The 2019 Cricket World Cup is almost a month away. Beginning from May 30, 2019, to July 14, 2019, this year’s World Cup will see 10 participants battle it out in 48 matches for a chance to enter the finals and win. Pakistan, the former champions of the 1992 World Cup, will be entering the tournament not as the favourite, but perhaps as the underdog, which suits them best. Without the pacer Mohammad Amir, the team will lack its blistering attack, which could have done magic on the pitches of England. We hope Shaheen Afridi can fill this void. However, Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to not include Amir in the World Cup squad may not bode well. Now that the team has been decided with Sarfaraz Ahmed as the captain, who is also the wicket keeper, the team now needs to create a viable, practical strategy ahead of the tournament.
The Pakistan cricket team must forget and overlook altogether that they were champions of the 1992 World Cup. Learning lessons from the past is important but living in the past only hampers growth in the present. Yes, Pakistan was the champion in 1992 but the team was different and the conditions were absolutely not what they are today. Six World Cups have been held after 1992, in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. Pakistan managed to enter the finals of only one of them in 1999 against Australia, and lost it in a dismal fashion. Pakistan played the semi-final of the 2011 edition against India, but then again it was at the losing side. Even these facts should not matter for the current squad of 11 men preparing to take part in the 2019 World Cup. They must have their own tactics in place.
The Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan cricket team needs to carve out a strategy of not only to survive during the World Cup but also to win their matches. First, they must know the psyche and possible on-the-field tactics their opponents may use against them. Identifying an opponent’s strategies is impossible but having an awareness based on how the opponent played in the past can give our boys a fair idea of their opponents’ actions in the future. It is all about finding a pattern that fits. Our team should know how the openers of a particular team play the first 15 overs of a match, how a team’s bowlers set the field during power-play and how agile are the opponents’ fielders.
While an inclusive, big strategy must be in place ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Team must have smaller sub-strategies in place to counter the opponent’s sudden surprise moves
Second, the Pakistan cricket team should analyse their own weaknesses to overcome them, and evaluate their strengths to capitalise on them. This will only happen when the 11 men of the team along with the coach and the manager think as one cohesive unit. Living in the past hurts but learning from the past brings worthwhile results that make the present conditions better. The Pakistan Cricket Team must delve, research and investigate the mistakes they made that resulted in losses during the last six World Cups. These faults could be at the strategic or the operational level. At times the team management would have taken a decision that may have slackened the team, while at times the players on the field may have made a blunder. That is why the team management and the coach must, at all times, be a part of the pre-match decision and strategising process.
Third, the Pakistan Cricket Team is now playing without Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Amir. It was seen in the past that the team and Pakistan would rely on Afridi to use his “Boom Boom” approach to hit boundaries and help Pakistan win matches. In my opinion, for once, the Pakistan cricket team must not rely on one particular player but everyone should rely on their own strengths and abilities while ensuring to have each other’s back as a batsman, bowler or fielder. It is high time the Pakistan Cricket Team shed this “one-man-can-win-it” approach to follow the “we-can-do-it” attitude.
Fourth, the Pakistan Cricket Team must play as they should. They should not be intimidated by their opponent and never consider themselves less capable than others.
Fifth, while an inclusive, big strategy must be in place ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Team must have smaller sub-strategies in place to counter the opponent’s sudden surprise moves, and to overcome other instances occurring at that moment. For instance, while the big strategy will be to prepare batsmen for run chases, the sub-strategy would be to know how much runs the openers should score during the first 10 overs if the target is over 300. These kinds of strategies are prepared on the spot, in the field, within seconds, and work only when the 11 men work and think as one.
For all of these strategies to work, the team needs to shed all differences and play their own game. Green Shirts, all the best!
The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist