It is T20 season in the UAE and Pakistan have intensified their preparations for a new era, in the sweltering heat of Dubai.
Pakistan have made some structural changes to their set-up, laying out a clear blueprint of how they intend to play T20 cricket in this cycle.
They started by omitting senior batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the T20 squad for the tri-series involving Afghanistan and the UAE that begins in Sharjah on Friday. The 2025 Asia Cup takes place in the UAE early next month.
Under head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Agha, Pakistan seemed to have moved on from the two batters – possibly permanently – who have been prolific in T20 cricket, but have fallen short in respective scoring rates.
"We know what a fine player Babar is," Hesson had said. "Babar has been asked to improve in certain areas, like taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate, and he is working hard on these things. The players we have are performing well and having a positive impact."
Not just that, the two senior batters were also removed from the top central contract list this month.
Even though Pakistan have only two players in the squad who have a demonstrably high strike rate in T20 cricket – Hassan Nawaz (175) and Mohammad Haris (145) – the team management believes the next set of batters might have a better shot at meeting modern batting requirements.
Change was necessitated by Pakistan's indifferent form in T20 cricket. Since May, Pakistan have played three T20 series, winning 3-0 at home but losing 2-1 away to Bangladesh. They then beat the West Indies 2-1 in the US.
Despite victory last time out, Pakistan still languish in eighth position in the ICC rankings.
Pakistan will get a much better sense of where their T20 cricket stands in the coming weeks. Their first challenge will come against Afghanistan and UAE in the tri-series.
Afghanistan pose a serious threat in T20 cricket, having made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup last year. They will be playing in their second home – the UAE – and have picked a side perfect for the dry conditions in Sharjah.
Afghanistan have selected a spin-heavy squad, led by star spinner Rashid Khan.
Apart from Rashid, the Afghans have wrist spinner Noor Ahmad, mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, AM Ghazanfar and veteran off-spinner Mohammad Nabi in the spin department.
Ghazanfar, 19, is yet to play a T20I but has made rapid strides in domestic matches and is already in demand in the franchise circuit.
For the UAE, it will be a golden chance to continue the progress they have been making in the shortest format.
The national team defeated Bangladesh in a T20 series in Sharjah in May, with captain Muhammad Waseem leading the way. They then took part in the Pearls of Africa T20 series in Uganda, where they won four of six matches.
