Asia Cup 2022

Pakistan I am afraid are not the favourites for the Asia  Cup 2022. 

            

                     India on the otherhand look like a strong contender for Asia  Cup.     India have a very strong batting line up  with several star players playing.     Their bowling is very tight showing variation.                   They look like a good all round team.   The Indian team is currently in     great form  and they just dont rely on one or two players.   

Whereas Pakistan cricket team relies on Mohammad Rizwan and  Babar Azam opening pair a lot. If one of them get out Pakistan is doomed for a low total/ Shaheen Afridi is also not playing in Asia cup due to  injury    Shaheen Afridis absence is a big blow as he is one bowler   who gets the main batsmen in opposition out.   The rest of Pakistan's bowling is ordinary.

In the end I predict Pakistan to reach atleast  the Final of Asia Cup as Pakistan is pretty good twenty20 side and the rest of the opposition that is Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are not that strong.                                           

Pakistan -Sri Lanka Test series 2022

 

Sri Lanka is always a tough opposition playing at home and home conditions suits them. This can be judged by the fact that even an invincible team like Australia failed to beat them in the ODI series and test series. Sri Lanka won the ODI series 3-2 and drew the test series 1-1 against Australia. This proves that Sri Lanka are hard to beat at home and Pakistan will have a difficult tour of Sri Lanka.

In the home test series against Australia, it was proven that Pakistani batting is susceptible to reverse swing and they will wilt and collapse under pressure. If this is the case then Sri Lanka are clear favourites over Pakistan. The Sri Lankan pitches are likely to favour spinners and Pakistanis clearly lack an inform spinner. Pakistan look unlikely to bowl Sri Lanka twice with their bowling which clearly lacks depth, penetration and class.

Pakistan cannot depend entirely on Yasir Shah who isnt in form these days and he is no longer the World Class leg spinner that he used to be and he is well past his prime.

In the end I would like to say Sri Lanka are clear favourites to win the test series all because of playing in home conditions.

Pakistan -West Indies ODI series preview 2022

 

The West Indies team of late hasnt been in great form and they are far away from the invincible West Indian sides of 1980s and 1990s. One can judge the West Indian form that they lost a home ODI series against Ireland. Ireland with all respects is a minnow team. West Indies on the tour of Pakistan were further weakened by the absence of Jason Holder and Kemar Roach.

   Pakistan won the first ODI thanks to Khushdil Shah s cameo innings and Babar Azam's century.  Imam ul Haq also chipped in with a useful 67. Pakistan has now the ability to chase 300 plus scores it is an ability which they previously didnt have. In March they chased down a target of 348 runs set by Australia and over here in Multan they scored 306 runs against West Indies. Pakistan have found a match winner and a finisher like Khushdil Shah in Pakistan's middle order which is a great omen for the team. Hopefully Khushdil Shah will do for Pakistan  what Micheal Bevan used to do for Australia.

  In the second ODI Pakistan were bowled out for a below par total of 275. Mohammad Nawaz had other ideas and his big breaking left arm spin ensured that West Indies were bowled out for a small total of 155 and Pakistan winning by a huge margin of 120 runs. Again which is becoming more of a norm Imam ul Haq and Babar Azam had a century partnership which are good signs for Pakistan cricket.

  In the end I would like to say Pakistan has shown in their batting that they will fight all the way and they have an ability to chase down huge totals while batting second.

Ramiz Raja as PCB's chairman

 

Ramiz Raja is not only a famous cricketer but a renowned commentator as well as a great cricket adminstrator as well. Ramiz Raja was Pakistan's 1992 World Cup hero playing a number of match winning knocks as an opener in the 1992 World Cup. His contribution to the 1992 World Cup triumph was vital and critical as he played a number of crucial innings at the top of the order for Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup. He would often see off the new ball which swings early in the innings in order to make it easier for the rest of the batting to come. Imran Khan made a great decision to appoint him as PCB's chairman.

Here are a few great decisions taken by Ramiz Raja during his tenure:

1) The decision to appoint foreign coaches like Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander for the 2021 ICC twenty20 World Cup. The decision made great dividends as Pakistan reached the Semi Finals of the 2021 ICC World Cup without losing a single match. This performance was a great improvement by the Pakistan cricket team over two previous ICC World cup twenty20 tournaments in 2014 and 2016 where we failed to go beyond the first round.  

2) The decision to appoint Saqlain Mushtaq as head coach and Mohammad Yousuf as batting coach. Under Saqlain Mushtaq's coaching before the home series against Australia, Pakistan won 14 out of 15 international matches played. Our batting showed great improvement under Mohammad Yousuf's coaching as the team chased down a Pakistani record total of 348 runs batting second in the second ODI between Pakistan and Australia at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.

3) The decision to prepare flat tracks for the home series against Australia. If Ramiz Raja didnt take this decision of preparing such pitches Pakistan might have lost 3-0 to this formidable Australian side in the test series.

