A blend of questionable team selection and a familiar middle-
order collapse saw Pakistan lose to Sri Lanka by 35 runs in the second T-20 at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on Monday thus losing the three-match series. With this, the inexperienced Islanders also made history as it was their first ever win over Pakistan in a bilateral T-20I series.
After sealing the one-day international series against Sri Lanka, everybody was anticipating that the top ranking team in the T-20 will overpower the Sri Lankans in the twenty Overs format with ease. However, the inclusion of tried and tested guns such as Ahmad Shahzad and Umar Akmal once again proved to be disastrous for the green shirts. One fails to understand as to why the Coach and Selection Committee head Misbahul Haq preferred these players when he had at his disposal the young lot like Abid Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed who performed excellently well in the one-day internationals. Their selection gives the impression that Misbah preferred his favourite players over those who deserved to be in the team. One had pinned great expectations with Misbah when he was selected as the head coach and the chief selector but his recent decisions has raised several question marks on his personality. Players like Umar Akmal and Ahmad Shahzad have already been tried many a times but they repeatedly failed to leave any impact with their performance. In fact their inclusion in the T-20 series also shocked many people including the cricket experts. Selection of team should only be made on merit whilst rising above any other consideration. Misbah must not abuse his power to accommodate his friends or favourites as it will not only be an injustice to those who deserve but also amount to putting the future of the cricket at stake. One thing should also be made clear on the players that only those who will perform consistently will stay in the team. Our country has immense talent and the new domestic structure should be used efficiently to hunt that lot both in the batting and bowling. We are confident that Chairman PCB Ehsan Mani will take the requisite steps towards that end.
