3 Areas Pakistan Need To Sort Out For More Success In T20Is

Aashay Chopade

Babar and Rizwan have struggled in recent times (Source:@ICC/X.com)Babar and Rizwan have struggled in recent times (Source:@ICC/X.com)

Pakistan are currently in South Africa for the multi-format tour and it has started on a losing note with the Proteas notching up a win by 11 runs at Kngsmead, Durban. Pakistan had things in control with the ball at one point in time, but they let it slip away and the home team notched up a confidence-boosting victory.

The Men In Green have been struggling in the shortest format for quite a long time now. They crashed out of the group stage in T20 World Cup 2024 and now even after a change in leadership, they are struggling to get the desired result. So, let's now look at some of the issues that are haunting Pakistan in T20Is and how they can fix it.

Intent From Openers

One of the most talked about issue in Pakistan cricket is their conservative approach at the top of the order in T20Is. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have mostly opened for them in the last three years or so, and both of them have been under fire for their low strike-rate. 

Both of them have shown great consistency has an average of around 40 which is quite brilliant. However, in T20Is it is more about the rate at which you score and that is where both of them are lacking as Rizwan has a strike rate of 127.93 while Babar's is 130.57.

In modern-day T20 cricket, it is crucial to take advantage of fielding restrictions and atleast one of the openers need to go at a higher rate and many top teams in the world have their openers batting at a strike rate of over 200.

Batters
Strike-Rate As Opener in T20Is
Babar Azam130.57
Mohammad Rizwan127.93

Babar Azam, on the other hand has hit his runs at a strike-rate of over 200 just once in 87 innings as opener while Rizwan has not done it even once. So, clearly there has been lack of intent from the openers, and Pakistan need them to take more aggressive route or they can go with someone like Saim Ayub at the top of the order who is a natural strokeplayer and has been in good form lately.

Depth And Power In The Batting Line-Up

In the first T20I, Pakistan clearly looked short of ideas when the required rate was creeping up. The way their openers approach the T20I innings, they need power in the middle order to compensate it. However, it has been lacking in Pakistan cricket for a long time now. 

Of all the Pakistan batters who played in the first T20I against South Africa, the highest T20I strike rate was of Irfan Khan at 132.25. South Africa in comparison had three players with a strike-rate of over 140 in a team that is without their regular skipper and some premier batters.

Also, Pakistan lack depth in their batting line-up. Shaheen Afridi who is primarily a bowler, batted at number six in the first T20I against South Africa. It was the first instance in his T20I career that he batted at that position as most of his innings have come at number 9 and number 8.

In the Australia series too, Abbas Afridi, who has an average of 11.15 in 64 T20 games he has played batted at number seven. It shows the dwindling batting resources of Pakistan and they need to find a way to address this, otherwise things would continue to go downhill.

Consistency In Selection

The lack of consistency in selection has always been a big issue in Pakistan cricket. They brought seniors like Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim back for the T20 World Cup 2024, but they were not seen after the tournament. 

Mohammad Rizwan replaced Babar Azam as captain and since then, Pakistan have chopped and changed their opening combination with players like Babar Azam, Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Omair Yousuf all getting at go at the top of the order. The middle order has also been shuffled a lot with no permanent position for any player, and this instability in the system has hampered the progress of the side.