Return of Test cricket after 10 years in the country, unceremonious sacking of skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed from all formats, controversial hiring of former captain Misbahul Haq as chief selector cum head coach, thrashing of Pakistan by an inexperienced Sri Lanka in a limited overs series at home and the national squad’s pathetic performance Down Under dominated Pakistan cricket in the year 2019. Perhaps the leading and good news for Pakistan was return of Test cricket in the country. It was Sri Lanka who ended this decade-long exile, after a fatal militant attack on their team in 2009 drove international cricket away. The attack plunged Pakistan into sporting isolation, with all “home” venues played in the United Arab Emirates. One must appreciate those who made sincere efforts to convince other countries to tour Pakistan. PCB chairmen from Zaka Ashraf to Shaharyar Khan to Najam Sethi, they had all have their turn as they travelled around the globe to invite and convince teams to tour Pakistan. Pakistan’s emphatic Test series win over Sri Lanka at Karachi’s National Stadium proved to be historic in many ways. More importantly, it signalled a turnaround for the home team after a dismal year of cricket. The two-match series proved to be a rejuvenating factor for the Pakistan side that put up a sterling show to outplay their rivals by 263 runs and win the series 1-0. The first Test played in Rawalpindi had ended in a stalemate because of rain. For Pakistan’s 11 players, it was for the first time that they appeared in a Test match in Karachi — and they simply shone in front of the home crowd. It was akin to making their Test debuts all over again, and the electrifying feeling was clearly translated in their game. Everything came together for Pakistan in the Karachi Test that was only the second occasion in the annals of the game when the top four batsmen of a team all scored centuries. The previous such instance was in 2007 when India pulled off the feat against Bangladesh in Mirpur. The bowlers, too, fired in unison, rattling the strong Sri Lankan batting order, while the fielders took some fine catches. The sheer brilliance of skill and application displayed by opener Abid Ali, who launched his career by scoring successive hundreds in the two Tests, and the blossoming of pace twins Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah especially stood out. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as usual, remained embroiled in different controversies — nepotism, forcing high officials to resign and taking many idiotic decisions, making it a laughing stock around the globe. Throughout the year, the PCB failed to realise that players are always developed according to the challenges of the moment. The PCB also failed to keep in mind the importance of professionally grooming players, regardless of a home series or an away tour. A multitude of sins in management, selection and coaching always got covered up through one cliché or the other. Ignored were the slips in the selection and the secretive manipulation that go behind the scenes for personal gains and self-aggrandisment, with constructive criticism always a poor second to the waving of the flag. The PCB ignored the fact that the change of command in no way promises success, planning does. But we are not a nation of sage souls. Rather we indulge in thoughtless decisions. A multitude of sins in management, selection and coaching always got covered up through one cliché or the other. Ignored were the slips in the selection and the secretive manipulation that go behind the scenes for personal gains and self-aggrandisment, with constructive criticism always a poor second to the waving of the flag. The PCB ignored the fact that the change of command in no way promises success, planning does. But we are not a nation of sage souls. Rather we indulge in thoughtless decisions. Pakistan started the year with a dismal performance in South Africa, losing Test, ODI and T20I series, and ended the year’s away tour with same ‘feat’ Down Under. World Cup proved to be a nightmare for Pakistan who were unable to qualify for the semifinals despite having high hopes. Lack of vision, along with flaws in Pakistan’s preparations, and game plan were too great to overcome in the space of few weeks of sunshine and rain in England. Inclusion of out-of-form players and last-minute finalisation of the squad also affected the morale of the team tremendously. Pakistan never played like a well-knit unit. There were some individual performances, but overall, Pakistan’s performance was mediocre. Pakistan’s actual World Cup campaign ended when they lost to India because their NRR was below all other teams’ except Afghanistan. Later it became an uphill task for Pakistan to be among the top four teams despite inspiring wins over South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. The most talked about and controversial decisions of the PCB were sacking of Sarfaraz and appointment of Misbah in dual role which led to wild uproar in the country. Media reports regarding Sarfaraz’s removal from the position of skipper had been circulating since Pakistan’s dismal campaign in the World Cup in England. After Sarfaraz episode, the PCB’s biggest blunder and idiotic decision was putting all its eggs in Misbah’s basket. If Misbah’s multiple roles weren’t already a talking point –– he was part of the selection of all province squads for domestic cricket too –– he was