Just like hockey and squash, cricket is slowly drifting into a dire state
BRISBANE: I have been a passionate fan of the Pakistani cricket team for more than 20 years and I have seen this team go through its many ups and downs but the downfall we are experiencing lately has me, along with many others, losing interest and hope in our team. Your management set-up might choose to ignore my letter but I have the right to voice my opinion and frustration considering I have been a loyal customer of yours since as far as I can remember.
I remember growing up in the 1990s when this country produced fiery heroes, who were fighters and warriors in their own unique ways. Sure, we had a few downslides here and there and often capitulated and embarrassed ourselves against big teams like getting bowled out for less than 60 in both innings in a Test against Australia and, of course, who can forget the infamous 1999 World Cup final, but we still had the ability and more importantly, will power to bounce back strongly. I don’t remember seeing our archrivals, the Indian team, as a big threat up until the mid-2000s, when their long-term investment in cricketing infrastructure started to yield prosperous dividends, while the officials at the PCB (Pathetic Cricket Board) were busy looking for ways to increase their salaries.
I am not frustrated with the latest defeat against India at the hands of our unquestionably superior neighbours, but rather, with the way we have lost. We have shown absolutely no improvement in the last four years. In fact, I believe we are worst now than we were four years ago. It is all becoming too predictable now and that is very frustrating for diehard fans like me. In the last decade, whenever we have played India, our players looked timid and under a great deal of pressure while the Indian side maintained its cool and treated us like just another weak side. Even if we had bowled out India for 200, which is merely wishful thinking given their robust batting factory, there is no doubt in my mind that we would have been rolled over for 160 or so, or if we somehow would manage to miraculously chase down the target with the help of God, it would have been with four balls to spare and one wicket in hand. This has been the trend in the last decade and I for one have had enough of it.
I know you do not care much about the fans, players or even the sport for that matter, but the PCB is switching off hundreds of thousands of fans like myself who used to get up at 4am just to watch a cricket match. Apart from watching the India-Pakistan match on February 15, I genuinely can’t remember the last time I sat in front of the screen to watch this team live. A few score updates on Cricinfo usually suffice. I live in Brisbane where Pakistan plays Zimbabwe in a couple of weeks, and it is unfortunate that I have no intention to purchase an inexpensive ticket and support our team. Maybe it’s the busy life of medical studies finally taking its toll or maybe I have just snapped out of it altogether but either way, its Pakistan cricket that suffers.
It saddens me to see so many gloomy faces and angry Facebook statuses but you, the PCB, are responsible for taking away the only good thing we had: our cricket. Despite all the internal turmoil and unwarranted media attention, we Pakistanis used to be proud of our cricketing brilliance but now, just like hockey and squash, it is slowly drifting into a dire state. I have heard my father tell me stories of our glorious past in hockey and I truly hope I do not have to share similar stories with regard to cricket with my children some day. I sincerely hope that you do something to reignite the flame of passion that is slowly being burnt out with every pathetic and disappointing loss.
Zeeshan Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2015.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
