Suneer Chowdhary
( Cricket Writer)
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Strangely enough, Pakistan has played ten ODIs in this calendar year, and has won all of them. However, one may argue that the opponents so far, have been Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, teams that have been struggling to establish themselves in the international fold in the last twelve months. Having said that, one cannot decide their opponents and even though none of the encounters really tested Pakistan, the team seemed to have done its job of chalking up the wins.

However, the chinks in the armor were exposed by the Indians in the series prior to the two aforesaid mentioned, and the score-line of 3-2 belies the fact that it was not one bit close as the numbers suggest. South Africa too beat them in the series in Pakistan by the same margin, and this indicates that the only meaningful series that Pakistan managed to win were the three ODI match-ups against Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi, immediately after their dismal World Cup performance.

This could be attributable to a score of reasons. For one, the team has been getting distracted by the off-field, and on-the-pitch shenanigans of Shoaib Akhtar. Akhtar had more than reasonable series against the Indians, but it is impossible not to wonder whether the skipper really wanted Akhtar in the side. And then with the usual cycle of bans on Akhtar, trials and subsequent suspensions and reversals of the same, his presence can only affect the team adversely.

Speaking of the captain, there have been talks from various quarters, about his lack of aggression while leading the side. While it is easy to criticize the leader when a team has not been doing too well, the experts may not be far off the mark here. One does need to have an exceptional set of skills to handle firebrands like a now-more-mellowed-down Shahid Afridi and Akhtar, and the experienced guys like Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, who have had harbored their own hopes at captaincy.

Younis Khan has been another strange story as he flip-flops and hurts dramatically like nobody’s business, while the smile that so bedazzles the audiences and fans alike seems to cover the pain and sorrow he usually undergoes after…nothing has happened really.

On the brighter side, the two of the biggest positives for Pakistan cricket from the Indian Premier League, have been the re-emergence of Salman Butt, the opener, but more significantly Sohail Tanvir, as one of the better left-arm seam bowlers in the world today. Butt’s resurgence began in the series against Bangladesh where he topped the run charts by a distance, and it continued through the IPL. Unfortunately – and this was his complain through that tournament – he was not tried in the earlier portion of the IPL.

It would be difficult to term Tanvir as the find of the IPL; after all he had been a part of the Pakistani team for a reasonable period of time with distinction, before the IPL leapfrogged him into the limelight. The purple cap fitted him just right, but what did not go down too well with the batsmen were his yorkers and slower deliveries at the death. While it is too early to compare someone that young with a great like Wasim Akram, Tanvir seems to be going the right way.

Again, Umar Gul did his bit, either in his opening burst, or when he bowled towards the business end of the inning, and will – in all probabilities – spearhead the bowling attack. The lack of an experienced, frontline spinner except Afridi may be a concern for the team.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are big problems for Mohammad Asif. He was touted as Pakistan’s reply to Glen McGrath, but injuries and trysts with drugs on more occasions than one, have put him back. Make no mistake, he still is a talented bowler to reckon with, but quite often one has come across someone as talented as Asif to only observe him throwing in the towel, at a young age. One can only pray with zeal for his comeback; literally as well – from the cozy confines of Dubai.

Till about recently, the biggest attribute of the Pakistani team was the grit and determination with which they would bounce back after it seemed that all was lost. This capacity has been eroded over the last few years, and currently, it is in danger of being totally lost. They would need a much stronger performance than what they have produced in the last few months to come out trumps in the Tri series and Asia Cup.