Cricket’s
Dynamics: It has long been discussed that franchise cricket
has started to outweigh International Cricket. The West Indian players were at
the helm of this shift, followed by the South African board, which put a stamp
of authority on franchise cricket over international games. The Australian and
English boards don’t schedule any matches during the biggest cricket franchise
league, the Indian Premier League (IPL). New Zealand has also followed suit and
ensures that no matches are scheduled during April and May for the national
men’s side.
Then
how is the series scheduled during the IPL?: The relations
between India and Pakistan mean that Pakistani players cannot participate in
the IPL. This meant that Pakistan had all their major players available at the
disposal, and they have received a promise from New Zealand that they will
compensate the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for withdrawing from the tour in
2021 by touring whenever the PCB desired. The April and May window is the
easiest one for the board to organize the series, and hence the series was set
up for the summer.
Where
are New Zealand’s major players? : Nine first-choice Kiwi
cricketers are playing in the IPL, while Will Young (County Cricket), Tom
Latham (paternity leave), and Tim Southee (rest for building strength and
conditioning) along with Adam Milne (injury) and Fin Allen (injury) will not be
playing in the series. With 14 first-choice players unavailable and with series
commitments with the PCB, the New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) decided to go
ahead with the series.
The
series as a showdown for the T20 World Cup in June 2024 :The
series might not be high-profile due to a weakened New Zealand side (which also
shows the value administrators and cricketers put these days on the winning and
losing of the national team), but it also gives an opportunity to players on
the fringe to perform in what might be a difficult tour.
A
look at the players in focus: Mohammad Amir was
termed as a special talent when he started his career at the age of 17. It has
been fifteen years since, but Amir is yet to fulfill the promise he showed in
the initial stages of his career. While some of it has been his fault, the
other has been the PCB’s failure to provide him assurance that they stood by
him in thick and thin. The PCB and team management have deemed him a magician
who could bowl dreamy spells all the time, without understanding that Amir had
his own limitations. The over expectations have created a rift with Amir, team
management, and coaches. Amir is also to be blamed; PCB has given him a second
life, probably the only board in the world who could have dared to give him
another chance after what he had done. The board and the coaches expected him
to be committed to all formats, including Test cricket. However, Amir’s priorities
were different, considering the lucrative offers on the plate from different
leagues.
Josh Clarkson might have middling records in
first-class cricket, but his ability to hit consistently has brought him into
the limelight. He possesses the highest strike rates among the players who have
played at least 30 innings in New Zealand’s domestic T20 tournament, The “Super
Smash”, since 2020. It was the reason why he was selected for the Pakistan tour
as a trial for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
The
Impact: Whatever the results of the series might be, there
is one thing for sure: these players will surely give settled players a run for
their money, and some might replace these stars in the future.
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