3 reasons why Pakistan's new mentorship scheme doesn't make sense
In a statement on August 30, Friday, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced that five former cricketers - all veritable legends of the sport - were appointed as mentors of as many sides in the upcoming Champions Cup.
This tournament, slated to be a white-ball one-day domestic engagement, will see players across Pakistan participating in preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled to be held in the country next year.
Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Younis Khan are the legends picked by the PCB to mentor the five teams participating in this tournament to help 'bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.'
These appointments come on the heels of Pakistan losing the first Test of their ongoing bilateral series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi and make the PCB's intentions clear that it will not take the upcoming ICC event next year lightly.
However, not a lot of supporters of the game in the country have lauded the board's decision to install these mentors. We look at three reasons why Pakistan's new mentorship scheme does not make sense:
#1 It brings too many cooks on board
One of the biggest reasons why this scheme is bound to fail is because it brings on board too many cooks, which, as we invariably know, spoils the broth. This also means that there will be too many ideas, which can lead to clashes.
If the PCB did want to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket, it could have done it by means of appointing one or two of these stalwarts in advisory or operating positions where they could have helped the players.
#2 It does not offer a direct solution to better preparation
The new mentorship scheme does not quite offer a direct solution to Pakistan being better prepared for the Champions Trophy next year. Yes, these mentors will take care of their respective sides but it does not quite guarantee better preparation.
Pakistan would have been better served by selecting a group of thirty or forty players and making them go through the grind ahead of the marquee event. These players could have been groomed by either undergoing training or playing a lot of white-ball matches.
The Champions Cup, on the other hand, is meant to reward the best players in the country for their performances in domestic and international cricket over the years instead of being held in direct preparation for the main event.
#3 It may lead to instability
Too many mentors at the helm of things may also end up leading to a lot of instability, which has been the hallmark of Pakistan cricket over the years. With some not sure of what their role is, it is bound to be a roller-coaster ride.
The PCB would have been better served by appointing these mentors to roles directly related to the national team, which would have given them a direct say in what they wanted. It would have also given the side some stability ahead of such a prestigious tournament.