Pakistan vs Bangladesh - First two twenty20 internationals 2025

 

Pakistan outclassed Bangladesh by 37 runs in the first Twenty20 and they defeated Bangladesh by 57 runs in the second twenty20 international. Pakistan is proving to be much superior than  Bangladesh and Bangladesh is proving to be no match to the Pakistan cricket team. Talent wise too Bangladesh is much inferior to Pakistan cricket team.

Pakistani batsmen are playing their shots right from the first ball which is refreshing change in the Pakistan cricket team brought in by new coach Mike Hesson's tactics. Mike Hesson has brought positive changes in the Pakistan cricket team like aggressive batting and aggressive bowling. We lacked aggression in our cricket especially in our batting when Aaqib Javed was our coach.

In the end what i would like to say is that Mike Hesson's tenure as Pakistan's coach has begun well.

Quetta favourites to win PSL

 

After Karachi got knocked out of the tournament my favourite team is now Quetta Gladiators. Quetta is a superb all round team with hardly any weak player or any weakness. Since Vivian Richards is there as their mentor who is a legend and all time great. I have full hopes that Quetta can pull of a win in the Final. 

Their opponents are likely to be either Lahore Qalandars or Islamabad united in the final. Both Lahore Qalandars  and Islamabad United are tough opponents with both teams having equally set of champion cricketers. But I prefer Lahore Qalandar's as Quetta's opponents as Islamabad United are too ruthless as a team. 

Quetta Gladiators have many match winners like Finn Allen, Hassan Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Abrar Ahmed and Muhammad Amir in their team and they will be very tough to beat in the Final.

In the end what I would like to say is that on paper Quetta Gladiators are looking a very strong team indeed.

Bangladesh tour of Pakistan 2025

 

Pakistan are the overwhelming favourites to beat Bangladesh in this twenty20 international tour of Pakistan by Bangladesh. I am saying this because Bangladesh's recent twenty20 record of late isnt good. Bangladesh have lost to associate teams like USA and UAE by identical margins of 2-1 and are currently not in form. Pakistan on the otherhand are playing at full strength and hopefully though should be able to whitewash Bangladesh in this twenty20 series 3-0 although Pakistan are not in good form of late themselves. 

With the return of Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub Pakistan will be strengthened in the top order. Hassan Nawaz has also shown a lot of promise. While the return of Hassan Ali is an encouraging sign too. Therefore on paper Pakistan looks much better than Bangladesh and they should be able to beat Bangladesh easily. Although with the recent results going by Bangladesh can cause an upset or two.

In the end what i would like to say is that Pakistan is looking like a formidable side in front of Bangladesh. 

Karachi kings make it to the playoffs

 

Karachi Kings make it to the playoffs after defeating Peshawar Zalmi. This was the first time since 2021 that Karachi Kings have made it to the playoffs. Their success this season very much owes to David Warner who has been an inspirational leader and who has led Karachi Kings from the front. James Vince, Irfan Khan Niazi and Khushdil Shah have been instrumental to Karachi Kings success.

Hassan Ali has shown great fight with the ball. Mir Hamza, Abbas Afridi and Khushdil Shah have been containing the opposition out to low totals. This shows Karachi has got strength with both bat and ball in their line up and will be hard to beat in the playoffs. They are currently second in this year's PSL table and need to beat Islamabad United to retain their spot in the final standings.

In the end what I would like to say is that Karachi Kings have the team to give a tough fight to any opposition they face in the playoffs.

Pakistan vs Australia - A head to head comparison

 

Australia generally speaking have always started as favourites whenever they faced Pakistan particularly in Australian conditions and especially in test matches. Such is the dominance of Australia over Pakistan in test match cricket that Pakistan has never won a test series on Australian soil. The last time Pakistan beat Australia in Australia was the Sydney test in 1995 under Wasim Akram's captaincy. In Pakistan's home tests versus Australia the last time they won a test series against Australia was 1-0 under Salim Malik's captaincy in 1994. That series too was controversial as Mark Waugh, Shane Warne and Tim May claimed that Salim Malik offered them bribes to under perform.

In ODI's the situation is slightly better with Pakistan winning the ODI series 2-1 as recently as last year in 2024 on Australian soil against Australia. In 2022 Pakistan have also won the bilateral ODI series in 2022 at home against Australia 2-1. 

In twenty20 internationals the gap between Australian and Pakistani teams becomes even narrower. With Pakistan winning equal number of matches against Australia in twenty20 internationals.

In the end what I would like to say is that Pakistan's performance against Australia in test matches need to improve as last time Pakistan beat Australia in a test series was 2018.

Comparison between Rashid Latif and Moin Khan

 

Both Rashid Latif and Moin Khan were great wicket keepers of my generation probably the best wicketkeepers ever to play the game for Pakistan. But i rate Moin khan as better wicket keeper especially when it comes to batting. 

Moin Khan rescued Pakistan from a number of tight situations and he also won us the 1992 Semi final against New Zealand by smashing that vital six when more than a run a ball was needed. Whereas we had disastrous World Cup compaigns in 1996 and 2003 World Cups with Rashid Latif as wicket keeper. Moin Khan also played a number of vital innings for Pakistan in 1999 World Cup scoring runs quickly which was required from him besides Wicket keeping neatly behind the stumps. In Asian test championship of 1999 in Kolkata he played a vital innings for Pakistan rescuing Pakistan from a precarious 26 for 6 position. 

