So close yet so far; Pakistan reached the final of the tournament against all odds but managed to disappoint the entire nation due to their lack of targetted approach
12 September, 2022
PHOTO: AFP
Pakistan came up against Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2022 and failed to capitalize on the opportunity as they lost the final by 23 runs.
While the Men in Green were troubled by the lack of performances from Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman throughout the Asia Cup campaign, the Pakistan middle-order also failed to deliver on the big stage. Mohammad Nawaz, who was supposed to be a gamble outperformed the regular starters and delivered handy performances with both the bat and ball.
Although Mohammad Rizwan came up with good performances but the balance of the team made it incredibly difficult for Pakistan to maintain a functional game plan.
Here are the stats of four players who underperformed in the Asia Cup 2022 for Pakistan:
The 32-year has been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit but has failed to replicate his genius on the international stage. Having been included as an all-rounder, Pakistan did not fully utilize his services. Iftikhar only bowled a handful of overs as Pakistan management relied more on his batting skills. Coming down as two down, Iftikhar amassed 105 runs at an average of 26.25 with a strike rate of only 100.96.
Rumors have suggested that Iftikhar is being pushed out of the team and his lack of performance in the Asia Cup 2022 will be highlighted as his failure.
Having remained on the team as a regular starter, Fakhar's performance have deteriorated over time. The left-hander has never been renowned for his technical prowess as he always relied more on his hand-eye coordination and supreme power-hitting to accumulate runs. In the Asia Cup 2022, Fakhar only scored 96 runs as a one-down batsman at an average of 16.01 and an abysmal strike rate of 103.22.
With backup options already ready to take the stage in Shan Masood and Haider Ali, Pakistan management perhaps needs to look at other options from here onward.
For a player to hit 100-150 sixes on a daily basis, Asif Ali had a single-digit average in the recently concluded Asia Cup. Although it's unfair to demand your power-hitters to shine in every game, Pakistan's batting balance made little to no sense. Despite that, the players also did not step up and Asif Ali is one such example. The power-hitter only managed 41 runs throughout the tournament.
Having played four matches, Hasnain picked up as many wickets with a best of 2/21. The youngster, following the remodeling of his action, has failed to cement his authority as a pacer. He averaged 33.50 whereas maintained an 8.93 economy rate. This was perhaps the best opportunity for him to prove his worth as Shaheen and Waseem Jnr. were both out injured.
His performance in the final was abysmal as he only relied on his pace to overcome the challenges while varying pace remained one of the key ingredients for the pacers' success in the tournament.
It would be unfair to ignore Khushdil Shah's bowling display as he filled in as a part-time spinner and did more than what was expected of him. However, when we turn our attention toward his batting, it is the same old song. The left-hander managed 58 runs at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 120.83.
When you put all four players on the same team, the overall display falls below what is required from a winning team. Fuse this underperformance with Babar Azam's poor patch and lapses in the bowling unit, Pakistan management now has a real task on their hands to identify the root causes and fix them before the upcoming World Cup.
