As you know cricket is a game where Pakistani fans eagerly
want not only to play the game but to follow the game as well.Millions of people
do a lot of prayers and have expectation on their team. At times when players
are struggling, it is the duty of the fans to motivate and offer support to them
in an attempt to revive their confidence and bringing them back on their toe.
Through all the hard times from terrorist attacks, never-ending economic,
political and literacy issues, to so much more that has gone wrong in Pakistan
but cricket has somehow managed to remain a sport that is followed with the same
passion as it was many years ago since the game was played.With Pakistan’s
current performance so far, people started to worry themselves about their team
Recently we have seen the Pakistan Cricket Team has failed to produce good
cricket in the biggest spectacles of world cricket. They have failed to impress
with their recent performances in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and
Wales. Lots of Ex- Senior Players are still criticizing about not only the
players and coach but all the Pakistan Cricket Board Staff especially the chief
selector Inzamam-ul-haq.
A dismal performance against West Indies in their opening game has raised a lot
of questions. Against England, they won by the help of luck which led to their
only win so far. A Muhammad Hafeez catch drop by England’s Jason Roy was the
major moment that led him to score more than 80 runs and as a result, Pakistan
won that match by 14 runs. A rain-affected match against Sri Lanka was not the
day Pakistan wanted in this campaign as it was abandoned without a ball being
balled.
The match against Australia was the match that it indicates how they were at
their intentionally worst performances in all three departments (Batting,
Bowling and Fielding). They had a terrible start as Australia was cruising in
their batting. Also, lots of simple catches dropped and sloppy fielding had pay
them heavilybut a late comeback give them hope with the help of Muhammad Aamir,
who stole the show at the end and he is still the only Pakistani who is
performing really well in this World cup with his scintillating bowling. He’s
currently the highest wicket taker in this world cup. When Pakistan came into
bat, they did the same mistakes as they did against West Indies. They lost a
match-winning game which hurt the Pakistan Fans and Ex-senior players.
A mouth-watering encounter held at Old Trafford, Manchester as arch rivals
Pakistan and India went head to head for the seventh time in a World cup game.
Everyone expected a “high voltage” game and was predicting that it could change
history by defeating India for the first time ever in a World cup game but it
was not the case. Pakistan yet again failed to surpass India. Before the match,
Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan give some advice to the Pakistan Captain
Sarfaraz Ahmed on Twitter and said himto win the toss and bat first but instead
of listening to him, the team management made their own decision that cost the
match for Pakistan. Nobody ever dared to question Imran Khan's decisions when he
captained Pakistan during an illustrious career that ended with World Cup
triumph in 1992, but Sarfaraz and team management daringly ignored his advice.
As a match went on, Pakistan were clueless on the field missing simple run out
chances with the help of Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan. They were not making
rigorous effort on the field and doing blunders all around the park. With the
help of the Pakistan’s mistakes, Rohit Sharma went on to score a blistering
century and led India to score a massive total of 336. The most shocking moment
came when Sarfaraz was yawning in the field like everything was going too smooth
for him. In the 47th over of the Indian innings, Sarfaraz was yawning
continuously and was also doing changes in fielding which surprises everyone.His
yawning action went viral on Social media which make Pakistani fans really
angry. When Pakistan came into bat, it was a same old story. Pakistan were
completely outplayed by a ruthless Indian bowling making them unthinkable in
batting. Poor shot selections and rotation of strike were not seen in the 22
yard pitch and as a result, yet again Pakistan lost by 89 runs (D/L method) and
also their seven straight world cup match defeat against India.
After the match, there were shocking speculation that before this world cup
there was a group lobbing going on between three players Shoaib Malik, Imam-ul-haq
and Imad Wasim against Sarfaraz Ahmed.
In my connection, this is true because Shoaib Malik and co. want Imad Wasim to
be the next captain of Pakistan Team as their target. They want to remove
Sarfaraz immediately with the instruction by Inzamam-ul-haq. Another factor is
that according to media, during the Pakistan vs India match, as Sarfaraz Ahmed
was bowled and when he was going back to the pavilion and entered , he got angry
and said to Shoaib Malik “You all are lobbying against me”. However, this
scenario is really hurting the Pakistani cricket fans and it is creating heating
discussion all around the world.
In my opinion, government has to take strict action against corrupt players and
management. They should terminate them and bring new setup for the Pakistan team
for the next four years. The Pakistan Cricket team and Pakistan Cricket Board
has to have mandatory changes and it should bring new faces in order to have
good structure of domestic cricket. There are several legends are available for
their services who can make a huge impact in Pakistan Cricket structure.
Currently Pakistan is in a “tied rope” and in order to survive, they had to hold
it till the last phase of the tournament. It’s not possible but it is manageable
to achieve it. Let’s hope that they can do the unthinkable as they are known for
and turn their semifinal opportunity in their favor.
Sikander Hayat.
Director Sports
OPTV LA
(Overseas Pakistani Television Los Angeles)