Questions are often raised about the performance of the Pakistan cricket team's middle-order batting line. Former national player Sohaib Maqsood has shared his thoughts on the root cause, opining that the main problem is not the batters coming to play in the middle but the method of arranging the players. 

 

Sohaib Maqsood has released a short video on X (Previously Twitter) in which he highlights the problems of the Pakistani middle order.

 

He said, "We have been hearing for years that Pakistan's middle order is useless. The same middle order is fine in ODIs and Tests, but the problem arises in T20s where the problem is not the players but the method of playing is wrong. The problem is the roles given to the middle order, due to which their performance is criticized."

 

Explaining his point, Maqsood said, "Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan are very big players, but I had said earlier that the team's middle order will not develop until both of them open together in T20 because when both of them are in form, they play 14 to 15 overs together. In this case, the player who comes in fourth and fifth position gets to play only 9 to 10 balls on average. In such a situation, when a match is lost, the debris falls on the middle order, and if the opposing team chase the target, the bowlers come under criticism. Whose responsibility is it to win the game now, those who played 15 overs or those who got only 10 balls?"

 

Explaining the solution, he said, "I conditionally say that you change the way you play T20 cricket like other countries, which will start developing our middle order, and eventually you will have proper middle-order performers in 12 to 16 months."

 

The Pakistan cricket team has faced several issues with their middle order in recent matches against Australia and South Africa.

 

Recently, during the T20I series against South Africa, Pakistan lost the first match by 11 runs due to the middle order's inability to capitalize on a strong start by Mohammad Rizwan. In an effort to address these issues, Aaqib Javed has been appointed as the interim red-ball coach after Jason Gillespie's resignation on Thursday. 

 

Promising new players like Muhammad Irfan Khan, Usman Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem have also been selected for the squad.