Pakistan cricket returns to winning ways — and how!

Pakistan’s comeback-from-behind ODI series triumph against World Champions Australia in their own backyard this week has understandably, sent a wave of jubilation amongst Pakistani fans across the world.The landmark 2-1 victory — the first by Pakistan in 22 years Down Under — not only makes it the first Asian team to achieve the milestone twice, it is also a significant return to top form for a team that was almost written off after a string of defeats against even low-ranked teams across all formats just recently.The turnaround in fortunes began last month when an unfancied Pakistan Test team led by Shan Masood stunned the connoisseurs and fans alike by similarly coming from behind to overpower England. It was made possible by spin wizards Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali.However, the subsequent ODI series triumph in Australia has been made possible by Pakistan’s famous pace battery, all of whom looked jaded only a few weeks ago, but have suddenly combined under the new captain, the irresistible stumper Muhammad Rizwan.Recently, a few media experts had been pushing for Rizwan to be handed the leadership, not necessarily for all the cricketing reasons – he’s an astute captain and cricketer to be sure – but it had more to do with how divisions within the team were destroying its whole cricketing edifice.Players like Shaheen Shah Afridi were deemed by some to be underperforming after losing captaincy, and Babar Azam was similarly sulking before being handed back the captaincy, and then being forced to take the call to step down after realising half the team and virtually, the entire media were ganged up on him.It came to a sorry pass when both Babar and Shaheen withdrew together from the Test team just before the second Test against England recently. It was alleged that it was driven by the motive to hasten the ouster of Shan Masood as captain — the media buzz about them being rested notwithstanding.If true, for the umpteenth time, cricket proved to be a great equaliser as Masood led the team to a stunning series win against one of the world’s premier Test teams — thanks mainly to pressing home the advantage with spinning tracks and spinners with wizardry.Rizwan is probably the only star in the team who enjoys the unreserved support of his teammates because of his commitment to the team and friendly nature. Since he is a close friend of both the ‘dividers’, it made sense to invite a unifier, who is a pillar of strength on the basis of his own cricketing prowess, to take command.The results have been immediate. Both Babar and Shaheen are suddenly back in form – as if by a magic wand – and the team appears to be on a roll. Winning an ODI series on Australian soil may be a landmark, but more importantly, Pakistan have got their mojo back and performed consistently in all three ODIs. It will hopefully, set the pace for bigger slices of the cake in the near future, particularly with the Champions Trophy on the horizon.It might appear ingracious to put in a spoiler here, but it wouldn’t be out of place to foresee Rizwan eventually taking over the leadership of the Test team as well. With a challenging series in South Africa looming, it is an idea whose seeds have been planted and a reversal in fortunes will hasten that direction.Ideally, the movers and shakers of Pakistan cricket shouldn’t burden Rizwan until it is absolutely necessary. Shan is a great ambassador for Pakistan cricket and hopefully, will score heavily enough to keep the naysayers at bay.