also part of the very committee that reviewed head coach Mickey Arthur’s tenure after the World Cup and then decided to not renew his contract. Of Misbah’s numerous roles, his position as head coach of a Pakistan Super League franchise and the national team raised many an eyebrow of a potential conflict of interest –– much in the way it had with his predecessor. Arthur was also coach of Karachi Kings during his time as Pakistan coach. The matter was taken up by Ehsan Mani after becoming PCB chairman and he promised to form a policy on dual roles that caused potential conflicts of interest. Before becoming the PCB chairman, Mani had questioned the situation of national coaches working with domestic teams. Under Mani, the PCB did remove chief selector Inzamamul Haq from the Pakistan Super League player draft committee because of a potential conflict of interest since he was involved with a talent-hunt programme run by one of the tournament’s franchises, Lahore Qalandars. On all counts, Pakistan’s tour of Australia was more of a case of professionals versus club cricketers. Even before they embarked on this tour Down Under with a disjointed and unbalanced team, all and sundry well aware of the outcome and with it the humiliation that would follow. The visitors were comprehensively out-batted and overwhelmingly out-bowled by the hosts. Pakistan were trounced by a team that was operating on a different level altogether. Not only were the Australians at their zenith in terms of performance, they also executed their game plan with utmost discipline. Pakistan lost back-to-back Tests at Brisbane and Adelaide that followed the comprehensive T20Is drubbing. The absence of a strategy was evident throughout. Azhar Ali proved to be a clueless captain. With no prior experience, Misbah selected raw teenagers Naseem Shah and Moosa Khan to be the bowling spearheads, a move which hugely backfired. Inexplicably, Misbah left out experienced batters such as Fawad Alam, Sami Aslam and Abid Ali from the team and continued to back Haris Sohail and Iftikhar Ahmed for the Tests, both of whom were unable to survive the Australian onslaught. Babar Azam’s exploits as a batsman of exceptional quality remained the only real high point. Dismal tour of South Africa: Pakistan started the year on a low. They played three Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa in South Africa in January and February. Skipper Sarfaraz and his men lost the Test series 3-0, ODI series 3-2 and T20I series 2-1. During the second ODI, captain Sarfaraz was caught on the stump mics making a racist comment towards Proteas player Andile Phehlukwayo. Sarfaraz played in the third ODI match, but was then suspended by the International Cricket Council for the next four matches, missing the last two ODIs and the first two T20Is of the tour. Shoaib Malik was named as the captain for the fourth and fifth ODIs and the T20I series. The Pakistan Cricket Board was disappointed with the ICC’s decision to suspend their captain after Sarfaraz apologised in person to Phehlukwayo before the start of the third ODI. Pakistan women score ODI series win over Windies: In February, Pakistan women defeated West Indies women by four wickets in the third and final One-day International at the ICC Academy in Dubai to claim the series 2-1. The victory in the fourth-round fixture of the ICC Women’s Championship had helped Pakistan women move ahead of the West Indies (11 points) and England (10), and join India on 12 points. However, Pakistan were placed behind India in fourth position on net-run-rate. Australia led the table with 16 points while New Zealand were second on 14. This was Pakistan’s first series victory over the West Indies in 16 years and only their seventh ODI win in 26 matches. Overall, it was Pakistan’s 46th triumph in 158 One-day Internationals. Their 2-1 series win in Dubai reflected the impact the home series and win had on the overall confidence and motivation as Pakistan outclassed their more experienced and skilled team in an all-round performance. The series triumph was more special as Pakistan had come from behind. They were routed by 146 runs in the first before leveling the series with a 34-run victory. Quetta Gladiators win Pakistan Super League 2019: Quetta Gladiators defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 8 wickets in the final of the Pakistan Super League 2019 at the National Stadium in Karachi. The tournament kicked-off on February 14 followed in Dubai by a star-studded ceremony. The opening matches were played in Dubai while 3 matches were played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore and the rest of 5 matches including the final were held in Karachi. The PSL was played in a round robin format, six teams contested in the tournament and each of the team played ten matches. Top four sides played the playoffs. The top team entered into the final and remaining three teams played eliminators. The total number of matches was 34. Australia rout Pakistan 5-0 in limited overs series in UAE: In March, Pakistan met Australia for a five-match ODI series in the United Arab Emirates and were beaten black and blue by skipper Aaron Finch and his charges. Australia won the first ODI by 08 wickets, second also by 08 wickets, third by 80 runs, fourth by 06 runs and fifth and final by 20 runs. The fixtures were part of both teams’ preparation for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. It was Australia’s first 5–0 series win away