WITH T20 fever high in the wake of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), people have apparently forgotten that our national cricket team has been giving erratic performances for some time now. We may argue that there are structural problems, but the fact is that Pakistan cricket is inherently afflicted with the problem of lack of self-confidence. Our cricketers falter badly when they come to play against top-ranking teams of the world.

The beauty of this majestic game lies in taking risks. The more confident the batter is, the more risks he will take to deliver what is needed under any given circumstance. The timid and insipid approach is adopted only due to lack of confidence on the part of the batters.

Is there something wrong with the training of our cricketers? Why do national coaches and mentors fail to instill self-confidence in our players? It is incomprehensible why a player trained professionally tends to fall prey to timidity and nervousness when the crunch comes.

Last year, Pakistan played host to Australia, England and New Zealand, but the national team utterly failed to perform with much credit against them. Thus, a chance was missed to beat any of these top-ranking teams.

In order to become a world-class vibrant team, Pakistan will have to develop the confidence of its players along with rigorous training. Discarding the old, conservative approach is the way forward.

Prof Sarwar Pathan
Sukkur

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2023