Pakistan players in Colombo await final decision as uncertainty about India match looms

India have been maintaining all along that they have been preparing for the fixture in Colombo as per the schedule. After the Pakistan government took the decision not to allow its team to play India in the group fixture, Salman Agha’s side had a close shave against Netherlands. If they had lost the opening fixture of the T20 World Cup to the Netherlands on Saturday, they would have been staring at an early exit. With uncertainty about them playing India, Pakistan’s second group game against the USA on Tuesday — a team they lost to in the last T20 World Cup — is a must-win.

It is far from an ideal situation for Pakistan, which may all of a sudden have to shift their focus to the India game. “We are preparing for the whole tournament,” pacer Salman Mirza said. “We are not looking at three or four matches (in group stages). From our side we are preparing for this tournament. As far as February 15 goes, it will be a government’s decision,” the 32-year-old said.

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Ahead of the match against the USA, for an optional training session, the whole team turned up. With SSC, which is the venue for Tuesday’s game, hosting Zimbabwe vs Oman, Pakistan trained at the Colombo Cricket Club ground that sits just across the road in Maitland’s area. They have not had the opportunity to train at the Premadasa Stadium, the venue for the game against India.

At the Colombo Cricket Club, fans were able to get a glimpse of their training just across the fence from about 50m away.

On an up and down outfield, where the bounce of some throws during the fielding session were hard to predict, Pakistan’s intensity was hard to miss. With New Zealander Mike Hesson the coach, a rugby throw-in game as part of the warm-up drills. Having usually relied on foot-volley like most sub-continent teams, it is learnt that rugby has been added as a fun activity.

Pakistan cricket team during a practice session in Colombo. (Express photo by Venkata Krishna B)

Once the skill sessions began, all eyes were on premier batsman Babar Azam. Though he wasn’t part of Hesson’s plans last year, he has found a way to back in favour, with his ability to anchor the innings in the slow conditions of Sri Lanka being seen as an asset. However, as captain Agha revealed on the eve of the tournament opener, his inclusion in the side is purely going to be based on the conditions.

It hasn’t helped Babar that in their outing against the Netherlands he failed in the job assigned to him. Having seen two quick wickets fall, the senior batsman was expected to steer the team home in a tense chase. Instead, after making 15 off 18, he threw away his wicket, which put Pakistan in a precarious situation. There are chances of the explosive Fakhar Zaman taking his spot on Tuesday.

Batting great Ricky Ponting weighed with his thoughts on what Babar’s batting can do to this team. “If you’re 15 off 18 balls, you’re not just putting pressure on yourself, you’re putting pressure on the guy at the other end,” the former Australian captain told ICC. “Babar needs to hit boundaries early on. He needs two boundaries in his first six balls, otherwise the whole momentum of the game is going to change every time he goes in.”

Former India coach Ravi Shastri was even more blunt with his assessment. “When you are at that stage of your career, there’s baggage. There’s a weight of expectation. People expect you to go out there and deliver. Get out there (and) in your first five balls, I don’t care if you get out, but I want you to make an effort to hit a couple of boundaries.”

In the two-hour session, Babar hardly showed signs of such creativity in batting even as the others went about their shots. Having played a morning fixture against the Dutch – which was the first T20I at the SSC in more than a decade, they will play under lights against the USA. Although the seamers tend to enjoy the movement under lights in Sri Lanka, it could force Pakistan to re-align their spin strategy. Having pushed India into a corner at the Wankhede, USA will carry the confidence. Pakistan should know by now that they shouldn’t take the USA lightly again.