Pakistan have an impressive World Cup record with one title, one
runners-up finish and four semi-final appearances over the last ten
editions of the tournament. However, the
1992 champions arrive at this year's tournament after a string of below-par performances in the ODI
format in recent times. In this episode of CONTENDERS, former India
captain Rahul Dravid and former South Africa captain Graeme Smith
analyse Pakistan's chances to upset the apple-cart and replicate the
glory of 1992. Can the young batsmen find consistency? Can the bowling
attack cope with the loss of Saeed Ajmal? And can veterans such as
Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi rise to the occasion?
What they said about…
The lack of aura around the side, compared to previous years
Dravid:
They lack those big-ticket players or game changers which you would associate the Pakistani team of the past.
Smith: They're looking for stability, looking for someone who can create
some consistency. The younger generation of batters hasn't quite
stepped up to the plate in terms of consistent performances.
Saeed Ajmal's absence
Smith: Every batsman in every team is breathing a sigh of relief that
Ajmal is not around. Believe me, I wish I could go play a Pakistan team
without Ajmal in it.
Drawing inspiration from the 1992 win
Dravid: In 1992 also, they started off very badly and they struggled for
a while with a similar kind of team in which they had a lot of young
players but who later on went to become absolute legends for Pakistan.
So Pakistan can only hope that history repeats itself.
Smith: When you go back to 1992, a charismatic captain. Who can forget
Wasim Akram in the final of the tournament? And they had some x-factor.
That's what they need to find now, early in the tournament, find their
best eleven.
Misbah, the captain
Dravid: You can just sense that he has a lot of respect from the players
in the team. They respect that he brings that stability to the team.
He's been able to work really well with the board and with the coaching
staff. And makes the best of the situation he finds himself in. So you
can't fault him on his effort and he's trying to do the best that he
can.
Smith: He comes across as very serious, very methodical, and I think my
favourite quote by him is, "My name is Misbah, my nickname is Misbah."
You know that sums up the personality
Fawad Alam's exclusion
Dravid: He seems to have a fantastic record, but for some reason they
don't seem to pick him. I read somewhere, that they think that his game
wasn't going to be good enough in Australian conditions. That's a
presumption and they're playing a lot of games in New Zealand.
Afridi and the big stage
Dravid: It's almost like when he goes out to bat, there's this red mist
that comes over him, he just swings at everything. But I've seen him
play a different kind of game. I've seen him play sensibly at times and
construct innings. But it just hasn't happened of late for some reason
or the other.
Smith: He's going to be a key performer, he has huge experience, with
350+ ODIs. That's immense. They are going to need more from him in this
tournament.
Umar Akmal's role
Dravid: If he can turn that obvious ability and become a run-hungry
consistent batsman for
Pakistan, sure enough he'll find a spot. He could
bat at No. 4 consistently, or at 3 or 5, or bat anywhere really if he
wants to.
Smith: He's one of those cricketers, who comes in and plays some good
shots, gets to 25 or 30 and you think this guy is going to do something
special. But he'll just get out to a soft shot or won't really follow
through on the innings and continue his good work.
Source : Fantasy Cricket Pk
