The Chinese have a single solution for everything; Yin and Yang. It is not good versus evil or right versus wrong, it is the cycle of dualities where physical or nonphysical manifestations appearing to contradict each other are actually compliments in an environment where one cannot exist without the other. Every single element present in the universe can be categorized into Yin or Yang and their optimal utility is at the point of equilibrium where they find themselves in complete harmony; balance.

This philosophy extends to govern the laws of society, economics, medicine, martial arts and almost everything else under the moon (yin) or the sun (yang).

The game of bat and ball is no different and the Pakistan team, when viewed from this lens, quite clearly presents a picture of imbalance.

The quandary of the current XI is a deficient batting order with an efficient bowling attack. You don’t need a Taoist to identify the apparent; any cricket follower could diagnose this ailment. But the stakeholders of cricket in Pakistan have failed to see this or work on its remedy.

The balance of an ODI team is usually this: six batsmen, one wicket keeper batsman and four bowlers. India, Australia, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka are the top five teams in the world and it is no coincidence that all these teams consist of six specialist batsmen, one wicket keeper, who can bat, and four specialist bowlers.

Some batsmen are required to turn their arm and bowl a few overs, some a full quota of ten, but their primary job is to make runs; they are the batting all-rounders. Some bowlers are expected to use the willow and score valuable runs but their primary job is to take wickets and maintain the economy rate; they are the bowling all-rounders. However, the golden ODI combination remains a 6-1- 4, where a couple of them are multi-skilled, the batting or bowling all-rounders.

Pakistan too uses a similar combination but has long been a victim of ‘the batting all-rounder delusion’. In other words, they have looked for runs where the probability of getting them has been either low or on the decline.

Amongst the top six specialist batsmen is vice-captain Mohammad Hafeez. He opens the innings or bats at number three, spots reserved for the best; Virat Kohli, Kumar Sangakara, Hashim Amla and Jonathan Trott play the role for their respective countries. Hafeez averages 27.21 with the bat and has never been ranked in the top thirty batsmen in his career. However, in 2012 he was ranked as the number one ODI bowler in the world. He is also currently ranked as the second best all-rounder in the game. But, he is not a batting all-rounder, he is a bowling one. Hafeez is indispensable for Pakistan as long as he is maintaining his bowling form.

Another 'specialist' batsman out of the six is Shahid Khan Afridi. His career average of 23.56 with that bat is below par for anyone categorized as a batsman. While he has never been ranked in the top twenty batsmen in a 17-year career, in his pomp, he was ranked amongst the top five bowlers in the world, 2011 to be precise. Afridi too is a bowling all-rounder and can merit a place in the side if he gets back his lost drift, signs of which he has already shown in West Indies.

Apart from these two fine bowlers, Afridi and Hafeez, Pakistan’s playing XI often consists of four more specialist bowlers. For the first two games in West Indies for instance, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali and Wahab Riaz were selected. In the third, Junaid Khan replaced Ali. In essence, Pakistan has been fielding a team with a combination of four specialist batsmen, one wicketkeeper (Umar Akmal seems to have been given a batting role that may or may not do justice to his talent) and six specialist bowlers.

Who plays an ODI game with only four specialist batsmen? And what good are six bowlers if they manage to give it away in the end as illustrated by the tied 3rd ODI between Pakistan and West Indies? There is a dire need to correct this imbalance.

It is easier said than done, given the limited resources, or too many of the same kind. Ajmal and Hafeez are automatic selections with their current ranking and Afridi too has come back with a bang. So, Pakistan is forced to field three specialist spinners at the moment. Leaving space for only one more specialist bowler in an ideal world, but, it is equally important to have at least two fast bowlers in the team. This is the dilemma faced by the Pakistani cricket team. And their solution has been to select three specialist fast bowlers along with three specialist spinners; this absurdity has prevailed for a while now. There was also an instance when they played four spinners and one fast bowler in an ODI!

Unearthing another Imran Khan, a player who can make it to the side as a specialist batsman or a bowler, seems unlikely at the moment. Cricketers that have harmonized their internal 'Yin and Yang' are not easy to find, but, they add a dimension to their team like it is playing with twelve men.

Realistically, Pakistan is in desperate need of an actual batting all-rounder, maybe two of them, even if they are lesser talented than the bowling all-rounder options available at hand.

For a team infamous for its fragile batting, playing only four specialist batsmen is suicidal to say the least.

A quick fix would be to play the lethal spin trio with two fast bowlers and bring in an additional batsman who can turn his arm around when required. Not a bits and pieces cricketer that Pakistan has grown accustomed to, but a pure batsman who can bowl a few overs. In the longer run, Pakistan should find a way to come to a 6–1– 4 combination, with a balanced combination of batting and bowling all-rounders.

Stuart McGill was the second best leg spinner in the world for many years but he could hardly play any cricket for Australia because the balance of the team required only one from his breed, on most occasions.

Sometimes very tough decisions have to be made in the larger interest of the team.

The management and the players have to first acknowledge the prevailing ‘batting all-rounder delusion’ before they can embark on finding a solution.