Pakistan need to make a comeback

sharjah — The daggers are already out. There were already whispers about the decision behind resting six key players for the five-match ODI series against Australia. And after going 1-nil down to the Australians following the first rubber in Sharjah, the voices have only grown louder.

With the World Cup just two months away, Pakistan’s selection committee and coach Mickey Arthur are facing heavy criticism for resting regular captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan a break and giving the bench a go.

There is merit to the thinking behind giving them a break, especially considering the fact that they play all three formats and are coming off a hectic schedule. The six players will be back in the fold for the ODI series against England preceding the World Cup.

But then, critics are of the view that they shouldn’t have been rested. It is a double-edged sword that Arthur and co have to trapeze

on, with a crucial series against the Australians on the line.

And it is left to stand-in captain Shoaib Malik and the men at his disposal to negotiate through the choppy waters and prove Arthur and Inzamam-ul-Haq right.

After a day’s break, the sides renew hostilities with the second ODI to be played out at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday and Malik hoped that his bowlers, especially his new-ball attack, will make early inroads.

“Yes, that was a defendable total,” Malik said of Pakistan’s total of 280, which Australia chased down with relative ease.

“What we must do is take wickets at the top. There is not much difference. We scored 280 runs, which was a good total, and it would not have been chased at Sharjah, maybe once or twice it was chased before, so we must keep that in mind,” he added.