Pakistan will stick to their strategy of relying on all-rounders rather than specialists in T20 cricket going into the tri-series — also involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe — which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
The opener at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium — which will host the entirety of the tournament — will be played between the hosts and Zimbabwe, and Pakistan will look up to their all-rounders to make a difference again.
The strategy, which has emerged as a blueprint of Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson since was appointed in May this year, has come under heavy criticism due to its nature of ignoring the importance of specialist batters and bowlers.
But for Pakistan T20 captain Salman Ali Agha, it is the go-to approach given what he believes is a “luxury” to have good enough all-rounders to deliver with both bat and ball.
“As you may have seen, we try to go for all-rounders mostly, and thankfully we have some who bowl and bat equally well,” he said in the pre-series press conference at the venue on Monday. “So we’ll try to carry on the same combination for the tri series.
“All of the all-rounders we have can bowl all four overs, and they bat really well too. So why would we not try to utilise them?
“Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf are full bowlers and full batters. All top teams are doing that [relying on all-rounders]. We take [having that option] it as an opportunity.”
Samad likely to return
Pakistan had named the squad for the tri-series, earlier this month and will carry on with the same players, barring batter Hasan Nawaz, who was dropped and asked to play first-class cricket following a series of poor performances.
While there was no replacement announced, Abdul Samad, another batter known for his power-hitting, is being seen as Pakistan’s choice for the lower middle-order finishing position.
“In the middle-order, you can say we are not performing the way we would like to,” Salman admitted. “Yes, Hasan Nawaz isn’t there — I hope he makes a comeback soon — but we have Abdul Samad, so we may give him a go. He bats at number six and can play the finisher’s role.”
Pakistan are unlikely to experiment further as they look to fine tune their combination with the T20 World Cup set to be held in February-March.
“We’ll try to give opportunities to all of the 15 players in the squad, but the priority is to win matches,” Salman noted. “In T20 cricket you can’t take any team lightly.
“Whichever series we play in the near future, it is for the preparation for the World Cup.”
Salman’s own form was poor during the Asia Cup, of which Pakistan lost the final against India in September. The Pakistan skipper accumulated a paltry 72 runs across seven matches.
The right-hander, however, bounced back with a century against Sri Lanka in the first match of the ODI series, which concluded with Pakistan completing a 3-0 sweep on Sunday. Salman had earlier also scored a half-century against South Africa.
“I wasn’t in the best form during the Asia Cup, neither in a good frame of mind, perhaps,” said the 31-year-old. “Failures do really affect you in international cricket. But I’ve done well in the ODIs and will try to carry that confidence into the T20s as well.”
Sri Lanka duo sent back home
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka suffered a setback ahead of the tri-series as captain Charith Asalanka and fast bowler Asitha Fernando were ruled out due to illness and sent home as a precaution.
Sri Lanka Cricket said both players needed rest and proper medical care to ensure full recovery before future assignments.
Asalanka’s absence has led to an immediate change in leadership, with experienced all-rounder Dasun Shanaka appointed captain for the tournament.
Sri Lanka have also added young batter Pavan Rathnayake to their squad as a replacement.
The tri-series format will see each team play four league fixtures before the top two sides qualify for the November 29 final.
All matches are scheduled for a 6:00pm start, with the toss taking place at 5:30pm.
Pakistan squad:
Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicket-keeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicket-keeper), Usman Tariq.
Fixtures:
Nov 18: Pakistan v Zimbabwe
Nov 20: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Nov 22: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Nov 23: Pakistan v Zimbabwe
Nov 25: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Nov 27: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Nov 29: Final
