THE recently-concluded disastrous tour to New Zealand came as no surprise to the followers of the game in the country. Our cricket team was perhaps at its worst on the tour. The sad part is that the sport has been at its lowest ebb when we have a cricketing hero as the prime minister and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

A poor showing by our cricketers is evident from the fact that no Pakistani cricketer succeeded to make it to the recently-announced ICC cricket teams of the decade in any of the formats. The recently-concluded disastrous tour to New Zealand came as no surprise to many.

As for the recent tour, several Pakistan team members tested positive for coronavirus after reaching New Zealand. We ‘crowned’ that pathetic health disposition with our equally poor performance on the field, outdoing the past outfits with seriously below-par fielding, bowling and batting; proving that we are only good when we play on our home grounds and on dead surfaces.

When asked to comment after a match, most of our players, being school or college dropouts, communicate so ludicrously, putting the entire nation to shame. Even Afghan cricketers are more articulate and communicate in a much better way, what to talk of Indian, Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi players. I would ask the patron-in-chief to shut down this shameful act by ordering a temporary moratorium on international cricket and carrying out a proper audit of the PCB, where inept team officials, like Misbah-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, Younis Khan and others, are minting millions of rupees for producing such an unprofessional lot.

I would also suggest to the PCB to arrange compulsory educational classes for the players at its headquarters to make up for their academic deficiencies. This will help our players learn to communicate effectively and carry themselves gracefully on and off the field.

Anonymous

Lahore

(2)

AFTER facing a humiliating defeat in the first Test match against New Zealand, Pakistan was completely decimated in the second Test. The poor performance of our team speaks volumes of our lack of preparations in terms of international cricket.

We pay hefty packages to PCB management and various coaches only for them to cut a sorry figure whenever our players enter the international arena. Poor batting and bowling was a sorry affair, but what sealed the team’s fate was a string of dropped catches by our wacky butterfingers.

As usual, there is no remorse on the part of either the PCB or the players. Congratulations to Team Pakistan on continuing the losing streak.

Iftikhar Mirza

Islamabad

(3)

THIS refers to the statements made by Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis in the wake of the recent cricket debacle in New Zealand. Both these gentlemen have served Pakistan cricket well in different capacities.

I think they should now take some not-so-well-earned rest from their present assignments. Perhaps the PCB should be looking for some professional coaches from countries, like England, Australia and New Zealand, where cricket receives the attention it deserves.

Rafi-us Samad

Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2021