It looks increasingly unlikely that the proposed series between the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams will go ahead in December given the current stalemate between the country's cricket administrations. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan has announced that the Pakistan team will not tour India next month. His comments came after the Board of Control for Cricket in India had insisted that they would only agree to play their neighbours on Indian soil, not in Pakistan cricket’s adopted home of the United Arab Emirates.
It would be a pity if the series is cancelled, not only because the cricket world will miss out on seeing the arch-rivals play each other, but also because it would have made for a very interesting contest.
While the teams play a starkly different brand of cricket, they are not in very dissimilar positions at the moment. Pakistan have been steadily improving in recent months and are now officially ranked the world’s second-est Test team. India have been blowing hot and cold of late, with an away Test series win against Sri Lanka sandwiched between two One Day International series defeats against Bangladesh and South Africa. India currently lead 1-0 against a South African team that has not lost an away Test series in nearly a decade.
So assuming that a series between India and Pakistan were to be held soon, how would the two teams stack up against each other?
Opening combination
India’s batsmen have always tended to be better than their Pakistani counterparts and that seems to be the case now as well. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in limited overs or Dhawan and Murali Vijay in Tests – India has a much better opening combination. Pakistan still do not seem to have found a permanent opening partner for Azhar Ali in ODIs. They have been tinkering with their opening combination in Tests as well and have yet to settle on a favoured pairing.
Middle order
Pakistan have a bit more steel in the middle order, especially in Test matches. Despite the recent retirement of Shoaib Malik, a middle order comprising Younis Khan, Misbah ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq matches up decently against Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. While Pakistan have more experience in their ranks, India have more youthful energy. In ODIs, however, Pakistan’s veterans have all retired with only Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez bringing in some semblance of experience.
Captaincy
Misbah ul Haq trumps inexperienced captain Virat Kohli in Tests because of his sustained success with the Pakistani team in recent years. Misbah has led his team through some of its toughest times.
Kohli has started off on an exciting note with wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa, but he still has some way to go.
In limited overs, Azhar Ali and MS Dhoni are a mismatch, given the World Cup-winning Indian captain’s incredible success. Ali may be a greenhorn but has shown some promise with his captaincy and cool batting – traits he seems to have inherited from Misbah ul Haq.
Wicket-keeper
Pakistan’s Sarfraz Ahmed just about edges Wriddhiman Saha. Ahmed has played some crucial innings for Pakistan, including a brilliant counter-attacking century against Australia last year that helped cement his place in the team.
While Saha still enjoys the confidence of captain Kohli, he has not been able to hit the big scores and his wicket-keeping has also come under scrutiny of late.
In the ODI arena, the return of Dhoni bolsters India’s credentials. While his batting has been the subject of much criticism, his wicket-keeping still remains of the highest standards.
As for Sarfraz, he has not been able to bring his rich Test form into the limited overs format.
Spinners
This is when things get really interesting. India have R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja. Pakistan have Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Shoaib Malik (in ODIs).
Ashwin is the more experienced head nowadays and seems to be in the form of his life. For Pakistan, Shah has been the perfect replacement for Saeed Ajmal, becoming the fastest Pakistani bowler to 50 Test wickets.
As for the supporting cast, there is very little to choose between them. Babar and Malik have proved themselves to be good supporting acts for Shah, much like Mishra and Jadeja have been for Ashwin. In the end, it boils down to experience. In that respect, India’s spin attack just about have their noses in front.
Pace attack
Pakistan have traditionally been known for churning out fast bowlers and they continue to maintain that reputation. Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Junaid Khan offer proof that Pakistan never seem to run out of exciting fast bowlers.
India, however, seem to be a little confused about their pace quotient. While ODI captain Dhoni prefers the accuracy of Mohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Test skipper Kohli seems to enjoy using the speed and bounce of Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma.
Either way, Pakistan’s pace attack lead their Indian counterparts by a fair margin.
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It would be a pity if the series is cancelled, not only because the cricket world will miss out on seeing the arch-rivals play each other, but also because it would have made for a very interesting contest.
While the teams play a starkly different brand of cricket, they are not in very dissimilar positions at the moment. Pakistan have been steadily improving in recent months and are now officially ranked the world’s second-est Test team. India have been blowing hot and cold of late, with an away Test series win against Sri Lanka sandwiched between two One Day International series defeats against Bangladesh and South Africa. India currently lead 1-0 against a South African team that has not lost an away Test series in nearly a decade.
So assuming that a series between India and Pakistan were to be held soon, how would the two teams stack up against each other?
Opening combination
India’s batsmen have always tended to be better than their Pakistani counterparts and that seems to be the case now as well. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in limited overs or Dhawan and Murali Vijay in Tests – India has a much better opening combination. Pakistan still do not seem to have found a permanent opening partner for Azhar Ali in ODIs. They have been tinkering with their opening combination in Tests as well and have yet to settle on a favoured pairing.
Middle order
Pakistan have a bit more steel in the middle order, especially in Test matches. Despite the recent retirement of Shoaib Malik, a middle order comprising Younis Khan, Misbah ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq matches up decently against Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. While Pakistan have more experience in their ranks, India have more youthful energy. In ODIs, however, Pakistan’s veterans have all retired with only Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez bringing in some semblance of experience.
Captaincy
Misbah ul Haq trumps inexperienced captain Virat Kohli in Tests because of his sustained success with the Pakistani team in recent years. Misbah has led his team through some of its toughest times.
Kohli has started off on an exciting note with wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa, but he still has some way to go.
In limited overs, Azhar Ali and MS Dhoni are a mismatch, given the World Cup-winning Indian captain’s incredible success. Ali may be a greenhorn but has shown some promise with his captaincy and cool batting – traits he seems to have inherited from Misbah ul Haq.
Wicket-keeper
Pakistan’s Sarfraz Ahmed just about edges Wriddhiman Saha. Ahmed has played some crucial innings for Pakistan, including a brilliant counter-attacking century against Australia last year that helped cement his place in the team.
While Saha still enjoys the confidence of captain Kohli, he has not been able to hit the big scores and his wicket-keeping has also come under scrutiny of late.
In the ODI arena, the return of Dhoni bolsters India’s credentials. While his batting has been the subject of much criticism, his wicket-keeping still remains of the highest standards.
As for Sarfraz, he has not been able to bring his rich Test form into the limited overs format.
Spinners
This is when things get really interesting. India have R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja. Pakistan have Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Shoaib Malik (in ODIs).
Ashwin is the more experienced head nowadays and seems to be in the form of his life. For Pakistan, Shah has been the perfect replacement for Saeed Ajmal, becoming the fastest Pakistani bowler to 50 Test wickets.
As for the supporting cast, there is very little to choose between them. Babar and Malik have proved themselves to be good supporting acts for Shah, much like Mishra and Jadeja have been for Ashwin. In the end, it boils down to experience. In that respect, India’s spin attack just about have their noses in front.
Pace attack
Pakistan have traditionally been known for churning out fast bowlers and they continue to maintain that reputation. Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Junaid Khan offer proof that Pakistan never seem to run out of exciting fast bowlers.
India, however, seem to be a little confused about their pace quotient. While ODI captain Dhoni prefers the accuracy of Mohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Test skipper Kohli seems to enjoy using the speed and bounce of Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma.
Either way, Pakistan’s pace attack lead their Indian counterparts by a fair margin.
