Emergence of newer players exciting for future of Pakistan cricket: Michael Hussey

Former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey is certainly very surprised to see Pakistan win the 2017 edition of the Champions Trophy.  In the finals of the tournament, the Pakistani team upset the favorites India. They thoroughly dominated the contest and that came much to the surprise of many who had written off the men in green. Michael Hussey was at the venue to watch the proceedings live. He noted that the atmosphere was electric and he absolutely loved to see the rivalry. He spoke at length about the game in his column for ICC.

He noted that the tournament had started to come alive with the teams not favored to win upsetting the big nations. It had certainly come alive in the last few days. He further added that the tournament saw some young names rise to the occasion. At the same time, some other big names who were expected to call the shots in the tournament faltered big time. He was not happy with the way Australian team crashed out.

“The final was the first time that I have experienced a match between the two great rivals live, and the atmosphere at the ground was just electric. Pakistan was the underdog coming into the final but there was a feeling of destiny about it. Tournament play is all about peaking at the right time and after a poor start to the tournament, most pundits gave it no chance of winning. However, by the time it lifted the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 at The Oval, it was undoubtedly playing its best cricket,” wrote Michael Hussey.

“As the tournament ended, the reputations of some teams and players have grown and some have taken a hit. Unfortunately, from an Australian perspective, not much went right and the team was bundled out early,” Hussey added.

On South Africa’s exit

Pretty much like Australia, even South Africa had a very strong side but ended up crashing out before the semi finals. Michael Hussey had a special mention for the Proteas side. He noted that the exit of the Proteas team showed that the top teams in the cricket world have very little to be differentiated about.

“South Africa, too, unexpectedly, exited the tournament at the group stage after coming in as one of the favourites. It shows that the top teams in the world are very close and anyone can be beaten on a given day,” he wrote.

On future of Pakistan cricket

Lauding the Pakistani team on their win, he commended the way Pakistani bowlers excelled on the day. He noted that the emergence of young players like Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali is a very bright news for Pakistan cricket.

“Pakistan bowling attack was brilliant with Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan contributing well throughout the tournament but the emergence of a couple of newer players in Hasan Ali and Fakhar Zaman, who scored a brilliant century in the final, is exciting for the future of their side,” Hussey said.