Underwhelming & non-existent middle order triggers another dreadful collapse in the world cup starter against a disciplined Bangladesh attack at Dharamshala. It’s a hard pill to swallow when a team sitting comfortable at 83/1 gets wrapped up for 156 inside 38 overs.
Middle order lacks character
The team looks well balanced at least on the paper. But why does this team keep springing up such horrible performances & that too frequently is not entirely a rocket science to understand. The trio of Gurbaz, Ibrahim & Rahmat will have their odd bad days. But whenever this has happened in the recent past, the middle order have gone down like ninepins. Look at India for instance. In spite of losing the top three wickets for only two runs, Kohli & Rahul stitched a match winning partnership of 165 runs & took India over the line. That’s the character Afghanistan is lacking in their middle order. Not only there is a lack of consistency, but also a dearth of perseverance & quality to adapt as per the rational demands is evident.
Hashmat is confused about his role as a batter
The four linchpins of the middle & lower order starts from Hashmat & ends with Rashid but none of them have shown ample grit & determination to stitch big partnerships. Shahidi doesn’t have a power game but strangely has been trying for big shots without much conviction & getting out at wrong times. Apart from a couple of half centuries in the Asia Cup, Shahidi hasn’t drawn any exemplary performances in recent times. Besides, his career srtike rate in the ODIs is hovering around the mid sixties which is not ideal in this format.
Hashmat is failing to lead by example & inspire others
A leader has to always lead by example. Certainly Hashmat has fallen short of expectations as a player in his captaincy tenure. When that happens you can’t always dictate other team mates to give hundred percent. Hashmat seems to be one of the weakest links of this side. He has to understand his limitations as a player & then strategise a game plan for himself as a batter. If he tries to go out of his zone, more often than not he will not perform up to the mark.
Najib is clueless about his form & confidence
Najibullah is another player who is hugely out of form. This year we haven’t seen him deliver at all as a batter. Besides he has failed miserably in all the leagues that he has participated. His problem is more technical. As a batter he doesn’t have a great footwork. He is not capable to use his feet against the spinners to negate the movement. His dismissal against Bangladesh was pure lack of foot movement. Such players usually take more time get back to form. At this point of time he is short of confidence. This has started to affect his fielding as he is dropping too many easy catches these days & letting the team down.
Nabi has too much to cover up in the middle order
Everyone has seen how good Mohammad Nabi was against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. But if you keep that thunderous innings of 65 aside, he hasn’t made any other significant contribution as a batter this year. In the last 12 ODIs, he averages 21.22 which indicates that he can’t carry the workload of this fragile middle order over his shoulders alone.
Rashid Khan’s present all-round form: A concern?
Rashid Khan is also having a dismal batting record in the last 9 ODIs that he has played this year. He aggregates 86 runs to his credit in 8 innings with an average of only 12.28. Only Omarzai has performed better as a batter as compared to these four, averaging 31 runs per innings. Perhaps Azmat deserves a promotion over Nabi & Najib based on his current form. Only time will tell whether the team is ready to take this brave call or not.
Shahid & Naib were impressive in the Asian Games
The way Shahidullah has performed in the Asian Games, certainly seems to be a better prospect than Najib on current form. This should strengthen the middle order with the addition of a specialist batter at five. With Azmat coming at six & the bowlers to follow next would have been a far more balanced squad than the present one. Naib is at the peak of his form & it was a bit harsh to put him inside the list of reserves. If they had the liberty of a Naib & a Kamal in their squad, the headache of the team management would have minimized.
Too much exposure to global leagues damaging one day bowling disciplines?
One doesn’t expect the bowlers to defend 156 on any kind of wicket in one day cricket. However Rashid Khan, the premier strike bowler has taken only 9 wickets in the last 9 innings at a huge strike rate of around 43. That is the primary reason why Afghanistan has not been able to run through the opposition in the mid phase of the innings. Bowlers have to show far more discipline as far as hitting relentlessly the right areas are concerned. They try too many variations instead of keeping it tight, eventually leaking too many in the process. Most of the bowlers enjoy playing too many global leagues throughout the year which is why they find it difficult to adjust with the disciplines of one day cricket right from the word go.
Don’t waste DRS just like that
Hashmatullah probably is the only skipper who takes DRS as per the bowler’s wish rather than on credible inputs taken from adjoining fielders. In the first instance he wasted a review on Shanto when Ikram was clearly telling the skipper that their is a nick by the batter. In another instance, Rashid was seen appealing for a caught behind after being clobbered for two boundaries in the same over. Hashmat decided to waste the review again just on mere reputation of Rashid. But there was a gap of chalk & cheese between the ball & bat. Such amateurish way to deal with DRS clearly indicates that the skipper has got no clue whatsoever when & how to take those reviews.
Team to regroup & bounce back soon?
Irrespective of whether the right players were chosen for the world cup, Afghanistan has very little time to retrospect, regroup & bounce back against India & England on a belter of a track in Delhi. The outcomes of these matches will decide the fortune of Afghanistan in the present world cup.