Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle has stressed the importance of a solid opening partnership and effective spin bowling for Pakistan in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Bhogle highlighted the importance of Pakistan’s opening combination, and pointed out the need for a powerful partnership to complement Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
“There’s always a lot of noise around Pakistan, but they need to bat well. There’s a lot of buzz about Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in that team. I think if Babar has a really good opening combination So he becomes twice the player.” Bhogle said.
Bhogle expressed his support for the current opening pair of Abdullah Shafiq and Imam ul Haq and stressed the potential impact of their consistent performances at the top of the order. The 62-year-old talked about Fakhar Zaman’s form and also underlined the crucial role Babar played in shaping Pakistan’s fortunes in the tournament.
“They have an issue with Fakhar Zaman, but I really believe they have faltered on their best opening combination. Imam has done really well in the past, but how can they not play with a player like that? Can someone who is obviously as talented as Abdullah Shafiq. So if Abdullah Shafiq and Imam ul Haq are given starts consistently, then suddenly Babar becomes a different player, but there is no doubt, if Pakistan has to make an impact, So Babar Azam should have a big World Cup,” Bhogle insisted.
Bhogle’s discussion also revolved around Pakistan’s middle-order and spin bowling department, with Bhogle believing that this area is the key to their success.
“Their middle order is a bit shaky. I know Rizwan is around and Salman Agha and Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel are there; they are good players. Can you trust them to win the World Cup? We will wait and see. If they do that it’s great for Pakistan. They bat deep because each of the three spinners selected can bat, I think Shadab is a really good batsman in that order; Nawaz can bat Usama Mir, if he is leggy he can bat but that is where his problem starts. You generally look at Pakistan and say wow what a good bowling attack, but in the middle overs. The spinners are not doing well for them,” he added.
Bhogle drew attention to the important role of Shaheen Afridi, calling him the lynchpin of the team’s bowling efforts.
“Shaheen Afridi is probably even more important than Babar Azam to their chances in some ways because when he is not taking wickets in the first ten overs, you saw in the Asia Cup what happens if Pakistan don’t get wickets in the powerplay. “Suddenly the bowling side is looking very soft. With South Africa we talked about missing Anrich Nortje, I think Naseem Shah is a big miss,” he said.
He concluded, “They need their spinners to perform well. I think the story for Pakistan will be whether they can get their openers to play well and whether they can get their spinners to bowl well in the middle overs.” Are.”
