Are we global laggards?

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In international standings in different areas of governance, justice, corruption and human development where surveys are common in today's digitised world Pakistan keeps ending among the bottom few in most. One wonders why they should even include Pakistan. Pakistan's passport is among the bottom five in all nations that have a passport from among the 193 or 195 per the UN roster.

Perhaps a nation of 250 million people which possesses nuclear weapons and was once the home of world's deadlier militant outfits like the Al-Qaeda and the Tehreek-e-Taliban (I have deliberately avoided a suffix of one denomination or another); with an economy that would tank without bilateral and international donors and where sixty percent of its population consists of twenty-five years and younger whose educational and occupational attributes are closer to none, the world better pay heed. This is negative relevance, of the kind when someone holds a gun to your head and forces your attention.

Such denigration is now a part of our accepted existence normalised under the adage, "what will be, will be", till something that acute as a loss on the Cricket ground refocuses attention on this litany of failures and national shame. Our Cricket captain thinks winning on the field is divine intervention (Qudrat ka nizam). Why doesn't divinity smile upon us at all? We have slowly turned into a nation of adages, quotes and historical references where fables from the past define us, not our real selves in the present.

We live in make-believe worlds and notions of greatness when reeling at the bottom of every ladder. When in the world of Cricket every nation, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, knock at 350 runs in a fifty-over match, and some others cross 400, we remain patently true to our old selves and linger at 240-250 which is about our maximum potential.

We never developed the skills, the mindset, the plan or the strategy, and the wherewithal to develop players who could play at that level of accomplishment. But hype and embellishing zeroes as heroes, or building fables from make-believe instances, or building narratives, is a national occupation.

Punjab, the land of Sufi saints and folklore, cites in its past tales of glory of which none belongs here. Outsiders, marauders and conquerors periodically visited to plunder, spent good time among the fertile plains and carried the riches home. Our tales count those as a common glorious past without shame. Many reflected, many saw the holes in the make-up of the man and tried through verse and prose to lament what was missing - Iqbal's entire effort to turn the useless man into a Shaheen (eagle) went to nought. Today's Shaheen is more Armughan - who brutally murdered a friend and then burned his body on the toss of a coin. On the Cricketing field too, we toss a coin but hardly know what to do after it is won. The biggest dilemma after every toss is to face the guy with the mike whose language and accent our Captains strain hard to understand.

Then the match begins. Those that play, either bat or bowl with fear, scared they will be belted for runs or not get a wicket or be out soon laying bare the straw built into a giant. Talent, natural flair, freedom from fear, style, aggression and swagger, the adornment of a star is lost to timidity, shackled brain, tightened muscles and scared bodies. The faces betray lack of confidence and a loser's mindset, and a wry smile more to show a contrived misfortune or disdain of care or concern, are an effort to fill in for intrinsic lack of capacity - you cannot fool all the people all the time. The cover of eminence is blown away to reveal the ordinariness that constitutes substance. A freer body would swing and bite more, it would be creative and innovative on pitches well known to each of them. A batsman would exhibit flair. Nudges and knicks don't make for an open body drive.

There are lessons to learn from how India has evolved in the last three decades, both as a nation and as a Cricket team. The parallel journey of development began by unshackling minds. The economy broke the shackles of domesticity to turn into an internationally linked economy. That forced the country to equip its people to handle international engagement. Education within and without turned India into a literate and highly qualified nation. We kept working in silos and recounted past glory as our certificate to exclusivity. Indian Cricket reorganised itself to wash the shame of losing to Pakistan every time it faced Pakistan in routine matches and competitions. As both money and systems were carved, so were their level of preparation. Indians who would relish the gaiety of a Pakistani spirit soon began finding their own niche. As trade and wealth grew in India so did Tendulkar's status. And with Tendulkar rose the Indian team to its heights. And then nothing succeeds like success. They all emulated the icons before them to be where the Indian team contends for the best in all situations.

Compare that to the news cycle in Pakistan: With 11 billion USD reserves we have 15 billion USD debt to pay out annually. Of those 11 billion USD six billion are annually rolled over by friends at a much higher rate of mark-up compared to the market. If we were to pay up the borrowed amounts, we would be bankrupt as an economy in a jiffy. Compare this one fact with statements on the economy that we must suffer periodically, and the take-off we are promised, only if some people were somehow made extinct. To survive then every man must steal or extort or pilfer of which we do an extraordinary job as people. Smuggling across the borders is tolerated because it constitutes a local economy. Similarly straw men are made into giants based on media projections which are false, non-existent or much short of their real worth. We are a shell striving hard to retain our shape in the face of adverse headwinds that threaten to unravel our hollow interior.

Talent needs application and practice for honing and shaping resilience in any opposing situation. In its absence the team is a transitory composition of men who only pose but don't really belong. Mental strength and substantive skillset alone can bring this team back among the greats. Confidence is a national trait that derives from collective performance across the spectrum not an attitude in isolation. Those that score 350 as a standard don't go into a shell if three or four wickets go down — Josh Inglis of Australia took the game away from England in his twenty overs with the freedom of shot-playing Pakistani teams cannot dream. We remain tongue, brain and body tied. We soon get found out.