that Asad is an absolutely magnificent test batsmen, yet at the same time he is a total misfit and atrocious in ODIs. I never understood why Misbah persisted with him for so long and that too at number 3 or 4 while the likes of Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, and Mohammad Rizwan either warmed the benches or languished lower down the order.

It really makes you wonder why Misbah never fought hard for Fawad Alam's inclusion the way he did for Asad Shafiq's.


While Misbah has been a brilliant captain in tests and has even gone on to win more matches as test captain than any other captain in the history of Pakistan cricket, he was completely rubbish as an ODI captain. He has been the driving force behind Pakistan's rise to number 3 in the test rankings, while at the same time he has been the sole reason behind Pakistan's fall to number 8 in the ODI rankings.

Not only did Misbah cramp Pakistan's batting in ODIs, he made the batsmen around him play defensively as well. It is the same players who are now flourishing under Azhar Ali, which goes to show what Pakistan has been missing in ODIs for 4 years.

With Haris Sohail and Sohaib Maqsood out with injury and the likes of Sami Aslam and Babar Azam warming the benches, it augurs well for Pakistan's batting bench strength.

The future looks bright, yet it could have looked this way had the PCB not sacked Afridi and replaced him with Misbah at the helm 4 years ago. Probably the biggest mistake ever in Pakistan's ODI history.

Nasir Jamshed may not have done much as batsman besides scoring three ODI centuries against India, but he has definitely started a trend in Pakistan. He is the showstopper of Pakistan Cricket Parody accounts on Twitter. There are so many parody accounts on Twitter now that it has become hard to keep a track of all of them. I don't know which one of them came first but they are all doing a fine job. None better than BIG NAS however.

Here are some of the prominent ones:



1. BIG NAS @NasirJamshed_

Overview: The account has been around for over a year but it truly gained popularity during the World Cup and with close to 60,000 followers is easily the most popular parody account in Pakistan. He is absolutely hilarious and borderline racist (ask the Bangladeshis). Every single tweet from that account leaves you in splits.

Pet Tweets: about his buffalo, his love of food, the love affair brewing between Shahid Afridi and Ahmed Shehzad, and a take on everything related to Pakistan cricket.

Funny Scale: 9.5/10

2. Javed Miandad @SirJavedMiandad

Overview: The account has been around for a while and is an extremely funny take on the great batsman's accent. Ith all aboul la way he thpeaks. Almost as funny as BIG NAS.

Pet Tweets: about everything from cricket to football, bollywood, and politics. He doesn't hide his love for the fairer skin either.

Funny Scale: 9/10

3. Mohammad Yousuf @MoyoTalks

Overview: This one is not as funny as the above two but he surely packs a punch like the batsman. This is a brilliant take on the bitter man that MoYo is and leaves no stone unturned in criticizing Afridi, Misbah, and the entire PCB establishment. Much like MoYo the cricketer.

Pet Tweets: about Pakistan cricket news and his take on it, bashes the entire Pakistan cricket establishment, and he also gets involved in educated discussions on the game. This is one of the few parody accounts that you can have an actual discussion with. Expect a lot of sarcasm.

Funny Scale: 8/10

4. Misbah Ul Haq @MisbahulSkipper

Overview: Even though this one does not claim to be a parody account, it is. For a long period many people actually followed it thinking it was Misbah Ul Haq. The account has been around for quite some time and is very popular.

Pet Tweets: mostly about Misbah's grievances with his critics as well as his own team. Bashes Sikandar Bakht, MoYo, Shoaib Akhtar, and his team members. Funny at most times, but not always.

Funny Scale: 6/10

5. Azhar Ali @AzharAliSkipper

Overview: This one seems to be a fairly new one. Going by the name it probably came into being once Azhar Ali was announced as ODI captain. The account hasn't yet gained as much popularity as the other ones but has the potential to be quite popular.

Pet Tweets: about his kaala til (black mole), calls his team the spirited leopards, and keeps no secret about his love for Sarfraz, Asad, and selfies.

