Pakistan’s Tour To England, 2020: What We Learnt From It!

Pakistan’s tour to England recently concluded and hence, here is a look at what we were able to learn from the three match Test and T20 series.

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Test Team Needs A Revamp

Asad Shafiq’s bad patch continued during the Test series and the given scenario suggests that it is high time the think-tank replaces him with someone else. Despite the century in the last Test, Azhar Ali’s future too needs to be accessed regularly and rather than waiting for his batting form to go down further; the board should start preparing his replacement.

On the bowling front Pakistan needs a tear away fast bowler who is capable of sealing the deal for them. Mohd. Abbas and Shaheen Shah Afridi bowl with good discipline but both lack the x-factor that Pakistani bowlers have been known for world-wide over the years. Naseem Shah on the other hand is still very young. So, one of the three needs to then make way for a tear away fast bowler who is capable of sealing the deal for the green shirts. Yasir Shah too couldn’t quite deliver the goods once more and therefore, Pakistan also needs to prepare a back up spinner during the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. Allowing Zafar Gohar or Bilal Asif a comeback then doesn’t seem like a bad idea at all!

Read: Pakistan’s 3rd T20 Against England: Positives & Negatives From The Game

Misbah’s Captains Exposed During Pakistan’s Tour To England, 2020

Both Azhar Ali and Babar Azam looked pretty ordinary as skippers and thus, there is no doubt that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs to step in and find a better replacement for Misbah’s captains who are neither creative nor proactive during the crunch moments of a game.

Read: Pakistan’s Second T20 Against England: Takeaways From The Embarrassing Defeat

Mohd. Rizwan Emerges As A Strong Candidate For Captaincy

Mohd. Rizwan has emerged as a stronger player than before during the trip. He seems captaincy material and hence, it won’t be a bad idea for PCB to try him out in a game or two after resting Babar Azam.

Read: Pakistan’s Test Series In England: Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq & Fawad Alam Face An Uncertain Future From Here Onwards

The Need Of A Fast Bowling All-rounder

Pakistan desperately needs an all-rounder who can represent the country across formats. They have been trying Faheem Ashraf who this far has been nothing more than a liability. Pakistan should then not treat Amir Yamin in the same fashion as Fawad Alam and give him an opportunity to prove his credentials.

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Pakistan Needs To Rethink Its Bowling Options Across Formats

With a few exceptions, Pakistani bowlers looked pathetic for most part and therefore, PCB seriously needs to reevaluate its decision to appoint Waqar Younis as the bowling coach on one hand and rethink its bowling options across formats on the other.