Cricket in Pakistan is in the doldrums
Shahid Afridi
Off late where is Pakistan cricket heading to? The best possible answer is nowhere. Reasons are many, their lacklustre and inconsistent performance provides us concrete rhythm and reasons to come to such a conclusion. They do have a talented bunch of players. Then why haven’t they been able to reflect that on field. Pakistan cricket has the most unstable cricketing structure in the world. They have been plagued by constant shuffling in their cricket board. Adding to the woes are the controversies which haven’t let them perform as a unit.
Be it the spot-fixing controversy or their lack of match practice, thanks to the exile they have been put in by the rest of the cricketing fraternity. No cricket team has visited Pakistan for last few years. Reasons are obvious, security concerns and a unstable government at the centre. They lost out on some of the most talented players in the form of Salman Butt, Aamir and Mohd. Asif to spot-fixing controversy. There has always been instability and the dressing room ambience has always been a question mark.
Players retire once they are thrown out of the team and again stage a comeback a few years later by coming out of retirement. Shahid Afridi – a name which can send shivers down the spine of the bowlers round the world, but the way this guy has made a joke out of his career, could be portrayed in a comic book series. Retiring from Tests, coming back, relinquishing captaincy, commenting and plotting against the new skipper, being thrown out of the team and again staging a comeback, he has seen it all. And he is the one to blame. His career has been like a sinusoidal wave. Rather than focusing on their cricket they have never taken things in their stride. Afridi once said he could see Sachin’s legs shiver on seeing Shoaib Akhtar charging in. Of course Mr. Afridi had mistaken Sachin’s footwork and thought it was his legs that were shivering.
Recently Pakistan’s former middle order batsman Ijaz Ahmed said that Pakistan is playing like India of 1990s. Now was that really needed? What sort of stupidity it was on his side to make such a rash comment.
Right from grass root Pakistan cricket has been deeply engrossed in corruption and instability. Losing to Zimbabwe in a test match is the worst thing a so called world class team can afford. They should focus on their domestic infrastructure, anoint a skipper with a long term plan of about four years so that team gains some momentum and is able to deliver in a matter of few months. They do have the luxury of having some of the best cricketers the cricketing fraternity has ever seen. So they should relish on the vast experience of the former players and focus totally on cricket.
Instead of sobbing that no team visits Pakistan they should focus on their Government providing security and adequate law and order for the touring teams. They have always been a force to reckon with in world cricket. And the events that have transpired in the recent past has made them nothing less than a laughing stock.