In his recent analysis, @Rana critiques the Pakistan cricket team's recent ODI series loss to the West Indies, framing it as the potential "final straw" for a struggling era. He focuses on the ineffective leadership of captain Mohammad Rizwan and the outdated batting approach of senior players like Babar Azam. He argues that despite new coach Mike Hesson's efforts with younger players, the team's continued reliance on these underperforming stars is holding them back.

By Rana (August 14, 2025)

The saying of ‘the one straw that broke the camel’s back’ is applicable in every field of life. The defining moment, however, can vary according to the context and situation. If applied in the case of the Pakistan team, performances against the likes of USA, Ireland, the abysmal Champion’s Trophy and the depressing New Zealand away tour could well be termed as straws as of now. But this defeat to West Indies under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan, is this the final straw that ends an era? Since the ousting of Pakistan’s captain of 2019, the team has not found any real stability or direction for the required level of competition. There has been a continuous, slow regression since the ousting of Sarfaraz, with player power taking up a rise and individual glory being more prevalent than team victory. Calls for change had become louder since 2023 world cup debacle, but the PCB has not reacted out of haste in their slow transition out of the mess.

At times, they have been unsure and have made confusing decisions with the appointment of captains and coaches. The intention is to get out of a hole, to get out of a poor mindset and approach of the game… but then the appointment of those who embody the mindset you wish to get out of as the leader of the team makes it very difficult for any coach or management group to create the change for which you pay big money towards as their fees. Captain Mohammad Rizwan has really been pushing his luck as a skipper with the number of excuses and blaming he has been doing towards everyone else but himself. It is amazing to think how the PCB has persisted with him as the leader considering his verbal outbursts during interviews and press conferences. Coach Mike Hesson had given him the chance to see how he, an established and respected white ball coach, can help enhance the plan of Rizwan as the captain with his world renown expertise and knowledge. The series against the West Indies was supposed to be a statement series for the captain and the former captain (Babar Azam) to show the world that they are capable of matching world standards, and that their ousting in the T20 format is unjustified. The young team developing under Hesson and Agha delivered the goods by defeating the Windies in their home conditions. The Pakistan team with the big names returning had no excuse but to defeat the 10th ranked side and spoil their plans of using the Pakistan ODI team as their propelling step towards ICC World cup 2027 qualification. The outcome, however, is there for all to see unfortunately.

Pakistan’s unchanged Batting approach; dependence on Saim Ayub to fire them through

Hesson has been trying to build Pakistan’s white ball batting approach from scratch so far without two mainstays of the last 5 years in the T20 set up. This series was his first assignment with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the squad, which drew a lot of anticipation from amongst the fans and viewers worldwide to see how Pakistan will approach the 50 over game with two batters who are deemed ‘outdated’ with their approach. Abdullah Shafique was also given another chance being out of favor during the Champion’s Trophy, he too had question marks about his batting approach for the modern white game with a strike rate ever declining since his debut. The surface at the Brian Lara academy was not the ideal one for the Pakistan batters to execute the improved and enhanced batting skills they must have been working on. Instead, with the progression of the series it provided those who preferred the laid-back approach to batting to apply their grit and determination at the crease. Saim Ayub who had been instrumental in Pakistan’s away series wins in Australia and South Africa was expected to deliver the same kind of performance for Pakistan to help them compete in these conditions, which he is accustomed to with performances in the CPL. His failure at the top this series did not allow Pakistan’s top order to make any reasonable hold throughout the three matches with Pakistan struggling often. Babar’s form has consistently deserted him, and Rizwan wishes to tackle his own decline with an extreme amount of application at the crease only to kick on when it is too late. A recurring theme in the past year or so and something that needs to be addressed. Evin Lewis from the West Indies did show that runs can be made at reasonable clicks with 104 runs at an average of 34.66 and a strike rate of 85. The same cannot be said about Brandon King and the two Pakistan openers who have clearly struggled.

Pakistan’s best batters in this series have been guys who have been given confidence and trust by Hesson in the shape of the emerging talents Hassan Nawaz and Hussain Talat. Both Batters scored their runs at a good strike rate of 100 (Talat) and 90 (Nawaz). Although, the standout batter and the clear dominator of the series with the bat is the West Indies captain Shai Hope, who demonstrated how to lead from the front at the number 4 position wit the bat. This has been a really poor series for Pakistan’s senior batters with Rizwan, Babar and Agha all scoring less than 70 runs in 3 matches at an average below 23, and strike rates in the 60s. The campaign to have the two (Babar and Rizwan) make a late return to the T20i side for the Asia cup took a massive crash in this series as the two alongside the captain of the T20i side did not impress at all or show any clear signs of improvement. This is especially painful viewing considering the contrasting improvements we had seen with some of the youngsters emerging and performing for Pakistan in the T20 set up leading up to the series. This only shows that the current atmosphere of the ODI team isn’t enabling players to thrive and express themselves openly.

