The Pakistan men’s cricket team was knocked out of the ongoing T20 World Cup even after winning its final match against co-hosts Sri Lanka. There had been an air of inevitability regarding this unceremonious exit with underperforming seniors and a lack of balance in the team combination. What has historically followed after such dismal outings is a full or partial overhaul of the team personnel, including the management. But by the time the next event rolls up, all preparation and consistent team selection is sacrificed under the guise of experienced hands coming into the team in order to stabilise the ship.
The same core of players such as Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi has been there since 2021. All three were dropped after the 2024 World Cup and then brought back into the team just as this year’s event was about to begin with no real performance to back their inclusion. It remains to be seen what happens in the aftermath of this particular campaign. However, it would be naive to expect things to really change when the next ‘reset’ is inevitably announced.
Ahmed Hasan Ansari
Berlin
Germany
