THE last few days have been quite eventful for anyone who follows cricket with any degree of seriousness. First it was that remarkable and historic victory that the West Indies registered against the mighty and seemingly invincible Australians. Then came the retirement of Wasim Akram. And all this while, the triangular tournament involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies kept the fans engrossed.
While the team did make it to the final, the performance of the boys in the triangular is not much to speak of. By the time these lines appear in print, the final would have already been played. But even if the team goes on to clinch the title, it would not mean that Pakistan cricket has overcome its problems. It would only mean that the rivals have played worse cricket than the Pakistanis did, which should not be good enough.
In absolute terms, it is getting harder by the day to own this side with any degree of national pride. That the boys are young and will take to adjust, is understandable, but who should get the exposure and to what extent, appears to be a matter of personal, rather than professional opinion. That the Board is not doing much in terms of avoiding the necessity in the long run of having to experiment in the international arena, is a cause of disappointment.
Sports is not a field where you learn on the job. If you are made to do that, you only end up making a fool of yourself. You have to have the natural talent and that talent must be harnessed at domestic and Junior levels before you get to wear the national colours. The PCB is clearly giving more and rather unnecessary weight to talent without putting in due effort to hone that talent.
As I see it, the way ahead is to invest in the junior strings. They shall be kept active for most part of the year and a close eye needs to be kept at the grassroots level. While Under-15 and Under-17 teams may be kept busy at the national level, it is vital that the Under-19 and Pakistan-A sides are exposed to international competitions under different conditions.
The PCB had started on these lines a while ago, but then all such plans, as happens often, fizzled out. One hopes that it will give the matter a serious thought because international exposure between the ages of 18 and, say, 22 is crucial for a smooth transition from a junior string to the national side. In our specific context, it is possibly the only way a young lad may be groomed for future responsibilities. I have been saying this for a long time, and will continue to do that because I sincerely believe that the future of Pakistan cricket can only be salvaged by investing in the junior strings.
As for Wasim Akram’s retirement, I must say he will be missed. That he has decided to quit when he still had a bit to offer is refreshing in the sense that not many in the international arena can really time their curtain call. There would be some who would suggest that his expulsion from the post-World Cup outfits may have prompted the decision. Even if that is true, it only reflects badly on those running the show. Wasim was his usual self during the World Cup, and still had a year or so in him at the international level, especially in the arena of One Day Internationals.
I really fail to understand this policy of dumping the seniors just for the sake of it without having any replacements worth half as much. Had the PCB done it by putting in place a string of junior outfits, one might have taken it as a policy shift. But in the absence of any focus of such an activity, I fear that the PCB would continue to change and chop the boys. This can hardly be called a policy.
THE last few days have been quite eventful for anyone who follows cricket with any degree of seriousness. First it was that remarkable and historic victory that the West Indies registered against the mighty and seemingly invincible Australians. Then came the retirement of Wasim Akram. And all this while, the triangular tournament involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies kept the fans engrossed.
