Mohammad Hafeez speaks up | Wants Pakistan to make Key changes:
The English team returned to Pakistan after 17 years to play a Test series. As much as the moment was historically significant for Pakistan, it was crucial for them citing the fact that the team’s prospects of reaching the World Test Championship final relied heavily on it. However, after getting trounced in the first two Test matches of the series, there is hardly any prayer of Pakistan reaching the play offs of the Championship.
Analysts, ex-cricketers and anyone with basic knowledge of the game is currently busy in pointing out the flaws which led Pakistan to lose this historic series in their own backyard. A lot of people are blaming the batters for their poor outings throughout the series. Being a senior batsman in the team, Mohammad Rizwan has been at the receiving end of criticism by many since his performance in the ongoing series by far has not been commendable. Some people deem that the wicket-keeper batter needs a break as he has been continuously playing cricket for quite a few months now.
Giving his two cents on the issue, Pakistan’s former captain Mohammad Hafeez maintained that the management and think tanks of the team have a knack for repeating this same mistake wherein they don’t utilize other available options, especially in the case of wicket-keepers, and keep piling the burden of responsibilities on one player. Quoting the example of previous wicket-keepers of the team, the former all-rounder said, “See we have made these mistakes in the past as well. This mistake was first made in the case of Kamran Akmal. He was made to play in all 3 formats consistently and the other options we had [at his time] were completely ignored. Then Sarfaraz Ahmed came and got a place in the team on the back of his performances. The moment he was stripped of the captaincy from all 3 formats, his place in the team became unstable since it was not cemented with his performances which saw him being dropped.”
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He further said, “Now from the previous three and a half years, we are repeating the same mistake with Rizwan too. We are not utilizing the other options at hand to divide the workload.”
The 42 year old wants Pakistan Cricket Board to give Sarfaraz Ahmed, who has not played even a single test for Pakistan after he was dropped in 2019, a chance to keep the wickets and occupy the batting position in place of Rizwan while he rests.
“Pakistan Cricket Board’s think tank or even Babar himself should consider other available options like Sarfaraz and since Rizwan is not playing up to the par in Test cricket, he should be given a break.”
A few changes in the playing XI of the Pakistan team are expected before the start of 3rd Test. However, it remains to be seen whether Rizwan will be benched or not, the chances of which are slim. Although Rizwan has been a little off-color, he has played this year so far with an average of 34. On top of that he has been absolutely matchless in keeping the wickets as well. Sarfaraz Ahmed, on the other hand, was exceptional in the recent Quaid e Azam Trophy. He scored 394 runs at an impressive average of 44. Also, there is no denying the fact that workload management is pertinent for players, especially wicket-keepers. Whether Rizwan is sat out or not, both decisions will require a lot of reckoning. Until then, let’s wait for Saturday when both teams are slated to meet for the third and the final Test match in Karachi.