Funny Scale: 7.5/10

6. Shahid Afridi @SAfridi0fficial

Overview: This one is not really a parody account per se, but it is a sneakily smart take on Shahid Afridi's official twitter handle. He is not funny but he tweets acting as if he is actually Shahid Afridi. There are plenty of people out there who have fallen for him thinking that its actually Afridi tweeting.

Pet Tweets: about Afridi, his lover Shehzad, and all other activities related to them. Speaks to other cricketers as if he's Afridi.

Funny Scale: 5.10

7. Fawad Alam @SirFawadAlamm

Overview: Another account that claims to be a parody account and has no affiliation to the real Fawad Alam. Came into being during the time Fawad was dropped from the team. Funny at times only.

Pet Tweets: about bringing Fawad Alam back, support for his Pakistan team mates, and digging at the Indians.

Funny Scale: 5/10

8. Umar Akmal @UmarAkmalNot

Overview: Like the cricketer, this account has been inactive for quite some time, but when it was around it had people in fits in short bursts, like his innings.

Pet Tweets: about his talent, potential, Misbah's tuk tuk, and hafeez' sideburns.

Funny Scale: 6.5/10

There might be more of these parody accounts out there. There are several under the name of Shoaib Akhtar and Inzamam Ul Haq, which don't have the Twitter verified tick nor do they claim to be a parody account. They aren't funny however.

If you know any others from Pakistan, please do share with us!

This article first appeared on DAWN.

After losing 5 successive ODIs, Pakistan finally broke their losing streak yesterday by beating New Zealand in the first ODI in Dubai.

Despite this victory, Pakistan has a lot to think about leading up to the World Cup, which is just 2 months away now.

Saeed Ajmal's ban did not hamper Pakistan's preparations as much as Mohammad Hafeez' ban has. Pakistan have coped well without Saeed Ajmal, both in tests and ODIs, however without Hafeez' bowling, Pakistan will struggle more often than not.

With Hafeez not being able to bowl, Pakistan's entire balance and make up of the ODI team is impacted. Hafeez' presence in the top order and ability to bowl 10 economical overs with a wicket or two has been a luxury that Pakistan has enjoyed over the past 4 years.

However, now, in the span of just 7 ODIs, Pakistan has to come up with a viable alternative strategy for the World Cup.

The first solution was Haris Sohail. A prolific scorer in domestic First Class cricket, Sohail had played only 4 ODIs and 3 T20s for Pakistan before yesterday. He had not produced much with the bat in those 7 outings, and he had not delivered a single ball.

In his entire cricket career, Sohail had bowled 80 deliveries before the first ODI against New Zealand. Yesterday, Sohail bowled 75% of his entire career's deliveries in a single ODI!

There is no doubt that he did a great job. 10-0-39-0 are returns that Hafeez regularly produces for Pakistan. Sohail made sure that Pakistan does not miss Hafeez' services with the ball; however it remains to be seen if he can do it regularly or not.

Sohail came on to bowl when New Zealand were already on the back foot. Irfan and Wahab had provided vital breakthroughs and Sohail benefited from a batting unit that was under pressure.It will be a different situation when the batting team is on top or when a team is chasing a target against Pakistan.

I'm taking nothing away from Sohail's performance yesterday. He was superb. With both bat and ball and played an instrumental role in ensuring victory for Pakistan.

But, there is still a lot to think about. Three key things to think about:

1. The Professor's Dilemma

The biggest question that needs to be answered is the one regarding Mohammad Hafeez' place in the side. Does he still warrant an automatic selection given that he cannot bowl?

Nasir Jamshed is waiting in the wings. Sarfraz Ahmed can open the batting. There are middle order batsmen who deserve to be playing but are not.

Given all this, does Hafeez make the cut solely as a batsman?

Probably not in my opinion. He was severely exposed in South Africa, and majority of his good innings have come in the subcontinent; so to persist with him solely as a batsman for the World Cup in Australia might not be the best idea for Pakistan.

2. Keep Shoaib Malik OUT!

I could not believe my ears when I heard Rameez Raja mention Shoaib Malik, not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times during the entire match.

You got to be kidding me Rameez. Shoaib Malik is your answer for a batting allrounder? What has the man done in the past 5 years to warrant selection?

Just because he can bowl off spin makes him an option for Pakistan?

NO IT DOES NOT!

