Winning is not a matter of chance but of choice
ISLAMABAD: Our cricket team, despite its share of errors and issues, won the ODI series against the Sri Lankan team. However, we lost badly to same squad in the T20 series which apparently is our stronger forte. The whole nation was disappointed with Pakistan’s performance and took out their anger at the team management and players for their dismal show. We forget that winning is not a matter of chance but of choice. A one-off win can be a matter of pure talent or chance, but to consistently show top performance, the team and the management must be on the same page. There must be unity, understanding and synergy among the players and the management. The best way to achieve such harmony, synergy and professionalism is to stop political interference in professional sports. Unfortunately, in our country, we destroyed hockey due to such political interference and are now set on doing the same to cricket. In the past, the head of the PCB were always and are still appointed by the political governments. This leads to favouritism that compromises merit and performance. When the PML-N removed the PPP appointed- PCB chairman, replacing one political person with another, the matter landed in court. The current government continued the trend of the appointment of chairman by the PM. However, the only difference is that the PM chose someone who has relevant experience and background. The process is compromised and no good for developing a strong professional team in the long run. In addition, our players have not had the chance of playing international cricket at home for ten years now. This is a huge setback and not only diminishes the players’ morale but limits the amount of cricket our teams gets to play at the international level. The prime minister needs to establish contacts with old players of his time from other countries and seek their help in bringing International cricket back to Pakistan. Likewise, efforts should be made to prevent politics from tainting the gentlemen’s game. We must train the team for the next World Cup and forget past failures.
Raja Shafaatullah
Published in The Express Tribune, October 19th, 2019.
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