Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir who is also one of the #T20WorldCup ambassadors is writing columns for the ICC during this on going ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. In her recent column, the all-rounder turned commentator said, “What has impressed me most about Pakistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has been their consistency. “
She further stated, “It is not usually something you associate with Pakistan. We always hear about an unpredictable Pakistan but in this tournament, they have maintained their intensity, the catching has been good, the running between the wickets as well and as a unit they are performing to the standards we expect them to.”
Sana believes that at the international level execution of plans is very important, “that is exactly what they are doing,” said the iconic cricketer.
Sana praised Saqlain Mushtaq also for his hard work with the team, she said:
“A lot of the credit goes to the players who are working so hard and that is the platform that they have used to achieve what they are right now. But I think Saqlain Mushtaq also deserves a lot of praise for the work he is doing.”
Sana also shared her experience of working with former Test cricketer for her spin bowling skills, she wrote:
“He is not someone I have spent a lot of time with, but the one interaction I’ve had with him was a profound one. I was recovering from a back injury and was changing from bowling medium pace to bowling off-spin. I used to hold the ball with four fingers and was talking about how leg spinners use the third finger and off-spinners use two fingers to bowl. He guided me saying: ‘Your job is to put as many revolutions on the ball as possible and have more control, just bowl the ball in whatever way you can do these two things best.’ I still remember what he said to me.”
Sana believes that Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander have been a big influence and Rameez Raja has given extra responsibility to Babar Azam as captain. “When the captain has that responsibility, they feel confident making decisions. It is the same for the players,” wrote Sana Mir. “There are of course more factors in their success, but there is freedom in this team for the players to express themselves. The environment is great for the players to succeed,” she added.
Sana Mir says that she was pleased to see Pakistan decide to bat first against Namibia to give themselves a bigger challenge. She wrote:
“Regardless of the opposition, it is not easy to bat in those conditions, but they did very well and now they are in a great position to top the group and avoid England, who are playing some great cricket, in the semi-final.”
Commenting on India’s early ouster from the T20 World Cup, Sana said:
“It is not easy to get over a big defeat like India suffered to Pakistan and it felt against New Zealand that they had still not fully moved on. For their sake, they will hope to have put those defeats behind them against Afghanistan.”
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