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Opinion

The downfall of Pakistani batting

Mehran new author
Roar Rookie
26th June, 2020
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Mehran new author
Roar Rookie
26th June, 2020
4

Pakistan is blessed with pace bowlers.

Every year we see bunches of young guns emerge, which makes Pakistan a factory of fast bowlers.

But why can’t Pakistan produce quality batsmen in such a flow as the country produces bowlers?

There are some basic reasons and causes that can be taken into account.

In a country like Pakistan, which is an underdeveloped country, bowling is an economical process. It costs you less. You only need one ball that will cost you approximately $1 and you can start your practice. In comparison with batting, you will need a helmet, gloves, a pair of pads and high-quality shoes that will easily cost you something near $100, which is a big amount in our country.

That is why many youngsters – if they have passion for batting – will change their passion toward bowling.

As a result there is a pool of bowlers and selectors have to select the best from the best while there is no such pool of batsmen and selectors select from the available batsmen. So the quantity of talent is lesser than bowlers.

The other reason behind the lack of quality batsmen is their mentality, which is largely influenced by their coaches.

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Babar Azam batting for Pakistan

(Harry Trump-IDI/IDI via Getty Images)

Many youngsters believe hitting powerful hits in air is the only attribute of batsmen and this view is backed by club-level coaches.

As a result, every batsmen likes to hit as hard as they can. They don’t care about proper technique and footwork, which makes their batting so one-dimensional and results in poor short selection.

When they are somehow selected in the national team, they can’t survive for a long time in the international arena because of their bad technique.

Another reason is their lack of temperament. They bat on the spur of the moment.

Either they stop the ball or hit the ball. We have seen this throughout the years. This is where the deficiency in Test matches comes from.

The majority of our players don’t play enough Test matches. Test matches are the best to enhance the temperament of batsmen. In chasing the target, Pakistan’s batting collapses even if the target is not so much.

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Why? Because our players’ nerves break down and they cannot hold their calmness.

Another reason is the pitches and this is probably the most important one. From club level to domestic and first-class level, the pitches made in Pakistan are mostly dead, which hardly challenges the skills of batsmen.

That’s why bowlers tend to take wickets with yorkers and over-pitched balls and batsmen either have to hit or block the ball.

Their technique is barely tested. When they encounter grassy-top pitches, they struggle. Even our most senior players struggle on these pitches. These pitches are a nightmare for our batsmen.

Now it is the time for Pakistan cricket to emerge again in all departments of cricket, especially in batting, where we are short.

We have the best talent in our country but that can be polished by our coaches through the right approaches for the requirements of international cricket.

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