Even worse

Express Tribune

06-04-2025

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A near whitewash (4-1) in the T20I series is followed by a total whitewash (3-0) in the ODI series. Even the return of senior players like Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan and Naseem Shah – all of whom were dropped from the T20I squad – failed to make any difference as Green Shirts were decimated by Black Caps, the hosts, in the three-match ODI series. With this victory, New Zealand have now won all of the six ODIs they have played against Pakistan in the ongoing year.
Just a look at the New Zealand victory margin in the three ODIs – 73 runs, 84 runs and 43 runs – is enough to expose the plight of Team Pakistan. Skipper Rizwan failed to extract any advantage from the toss that he won in all the three games.
Pakistan think-tank tried different combinations – mixing seasoned players with newcomers – in both batting and bowling, but nothing worked. Babar Azam did score two fifties, but neither helped the team romp home. Runs in the lost cause has, quite frequently, been the case with the former captain. However, fifties by Faheem Ashraf (78 off 80 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes) and Naseem Shah (51 off 44 with 4 fours and 4 sixes) – both coming in the second ODI – demonstrate the kind of potential in both that genuine all-rounders are expected to have.
Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mehmood were the last of the genuine all-rounders that our team had. And it's been a long while ago. Pakistan's bowling, meanwhile, remained pretty ordinary, with none of the newcomers – Akif Javed, Mohammad Ali, Ifran Khan Niazi and Sufiyan Meqeem – or the longtime campaigners coming up with a match-winning performance.
Coming up next – from April 11 – is PSL. Sadly though, the PSL has failed to do to Pakistan cricket what the IPL has done to the Indian cricket.