By Haroon Mir
April 21 2004

Respected PakPassioner Haroon Mir provides an in depth analysis of just why it went horribly wrong against India and what should be done in future. In the aftermath



The fans are looking for answers and rightly so. No one will argue that winning and losing are integral parts of the game and of course have to be embraced. However, in the case of the recently concluded Pakistan vs. India series, it would seem that the public and the PCB is not concerned with the fact that the team lost, but in the manner in which the Pakistani team capitulated in certain games that resulted in the losses. Despite being up 2-1 in the ODI series, the team could not push home the advantage in the final two ODIs and despite a thumping win in Lahore, the team could not maintain the momentum in Rawalpindi. With regards to the performances in Multan and Rawalpindi, both were disappointing and both had the same characteristic – instead of fighting it out to the bitter end, there was an abject surrender in the second innings of both games as if all was lost. It is this approach more than anything that has left the fans bitter. While it is more than safe to say that there are is plethora of reasons that contributed, for the sake of brevity, only two will be tackled – the inexperience of the team and the lack of professionalism.



A team that was inexperienced has been touted as a reason and perhaps this has been a factor, however, Pakistani teams of the past have been equally inexperienced and have come through shining against far stronger opponents. The Pakistan contingent to India in 1987 was equally inexperienced and won against a far more experienced Indian team in their own backyard – a feat that stood the test of time for more than 13 years. A young side held their own against the mighty Windies of the 80’s not once, not twice but three times in a span of 4 years. Surely if teams of yesteryear were able to compete and win while still being relatively low on experience, the present team should have been able to do so as well. Furthermore, it would not be unfair to say that the Indian team was also inexperienced – at least as far as their bowling resources were concerned with Balaji and Pathan claiming 12 wickets each yet with only 10 tests combined under their belts including the games against Pakistan. The two inexperienced bowlers proved to be a thorn in the Pakistani batsmen’s side throughout the series. Of course, Umar Gul was also inexperienced with only 4 tests under his belt, yet easily the pick of the Pakistani bowlers when he claimed the wickets of the top order of India. The Pakistani batting was not completely short on experience either – Youhana and Inzimam were expected to come through and yet for the times when it mattered most, Inzimam in particular only delivered 2 out of 5 times. While the same could be said about the Indian batting, they had the luxury of 4 experienced campaigners who were able to pick up the slack (when there was any). Inexperience may have contributed, but it alone was certainly not the reason why the team could not put up a decent fight.



Perhaps one of the largest factors was a general lack of professionalism which has plagued Pakistan cricket in recent years. Professionalism demands 100% commitment and dedication to the team and to its cause. What makes this problem worse is that professionalism is not something that is easily identifiable nor is it easy to fix – at least not in the short-term. This unprofessional approach of the Pakistani players was evident in the way many of them played throughout the series, and perhaps it is excusable given the length of their stint with the game, however, the senior players have to be held to a higher standard. If anything though, the lack of professionalism was taken to new heights by the behaviours of Shoaib Akhtar, Inzimam ul-Haq, the team coach Javed Miandad, and other senior management – each in a bid to out-do the other – in particular their off-field behaviour was incorrigible .



Overall, it would not be wrong to say that Shoaib Akhtar failed in this series which was unfortunate to say the least considering his role in the team and how the team management was looking up to him to perform. His bowling lacked the bite that has been traditionally associated with him. It cannot be emphasised enough that in the end, there is nothing wrong with lack of performance since any player – even a superstar can have an off day, however, again it is the approach of the individual which matters. In the case of the Rawalpindi match, was Shoaib Akhtar injured? If he was injured, had he recovered by the 4th morning? If he had recovered, why did he not come on to the field prior to the 4th morning? If he had not recovered, then why was he able to play the swashbuckling innings filled with impudent hits off of one knee? Even if the Rawalpindi incident is forgotten, according to some reports he did express interest in withdrawing from the second test meanwhile making efforts to finalize advertising deals in India. Whether this was because he was being pressured by the team management, or whether he was not receiving the right level of co-operation from the team management is unknown. Overall, this is poor behaviour especially when the team needed more than 100% from him on and off the field.



In the case of the captain and coach, both came out with inappropriate statements during the second test match indicating that they did not take well to criticism and threatened to quit. They also did not hesitate to issue ultimatums and complain about the team’s performances right after the series had concluded. Considering their positions in the team as leaders, none of these outbursts were acceptable. The team should come first and if there are problems they should be settled within the dressing room. As leaders they should have looked to inspire not demoralize, to lead from the front, not push everyone else to the front line. Adding to these, comments from Youhana criticizing the youngsters when his own performances have been short of stellar, the involvement of the PCB CEO and Chairman in the Shoaib/Inzimam/Dr. Razzaq fiasco – all of these incidents have easily made Pakistani cricket the laughing stock of the world. The team lost and that should have been accepted, even if they capitulated and there were doubts about the commitment of players, it never should have been made known to the public. Even if it was known with 100% certainty that certain players were not committed, still it should not have been made known to the public.



Making scapegoats of a player or two at the expense of the team will not serve Pakistan cricket in the short- or long-term. It is sad when one has to point at the opposition and recognize best practices. The Indian team also had its fair share of injuries – no one doubted Nehra, no one doubted Zaheer Khan and no one doubted Ganguly. One might be inclined to think that because those injuries came in winning circumstances no one would care, but there were no excuses from the Indian camp when they lost and quite soundly at that in Lahore. They admitted their opponents played better. The Pakistani team management however, decided to renew the Salem witch trials for all to see.



So the players and team management likes to run to the press with their sob stories and all of this ends up making Pakistani cricket look bad. Extreme situations sometimes warrant extreme solutions. Perhaps it is time for the PCB to issue strict gag orders on all squad members including itself - no interviews before, during, or even after a series unless it is something purely cricket related – this would even exclude injuries or comments about match situations. This might seem harsh and oh-so against the principles of freedom of expression, however, this right has to be earned and so far from what has been witnessed no one from the Pakistani team has executed this right to the betterment of the team. Implementing this will certainly be difficult, but contracts or service level type agreements between all parties can outline exactly what is permissible and what is not and can serve to act as a guideline for the players. Many professional teams for different sports across the world have non-disclosure policies regarding injured players, so much so that the injured player cannot disclose what injury he/she has and when it was sustained. The player is free to state that he/she has an injury – that statement is backed by team management and there is little left to discuss. Dressing room scuffles if they even exist are kept under tight wraps and the entire team looks to be one unit with lack of performance simply attributed to “off days” or not “gelling”. Pakistani cricket on the other hand has the distinction of crying “match fixing” or “night parties”.



The future for Pakistan cricket is still murky given that many of these problems are simply not going to go away, yet there is some hope – the loss to a far superior and more professional Indian team should serve some purpose. Grandstanding about talent and past wins will only take the team so far. Oddly enough, while other teams are utilizing methods to improve the team, Pakistan still seems to be stuck in the 80’s and 90’s where the extraordinary talents of the likes of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis carried them through again and again and overcame some of the other flaws such as inexperience. It is time for the new crop to show what they are made of and further the glory of Pakistan cricket by adopting a more professional approach – after all for many of the players this is a full-time job. They have to be committed and in turn the team management has to reward their commitment by persisting with those who perform well. Above all, they need to show some focus instead of looking to satisfy personal goals and settle agendas. Here’s hoping that the young breed will turn a new leaf – cornered tigers was the motto of an older generation of Pakistani cricketers, Fiery Phoenix should be the motto of this lot as this team too can rise from the ashes.