The two cricket-passionate neighbouring countries met for a T20I series in UAE. This was Pakistan’s first ever T20I series against Afghanistan besides meeting in ICC & ACC tournaments. Pakistan named their youngest side ever with an average age of just 24 to give a chance to the youngsters who performed well in the recently concluded PSL 8. With Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan both rested, the captaincy onus was handed over to Shadab Khan.
Afghanistan brushed aside this young Pakistan team by winning the series 2-1 thanks to their disciplined bowling approach on a tough Sharjah wicket. It is their first-ever bilateral series win against any top-six side. They restricted Pakistan to the scores of 92-9 & 130-5 in the opening two games & then chased down the targets. Pakistan bounced back for a consolation win in the third T20I as they won by 66 runs in the last T20I after the Afghans failed to chase down a target of 183.
Although Pakistan lost the series let’s have a look at the five key takeaways from the series against Afghanistan:
Naseem Shah Form
Since the ACL injury to Shaheen Afridi in 2022, Naseem Shah has led Pakistan’s pace attack in his absence. With some key performances in Asia Cup and T20 WC 2022 in Australia where he reminisced about Afridi’s 1st over-wicket-taking ability. His economy in the T20 World Cup in Australia was just 6.23. But slowly the form of Shah is fading with just three wickets in his last eight T20I games. Naseem hasn’t been able to trouble the batters as he used to & those death-over yorkers are missing from his arsenal.
In the 2nd T20I against Afghanistan, Naseem went for 17 runs in the penultimate over leaving little for Zaman Khan to defend and has drawn criticism over his recent performances.
Naseem is still young & with the experience, he will learn and come good in future matches for Pakistan.
Azam Khan Fitness / Form
Azam Khan was one of the star performers of the recently concluded PSL 8 where he scored 282 runs at a healthy strike rate of 161.14. A never-ending debate on his fitness level continued as he made a comeback to the Pakistan team after debuting in the series against England in 2021.
He had a horrible outing in the T20I series against Afghanistan where he could only score 0 & 1 in the opening two matches. He was dropped for the third T20. But it was not only his form that came into question, it was the level of wicketkeeping that hurt Pakistan. Some crucial runs ultimately cost them the opening two games.
In the first T20, he dropped Najibullah when Afghanistan was struggling at 60-4 and then missed a ball that ultimately went for four bye runs. Similarly in the 2nd T20, his fumbling hands occasionally gave Afghans the crucial runs in a tough chase which they eventually won to seal the series.
His liability with keeping gloves & as a fielder could play a major role in his international career if he wants to play for the national team.
Ihsanullah Pace Sensation
Ihsanullah the latest pace sensation bowled with fire during the whole series & extracted a good bounce from the Sharjah wicket. He took six wickets, the highest from three games with an economy of 6.36. He became the 2nd Pakistani after Aamir Yamin to get a wicket on his first-ever delivery in T20I.
His high bounce often troubled the batters who failed to read his consistent 145+ kmph clicks. He bounced out Najibullah with a fiery delivery that made him bleed & eventually got retired hurt.
Pakistan has got another pacer for their already stacked fast bowling unit. With the World Cup in India later this year, he might be a good option in strengthening the pace attack.
Also Read: The Social Media’s Impact on Cricket – Opportunities and Challenges
Saim Ayub Future Star
The young prodigy Saim Ayub rose to the ranks with some scintillating performances in PSL 8 for Peshawar Zalmi. With 341 runs at a strike rate of 165.53, he turned a few heads with his innovative shots and that famous no-look hook shot.
Although he just made 66 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 115.78, he showed glimpses of what he is capable of. His mature innings of 49 from 40 balls in the final T20I set the platform for Shadab & co to propel Pakistan to a decent score.
With patience and experience, he is going to become a player to watch out for in the future.
Imad’s Happy Return
Imad Wasim returned to the side after a dominant outing in PSL 8 where he scored 404 runs at a strike rate of 170 & also picked up 8 wickets.
In the T20I series against Afghanistan, he looked calm at the crease & came to bat in tough situations after a collapse. His cautious innings of 64 not out took Pakistan to a fighting score in the 2nd T20I. He was the only batter from the green shirts that looked comfortable on the crease. With the bowl, he was pretty economical going at just 5.12 per over while picking up two wickets.
Imad’s return to form is an encouraging sign for the Pakistan team, as healthy competition leads to better performances from the players.
