Former Australia Captain Michael Clarke shared his shock regarding the playing XI of Pakistan during their Champions Trophy match against India on Sunday. Just one change was made to the Pakistan side: Imam-ul-Haq was picked to fill in for Fakhar Zaman-the opener who was injured and subsequently ruled out for the tournament after he suffered the injury during the match against New Zealand in the tournament opener. Following India’s six-wicket victory over Pakistan, Clarke opined that he could not wrap his head around the fact that the side under Mohammed Rizwan made one change to their XI when playing in very different conditions.
“Pakistan has struggled to deal with the expectation and pressure of playing a major tournament in their backyard. So I could not understand how that was possible before a ball had been bowled. Apart from that one change because of an injured player, Fakhar Zaman out-Could not understand how a team playing in different conditions makes just one change. In conditions so different, when you play in Dubai on that pitch against the very opposites of what they just played against New Zealand, one only has to wonder, ‘how did they get here?'” Clarke said during an interview on YouTube show, Beyond 23.
Clarke also went on to blame Pakistan for the apparent lack of planning, stating the match had already been put to rest before India had begun their chase in Dubai.
“It’s fine to have a lousy plan, but a lousy plan is certainly far better than nothing at all. I don’t really know what Pakistan’s game plan was; selection-wise, I’m pretty confused about it all. I don’t know what they were trying to do when they started their innings. I don’t know what their exact plan of action was against spin, which they are very good at facing. Overall, I don’t know what their strategy for beating India was. You can’t go into the biggest game of the tournament-certainly a finals-like situation for these two teams-except with a plan. This is just how it looked to me,” he said.” Clarke said that since Pakistan, as hosts, bore the burden of expectations and fear of failure, they brought themselves down.
He said: “I go back to the start of the tournament, where I mentioned that that would be my greatest concern with Pakistan; not talent or potential; they have plenty of it. It is unfortunate, but I think that they’re out. They are out of the equation for the top four. This is probably one tournament where I, in fact, study Pakistan more closely than any other Under the ICC. The game was in Dubai, but like a second cricketing home for them, since they go on for prolonged periods without being allowed to play at home. They are quite familiar with those conditions. The game against New Zealand; they just played New Zealand and South Africa in a tri-series; they had perfect conditions and form; the only thing pulling them back or letting them down this time going into the tournament was the mind, the expectations, and the fear of failure.”
There is more to it than performance; winning and losing go hand-in-hand. Sometimes you have to look into it as a captain, a senior player, a coach, or an administrator. One cannot keep making the same mistakes or expect to play the same eleven and get different results, play the same brand of cricket and expect different results, or make the same decisions and expect different results. It cannot happen,” Clarke said.
