Pakistan Cricket heading in the right direction – Opinion
Cricket has always been the most cherished sport in the Indian subcontinent and with two cricketing giants http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and Pakistan in the region; the game was destined to achieve greatness right after the inception of these two nations in the world of cricket.
However, the two countries have also had their share of controversies in the sport and currently Pakistan seems to be on the receiving end as the country’s cricket has been caught in controversies, harming the sport in the region.
The 2010, spot-fixing scandal obliterated Pakistan cricket’s reputation in the world, as three of their main players (Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif) were convicted of felony and banned from the game.
Then, there were the issues between Pakistan coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, where the two refused to coexist, consequently, resulting in Waqar’s departure.
Then there was the obvious question of recalling Pakistan’s ace all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who had quit international cricket after the dispute with Waqar and the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board (PCB).
During his retirement, Test captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 was given the realms of the squad for the shorter versions of the game, and the million dollar question was whether Haq would be retained as the skipper of the national team, once Afridi was recalled.
The newly appointed chairman of the PCB, Zaka http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashraf-c46397 made the right call by convincing Afridi to come back in the team under the captaincy of Haq.
Afridi, without a second thought accepted the chairman’s offer and is now giving the best performance of his career under Haq’s leadership.
It seems, Afridi responds well to Haq’s instructions and now that he no longer has to worry about the rest of the team, he is focussing more on his game as a batsman as well as a bowler.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s performance in recent tournaments has exhibited peace and harmony in the national team as Pakistan had a superb series against the Sri Lankans, who are the finalists of the International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) World Cup 2011, where they
were beaten by India.
The series that was played in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 (UAE), showed that Pakistan had left the controversies behind them and were now looking for a new beginning.
The current, Pakistan, outfit has proved that it no longer needs the services of world class seamer Asif and top left-hand pacer Amir, who have probably seen the end of their cricketing days.
When the trio were suspended, the debate in Pakistan was, if Pakistan cricket would be able to survive in the absence of the players.
However, with the tremendous talent budding out of the cricket crazy nation, there will always be players standing in the queue, just waiting for their turn to shine at the highest level.
PCB should http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adrian-Roger-Kirshaw-Pierson-c42135 with Misbah as the captain of the national squad and in the meantime, nurture a younger player to step in when the time comes for Haq to take his final bow.
All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has shown good temperament as a player and perhaps the PCB should look at him to lead Pakistan in the future.
After winning over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747, Pakistan have to look forward to their clash against England in the UAE.
The series will probably be a good test for Misbah and the gang since England are currently at the top of their game and Pakistan is most likely going to have a competitive series against the Poms.
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