Fawad Alam, who happens to be Pakistan's best ODI batsman this year, and Sohaib Maqsood, who has had a tremendous start to his ODI career, can both bowl.

These are your batsmen, along with the newly found Haris Sohail, who can collectively contribute 10 overs in an ODI game for Pakistan.

Shoaib Malik needs to be kept in the wilderness. Or even beyond that if possible.

3. Fix the Middle Order

I still can't get over the fact that Pakistan went into this ODI with the middle order reading Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Misbah Ul Haq.

I wondered whether Misbah had confused the format of the game because that middle order sounds like one for a test match!

Asad (Test Ave: 40.2; ODI Ave: 25.9); Younis (Test Ave: 53.4; ODI Ave: 31.6); Haris (FC Ave: 52.0; List A Ave: 35.4) are proven performers in the longer version of the game. Anyone with some sense can tell you that the difference between those averages is too significant for them to be considered good for ODIs.

Once again, Haris showed immense potential and won the game for Pakistan, but would he have been able to do the same if Pakistan were chasing a score in the vicinity of 300?

Maybe he would have. I won't take any thing away from him after yesterday's knock. But what in the world are Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan doing playing at 3 and 4 for Pakistan's ODI team!!!?

That too with Umar Akmal and Nasir Jamshed on the bench, and Fawad Alam all the way in Pakistan.

Seriously?

This middle order needs a fix and it needs a fix soon.

Pakistan is running out of time and persisting with Hafeez when he can't bowl, thinking about Shoaib Malik when he can't bat nor bowl, keeping Umar Akmal and Fawad Alam out of the XI when they happen to be your two best batsmen in ODIs, and paying heed to someone's twisted demands to play Asad and Younis will not help their cause at all.

The World Cup is only 2 months away and everything seems to be in disarray.

It was 2010, Pakistan were the defending T20 Champions, and they were up against Australia in the semi final of the 3rd edition of the ICC World T20 in St. Lucia, West Indies.

Pakistan were one of the favorites to win the title and repeat their 2009 win, and they looked well on their way to a third straight final after posting 191-6 in their 20 overs.

191.

That is the exact same score that Pakistan managed in today's world T20 group game against Australia.

In 2010, it was the Akmal brothers, each of whom managed a 50, who set up Pakistan for a big total.

Today, it was also the Akmal brothers who put together a 96 run partnership to bring Pakistan back into the game after they were 25-2 in 4 overs.

In 2010, Pakistan were well on course to make it to their third straight World T20 final when they had Australia reeling at 105-5 after 12 overs.

But then Cameron White and Mike Hussey went on a wild rampage to give Australia an unlikely win, reaching their target with 1 ball to spare after Hussey smashed three sixes of Ajmal in the final over of the chase.

Saeed Ajmal has gone on record to say that he still thinks about that final over. No one has ever treated Ajmal the way Hussey did in that 2010 semi final.

Till Glen Maxwell today.

Australia started on their chase of 192 today in the worst possible manner, losing both Warner and Watson in the first over of the Australian innings to Zulfiqar Babar, who gave Pakistan the ideal start.

From there Glen Maxwell and Aaron Finch proceeded to destroy Pakistan's bowling, including the magician Saeed Ajmal, hitting him for 25 runs off his first two overs.

While Maxwell and Finch continued to score at over 12 an over, the ghosts of St. Lucia came back to haunt the Pakistan team and the fans.

They put on 118 runs in just 10.4 overs as Maxwell smashed every bowler to all corners of the park. His onslaught also included a 30 run over off Bilawal Bhatti.

When Maxwell departed, Australia were left with only 66 runs to get off 50 deliveries with 7 wickets in hand.

From there, it should have been a walk in the park.

In 2010, it was over number 12 that turned the tide in Australia's favor. Today, it was also over number 12 that turned the tide; but this time in Pakistan's favor as they finally slayed the ghosts of St. Lucia.

There was a time when Pakistan used to have wicket keepers who used to add valuable runs lower down the order. In those days, besides Alec Stewart, no other team really had men as capable with the bat as Moin Khan or Rashid Latif; especially when it came to getting some fast runs near the end of an innings.