Rashid Latif although a better wicket keeper for Pakistan couldnt match Moin khan's batting feats. Under Rashid Latif's wicket keeping Pakistan won the 2002 ODI series in Australia. He also kept wickets for Pakistan in successful England tours of 1992 and 1996. 

In the end what i would like to say is that since Moin Khan was a better match winner than Rashid Latif hence he was better than Rashid Latif.

Comparison between Pakistan's current team and Pakistani teams of the past

 

Pakistan teams of the 1990's and early 2000's were much more talented ability wise. In batting there was Saeed Anwar as an opener and Aamir Sohail. In bowling they had the finest bowlers with outstanding pace and movement in the form of World Class bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. In the middle order we had world class talent with batsmen such as Inzamam ul Haq, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed. In spin department we had World Class spinners like Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed. In wicket keepers we had some of the best wicket keepers like Rashid Latif and Moin Khan.

Whereas in the current team there is hardly any World Class player except for Babar Azam who is currently not in form. Saim Ayub is the only promising player in the current team but he too got injured and couldnt play the just recently concluded Champions Trophy. In bowling we have no reliable bowlers and all of them are being hit to all parts of the ground. 

In the end what I would like to say is that Pakistan cricket team's standard is declining and we can only live in Pakistan's past glory. 

Muhammad Amir should come out of retirement

 

Pakistan badly needs a bowler like Muhammad Amir in their bowling line up alongwith the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.  PCB should better convince Muhammad Amir to play for Pakistan again. According to Shoaib Akhtar and other experts Muhammad Amir is the most intelligent bowler Pakistan has ever produced. Muhammad Amir still has plenty to offer the Pakistan team and is currently the best Pakistani fast bowler in recent times.

Brett Lee called Muhammad Amir as being thousand times better than Shaheen Afridi. Muhammad Amir can still swing the ball at high speeds something he used to do when he was young. PCB should keep politics out of sports and immediately select Muhammad Amir in the team. Muhammad Amir is the only bowler who knows how to bowl at the death overs an area Pakistan seems to be lacking in recent times especially in ODI's.

In the end what i would like to say is that Pakistan's performance will only be successful if Muhammad Amir comes out of retirement as he is a world class bowler. 

Quetta Gladiators the first team to qualify for playoffs

 

Quetta gladiators emerge as a strong team in this years PSL with hardly a weak player in their playing 11. Quetta Gladiators are now strong contenders for this years PSL title and most probably they will reach the final of this years PSL. Islamabad after winning 5 consecutive matches are in a losing streak as they have lost 4 consecutive matches in a row. Will Islamabad's losing streak continue.

Quetta have dependable openers in Finn Allen and Saud Shakeel. Combine the strong openers with the invincible batsmen like Hassan Nawaz, Rilee Rossouw and Mark Chapman their batting is very hard to contain. In Muhammad Amir and Abrar Ahmed they have got World Class bowlers. Keeping these players in mind I am convinced the other teams stand no chance of defeating Quetta Gladiators in this year's PSL. 

In the end what I would like to say is that PCB must convince Muhammad Amir to come out of retirement and play for Pakistan's national team. 

Karachi Kings have almost made it to the playoffs

 

Karachi Kings defeated Lahore Qalandars by 4 wickets to almost reach the playoffs but Peshawar Zalmi are still in the hunt as they are only a  win behind Karachi and I am not sure whether Karachi will beat Peshawar Zalmi in their match against them tomorrow. Irfan Khan Niazi is showing a lot of promise and talent for Karachi Kings and things look rosy for him whenever he plays for Pakistan again.

Peshawar Zalmi not only have a world class batsman like Babar Azam as their captain but they also have Saim Ayub who is a world class batsman and talented opener. In bowling they have Luke Wood and Ali Raza both of whom are dangerous bowlers. So Peshawar Zalmi wont be easy to beat and Karachi Kings will need to be at their best to beat them. 

In the end I would like to say is that Karachi Kings have definitely improved their performance in this year's PSL as compared to their previous three PSL seasons.

Karachi Kings close to play offs.

 

Karachi Kings have almost reached the playoffs with their win against Multan Sultan by 88 runs. It will take Peshawar Zalmi a mountain to climb and exceptional performances from them to reach the Playoffs in place of Karachi. Karachi has a good chance to seal their spot in playoffs when they meet Lahore Qalandars on Sunday. Karachi always start as favourites to beat their arch rivals Lahore and they will most probably beat them to reach the Playoffs atleast.

In Tim Seifert and David Warner Karachi Kings have got two destructive and dependable openers. James Vince has consistently being doing well with the bat for Karachi Kings. The bowling is also good of Karachi with the likes of Mir Hamza, Hassan Ali and Khushdil Shah. Their opponent in Lahore Qalandars are in pretty good form but I am quite sure Karachi will defeat them.

In the end what I would like to say is that if Karachi will do well in this tournament they will need to be consistent rather than unpredictable side which they are currently.