'Pakistan's T20 strategy is like relaunching of Nokia 3310'

ISLAMABAD: In the light of Pakistan cricket team's not-so-impressive performances in the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand, experts and TV pundits believe that the team needs to adopt a forward-looking approach rather than sticking to their primitive and dated style of play.

Commenting on the team's latest performance against the Black Caps, PSL franchise Islamabad United's Strategy Manager Hassan Cheema said that Pakistan's T20 approach is akin to the relaunching of Nokia 3310 -implying that underneath the shiny veneer, the Green Shirts are still harbouring dated philosophies.

"About two years ago, Nokia relaunched its 3310 model, which heightened people's nostalgia and it led to an increase in its sale," he used the analogy while speaking to Geo Super. "However, in the era of iPhone 10 or Samsung [Galaxy] s20, you can only rely on nostalgia-based success to a certain extent."

He said that for the last 15 years, Pakistan team has adopted a Nokia 3310 like strategy, both in one-day cricket as well as in T20s after the departure of team coach Mickey Arthur.

"The team is only looking backwards, trying to revive its past glory," Cheema said." But while Pakistan is looking backwards, the world is moving forward."

Cheema further said that Sarfaraz Ahmed's scoring rate is not up to the requirement of modern one-day cricket.

"We are still stuck with the Nokia 3310 thinking and I am surprised over this because we both worked with cricket legends like Misbah-ul-Haq, Waqar Younus, and Mushtaq Ahmed who know such intricacies of the game that we cannot even learn in 50 years."

He said that the team is making some basic blunders in T20 matches, for instance, making two anchors play in the top three.

"This is not even Nokia 3310 thinking, but a Nokia 1110 type of strategy which is even more backward," Cheema said.