The selection of the Pakistan cricket team touring West Indies has drawn lot of comments. To win a big event or be successful on a tour a team must be the blend of youth and experience. Having defeated the West Indies by 10 wickets in the World Cup our cricket management took it as granted that the West Indies had perhaps lost their cricket prowess. The selection committee has thus stuffed the Pakistan team with all sorts of youngsters. Considering a highly talented all rounder like Abdul Razzaq having reached his end he was not selected. Despite the fact that Razzaq was not given the right place in the batting order he still performed better than others, especially as a bowler taking two wickets often. Similarly, Umar Gul was disheartened and mentally upset after a poor performance in the semifinals.
It was for the PCB to provide him some psychological treatment, encourage and assure him that he was the backbone of the team’s pace attack followed by motivating him to such an extent that he would sacrifice his ‘personal affairs’ for joining the team.
The consistent failure of our team’s batting has after all brought to focus the importance of a batting coach for the team. The cricket experts realized such a need long ago and expressed the same but the PCB did not care about it. It is sad that Javed Miandad, who was considered the best person for the job, has declined to accept the offer. I think he, somehow, has an adjustment problem with the younger lot. Otherwise too it was not proper to place him under Yaqar Younis, a player much junior to him. Since the education standards of our youngsters are pretty low I do not recommend the appointment of a foreign coach. The two top players I feel suitable for the job are Saeed Anwar and Inzamamul Haq. The PCB may try one of them.
The news of rebel Zulqarnain Haider returning to Pakistan after failing to get political asylum in Britain has rejuvenated the interest of cricket lovers in the sordid episode of his stupid act of abandoning the team in Dubai. With politics starting to poke its nose in national cricket he is coming back on the assurance of interior minister Rahman Malik who has promised to provide him ‘proper security’. With no bright prospects of a gainful occupation in Pakistan he would make all efforts to return to national cricket with all the apologies and requesting for pardon. The crime of putting Pakistan’s cricket in the worst embarrassment of all times that he committed is not pardonable. I suggest that the PCB should strictly adhere to its policy of ‘no compromise on discipline’ and shun him from entering the national cricket. Our cricket cannot accept any more pollution in its ranks and files.