Bowling

One notable change we have witnessed in this series is the return of a much more difficult closing out phase to an ODI innings with the bat considering the abolishment of one of the two balls post 34 overs. The rough, abrasive nature of the track was supportive to reverse swing, and this has been exploited by the Pakistan seamers in the two matches where they bowled first and bowled the full 50 overs. Whilst encouraging to see, the actual execution of the skill to its full potential has left a lot to be desired with the Pakistan seamers struggling to contain the West Indian batters in the latter stages of all games. The fact that the West Indies have been one of the best sides with the bat in the last 10 overs is indeed a strong factor here. Pakistan’s issues at the back end have come back to haunt them time and time again. Captain Rizwan found success in Australia and South Africa with a strategy to restrict a side within the first 40 overs having predominantly used 4 spearheads, but since the return to Pakistan in the tri series, Champion’s Trophy and the away series in New Zealand, this strategy has been unsuccessful, and the same mistakes are being repeated again and again, even with more assistance this time with the ball change rule coming in.

What is encouraging to see is the way the spinners Abrar, Sufyan and Nawaz have bowled in this series for Pakistan. This comes at the back of a newfound strategy to win Test matches at home on the back of spin wickets and strong spin options for such tracks, and less dependency on seamers to win games for Pakistan. It is fast becoming evident that going forward, Pakistan may have to depend a lot more on key spin bowling options as their strategy to win games. We may see only one specialist seamer being picked, two fast bowling all-rounders and two specialist spinners (Abrar and Sufyan) as the only strategy that can be trusted upon. Considering this, the Pakistan seamers will have to raise their game if they wish to play more regularly for Pakistan. Although all three specialist seamers (Shaheen, Naseem, Hassan) have all bowled well in bursts throughout this tour, the lack of closing the innings out in the right way for Pakistan has not been at display by all three.

Excuses, confusions

It seems that the Pakistan fans and journalists are extremely confused about how they wish to see the team setting up for a 50 over match. A strong amount of criticism dished out on the team and management was the lack of a reliable 5th bowling option, and the dependence on part timers such as Saim, Agha and Talat to complete the 10 overs of the 5th bowler throughout the series. Whilst it is correct that Pakistan did make a mistake in not sticking with Sufyan after the first game, there is still a lot of confusion amongst the fans and critics as to how they do structure a side for such conditions. Pakistan opted for the extra batter instead of the bowler in the XI, maybe because of a lack of belief in their batting, and maybe because of an overconfidence in the ability of their part timers for such conditions. To target this as one of the main reasons for the series defeat is a neglection of the fact that the batters under the captaincy of Rizwan seem reluctant to push themselves to score above the par total in which 5th bowler through part time can still be accommodated. Let’s be completely honest. A world class ODI side like Australia have been completing their 5th bowler quota with spinners such as Glenn Maxwell, or pacers such as Mitch Marsh.

Pakistan can solve this issue of the 5th bowler by:

1. Identifying a proper bowling option with good batting ability

2. Giving that bowling option serious responsibility with the bat. Send him up the order to bat in the top 5. Trust him to be a good, key batting component.

3. With a player as such being utilized better, they can then open up a slot for their 2nd spinner and drop the extra batter they have picked.

The issue isn’t picking the extra bowler, the issue is the fact that Pakistan have not developed a strong batting option from a reliable bowler. This issue has been solved in the past for Pakistan with a player like Abdul Razzaq or Shahid Afridi being given more batting responsibility.

