Sport | Cricket
A united Pakistan team could be great
There is nothing more exciting than witnessing a united Pakistan team battling for glory.
- By K.R. Nayar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:21 November 14, 2008
There is nothing more exciting than witnessing a united Pakistan team battling for glory.
The first match of the Fortune Cup in Abu Dhabi was a lesson in how to bat when chasing a mammoth total.
United they fought, with all their senior players contributing to the best of their abilities. Unfortunately, such scenes are a rarity in Pakistan cricket.
Although most of their players are extremely talented, collectively they can put up a horrible performance. The history of Pakistan cricket is littered with many such instances.
There have been occasions when their top players have pulled the team in different directions resulting in defeats by weaker teams.
But the beauty of Pakistan cricket is that any player, if he puts his mind into the task, can single-handedly win matches. Their grit in such moments is incomparable.
Very rarely do we see a Pakistan player nervous and cracking under pressure.
Kamran Akmal is one such example. His strokes in the first match were unbelievable. More than the power and timing, it was his determination to win that saw the ball sail over the boundary twice.
In the seventies, Pakistan could have been the best in the world.
Legends of the game
From their openers down to the number 11, they had players who could be considered legends of the game.
But the only captain who managed to hold the team together for a long span was the charismatic Imran Khan. And that led to their victory in the 1992 World Cup.
Even after the Khan era, the team had great players. Unfortunately some of their senior players were not even on talking terms with each other.
Can Shoaib Malek succeed in getting all his senior players pulling in the same direction? To sustain the unity of the Pakistan team is an uphill task and only possible if their cricket board is run professionally.
Ejaz Ahmad, the new PCB chairman has appointed some former cricketers to key posts. Instead of evaluating his performance, he is already being accused of favouring people from the Punjab region.
No team has reached the top in a flash. They need time. But what is more vital is patience from the so called experts in Pakistan.
New coach Inthikab Alam is experienced, but critics have already pointed to his age. He is a coach with a good record, but for him to mould the team into a winning combination calls for unity from the players.
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