PCB and its problems with the aging players – Opinion
Nowhere in the cricketing world do the cricket boards find it extremely painstaking and difficult to rid their national squads of aging players like they do in the subcontinent. Let it be India, Pakistan or http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 if a player has played enough games to
stay in the national squad with his prime past him, it becomes a matter of national interest to retain that individual in the national contingent.
The example of India’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556 is right in front of us, the player has been living on a lifeline for more than two years now, yet the BCCI is not ready to pull the plug on him.
The reason is simple and clear, they fear that it will never be the same once their cricketing God takes his final bow. Furthermore, Sachin is adamant on staying on (perhaps till eternity).
Players in the West seldom hang around so long, in that part of the word there comes a time in a player’s life when he realizes that he has achieved everything and there are no more mountains left for him to climb.
However, on the other side of the world, some ‘cricket legends’ have to be begged (behind closed doors) to leave the sport.
Time will tell when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Chinnadupargea-Sachin-c50607 will take his last walk, however, when he does it will be a sad day in the cricket world.
Now coming to Pakistan, who do not have a player equal to Sachin’s calibre in the current squad, but still there are many national heroes, who are considered vital for the national team.
The problem lies in the system, the cricket boards are failing to groom younger players who could replace the aging legs. In http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013, they now have a mechanism which assures the availability of a younger player before the retirement of a veteran.
Pakistan/India need to have such a system in place which would decrease the burden on the seniors, helping them enjoy their final years in the sport.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 is one such player who is at the twilight of his career, where pressure is being increased on him from all quarters to retire.
He has had a string of poor performances, placing him under a guillotine. However, the big issue that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is facing right now is his replacement. Pakistan do not have an explosive youngster to take Afridi’s place, which means
that replacing him with a player not even close to his calibre would serve Pakistan no purpose.
Having said that, the PCB took a gamble by discarding him from the ODI series set to begin in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, late this month.
However, right after this decision pressure was exerted from everywhere to recall the flamboyant all-rounder, who is without a doubt a match-winner.
The general argument favouring Afridi is his ability to bowl and bat his opponents to oblivion on a given day.
With credentials that speak for themselves, Afridi is a trump card in the shorter versions of the game, where opposing bowlers cannot relax till the time he is on the crease.
Afridi is lucky that ODI skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 is his biggest supporter, who has openly favoured his recall for the tour of India; still certain elements in the PCB have chosen to resist the calls by the captain for unknown reasons.
Whether Afridi is recalled of not, one thing is for sure that the series between Pakistan and India is going to be tough and nerve rattling.
The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy
Tags: