Motivating the men: Meeting lightens mood in camp ahead of crunch ties

Heads had dropped after two demoralising losses but the talks seem to have helped.

KARACHI:

After two back-to-back defeats to begin their World Cup campaign, it cannot get much worse for Pakistan, and the team management, sensing that heads have slumped after those demoralising defeats, called the players in for an emergency meeting in place of the scheduled training session.

The main purpose of cancelling the session and conducting the meeting was to give players a day off from their recent physical rigours so that they could relax and discuss what has been going wrong for them in the mega event.

According to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) media director Agha Akbar, who also attended the meeting, it turned out to be an inspired decision as the mood in the camp is noticeably less tense.

Akbar explained that Cheema began with a rather wholesome pep talk before opening the floor, encouraging everyone to speak their mind.

He also communicated PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan’s message that, no matter what, the board is completely behind the team and wants them to shake off all negativity and go out there and perform without any pressure whatsoever.

“We have been unlucky but look at South Africa, look at England. India beat favourites South Africa far more convincingly than they defeated us — and the two sides are more familiar with these conditions than we are,” Misbah said during the meeting. “We need our luck to turn and while it will surely do so, we have to concentrate on the next game for it to materialise and we need to approach it with energy, optimism and a sense of responsibility.”

Agha further revealed that Waqar Younis took a pledge from the boys that they will give their all to the team’s cause from here on in. “We have to go in there with intent, foster a sense of togetherness; whatever fine-tuning we need to do, we shall in the next few days,” stressed Waqar.

Mushtaq Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood and Yasir Shah also shared their varied experiences. By the time the hour-long session ended, Pakistan seemed to be mentally ready to conquer their demons, but whether they can do so on the pitch still remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Shaharyar said that he has spoken to all stakeholders of the Pakistan team, including team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, head coach Waqar, skipper Misbah and chief selector Moin Khan, about the defeats. The PCB boss stated that the whole team is sad about the losses as they understand that they have let down the country and its fans.

“All stakeholders have told me that they have tried to motivate the team by sharing examples of the 1992 winning campaign, as even then we were struggling to qualify for the knockout stages. The group has firm belief that they will win the remaining matches,” said Shaharyar. “I can assure you that the squad is not divided into groups and all the reports that have been making the rounds in the media are false. The team is united and they will give their all in the upcoming matches. There will be no passing of the buck and every one of us is in this together — there will be no scapegoats.”

The chairman further added that the team is currently ranked seventh rank in ODIs and all those who understand the game must know that a lot cannot be expected from this side.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2015.

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