Mike Hesson’s first assignment with Rizwan and Babar, a taste of the rollicking life of a Pakistan coach

The announcement of Hesson as the head coach took place during the PSL when Mike was still with Islamabad United. This news was celebrated with great joy by the fans and supporters of Pakistan cricket, as there was a lot of doubt regarding whether Pakistan can secure a big-name coach going forward with the way Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie resigned from their positions. At the time, Imad Wasim congratulated Hesson and wished him the best of luck, and he told him that ‘he’s really going to need it’ (the best of luck that is). Hesson may not be aware of the intense backlash the coach and the management receive on the back of defeats and on selections that are not in line with the flavor of many fans and journalists. The added pressure comes with those selections which may seem correct to the management but not to the critics. Hesson until this series has been given a reasonable pass by the fans and most journalists considering he has been coaching only the T20 team, and there is satisfaction seeing a new team develop with youngsters emerging. Hesson has now tasted the extreme pressure and dissatisfaction of the fans and journalists for the first time with some of the big names of Pakistan cricket at his disposal and not being able to produce results that are befitting the reputation and expectations of those players. A defeat against the 10th ranked side with Pakistan’s A list cricketing names is a level of embarrassment which the great Gary Kirsten experienced last year against the United States. Defeats like this make the management and coaches sound ridiculous no matter what excuses they present, or genuine valid reasons too.

It is unclear as to whether Mike Hesson wants to carry on with a strategy for Pakistan cricket that has been continuing for the past 3 years and is failing consistently, or he wants a complete reset and rebuild of the side without a dependency on the big names who have been a major let down for the past few years. Mike Hesson will now feel the heat, and he will now call upon the ‘best of luck’ message of Imad Wasim at such a time. This is one of the biggest challenges of his coaching career and potential legacy. He needs to understand the caliber of those who are supposedly his ‘star players’, and he must quickly assess if those players are truly cut for the competition and the assignment, which is to compete regularly with the best in the world.

Is Mohammad Rizwan a wrong number?

The term ‘wrong number’ became very popular around the time when Rajkumar Hirani’s ‘PK’ was released, in which the main protagonist goes around exposing scams and frauds as ‘wrong numbers. The term can be applied literally to some extent upon the captain of Pakistan, who believes his batting number is 4. Is this correct for him? Especially with his clear lack of offside game, and his consistent trend to play a monumental amount of dot balls before truly kicking off his innings at the crease? One must question as to why a player of such limited ability is continuously allowed to hold on to such a key batting position, even though he is not doing justice to this position and it is now starting to cost Pakistan a lot! The first clear flaw in his captaincy was his reluctance to put the team above his best interest, which is his own batting position, and then the other flaws are far more detrimental to his cause such as the strange bowling changes and the stopping of bowlers who are in a good rhythm with the opposition struggling. We have seen some improvements in his time keeping. His review taking ability is still as good as it was, which is next to none. This proved to be costly in the final ODI with Pakistan totally out of reviews for the latter 70% of their bowling innings.

Life just isn’t getting easier for Mohammad Rizwan, and the direction adopted by Pakistan post the USA defeat debacle is not something that is resonating with the way Mohammad Rizwan is accustomed to. The strains and pressures of having to ‘adapt or becoming the hunted’ is far too much for him to handle now. The relief isn’t being provided by the players under him who are just not producing their best for him. This is inevitable considering Rizwan himself doesn’t put the team ahead of himself, why then should he expect the team to fight to the very death for him?

Conclusion

This series has been the pinnacle of exposing how divided the Pakistan cricket fanbase has become. As mentioned earlier, a strong contingent of fan groups and journalists have been competing leading into this series, with players becoming the targets of witch-hunts because of them replacing senior batters who are supposedly entitled to play all formats unchecked according to their opinion. We do not know how much of a hand the players have in these social media and PR wars behind the scenes. The lack of clear diffusion with the situation is clear to see though. The series has been an eye opener for some, and a surrender for others who cannot use any performance of their favorites to push their agendas. Now, it is not about Pakistan cricket but all about ‘our player, our guy’ our dream through that guy’. The good momentum gained by the young T20 team who defeated a strong West Indies side has also been deflated due to this loss, and this can prove costly going into a very important passage of the Tri Series and the Asia Cup in the UAE.

We can understand now as to why the PCB may have been reluctant to returning to ODI during a turbulent T20 period in the history of Pakistan cricket, with everything so volatile as it is. Tough decisions are needed for the betterment of Pakistan cricket. Those tough decisions have come in the form of dropping big names who have not lived up to their hype. Those tough decisions are naturally receiving a lot of backlash and exponential pressure by many stakeholders who depend on those big names to be at the forefront of Pakistan cricket. Pakistan cricket will continue to suffer until there is absolute clarity in their direction. Strong decisions are needed to improve the ODI side. An identification of the conditions of the 2027 world cup, the strategy being applied by the best teams and what are Pakistan doing to keep up is the call of the hour. If this means that you must put a full stop on those who do not allow you to evolve, so be it.