There was a time when Pakistan also used to have players like Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzaq, and Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik in their prime. Men who could bowl and bat. Genuine allrounders.

The team also boasted of players like Aamer Sohail, Salim Malik, and Ijaz Ahmed - batsmen who could turn their arm over and were more than just part time bowlers. (Did you know Aamer Sohail bowled his full quota of 10 overs in the 1992 World Cup Final).

No wonder Pakistan was such a great team during the 90s. Genuine allrounders, wicketkeepers who could bat well, batsmen who could fill in with a few overs - what more can an ODI team ask for!

Sadly, gone are those days.

Azhar Mahmood's career was prematurely ended due to PCB's mismanagement; Abdul Razzaq fell to politics and has since then been in and out of the team; Shahid Afridi lost his magic with the bat and then his bowling form ditched him too; and Shoaib Malik became a specialist boundary catcher leaving Pakistan with no allrounders.

Kamran Akmal got tangled in fixing allegations, became an eternal dropper, and then forgot how to bat, leaving Pakistan with no wicket keeper batsman.

Mohammad Hafeez provided some balance to the side as his bowling improved with every match; there was a time when he was ranked higher than Saeed Ajmal. Hafeez undoubtedly has become one of the best ODI bowlers for Pakistan; but that is all he is now. He has forgotten that he came into the team as an opening batsman with the prime responsibility of making runs; not stopping them.

Shahid Afridi can no longer be trusted to bat as high as number 6. Actually even number 7 seems too high for him. Wahab Riaz has shown that he can throw his bat around but he is not the allrounder that Pakistan need.

Anwar Ali is considered to be a potential allrounder who could replace Abdul Razzaq in the longer term but his batting is no where close to Razzaq's or Afridi's in their hey days.

Hammad Azam seems to be the public's favorite, but I don't see why. The boy can bat and hit hard, but he cannot bowl to save his life. He is not a wicket taker and he cannot be trusted to save runs. If he is to become the allrounder that Pakistan is looking for then his bowling needs to develop significantly.

It is a sad situation really that Pakistan has not been able to get the balance of its ODI team right. It is always in a situation where they are either a batsman short or a bowler short. It is always a risky situation to go in with only 5 specialist bowlers and whenever Pakistan has tried to play a 6th bowling option, they have weakened their batting line up.

What has been sadder is that no one has done anything about the situation.

Till now.

A major step has been taken in naming Umar Akmal as the first choice wicket keeper for the ODIs and T20s against the West Indies.

It is a great move. In fact, it is a very bold move. It is a move that will go a long way in giving Pakistan's ODI team the much needed balance it requires.

With Umar Akmal batting in the top 6 and donning the gloves, Pakistan can actually play 5 bowlers, in addition to Hafeez.



























It also allows them to fit Shahid Afridi in the XI, as it is difficult to include him in place of a pacer, and he can't really replace Ajmal or Hafeez.

What is also heartening is that the Pakistan management has come out and openly talked about this move. The chief selector has stated that Umar has been given the wicket keeping duties as it will help Pakistan improve the balance of their team. The coach has mentioned how this will give added responsibility to Umar.

And Umar Akmal himself has talked about how he is ready for this challenge.

Some critics have argued that it will be an extra burden on one of Pakistan's most talented ODI batsmen. I don't agree with that.

In fact, it might actually help Umar cement his place once and for all in the team. Certain players require that added responsibility to discover their true potential.

Rahul Dravid became a better ODI batsman when he was given wicket keeping duties. Kumar Sangakkara and AB De Villiers have done the same for their teams whenever they have faced balance issues.

Sure those batsmen are in different leagues altogether, but there is no reason why Umar can't handle the added responsibility. He has got nothing to lose.

And neither does Pakistan.

The selectors could not have picked a better ODI squad than the one they have for the tour to West Indies. And for once it feels like some strategical thinking has gone into the composition of the squad and someone has taken the initiative to speak about roles.

Lets hope the same thought is applied on tour and in the composition of the playing XI.

It is not often that men running the Pakistan Cricket Board are praised, because more often than not their acts, statements, selections, and management is so unprofessional that one wonders what these people have done in life besides being friendly with those running the country.