Why cannot our batsmen, playing in the 50-over format understand that they must aim at play all the overs?
LAHORE: Winning and losing is part of cricket, but what happened at Sharjah on October 30 amounted to Pakistan snatching defeat from the jaws of an assured victory. Our experienced players should have shown some maturity. With 25 runs to score and five wickets in hand, there were enough overs remaining, and absolutely no need for lofty shots. Why cannot our batsmen, playing in the 50-over format understand that they must aim at play all the overs? As long as one is on the crease, the runs will come.
Yet, our experienced players fell victims to planned temptation through some smart bowling by the South Africans. It is about time that batsmen such as Umar Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed and Shahid Afridi do justice to their selection and play according to the match situation, instead of behaving like mavericks, incapable of taking responsibility. Pakistan’s One-Day International squad would have nothing to lose, if it drops some experienced players, who have consistently displayed immaturity, till such time that they start accepting responsibility and show commitment and the resolve to win. There was no need to be pressured by the situation at all.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection committee must select players on their present form, instead on the basis of their past records. Shahid Afridi got wickets, but he is supposed to be an all-rounder, with tonnes of experience. Age should have had a sobering effect on his temperament and some planning on his part should have been done according to the demands of the situation, instead of acting on impulse. Player power must not be allowed to dominate the game, nor the board or the selection committee.
If the PCB chairman is to be elected as per the orders of the Islamabad High Court, and the Election Commission of Pakistan designated to conduct the elections, it must be ensured that educated first class cricketers with administrative skills and exposure to the workings of the International Cricket Council only be eligible to contest for the post. Discipline needs to be enforced within the PCB, as well as on the playing field, and for that, we need icons such as Majid Khan, Imran Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Mohsin Khan, etc. to supervise the game in the country.
Malik Tariq Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2013.
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