PAKISTAN cricket is no more on the crossroads but already gone past it sliding down fast as well on the rollercoaster towards the gaping hole of doom and gloom. There is hardly anyone brave and honest enough to own responsibility for this chaotic and catastrophic situation, making things even more complicated and confusing.

In a state such as this there should only be a little space or none for absurd rhetoric but now is the time for positive and constructive action that is what we need and this could only happen if the slate is cleaned altogether of the ills that have accumulated in the system in which likes and dislikes and also at times insane and whimsical decisions start to take shape to make the grave situation slip out of hand and out of control.

We all love this game, no doubt, which over the years have given us pride and also plenty of pleasure to boast and celebrate about. Of course, it is not always the same but things do change and with that in mind we have got to understand that pain and pleasure go hand in hand.

Pakistan cricket team’s performance both in the Asia Cup and the ongoing World T20 has been utterly disappointing for the people who support their team and for those who have the responsibility to administer, select, coach and manage the national team.

In any sport, the basic ingredients that make a team world-beater are fitness, unity, team-spirit and focus and the right people for the right job. Anything lacking would trigger uncertainty and under achievement. Unfortunately, we lack too much of it.

That is exactly what we lacked in when planning an outfit to accept the challenge. Therefore, let me put this in a very straight, simple and honest statement that our team was not good enough to compete at equal level because most of the selected players have always been under achievers, inconsistent in batting, bowling and fielding which was glaringly visible watching the players tackle the odds.

The basic flaw, no doubt, was in the selection of the players for the occasion. The captain himself lacked in every aspect of the game, failing, therefore, to lead by example because he had under him his charges who were not reliable and skilled enough to deliver when required.

One does not merit a place in the front batting line-up if consistency is missing. A successful batsman is one who if gets out in the middle half a dozen times then he should be able to produce a sizeable score in at least fifty per cent of the time with ability to convert tens into twenties and thirties into fifties. Ours failed in that.

Similarly, the bowlers ought to have shown at that level that they have been picked for a certain job to at least contain the opposition, if not lucky enough every time in picking up a wicket. Ours have failed in that too.

Combined with all that, was the mindless selection of the team by those who were consistently inconsistent when chopping and changing the players for the Asia and World T20 campaign and all the time putting forth silly arguments to justify their shortcomings and unbalanced selection. That has got to be looked at very seriously before it is too late.

Let me cite the example of the ongoing competition’s successful teams. What is so special which makes them look so good and so professional in their approach? To me, most of the players in these teams are the ones who have been playing at the Test level.

Most of their frontline batsmen playing in this short format are those who have been playing in their country’s Test line-up and are regulars. Whether it is India, New Zealand, Australia, the West Indies, they all are well-jointed and cohesive units barring England which is hanging on a thread without them.

We have got to assess the performance of the whole lot before making a clinical surgery to root out the problem. And that will require courage and self assessment too from top to bottom to handle the rot which unfortunately has crept in and eating away the whole structure to head speedily towards further failures.

There are too many questions to be answered and that can only be done if people with knowledge and understanding of the game are brought forward to share the aches and pains of the people who wish them well. Only lip service will now not help any more.

Being small minded does not help either. The one example was sidelining a successful coach, selector and manager Moin Khan during the World Cup because he was seen in a casino.

Get those who can deliver and find those who have the game at their heart and not those who sit in judgement without even knowing the head or tail of the matter before it is too late. An important Test series and England tour is only two months away.

Get the services of Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas and a successful management man Nadeem Omar of Quetta Gladiators instead of dilly-dallying with people without much understanding of the game.

There is little or no time now to risk a reverse sweep and be caught but an opportune moment to make a clean sweep and score a few.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2016