Pakistan v West Indies, T20I series - Pakistan player ratings

With Pakistan completing the clean sweep over the West Indies in the T20I series, Sarfraz Ahmed could not have had a better start to his term as T20I skipper. With wins over England and now the West Indies, the 30-year old wicketkeeper-batsman has a 100% record in T20 internationals.

While the likes of Babar Azam and Imad Wasim have come of age in the series, it seems quite clear that the Pakistanis have almost zeroed in on the core members of the squad they would like to use in the shortest format of the game. This also comes in spite of a few bad performances in recent times by some of the batsmen, the squad seems quite settled now.

While all this can be seen as a joint effort to improve Pakistan cricket in the limited-overs’ format, Mickey Arthur and the rest of his coaching staff will be interested in individual performances in a bid to improve the overall synergy from the squad. That said, in a bid to take an overall report card of the squad, we will have to take a quick look at how each player performed in the player ratings for the series.

Sharjeel Khan – 3/10

The dashing left-handed opener has been quite subdued in the West Indies series. With the Pakistani management putting faith in Sharjeel for all three matches in the series, the opener managed just 35 runs with two scores in single digits. The final T20I at Abu Dhabi saw him smash 22 runs, perhaps a more productive outing given the nightmares he had previously.

Khalid Latif – 6.5/10

Khalid Latif was roped in as an opening batsman when 36-year old Mohammad Hafeez was dropped from the squad. However, in spite of this, Latif impressed with the bat in flashes of brilliance with the bat. He managed a brisk 40 in the first match and also went on to add 55 runs in the following two matches. He managed a healthy average of 47.50 in the series, something that has seen his stock rise quite a bit.

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Babar Azam – 8.5/10

Babar Azam was one of the standout batsmen for Pakistan in the series. While many have questioned his technique in recent times, Azam has grown into his role of being an enforcer at the number three spot. He was also the only player in the series who managed to score over 100 runs in spite of batting in just the 2 innings. His 55 not out in the first match saw him become an important piece of the jigsaw as Mickey Arthur zeroes in on a player for the number 3 spot.

Shoaib Malik – 7/10

The veteran Pakistani batsman once again showed his solidity with the bat as well as his sustainable ability to smash the ball to different parts of the ground at will. Similar to Babar Azam, Malik displayed tremendous responsibility whilst batting when he managed 80 runs in the 2 innings he batted including a blistering 43 at Dubai.

Umar Akmal – 3/10

Pakistan’s highest run-getter in T20 internationals did not have much of a role to play with the bat as his teammates were in some tremendous form. However, in the one innings that he batted, he managed just the one run.

Sarfraz Ahmed – 7/10

The Pakistan skipper led from the front and by example on the field. His immaculate glove work and tremendous work ethic saw his side clinch a 3-0 win in the series and keep his record intact. He batted just the one innings and managed an unbeaten 46 off just 32 deliveries.

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Mohammad Nawaz – 6/10

One of the new faces in the Pakistan line-up, Mohammad Nawaz has settled into his role as spin-bowling all-rounder quite nicely. In the context of the West Indies series, Nawaz has been in phenomenal form with the ball predominantly as he has kept the scoring down as well as helped himself to three wickets. He did not bat in the series.

Imad Wasim – 8/10

Prior to the start of the series, Imad Wasim was the one who was tracked quite a bit courtesy of some of his confident and sweeping statements made in England. However, Imad Wasim showed that he was much more than the words he spoke as he claimed a 5-wicket haul in the first match. He also proved to be Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker in the series when he claimed 9 wickets.

Hasan Ali – 6.5/10

Hasan Ali’s role in the side was to provide the pace which Pakistan lacked in the absence of Mohammad Amir. Ali’s ability to clock the high speeds saw him become a mainstay in the side. However, in spite of the four wickets he took in the series, he was strangely expensive and clocked an economy rate of almost 11. 57 in the 7 overs he bowled.

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Sohail Tanvir – 7/10

Sohail Tanvir made a comeback to the side after a long time and hit the ground running almost immediately. He picked five wickets in the 12 overs he bowled and proved to be highly economical for Pakistan when he conceded just 61 runs almost at an economy rate of 5 runs per over. Needless to say, he will be a core part of Pakistan’s future T20I endeavors.

Wahab Riaz – 4.5/10

The undisputed leader of the pace attack, Wahab Riaz impressed one and all with his ability to bowl the ball at high speeds and also find the blockhole from time to time. However, in the context of the West Indies series, Wahab played just the two matches and claimed just the one wicket, creating little or no impact as he did.

Mohammad Amir – 5/10

The recently-married Mohammad Amir was back to his best when he took the field against the Windies in the final T20I of the series. In the four overs he bowled, he failed to pick a wicket, yet, this did not prove to be too much of a worry as he was simply unplayable and conceded just the 20 runs in the 4 overs he bowled.

Ruman Raees – 5.5/10

Similar to Mohammad Amir, Ruman Raees came into the side for the final match. he bowled just the three overs, but, impressed when he conceded just the 10 runs on a slow Abu Dhabi track.

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