from home since they beat the West Indies in 2008. Below par performance against England in limited overs series: In May, Pakistan toured England before the start of World Cup for a five-match ODI series and one-off T20I. England won the one-off T20I match by seven wickets and the ODI series 4–0, after the first match was washed out. The hosts won the second ODI by 12 runs, third by 06 runs, fourth by 03 wickets and fifth by 54 runs. Sana Mir shines for Women’s Team Pakistan: In May, Pakistan off-spinner Sana Mir became the most successful women’s ODI spinner in the world after she dismissed South Africa’s Sune Luus in the third ODI of the ICC Women’s Championship which ended in a thrilling tie at the Willowmoore Park in South Africa. In October, alongside six other trailblazing women from Asian countries, Mir was honoured with the 2019 Asia Society Game Changers award in recognition of their transformative impact in Asia and beyond. Sana also announced a break from international cricket in 2019. She however, did not specify the duration of her break. Pakistan crash out of World Cup despite late performance: In June, when Pakistan embarked upon their journey to the World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, there was a little hope among critics for skipper Sarfaraz and his charges qualifying for the last four stage of the mega event. On the other hand, majority in the country was hoping for a miracle that happened in the World Cup 1992 in Australia and the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in England and Wales. But miracles seldom happen. Pakistan are a mercurial team that oscillates between sublime cricket and farce, and are cursed with a legendary ability to self-destruct. To achieve something out of the ordinary there has to be discipline, professionalism and aggressive approach. Lacking in all three, Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup despite beating Bangladesh by 94 runs in their last league match. It was a disappointing conclusion to Pakistan’s campaign that had plenty of highs and lows. No doubt, a seven-wicket defeat against the West Indies in the first game hurt Pakistan badly. Shoaib Malik announces retirement from ODIs: All-rounder Shoaib Malik formally announced his decision to retire from one-day internationals, after Pakistan’s final World Cup 2019 game against Bangladesh on July 5. “Today was our last game, and I’m retiring from ODI cricket. I had planned this few years ago to retire on the last Pakistan World Cup match,” Malik announced in the post-match conference at Lord’s, after Pakistan’s 94-run victory, their fourth consecutive ODI win. Malik, one of the few active international cricketers to have debuted in the 1990s, played a total of 287 ODIs, garnering 7534 runs, the fifth-highest tally for a Pakistan batsman. He also took 158 wickets, in a career that began against West Indies at Sharjah in October 1999. Although he represented Pakistan for close to two decades, Malik played only six World Cup games, three each in 2007 and 2019. Despite underwhelming figures in both editions, Malik said that he was satisfied with his one-day exploits. Fast bowler Amir announces retirement from Test cricket: In the last week of July, pacer Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from Test cricket. The 27-year-old left-arm quick, however, said he would continue playing white-ball cricket for Pakistan. Amir brought his Test career to a close with 119 wickets at an average of 30.47. His Test career was split into two parts. He made his debut as a 17-year-old in July 2009 and played 14 Tests, picking up 51 wickets at 29.09, before being banned for five years for his role in the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal. After his return in July 2016, he played 22 Tests, taking 68 wickets at 31.51. The retirement came at a time of excellent returns across formats for Amir. Since the start of 2018, he took 24 wickets in six Tests at an average of 21.00, and in the World Cup 2019 he was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker with 17 at 21.05. Unlike other fast bowlers who gave up the longest format in their 20s, Amir did not suffer too many injury setbacks. But his workload had been a major talking point. Head coach Arthur shown the door: After conclusion of the World Cup in England, the Pakistan Cricket Board decided not to renew any of the coaches’ contracts with the senior team and all of them were shown the door. The contracts of head coach Arthur, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, batting coach Grant Flower and trainer Grant Luden were not renewed. The PCB Cricket Committee unanimously recommended the change in the national side’s coaching set-up. Arthur said he had done his best with Pakistan who narrowly failed to reach the World Cup semi-finals. Arthur joined Pakistan in May 2016, leading them to a drawn Test series with England that lifted them to the top of the rankings. Pakistan also won the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June 2017, raising their stock in limited-overs cricket. However, Pakistan, under him, had wilted in Tests. In all, Pakistan won 10 out of 28 Tests under Arthur, losing 17 and drawing one. Pakistan had also struggled in ODIs under Arthur, winning 29 of 66 ODIs, losing 34 with three no-results. Misbah takes over the dual role, Waqar becomes bowling coach: In the first week of September, the Pakistan Cricket Board handed over the dual role of coach and