There is light at end of the tunnel for Pakistan after their opening World Cup loss to India, but only if they make big changes immediately.
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The team’s next match is against West Indies in what would be the clash of two teams who are known for their flair and free flowing approach of cricket.
The two teams are comprised of similar batsmen whose first instinct to take risks irrespective of what the situation demands.
Both Pakistan and West Indies can boast an abundance of raw talent despite not having a systemized domestic structure like Australia, India, South Africa or England.
Their flare and unpredictability is what makes them dangerous for opponents and now that they are going head to head, there is potential for a great match in what is probably one of the best grounds in world – Christchurch, New Zealand.
Without a shadow of doubt, the wicket is New Zealand’s hardest and bounciest. If I was forced to name the best ground for a batsman to play entertaining shots then Christchurch would be right up there.
The ball comes on so nicely that the batsmen can be caught by surprise as they are forced into playing shots which might not be in their repertoire.
It is vital for Pakistan to get in right shape of mind after the heavy defeat against India and the coaching staff must ensure that the boys are focused on the challenges ahead.
The biggest challenge for Pakistan is to deal with West Indies’ mystery quality. They will be helped by the absence of spinner Sunile Narine, but equally hampered by missing their own Saeed Ajmal.
With both sides weakened with absence of their star magicians it will be a battle of pace bowling.
Pakistan have been trying to exploit weaknesses of their opponents through Mohammad Irfan’s awkward bounce but they could face the same style attack in Jason Holder, Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach.
The quick trio has the ability to breach defenses through pacey, short-pitch bowling.
Our real problem still lies in striking the right balance between form and experience and I feel the time has come to give rest to our senior batsman Younis Khan who has struggled recently.
It might look harsh at the outset to some but the fact is that a break could also do wonders for Younis as he could return later in the tournament with a revitalised ambition to perform at the biggest stage of all.
It is time to bring in a specialist opener and we have got Nasir Jamshed on the bench. Granted there are question marks over his form too but his basic skill-set is more suited to coping with the new ball.
In addition, I feel that Pakistan have missed a trick by dropping their match-winner Sarfaraz Ahmed who had an amazing 2014. The team management should have persisted with him because he is someone who can change course of the match in a whisker.
We paid the price of going with makeshift Umar Akmal behind the stumps as he missed a crucial catch of Virat Kohli and allowed India to hurt Pakistan in his solid third-wicket partnership with Suresh Raina.
Pakistan cannot afford to drop West Indies big guns like Chris Gayle. Knowing Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy style, I think that he might drop Yasir Shah for an extra batsman.
Even in the UAE we were not confident to play five bowlers and went with an extra batsman and I could see a repeat of those tactics after initial experiments backfired.
I still believe that Yasir could be used as a surprise weapon but it all depends at what stage he is introduced.
Our main bowling weapons, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Irfan, both failed to fire but ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi could make his presence felt with a match-winning performance.
West Indies took things for granted against the Irish and they were made to pay for the mistake just like Pakistan. For me it will be a battle of who makes fewer mistakes at crucial moments.
A loss for either team would stand them in troubled waters with minnows Ireland, Zimbabwe and even UAE ringing alarm bells through their decent performances against more established nations in the group.
