2021 is a successful year for Pakistan cricket team but there are still many battles to be won
After every win, the scene of Shaheen Shah Afridi taking a selfie with his teammates standing in the background has now become a trademark of the Pakistani cricket team.
The smiles on the faces of these players have also provided the best moments of happiness to the people of Pakistan. With these joys, Pakistan cricket team has said goodbye to the year 2021.
Great achievements in small format
In the year 2021, the Pakistani cricket team performed exceptionally well in the T20 format. This year, he played 29 T20 matches, winning 20 and losing only six.
This is the first time that a team has won such a large number of T20 International matches in a single year.
The Pakistani team played seven bilateral T20 series this year in which it lost only against England.
The Pakistani team did not advance beyond the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, but its overall performance made it the most popular team in the tournament. In every match of the group, a new victorious player kept appearing in his victory.
The climax of his impressive performance in this T20 World Cup was actually seen in the first match when he defeated India by 10 wickets. The Indian team had never before lost by 10 wickets in a T20 International.Spirit of Cricket!! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/pH6UfrRcKf
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 24, 2021
Sea of runs of Babar and Rizwan
The year 2021 can rightly be called the year of Muhammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. These two batsmen played a key role in the victories of the Pakistani team, which can be gauged from their shining figures.
Everyone remembers the moment when Mohammad Rizwan complained to the media during the Pakistan Super League that he was not getting proper opportunities to play for the Karachi Kings after which he became the captain of Multan Sultans. Not only joined but also made it a winner.
Mohammad Rizwan batted brilliantly in 29 T20 International matches played in 2021 and scored 1326 runs including one century and 12 half centuries.
Mohammad Rizwan's brilliant performance also forced English county Sussex to sign him.
Captain Babar Azam was the second highest run scorer in T20 Internationals this year after Mohammad Rizwan. He scored 939 runs with the help of one century and nine half centuries.
How they dominated the rival bowlers can be gauged from the fact that they formed six century partnerships in the same year, five of which were for the first wicket and one for the second wicket. Was
Both have now been nominated for ICC awards. Babar Azam has been nominated for the best ODI cricketer of the year while Mohammad Rizwan has been nominated for the best cricketer of T20.
Volcano for Shaheen and Hassan Ali rivals
While Muhammad Rizwan and Babar Azam helped the Pakistani team to provide a solid foundation, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hassan Ali proved to be volcanic for the rival teams in bowling.
This year was also important for Hassan Ali because he had been suffering from fitness issues for some time but overcoming them, he first impressed the selectors with his excellent all round performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and then the Pakistan team. When I got back, their conventional generator started running with full energy.
Hassan Ali has taken 41 wickets in just eight Tests this year. In the Rawalpindi Test against South Africa, he took 10 wickets in the match, while in the Test matches against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, his bowling also played an important role in the team's victory.
Shaheen Afridi ended the year with an impressive 47 wickets in Test matches which is the second best performance of any bowler in Test matches this year after Ravi Chandran Ashwin's 52 wickets but it should not be forgotten that Ashwin Out of 52, 46 wickets have been taken in matches played at home grounds.
Shaheen Afridi took 18 wickets in a two-Test series in the West Indies.
Disappointment persists in ODIs
This year has been good for Pakistan team in Test cricket too and they have won seven out of nine Test matches but this year in ODIs has been very disappointing for Pakistan and they have won only two out of six matches and four. I was defeated.
He won the series 2-1 in South Africa but lost all three matches of the series in England.
The only moment of satisfaction for Pakistan can be attributed to Fakhr Zaman's 193-run innings against South Africa in Johannesburg, which is the largest individual innings of any batsman in ODIs this year.
Big teams big problem
If you look at the overall performance of the Pakistan team in 2021, they have won the series against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Test cricket but they did not win the Test series in the West Indies and lost the first Test by one wicket but won the second Test. He ended the series on a par.
In the year 2022, Pakistan team has to face big teams like England, New Zealand and Australia. These are the teams that the Pakistani team has not been able to defeat in recent years, especially in Australia, the Pakistani team has not won a Test since 1995.
In the previous tours of England and New Zealand, the Pakistani team had chances to win but it failed to take advantage of them. The upcoming Test series against the big teams will be in Pakistan, so there is a good chance for Pakistan to strengthen its position in the World Test Cricket Championship by defeating these teams.
Is an ideal team ready?
The year 2021 will definitely be remembered for the good performance of the team on the field but even outside the field this team stayed away from any controversy and the attitude of its players remained ideal. Significant changes took place in the Pakistan Cricket Board and its reins were transferred from Ehsan Mani to former Test cricketer Rameez Raja.
Ehsan Mani also became the chairman of the board due to his closeness to Prime Minister Imran Khan and this is the main reason why Rameez Raja became the chairman. There are still days of calm for Rameez Raja as he himself has said that if the Pakistani team had not performed well, the cannons of the media would have turned towards him.
Rameez Raja has come to the cricket board with claims of putting his big vision into practice. Gradually, key officials of the previous era are moving away from the cricket board, with the big name being Chief Executive Wasim Khan, who has now been replaced by Faisal Hasnain.
Rameez Raja was happy with the performance of the Pakistani team in the T20 World Cup because the team that was impressed by the unstable mood performance, the performance of this team was no less than a battle. This team has brought everyone together.
Former Pakistan cricket captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan says that one of the reasons for the dramatic improvement in the team's current performance is that captain Babar Azam is now getting the opportunity to openly captain because before that he had two big The cricketers were under the shadow of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis and they could not speak openly in front of them. The previous management used to be very influential but now Babar Azam is using his authority and he is making all the decisions himself.
If you take a look at the Pakistani team, it enters the field with full resources in every field. His batting line-up in Tests is rich with the experience of Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali and Muhammad Rizwan. Abdullah Shafiq's addition is welcome. Along with him, Imran Butt, Shaun Masood and Imam-ul-Haq are also in the scene due to their excellent performance in domestic cricket. In bowling, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hassan Ali, there is now a new winner like off-spinner Sajid Khan.
As far as limited overs cricket is concerned, besides Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, there are Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhr Zaman and Khushdal Shah. The careers of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez do not seem to go far anymore.
Bowling is Pakistan's most effective weapon. The talent of Muhammad Wasim Jr. and Shahnawaz Dhani to support veterans Hassan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi has become quite apparent. Harris Rauf's confidence is being passed on to him. In spin bowling, Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz are part of the team. Usman Qadir also joins the team when the time comes, but the talented Zahid Mahmood is still waiting for the full opportunity.
The World Test Cricket Championship is a big challenge for Pakistan in the coming year on the one hand and the T20 World Cup on the other hand is also a tough test.
After the departure of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has temporarily hired Matthew Hayden and Thaqleen Mushtaq and their positive results have come to light but observers believe the team will definitely have a permanent head coach.