Pakistan will stick to its strategy of relying on all-rounders rather than specialists in T20 cricket ahead of the tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, which begins in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
The opening match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which will host the entire tournament, will be played between the hosts and Zimbabwe, with Pakistan turning to their all-rounders to make the difference again.
The strategy, which has emerged as a blueprint for Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson since his appointment in May this year, has come under heavy criticism due to its nature of ignoring the importance of specialist batsmen and bowlers.
But for Pakistan T20 captain Salman Ali Agha, it is the chosen approach given what he believes is a “luxury” to have players good enough to perform with both bat and ball.
“As you may have seen, we try to go mostly for all-rounders and fortunately we have some who bowl and bat equally well,” he said at the pre-series press conference at the venue on Monday. “So we will try to keep the same combination for the tri series.
“All the all-rounders we have can bowl all four overs and also bat very well. So why wouldn’t we try to use them?
“Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf are complete bowlers and batsmen. All the top teams are doing that. [relying on all-rounders]. we take [having that option] consider it an opportunity.”
Samad likely to return
Pakistan had named the team for the tri-series earlier this month and will continue with the same players except batsman Hasan Nawaz, who was dropped and asked to play first-class cricket after a series of poor performances.
While no replacement has been announced, Abdul Samad, another batsman known for his power batting, is being seen as Pakistan’s choice for the bottom-middle-order position.
“In the middle order, you can say that we are not performing as we would like,” Salman admitted. “Yes, Hasan Nawaz is not there; I hope he returns soon, but we have Abdul Samad, so we can try. 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 due in February-March.
“We will try to give opportunities to the 15 players in the squad, but the priority is to win games,” Salman said. “In T20 cricket you cannot take any team lightly.
“Whatever series we play in the near future, it will be in 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 captain accumulated just 72 runs in 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 also scored a half-century against South Africa earlier.
“I wasn’t in my best shape during the Asian Cup, nor in my best state of mind,” said the 31-year-old. “Failures really take a toll on you in international cricket. But I have done well in the ODIs and I will try to carry that confidence into the T20s as well.”
In the three-series format, each team will play four league matches before the top two qualify for the final on November 29.
All matches are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. and the draw will take place at 5:30 p.m.
Pakistan Team:
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 (goalkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (goalkeeper), Usman Tariq.
Accessories:
November 18: Pakistan v Zimbabwe
November 20: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
November 22: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
November 23: Pakistan v Zimbabwe
November 25: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
November 27: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
November 29: Final
