Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2016: Marks out of 10

Pakistan had yet another forgettable campaign in the T20 World Cup 2016 and will have to put in a lot of effort if they are to compete and win another trophy in near future. The last major trophy they won was in 2009, when they lifted the World T20 under the leadership of Younis Khan. It was a tournament where Shahid Afridi was at his very best (just like the 2007 edition), but in the 2016 edition he was just a poor shadow of himself. Afridi believes that he still has a lot to offer Pakistan Cricket, and resigned as captain after the mega event. Sarfraz Ahmed has been named captain, and he will look to lead the team into its new era. However, let us look back at Pakistan’s performance in the tournament and rate them on a scale of 10. READ: Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2016, Review: A disappointing campaign, but there is hope

Shoaib Malik (7/10): Malik was at his attacking best in the tournament, but his knocks did little good for Pakistan. In the crucial match against New Zealand, when Pakistan needed a boundary off almost every ball, Malik showed little intent in going for the big shots; in fact, he resorted to singles (albeit playing the odd graceful shot). He was, however, brutal against Australia, fishing with a 20-ball 40, but Pakistan lost and failed to qualify for the semi-final. However, he had a decent tournament, finishing with 96 runs at an excellent strike rate of 165.6. Having said that, Pakistan needed more from their senior man.

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Mohammad Sami (7/10): Sami picked up 4 wickets in the tournament (three of them were played on), but he was extremely expensive. He conceded runs at 9.30 and was not particularly threatening for most part of the series. He gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope when he removed Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina with consecutive balls. He also bowled well against New Zealand, where he finished with 2 for 23 in New Zealand’s total of 180 for 5.

Imad  Wasim (6.5/10): Imad was the most economical bowler in the tournament for Pakistan. Despite playing as an all-rounder, he got to face just one ball in this tournament. However, he had an excellent run with ball, and picked up three wickets with his left-arm spin. One wishes Pakistan utilised him better.

Mohammad Hafeez (6/10): Hafeez played an excellent hand in the opening match against Bangladesh, where he scored a 42-ball 64. Shortly afterwards he picked up an injury and did not play a single match after India the India match. He made 69 in his two innings.

Sharjeel Khan (5.5/10): Pakistan’s run-scorer with 112 runs, Sharjeel was a liability on the field. His misfields were one too many, and the batsmen always managed to convert ones into twos when the ball would go to him in the deep. His strike rate of 143.6 proves he always got Pakistan off to flying starts, but the middle-order did not rise to the occasion. Pakistan must give him more chances at the top-order in the future. READ: Sarfraz Ahmed named Pakistan’s T20I captain following World Cup horror

Shahid Afridi (5.5/10): Afridi could have done more with bat and ball, he should be given full marks for effort with both bat and ball. He was not at his deadliest best with the ball like he usually and barring his impressive knock of 49 against Bangladesh, he did little justification with the bat as well. But he was Pakistan’s joint highest wicket-taker with four scalps and his strike rate of 183.7.

Ahmed Shehzad (5/10): While Sharjeel went berserk at the other end, it was Shehzad who kept the innings steady at the other end. Shehzad finished a mere 4 runs behind Sharjeel at 108. His strike rate was just over run-a-ball, but he should be commended for his efforts to keep the innings together on multiple occasions.

Khalid Latif (5/10): Latif played a good hand against Australia in the final group stage match, but that was not enough to get Pakistan over the line. He played just a couple of matches in the tournament, but has made sure Pakistan look to him in the future matches as well, where he can be a handy batsman in the middle-order.

Sarfraz Ahmed (5/10): Sarfraz batted low down the order and did not have the chance to have any sort of impact with the bat. he faced a total of 17 deliveries and scored 21. He was good behind the wickets and did not falter at any stage. However, he had just one catch to his name in the entire tournament, which probably depicts the bowlers’ inability to find edges at regular intervals.

Umar Akmal (4/10): Akmal was excellent in the field, but managed to score only 78, despite batting high up the order. He scored at 121.9, but crossed 30 only once in four innings; Pakistan certainly needed more from him. Pakistan are yet to decide a permanent pot for him, but Nos. 3 and 4 seem like apt spots for him. READ: T20 World Cup 2016: PCB dissolve national selection committee following poor show

Mohammad Aamer (3/10): Aamer, like his fellow fast bowlers, had a forgettable tournament. He had made an excellent comeback into international cricket and had a good Asia Cup ahead of the T20 World Cup. Here, however, his economy rate was on the higher side, and he also did not pick up wickets at regular intervals the way he did in the Asia Cup. Pakistan would hope that this was just a one-off tournament for Aamer. READ: Shahid Afridi resigns from Pakistan T20I captaincy, wishes to continue playing

Wahab Riaz (2/10): Wahab did not have a good Asia Cup T20, and his poor form carried forward in the T20 World Cup as well. He is one of Pakistan’s wicket-taking bowlers, but managed to pick up just 3 wickets in 3 matches, and let his side down once again. His economy of 8.20 too does not reflect well.

Mohammad Irfan (1/10): Irfan was by a long margin Pakistan’s worst performer. He took a solitary wicket at an economy of 9.30, and was generally an ordinary fielder. The good news for Irfan is that his performance cannot get any worse than this!

NOTE: Mohammad Nawaz and Anwar Ali did not play a single match in the T20 World Cup 2016 and hence cannot be rated.

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)