PAKISTAN REPORT CARD: Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi star... but it was a sad send-off for Shoaib Malik

The Cricketer runs the rule over the performances of Pakistan's players during the 2019 Cricket World Cup...

Asif Ali

(2 matches, 19 runs, ave 19.50, 1 catch)

Came into the tournament off the back of an impressive warm-up series against England, during which he showed real potential at the backend of the innings. Following personal tragedy in the lead-up to the World Cup, however, he was way off his best in the early weeks and, after dropping David Warner on his way to a century at Taunton, lost his place and never regained it.

Grade: D-

Babar Azam 

(8 matches, 474 runs, ave 67.71, 5 catches)

What would Pakistan have done without the runs from the indefatigable, inimitable, wholly elegant Babar Azam. He recorded the highest haul by any Pakistani at a World Cup, and barely seemed to break sweat doing so. His century in the successful chase against New Zealand at Edgbaston was a masterclass in patience and strokeplay, and he so nearly added a second ton of the tournament against Bangladesh. Masterful throughout, and now truly one of the world’s best. 

Grade: A

Fakhar Zaman 

(8 matches, 186 rungs, ave 23.25, 3 catches)

Pakistan need to rethink their opening pair. Fakhar was loose, unnerved by the short ball and too often drawn into loose shots outside his off stump in the early overs of the innings. He made one half-century - against India, which accounted for more than a third of his tournament runs, but was otherwise hugely disappointing. 

Grade: D

^{Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam}

Haris Sohail 

(5 matches, 198 runs, ave 39.60, 2 catches)

Why oh why was Sohail not involved from the very beginning?! The middle-order batsman was inserted into the side midway through the competition, when the loyalty shown to Shoaib Malik by the selectors finally wore thin, and he responded with two excellent fifties - one of which won the game against South Africa, the other acted as the doorstop for Babar’s matchwinning ton against New Zealand. Should now be a permanent fixure in this side, no questions asked.

Grade: B-

Hasan Ali

(4 matches, 43 runs, ave 21.5, 2 wickets, ave 128)

A miserable first half of the tournament saw Hasan dropped, and with good cause. He had barely shown the slightest glimpse of the form which made him so fearsome just 18 months or so ago, went at 7.75 per over and did not contribute with the bat. World Cups make and break reputations, and there is a fear that this competition might have done the latter to the allrounder’s.

Grade: E

VISIT THE WORLD CUP PORTAL

Imad Wasim

(6 matches, 162 runs, ave 54, 2 wickets, ave 94, 1 catch)

The bowling stats above might not immediately suggest an excellent campaign but the Welsh-born offspinning allrounder was a massively important part of Pakistan’s resurgence in the backend of the World Cup. Added impetus with the bat in the lower order, often when his teammates had appeared to struggle either with the pitch or the opposition attack, and offered an element of control with the ball. A tournament economy rate of 4.82 is seriously good. 

Grade: B+

Imam-ul-Haq

(8 matches, 305 runs, ave 38.12, 2 catches)

A century in the final game of Pakistan’s campaign, against Bangladesh at Lord’s, might have covered up a largely underwhelming five weeks for a man of immense talent. Was not helped by Fakhar Zaman’s largely abdicatory manner at the top of the order, but a little more was expected from a classy, calculated batsman. A strike rate of just 76.25 echoes the issues many openers had at the start of the innings at this World Cup. 

Grade: C

Mohammad Amir

(8 matches, 11 runs, ave 5.5, 17 wickets, ave 21.05, 2 catches)

And to think Amir was not included in Pakistan’s initial 15-man squad for this World Cup. The seamer was electrifying throughout much of the first three weeks of the tournament, though he lost some of his sparkle as the campaign died out, ripping through opposition batting line-ups with a combination of intelligent bowling lines and zippy speed. A fabulous economy rate of 4.90 accompanied by a steady strike rate of 25.76 made for a very effective spearhead.

Grade: A

^{Sarfraz Ahmed skippered the side}

Mohammad Hafeez

(8 matches, 253 runs, ave 31.62, 2 wickets, ave 94.5, 5 catches)

The allrounder’s best moment of the campaign came in Pakistan’s first match - his 84 against England set his side up for a memorable victory at Trent Bridge. Otherwise, Hafeez contributed here and there, with both bat and ball, without really ever headlining an innings. Too often got in, got set and got out - 46 against Australia, 20 against South Africa, 32 against New Zealand, 19 against Afghanistan and 27 against Bangladesh.

Grade: C-

Sarfraz Ahmed 

(8 matches, 143 runs, ave 28.60, 13 catches, 1 stumping)

Sarfraz has become so important to Pakistan, in many more ways than just his wicketkeeping and batting - which were adequate if fairly unexceptional during this tournament. The skipper has managed to unite the Pakistan squad, defended them routinely against aggressive lines of questioning from the travelling media and some awful abuse from fans in the street, and never looked likely to back down - keeping for 50 overs in a defeated cause after being struck on the arm against Bangladesh was testament to that. A stoic performance from the captain, in every way.

Grade: B-

Shadab Khan 

(7 matches, 43 runs, ave 14.33, 9 wickets, ave 35.55, 1 catch)

Useful if far from devastating, the legspinning allrounder’s highpoint came in the victory over South Africa at Lord’s, when his 3-50 helped clip the legs from under the Proteas in the chase. Otherwise, while relatively miserly - his tournament economy rate was 5.51 - Shadab was not particularly influential. 

Grade: C

^{Pakistan narrowly failed to qualify for the semi-finals}

Shaheen Shah Afridi 

(5 matches, 1 runs, ave n/a, 16 wickets, ave 14.62)

Pace, power, dynamism and entertainment factor, this kid has it all. Flattered to deceive during the bilateral series against England prior to the tournament and couldn’t force his way into Pakistan’s side in the early rounds but, once he did, he was never going to let his place go. Became the youngest man to ever record a World Cup five-for with a devastating spell against Bangladesh and finished the competition with a ruthless strike rate of a wicket every three overs. They just keep churning out fast bowlers in Pakistan.

Grade: A

Shoaib Malik

(3 matches, 8 runs, ave 2.66, 1 wicket, ave 47, 2 catches)

Watching a legend of the game, and in his prime a quite fabulous 50-over player, limp his way through to ODI retirement, his hands strapped up and his reputation in need of the same care, was quite sad to see. Malik has been such a wonderful servant to Pakistan cricket but this was a tournament too far and his presence meant the middle order did not benefit from Haris Sohail until the middle of the competition. By then, it was pretty much already too late.

Grade: E

Wahab Riaz

(8 matches, 88 runs, ave 18.6, 11 wickets, ave 36.36, 4 catches)

Charged back into the Pakistan attack after months and months in the wilderness, and looked like he’d bever been away. Bruising with the ball, proprietor of reverse swing, belligerent with the bat and able to soak up a ridiculous number of dropped catches off his bowling, Wahab was Pakistan’s World Cup cult hero. 

Grade: B+

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