chief selector to former Test skipper Misbah. By giving dual responsibility of the national team to a single individual, the PCB gave Misbah unprecedented influence over Pakistan cricket. With the new appointment, the PCB had also put aside the issue of conflict of interest. Misbah played 75 Tests for Pakistan scoring 5222 runs, most of them in tricky situations. He also played 162 ODIs and 39 T20Is, where he scored 5122 and 788 runs respectively. He retired from the game in 2017. Misbah led Pakistan in a national record 56 Tests and even took them to the No. 1 position in the ICC Rankings in 2016. On the recommendation of Misbah, the PCB also named two-time former head coach and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Waqar Younis as bowling coach of the national side on a three-year contract. Inexperienced Sri Lanka whitewash Pakistan in T20I series: The Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan in September and October 2019 to play three ODIs and three T20Is. The tour originally had two Test matches scheduled to take place, but these were moved to December 2019. Ten senior Sri Lankan players, including T20 skipper Lasith Malinga and former captains Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, pulled out of the tour of Pakistan citing security concerns. The other seven who opted out were Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal, Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne. The tour was seen as another step towards reviving international cricket in Pakistan after years of isolation. The first ODI match at the National Stadium in Karachi was abandoned due to rain. Pakistan won both of the remaining matches to win the ODI series 2–0. In the T20I series, Sri Lanka won the first match by 64 runs, their first win against Pakistan since December 2013. Sri Lanka also won the second T20I, by a margin of 35 runs, to take an unassailable lead in the series. It was Sri Lanka’s first ever series win against Pakistan in a T20I bilateral series. Sri Lanka went on to win the final T20I match by 13 runs, winning the series 3–0. It was the first time in a three-match T20I series that Sri Lanka had won 3–0, and the first time that Pakistan had been whitewashed. Sacking of Sarfaraz and appointment of Azhar and Babar: In the third week of October, the PCB sacked Sarfaraz as Test and T20I skipper due to “drop in overall form”, giving reins of the Test squad to Azhar and putting Babar in charge of the T20I team. To add to his woes, wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz was also dropped from both the teams following a run of poor form in the two formats. Azhar was named captain of the national outfit in the Tests against Australia as well as the World Test Championship in the 2019-20 season. Similarly, batsman Babar was named to lead Pakistan in T20 matches against Australia and until the 2020 T20 World Cup. Humiliation Down Under: Pakistan toured Australia from October to December 2019 to play two Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. The second Test was a day/night match at the Adelaide Oval. Australia won the T20I series 2–0, after the first match ended as a no result due to rain. The hosts won the second T20I by seven wickets and third by 10 wickets. Australia won the Test series 2–0, winning first by 5 runs and an innings and second by 48 runs and an innings. Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar breaks world record: International Cricket Council’s Elite Panel Umpire Aleem Dar broke legendary umpire Steve Bucknor’s record of officiating the most number of Test matches in December. The 51-year-old, who won three consecutive Umpire of the Year awards, stood in his 129th Test match as an umpire during the first Test match between Australia and New Zealand. Dar praised Bucknor, while talking about this achievement, and was happy about reaching the milestone. Dar had also officiated in 206 one-day internationals (ODIs) and 43 T20 internationals. The veteran umpire thanked his family and friends for their support throughout his career. Sri Lanka visit for Test series and victory of Pakistan: At the end of the year, Sri Lanka visited Pakistan for a two-match Test series. Pakistan won the series 1-0 after the first match in Rawalpindi was washed out due to rain. Pakistan won the second Test by 263 runs at National Stadium Karachi. A milestone was created at the final Test when the top-four batsmen scored hundreds in a Test innings. Shan Masood, Abid, Azhar and Babar all got their milestones against Sri Lanka in Karachi. The only previous instance of this was in 2007, when India’s top four –– Dinesh Karthik, Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar — scored centuries against Bangladesh in the first innings of the Mirpur Test. Opening batsman Abid made history on his debut by scoring a century in the rain-affected drawn first Test against Sri Lanka. Abid scored an unbeaten 109 off 201 balls to become the first batsman in international cricket to score a hundred in both his ODI and Test match debuts. Abid again sparkled in the second Test with a century to announce the arrival of a new Pakistan batting sensation. Abid has been scoring at the domestic level for many years and the way he was performing he should have played for Pakistan a couple of years back. But he was unlucky because two regular openers at that time were also playing well. The writer is Editor Sports at Daily Times and can be reached at mali319@hotmail.com