What Pakistani players can learn from Kyle Abbott

29-year-old pacer recently exited South Africa’s national side in favour of Hampshire County Cricket Club

KARACHI: On January 20, 1961, US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy took to the stage at the Capitol and uttered the following unforgettable words: “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” While he was addressing the crowd gathered in Washington DC, the underlying meaning of the quote is something that we all, consciously or subconsciously, tend to have affection towards.

Sports are one way we represent our nation, and cricket is no different in this case. Hence, for obvious reasons, teams are referred to as “national teams”, and players in the squad are entrusted with the responsibility of carrying the national pride. Though all of this seems very poetic, we cannot ignore the important fact that cricketers, like other human beings, are individuals who make their decisions based on the circumstances they face and choose what they think is best for them.

One of those individuals is Kyle Abbott who recently exited South Africa’s national side in favour of Hampshire County Cricket Club. The 29-year-old, who had time and again failed to obtain a regular spot in his side’s starting eleven, chose job security over country for a four-year contract.



Even though traditionalists would argue that this was not an honourable way to part ways with one’s countrymen, there comes a point in time that a cricketer is tired of carrying the drinks.

The rational approach here is to find the perfect fit for oneself. Abbott perfectly understood that his position in the side hinged upon the unavailability of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, and Morne Morkel. Hence, he made the decision which he thought was best for him.

Here, it is apt to mention another, albeit less famous, quote by Pakistan Cricket Board chief selector Inzamamul Haq: “If he performs well, then he will be selected.” This has been the former captain’s go-to answer whenever he was inquired about the prospect of any player in the national team.



However, the response does little for domestic players such as Fawad Alam and Tabish Khan. Where the former has scored more than 10,000 runs in his first-class career, the latter has claimed 478 wickets in the same circuit. And same goes for cricketers like Junaid Khan and Mohammad Rizwan, who got to showcase their skills only after Mohammad Irfan and Sarfraz Ahmed had to return home due to personal reasons.

Furthermore, as we all know it, the selection into the national side is not purely based on merit either, with Mohammad Hafeez being selected over Ahmad Shahzad and Kamran Akmal in the recently concluded tour of Australia. Akmal had scored 361 runs at the average of 45.12 in the departmental one-day cup, while Shahzad led the way with 653 runs at an average of 93.28. Hafeez, on the other hand, scored 248 runs at an average of 31.00 in the same tournament.



The inherent problem lies in the selection of the 15-man squad from among thousands of cricketers, if not hundreds of thousands, which makes the probability of making the final cut extremely low.

Players like Rana Navedul Hasan and Yasir Arafat were able to find greener pastures abroad, whereas Imran Tahir went onto represent another country altogether. There is no reason for anyone to look down upon them, just because they saw an opportunity and made the most of it.

And as far as national pride is considered, Tahir still celebrated his wicket by sporting a picture of late Junaid Jamshed with the crowd at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.