Author: Mishaal Mubarak

Everything has fallen into place. Everything has worked out in the end. The risk the PCB took just two days before the second Test match paid off, and paid off well. Not only that, but Pakistan has suddenly discovered its strength. The basics of the art of pitch curation have also been revealed divinely to the team. Heave a sigh of relief, PCB. All is well now. But how long before Pakistan finds itself face-to-face with the same problems again? Many would bet their bottom dollar that the first words at the post-victory PCB meeting were: How do we make…

It was in August when Sri Lanka last played the ODI format. Given the rate at which teams play the 50-over format now, this should not be considered too far in the past. Playing a three-match series against India, the Islanders won it 2-0. West Indies, however, have checked eight months without an ODI game, having played one against Australia in February this year. But there is not much to worry about. Unlike most other full-member nations, both teams do not need to scramble to finish their preparations in time for the Champions Trophy. The next mega-event in the ODI…

The similar nerves started kicking in as soon as Rishabh Pant entered the nineties. He powered his nerves into a gigantic 107-meter six off a Southee delivery to push all the apprehensions away from him. Soon, he was on 99, just a run away from his hundred. A William O’Rourke short of a length ball with extra bounce, got him to hop and try to punch it towards the square. But it was not to be. The wicket-keeper batter failed to account for the extra bounce in time, inside-edged the cherry, and watched as it disturbed his timbers. M Chinnaswamy…

The common thing about Sri Lanka, West Indies, and the T20 format is that you think you know them based on the patterns they follow until they do exactly the opposite of those. The previous T20I game in Dambulla was the perfect example of this. West Indies, whose openers have been Brandon King and Evin Lewis have been breathing fire in T20 of late, suddenly decided to exhibit a collapse for ages. Not only them, the batting order as a whole became toothless, just 48 hours after they chased 180 at the loss of only five wickets.  Sri Lanka took…

Champions Trophy is three months away and so far no decision has been made as to whether India will travel to Pakistan for the mega-event. The constant silence from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is only increasing the uncertainty around the decision. The board has said several times that the team’s travel to Pakistan is contingent on approval from the government, though there has not been so much as a murmur about it from the Indian government.  As much as everyone awaits the decision, things will get more complex in the event that the Indian government…

The last time India contested New Zealand in a Test match was in 2021 when both teams met for the first-ever World Test Championship (WTC) final. Almost three years on from their last encounter, things are contrastingly different. Barring Devon Conway, Tom Latham, and Tim Southee, the New Zealand team has no one on the team from that game. India, on the other hand, have mostly only tasted success in the red-ball format since then. Unlike Rose Bowl, Bengaluru does not boast conditions better suited to the Kiwis’ skill. What Bengaluru does have, like the Rose Bowl on that day,…

Kamran Ghulam may have envisioned a grand welcome into the international set-up for himself, but he got a far cry from that. He was slotted in at the expense of the nation’s darling. Even his 50 FC average could not save him from the fans’ subtle ire. The pitch that awaited him on his debut was rumored to have lost interest in helping batters. His team stood at 19/2 as he strode toward the ground to face his first international ball. That he had big shoes to fill, further took away any chance of calming down he had.  But Kamran…

West Indies showed in the first T20I match, that despite everything that is wrong with cricket in the country, the shortest format remains in their wheelhouse. This means the victory in the first game was not a fluke and by all means, the visitors would love to have a go at Sri Lanka again to get the series in their bag.  Sri Lanka were not too bad in the series opener either. Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka both scored, what they thought were, match-saving fifties after the top-order collapsed like a house of cards. But West Indies postponed the collapsing…

We don’t have a name for that. We don’t even know if it can be called an approach. But Pakistan, at least for this Test match, have decided to do things in a new way. Yes, new way. It is not one of the regular ‘new ways’ Pakistan cricket introduces every few weeks. This one is insanely mind-blowing even by Pakistan’s standards. The defeat at England’s hands during the first Test game was what triggered the launch of this mission.  The board sacked the selection committee the very next day, materialized a new committee out of thin air, announced that…

Pakistan Cricket Board regularly drops new pieces worthy of discussion. Which, as a fan of their work, is an immense privilege. However, it does make the fans question their own sanity. Even get a few to think if they have followed the sport enough? Are they missing out on some big piece of information? Because the story is not aligning as it should. Ideally, the players that form the core of your team should not be forced out of the squad 48 hours before the game. But ideally, you also don’t sack the selection committee shortly after losing a match.…