T20 World Cup 2024 – Canada vs Pakistan – When will Pakistan get serious about winning the trophy?

The two guards stood there, chatting casually. They were unaware of Mohammed Rizwan’s growing annoyance, but if anyone needed to know how annoying it was to have someone interrupt a match, it was probably Rizwan. But the guards continued chatting, seemingly unaware of where they were stationed. It was hard to blame them. This was, in a way, a makeshift match disguised as a cricket match.

And it was a bit tedious. In fact, some fans in the stadium couldn’t stand the delay any longer and tried to get rid of the guards themselves. But they didn’t leave until someone in a more authoritative position and heavier-looking uniform showed up.

Finally, the match resumed. In any case, it was drawing to a close. Pakistan needed a few more runs to win and there was plenty of time to do so. Rizwan managed to get close to fifty and finished with a not-scored 53 off 53 balls. Babar Azam, who had just before shared a 62-ball partnership with Rizwan for 63, was dismissed for 33 off 33 balls. If this was the end of an era, there could be no better way for ‘RizBar’ to conclude it.

If anyone came to Nassau County expecting a bruised Pakistan to win some kind of statement piece, what they witnessed was Pakistan displaying yet another example of the boring template this team is obsessed with perfecting. Their bowling was inconsistent but hot at the right times and too good for a Canadian team that managed to make it to 106 runs. Pakistan approached the chase with the zeal of a government official dealing with ordinary citizens, trying to deliver as long as possible and provide as minimally satisfactory a performance as possible.

Pakistan may have legitimate frustrations about the New York court, where runs were treated like personal attacks, but Babar’s team never needed any special motivation to restrain themselves. On a far more productive court in Dallas, they managed to post a below-average 159 and lose in the super over. It looked like an extension of Pakistan’s agonizing failed catch-up against India. But in less tense circumstances, with a less ferocious bowling unit and a slightly smaller target, the margin that had swung against Pakistan two days earlier ended up working in their favour.

Saim Ayub, who boomerangs into the side whenever the PCB puts pressure on Babar and Rizwan, only to be dismissed as soon as it subsides, is back at the top of the batting order. He has been in poor form recently and was not going to regain his form on this surface, being taken for six off 12 balls, attempting a delivery that would have flown out of Rawalpindi in the PSL. But as Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammed Harris, Haider Ali and Azam Khan have all found out, this is not the PSL. And somehow, when other teams promote aspiring players who have excelled in T20 leagues around the world, they seem to be able to replicate that success. But a batsman being drafted into the Pakistan team is a bit like Manchester United appointing a new manager. He may have been good before he joined, but for some reason, he is no longer.

Maybe all the players are useless and overpaid. Or maybe Pakistan would have been in a different position if your favourite players had been selected instead of the ones you believe to be frauds. Maybe if they had been a bit more overtly patriotic and kissed the badge a few times, that might have worked. Maybe if the captain had been different, this mystery would have been solved. Maybe if Pakistan’s selection committee had had nine people instead of seven, if they had had four team managers instead of the measly two who sent them to the team. Or if the chief data analyst had been a former Minister for Housing and Construction instead of the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry.

Or is it any wonder that the PCB has rarely taken itself seriously as a cricket committee and so often ends up producing teams that are fundamentally unserious when it comes to chasing the biggest prize? Their last two ICC finals wouldn’t have happened had Roelof van der Merwe not played so well, or Thisara Perera not dropped some easy shots? There is only so much time you can rub the lamp out, but before long even the genies start to feel exploited.

But such miracles are more likely than restructuring, and on that day Pakistan moved a step closer to another chance at redemption. Though their trademark glitz was absent, they know their progress depends on Miami sunshine, not New York success rates. It may end up being a hollow victory that barely scratches the surface. And that is perhaps an apt metaphor for the changes that will follow after they leave this tournament.