If a month ago someone had predicted that Pakistan would win all three of their most difficult T20 World Cup group stage matches, including the crucial contest against India, they would have been laughed off and advised to seek mental help. Despite an entirely new setup from management to coaches and the squad coming in just weeks before the start of the tournament, a performance of this magnitude, three straight wins, was truly unimaginable. There is no denying the fact that on and off the field this cricketing unit has emerged as a breath of fresh air; confident, composed, calculated and above all playing as a team rather than selfishly focusing on their individual performances to the detriment of the team as a whole.  Apart from putting on display his effortless batting prowess, Babar Azam has also solidified his position as a technically sound captain with immense situational awareness who above all has the respect, trust and backing of the entire team, enabling him to comfortably lead from the front. In the past, Pakistan’s locker rooms have been generally toxic environments, with groupings within the team as a result of constant intrigue and politics, a culture that would inadvertently make its way onto the field and more often than not, cause embarrassing losses. Clearly none of that crippling toxicity is present anymore, evident from the fashion in which each player has so far carried himself through the tournament so far.
Pakistan has not been known to be a good fielding side, a deficiency that has caused many defeats in the past. Apart from a couple of misfields, there has not been a single dropped catch so far and every single player on the field has been contributing towards saving crucial runs. This is a compliment rarely paid to any Pakistani cricket team. Pakistan has all but qualified to the semifinals, and if players like Asif Ali, who was written off as a hitter and has now firmly established himself as a dependable finisher, hitting four sixes in a single over match-winning knock against Afghanistan, continue to play the way he has, Pakistan has every chance of bringing home the World Cup. A truly remarkable and cohesive side has emerged out of nowhere and teams from around the world have taken notice. This is the beginning of something special, en route to evolving into a formidable and consistent world class cricketing team.
