‘Experimentation against India is mind-boggling’

KARACHI: In big cricket matches, a team fields its best playing XI and does not experiment but unfortunately, Pakistan never remember this simple formula, feels Pakistan’s former legendary batsman Javed Miandad.
“The much-hyped match between Pakistan and India turned out to be an easy outing for the men in blue on a batting paradise in Adelaide. The 76-run emphatic victory lifted India’s record to 6-0 against Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Pakistan might have to wait for another four years to break this jinx,” Miandad wrote in his exclusive ICC column.
“It was nothing but a mindboggling team selection that shocked millions of its fans around the world. What’s the rocket science of promoting Younis Khan as an opener? What’s the logic of leaving out specialist wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed when he could also bat aggressively? It was like pushing the panic button before the start of an all-important event like the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015,” he added.
“I do understand that Nasir Jamshed flew into Australia in place of an injured Mohammad Hafeez at the last-minute, but was he there to prove himself in a warm-up match against England or he was supposed to play in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015?” questioned Miandad.
“Wicketkeeping is also a specialised job. Dozens of times we have seen Umar Akmal drop crucial catches in crunch matches at vital points. He didn’t surprise me when he dropped centurion Virat Kohli behind the stumps.”
“To me, it seems Pakistan team management is confused where its strength lies. It wants to bat deep down to No.8 and also doesn’t want to miss out on the sixth bowler. I am afraid that’s not the right approach in big tournaments.
“True, Pakistan lost the all-important toss, but that doesn’t mean it should throw in the towel from the onset.”
“India, I must admit, did its homework brilliantly. The way Shikhar Dhawan built the innings with Kohli, Misbah-ul-Haq seemed to have virtually no plan against them. Both the India batsmen waited for the lose deliveries and even nullified all the much talked about pace and height of Mohammad Irfan. Perhaps the pressure of big game played on the mind of Irfan. He was warned twice for running onto the danger area and had no other option to bowl around the wicket. It simply took the bite out of his bowling.”
“Pakistan team management also forgot that the brigade of India batting has done wonders against spinners all around the world. Pakistan fielded not one or two, but three spinners! Expecting leg-spinner Yasir Shah to come out and do wonders in only his second ODI, is perhaps asking too much. India batsmen looked at ease against him and the leggie was smashed for 60-odd runs in his eight overs!”
“Relying on the left-arm spin of Haris Sohail was another big gamble and against solid batting oppositions, he won’t be effective at all on pitches in Australia and New Zealand.
“Despite Misbah saying at the toss that Younis will open the innings, I was hoping Pakistan might tinker with its batting line-up after conceding 300 runs. I was expecting Shahid Afridi to open the innings with Ahmed Shehzad and look for some quick runs. But sadly, the team management didn’t read the situation.”