The Pakistan team has ended a horrible campaign in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America (USA), where they failed to qualify for the second round of the tournament, under the leadership of Babar Azam.
Several Pakistan players have decided to extend their stay in America to spend time with their friends and family, while a few have flown to England as the likes of Azam Khan, Mohammad Amir or Imad Wasim look to take part in the domestic T20 competition in England.
The rest of the group, including Shaheen Shah Afridi and others have returned back home, as they gear up for a two-match Test series at home against Bangladesh, just after they finish their trip to India for the white-ball series against Afghanistan.
Pakistan could rest Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan for the Bangladesh series
It will be the first assignment for the new red-ball coach Jason Gillespie, who will aim to make a great partnership with the Test captain Shan Masood for better results in the format for Pakistan.
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The left-handed batter has already led the Yorkshire team in the county games in England, while Gillespie comes up with a bag of vast experience and skills when they look to finalize the plans for the Test series.
Under their new head coach Gary Kirsten and Babar, Pakistan have already gone through tough times in the shortest format of the game. As a preparation for the World Cup, they made a trip to England for the four-match T20I series, where they lost the first and final game in Edgbaston and Kennington Oval, while the other two games at the Headingley and Cardiff were washed out due to rain.
In a group, consisting of Ireland, and two associate nations- including Canada and the United States of America, the Green Brigade were expected to make the ‘super eight’ stage with ease, but they didn’t turn up for the competition at all.
In their very first game at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, their captain Babar Azam struggled so much on a good batting surface to find the right timing and rhythm, as they couldn’t come up with better batting performances. When their bowlers pulled them back in the contest and pushed them to the super-over, the 2009 champions couldn’t hold their nerve and faced a hear-breaking defeat.
In their second game at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, the ‘Men in Green’ were in a commendable position where they needed 48 runs at run-a-ball with eight wickets in hand during the 120-run chase. But they let the game slip off their hands.
A few bad shots brought India back in the game, as Pakistan fell short by six runs, With the net run rate coming into the equation, they were required to nail the Canada side. They earned the win, but that too at a snail’s pace, and at last even after winning against Ireland at the Central Broward ground in Florida, they couldn’t qualify because the weather helped USA.
The focus of the team now has been on the Test series, where the sources have revealed that they would look to give the domestic players more chances in the International arena.
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‘One of the proposals being considered is giving rest to some senior players namely Babar, Shaheen, Rizwan etc. and instead trying out those players who are uncapped or have just played a few internationals for Pakistan.’ The source expressed in a chat.
‘But, no final decision has been taken because in the end Masood and Gillespie will make the final call on the team selection, as in the next few weeks the number of national selectors could also be reduced and the PCB might revert back to the old system of selection process.’ He added.
Pakistan will face England in a three-match home Test series, after which they will fly to Australia for a white-ball series, before moving to South Africa for an all-format tour.