Pakistan are currently playing a seven-match T20I series against England at home. Heading into the 20-20 Word Cup 2022, the series is looked at as an opportunity for them to address all the glaring issues.
There were doubts over the opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan but both have shown that they are perfectly suited to open the innings and the team must not experiment by changing the opening combination at this stage.
Bowling is their strongest suit. Despite the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan have faired pretty well with the ball. However, one major concern has been the struggling middle-order.
Pakistan boast of a strong middle order, filled with power-hitters. However, they haven’t been consistent enough, of late, and has failed to provide the finishes that they should have. In the fourth T20I against England, once again, their middle-order was exposed as the Men in Green couldn’t capitalize on the start provided by the openers.
Amidst that, former Pakistan legendary cricketer, Javed Miandad has warned the players to score runs consistently or they might get replaced soon. Miandad stated that if a player had failed to perform in 2-3 innings, he would have replaced him quickly.
“If I give a player 2-3 innings and he doesn’t perform, I will replace him,” Miandad told reporters as he talked about the middle-order in a video posted by Sports Paktv. “Aap Pakistan ke liye khel rahe ho. Ye meri ghar ki team nahi hai. Itni badi aawam hain, isme se saare aa sakte hain. Competition bohot hai. (You are playing for Pakistan. This is not my personal team. We have such a big population, and there’s a lot of competition),” the former Pakistan captain further stated.
“These players have to realize that they have to perform in every match. If you don’t perform, your team will not improve,”.
The ongoing series between Pakistan and England is currently leveled at 2-2. The fifth T20I is slated to be played on Wednesday at Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.
