Team Preview: Can Pakistan turn the tide this time around and cause an upset?

Pakistan head into the World Twenty-20 on the back of some heavy defeats at the hands of Australia. They were whitewashed by the Southern Stars in three convincing wins. However, if they learn from their mistakes and improve in the batting department, they might be able to come away with some wins. Can Pakistan rise to the occasion and cause a massive upset?



 



Strengths:



Pakistan's strength undoubtedly lies in their bowling. More specifically, their spin unit. With Anam Amin ranked number four and Nida Dar ranked number eight in the ICC Twenty-20 bowling rankings, as well as Sana Mir being the top-ranked bowler in ODI's, Pakistan have a world class spin attack. It has troubled the best of the batting line-up, with Australia also struggling against it at times. A lot will rely on how well these three experienced players bowl. With the pitches in Guyana- where Pakistan will be playing their group stage matches- suiting spin more, if they can bowl in a disciplined manner, they will surely be effective, economical and will take wickets.



 



Key Players:



As mentioned before, their experienced campaigners Mir, Dar and Amin will be very important to the side.



With the bat, captain Javeria Khan, Nahida Khan and Bismah Maroof will be the key players. J. Khan was promoted up the order, to the opening position in their series with Australia. If she remains in that slot, she and N. Khan can set a solid foundation for Pakistan's innings and set them up for a big total. Both are seasoned internationals and play sensibly. They are also the leading run-scorers for Pakistan in 2018, thus far. Therefore, their contribution will be essential to the sides success.



Maroof returns to the squad after missing out on the Bangladesh tour and the ODI leg of the Australian series. Her coming back into the squad will be a major confidence boost to the side. It will also bolster up Pakistan's batting line-up. Maroof, at number 19, is Pakistan's highest ranked batter and if she were to miss out on the tournament, it would have been a massive blow to the side.



 



Weaknesses:



The Pakistani batters have struggled in recent times. They have been unable to build partnerships and have consequently collapsed. This inconsistency will be Pakistan's biggest weakness as, Twenty-20 cricket is about big-hitting and scoring runs rapidly. If a team loses several wickets, the run-rate slows down and the team is therefore unable to post a competitive total on the board.



There is also a gap in the squad where a power-hitter would slot in. Pakistan lack someone who has sheer strength and can score runs at a blistering rate, someone who is the equivalent of Chloe Tryon for South Africa.



As far as the bowling unit is concerned, while Pakistan's pace bowlers are young, they do not have a pace spearhead, as such. Someone who hurries in and bowls with great pace. There is a vacancy in the line-up for such a bowler as well.



 



Youngsters to Watch Out for:



In their series with Australia, there was one standout performer for Pakistan; Omaima Sohail. She batted positively and with aggression, scoring runs at a good rate. She finished as her sides leading run-scorer for the series, for which she was named the Player-of-the-Series for Pakistan. She will definitely be a player to watch out for in the World Twenty-20 and will be an important part of Pakistan's batting attack.



 



Performances Over the Last Editions:



Pakistan have had an underwhelming performance in all the past World Twenty-20's. They have been eliminated in the group stages of each editions, never reaching the semi-finals or the finals. Can the team in green turn the tide around this time around and cause an upset?



 



Squad:



Javeria Khan (c), Bibi Nahida, Ayesha Zafar, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Bismah Maroof, Omaima Sohail, Nida Rashid, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Sana Mir, Nashra Sundhu, Anum Amin, Natalia Parvaiz, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Aiman Anwar