In the end, I would like to say that Ramiz Raja being a former cricketer himself understands the game and knows Pakistan's strengths and weaknesses. He being a cricketer himself has vast acumen and knowledge of the sport of cricket. 

Review of Pakistan tour by Australia 2022

 

I am extremely glad that Australia finally toured Pakistan after a gap of 24 years. Unlike the 1998 tour of Pakistan which proved to be a winless series for Pakistan , Pakistan did manage to win a couple of matches this time. Although Pakistan won the ODI series the Australian team was severely depleted for the ODI series missing several star players. Pakistan lost the test series 1-0 and the one off Twenty20 match.

The test series was a hard fought one. Pakistan survived 172 overs in their second innings at Karachi which we all know is a Pakistani fortress venue. If Pakistan had lost the Karachi test they might have lost the series 2-0 to Australia but Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafiq came to Pakistan's rescue. The third test saw Pakistan collapsing in their first innings for 7 wickets for 20 runs and Pakistan never recovered in the test match after that collapse.

Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 which is a reason for all the Pakistanis to cheer as this was Pakistan's first ODI series win over Australia since 2002. The jinx of losing 16 consecutive matches to Australia across all the formats was finally broken in this ODI series. Pakistan also made a record total batting second in the second ODI of 352 runs over Australia.

Overall I would say Pakistan cricket team's performance was okay in this home series as they were facing a formidable and champion Australian team. What worries me is that in the test team we dont have any quality spinner. Our performance as an ODI side improved and credit must be given to Babar Azam and Imam ul Haq.

The 1999 tour of India by Pakistan

 

Pakistan has gone on many tours throughout their cricket history but no tour by Pakistan was as successful with good quality cricket played as Pakistan tour of India in 1999. Pakistan cricket team was at it's peak form  and alongwith Australia it was ranked as one of the top teams in the world in 1999. It was no wonder why Pakistan was being considered as favourites for the 1999 world cup as it had legendary batsmen like Saeed Anwar and Inzamam ul Haq and a varied world class bowling line up boasting the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Shahid Afridi and All rounders such as Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood.

   The test series was tied 1-1 in the 1999 Pakistan tour of India. The first test played at Chennai was one of the closest test matches on history of cricket with Pakistan winning by just 12 runs. Chasing a target of 271 runs India were on a  very strong position with 17 runs needed and four wickets in hand and Sachin Tendulkar not out with a century score to his name. Right at that score Sachin Tendulkar got out to Saqlain Mushtaq and the rest of the Indian batting collapsed to defeat. Saqlain Mushtaq took 10 wickets and Shahid Afridi scored a match winning century in the second innings of the first test at Chennai. The second test was a one sided affair as chasing a target of 420 runs Pakistan were all out for 186 in their second innings with Anil Kumble taking a world record 10 wickets in that innings and with India winning comprehensively.

After winning the Kolkata Asian test championship match against India, Pakistan then went on to win the triangular ODI series also involving Sri Lanka by defeating India in the final at Bangalore. So in this way this was a very memorable tour of India by Pakistan in 1999 and Pakistani cricket team was successful in it boasting a team we might say Pakistan's best ever team in their cricketing history.

Australia tour to Pakistan 2022

Pakistan has always generally found it tough against most Australian teams of the past and present. In Australia- Pakistan matches , Australia generally have the upper hand and Australia always start as favourites against Pakistan. Pakistan havent defeated Australia in test matches since 2019, havent defeated Australia in ODI's since 2017 and they havent defeated Australia in Twenty20 Internationals since 2018. They have a pathetic record against Australia and it seems they have some psychological issues with Australia if not talent wise or professional issues. The last tour of Pakistan in 1998 by Australia wasnt a fruitful one for Pakistan. Pakistan lost the test series 1-0 to Australia and the ODI series 3-0 to Australia in 1998 Australian tour of Pakistan. Mark Taylor was the captain of Australia in their last tour of Pakistan in 1998.

Given that recently Australia has a pathetic record in test cricket in the sub continent. I rate Pakistan's chances highly in test matches because Australian's have an hereditary weakness against spin and in Pakistan spinning and turning pitches will be prepared. Pitches in Pakistan dont suit Australian bowler of fast and bouncy type of bowling so Pakistani batting will enjoy the Australian bowling. Australian batsmen have a weakness against quality spin bowling so Sajid Khan and Nauman  Ali can lick their lips.

Pakistan is a weak ODI team. They dont have the firepower in both the batting and bowling departments in ODI cricket. In batting their batsmen seldom score in excess of 300 runs which is a necessity in modern day ODI cricket and in bowling they lack penetration to bowl the opposition out.

Our Twenty20 team is extremely good, and I have a lots of hope from twenty20 team which reached the semi finals of Twenty20 World Cup in 2021 held in UAE and also we have to take revenge from Australia for defeating us in the semi finals of that World Cup.

In the end I will like to say Pakistan cricket team is in a roll winning 14 out of their last 15 international matches under Saqlain Mushtaq's coaching. I am sure Pakistan cricket team will give a tough fight to Australia.