Pakistan were comprehensively beaten by India in the Asia Cup 2025 group stages.
In today’s day and age, fearlessness is a vital component in the shortest format of the game. Teams are taking the effort to identify players who can play the aggressive brand of cricket. Moreover, teams like India, South Africa and Australia have taken significant strides towards dictating terms on the style they want to abide by. Players like Abhishek Sharma, Dewald Brevis and Tim David have started with a bang, and are showing no signs of looking back. Amid all this chaos stand Pakistan.
The Men in Green are also in a transition phase. They have taken a few bold steps, one of which includes parting ways with players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the shortest format. However, the loopholes are still aplenty. The team looked in all sorts of trouble in their last fixture against India, and there seems to be something which is holding them back from excelling in T20Is.
Former Punjab Kings (PBKS) coach Julian Wood has opened up about the areas where Pakistan lack in the shortest format. As per his opinion, the Shaheens have all the resources to make an impact, and are doing a lot of things right. But they lack the finesse and understanding of the game. He spoke about how teams are taking significant strides towards the evolution of the game. Pakistan, on the other hand, are lagging behind many teams, some of which are associate nations.
“With them it is the just the lack of understanding. I think it is lack of knowledge on how to assess and having a framework or structure, in their attack. I’m sure they have plans. But it’s having that understanding how to do it”, said Wood on Pakistan’s approach.
The 56-year-old hitting coach has travelled the world as a specialist T20 coach. He understands the nuances of the game, and feels that the Men in Green are placed better than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But they still do have problems that they need to address. And they will have to do that soon. With the T20 World Cup 2026 in the wings, Salman Agha & Co. might have to up the ante real quick.
Since the start of 2021, the Men in Blue have been scoring at 9.15 runs per over in the shortest format, which is the highest for any team. England are the next in line at a rate of nine runs per over, as Australia follow their arch-rivals. But for Pakistan, they stand 14th in the line with a run-rate of 8.14. To add some weight on this stat, associate nation teams like Nepal and Canada are placed above the Shaheens.
Now that is not a very good position to be in. The major problem Pakistan are dealing with at the moment, according to Wood, is a rigid mindset. The shortest format of the game demands players to remain fluid in their mindset, and adapt to situations like fish to water. But Pakistan have failed to exhibit that trait in the recent past, which has held them back in terms of results. And this may affect their run-scoring ability in the months to come.
In their game against India on September 14, they were restricted to a mere 127/9. They were not able to get off the hook, as they lost two wickets inside the first 10 runs. But apart from the struggles to go big, their middle-order never showed the resolve to rotate the strike and pick singles to crawl out of the dismal situation they were in. A cameo from Shaheen Shah Afridi was what it took for the Shaheens to post 127 on the board.
Wood stressed on the importance of acceleration in T20Is. Despite good balls from the opposition, it is very crucial for the batters to keep looking for opportunities. The idea would be to keep looking for bad deliveries to put them away. According to Wood, it is the mindset that Pakistan need to work on. He also mentioned that it is a habit which takes time, but the structure needs to be in place.
ALSO READ:
England piled up 300 in a 20-over game against South Africa a few days ago. Pure madness! Phil Salt batted like it was the last time he was getting to hold a bat. Teams like England and India are making it a habit to go bonkers at the top of the order, and continue the momentum ahead. But for each team, it is important to ascertain their strengths and mould their game accordingly.
Wood also spoke about teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In the T20 format, one of the last things a team needs is players playing too cautiously. Fear does not have a place in the format. And this is where the Pakistanis will have to find a way out of. It is not about tonking every delivery for a six. But the format surely demands some aggressive intent from the players. At the end of the day, a batter will need to put pressure back on the bowler. If not, the latter will end up dominating.
Pakistan will have to find an answer to these questions before they head into the T20 World Cup in 2026. Their top-order looks to be well-set, with players getting consistent chances. But when the top-order fails, there is not a lot of responsibility being shared by the middle-order players. And that is where the problems lie!
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
