Trouble at the top

Who says Pakistan cricket is unpredictable? It used to be, but not anymore. There's a certain amount of predictability about Pakistan cricket in T20 too. Their batting invariably looks shaky and they struggle to put up par scores, but if they click, their bowlers win them the game. The World T20 is likely to be played on good batting surfaces, where Pakistan stand a good chance of competing.

Strength
It's widely believed that batsmen win you matches but bowlers win you tournaments. If this is true, then Pakistan are firm favourites to win the World T20. On most days, two to three batsmen are good enough to take care of the 20 overs but you need five good bowlers every day of the week. While most teams simply don't have five quality bowlers in the squad, Pakistan can easily feature that many in their XI. Since T20s are usually played on placid pitches (the Asia Cup was an aberration), the format favours batsmen, but the left-arm pace trio of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz, along with Mohammad Sami, have the ability to convert it into a bowler's game. They also have Shahid Afridi as a proper four-over bowler. In addition to these five, Shoaib Malik can pitch in with a couple of overs. If Pakistan's batsmen put enough runs on the board, their bowlers will win more games than any other team.

Weakness
Their batting hasn't looked more shaky. You rely greatly on your top four in T20s. If they don't fire, you end up with a below-par score. The top four have two key advantages: they get to bat in the Powerplay overs and thus give their team a flying start; and they get the most out of the 120 deliveries in the innings.

Pakistan's average score after being three down in the last 12 T20Is is 45. The corresponding average scores for India and Australia are 98 and 77* respectively. Losing three wickets without too many on the board robs them of any possibility of posting a decent total. T20 cricket doesn't allow you time to rebuild, but Pakistan are forced to do that in nearly every game. Their underperforming top order is their biggest concern, along with Afridi's captaincy.

While Afridi is blessed to have a high-quality bowling attack at his disposal, he doesn't seem to have the tactical acumen to use it wisely. Even though he is an aggressive player, his captaincy can be described, at best, as "defensive". You may have the most attacking bowlers in the world but if you give them defensive fields, their aggression will disappear. This is highlighted in T20 cricket because your top bowlers usually bowl no more than 12 balls in a spell, and if you let that moment pass, you'll regret it later. Afridi does it too often. He also doesn't bowl himself in the Powerplay or the death overs. The captain bowling only in the comfortable middle overs sends the wrong message.

X-factor
Role-definition is an important facet of batting in T20 cricket, and if you're shunted up and down the order in every other game, you are really on your own to decide the way forward. That's the feeling I get with Sarfraz Ahmed. He's Pakistan's third best T20 batsman, behind Malik and Umar Akmal, but Sarfraz gives the impression that he's an amalgamation of the two. He's got the calmness of Malik and the aggression of Akmal. He also has wonderful situational awareness, which allows him to think clearly, even in high-pressure situations. Finding the right and, perhaps, fixed spot for him should be Pakistan's priority. He should be batting between Malik and Akmal in most games. He can be Pakistan's constant game-changer with the bat.

*stats updated till March 4, 2016