Pakistan in ICC World Cup 2011: Will ghosts of past return?
With only three weeks to go before the largest event in the cricket world kicks off, all the cricketing powers seem preoccupied with only one task; win the world title. Why not? It’s the drama of the highest kind where all the actors strive for excellence. With all the firepower that the game has in store, it is inevitable that the world cup will be no less luring than its predecessors.
We just hope that the ghosts of the past may never return. Indeed, a terrible past; all the ghosts pent up in a closet ready to take over our national cricket team at anytime. The audience all over the country has longed for so long for this moment to come and the nation is hopeful that the mistakes of the past will never be repeated.
Pakistan team seem to be in a good form, have performed well against the black caps and it seems that the selectors have come up with a good choice. The good news is that Pakistani batsmen are finding their form. Hafeez and Umar Akmal both look in great touch and the nation can expect something good out of this selection line. In the past few world cups, it seemed that whatever balance the team went in, it always failed.
The 1992 world cup was an exception as the team had some of the most dedicated and experienced players. The nation can never forget the joy and the drama it went through, as their heroes carried the world title.
The world cup of 1999 also went well for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. The final was one breadth taking episode for the whole nation as everyone stuck to the television sets as their heroes played. Well, the fate was not with Pakistan and the whole Lords went loud as they saw the Aussies become the new world champions.
Things changed and the change was drastic. The 2007 ICC World Cup turned out to be a nightmare for the nation, when the team coach died in a hospital in Jamaica, perhaps the biggest tragedy in the cricket world after Pakistan faced humiliating defeat at the hands of minnows http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751. Indeed, it was a tragedy. It was Ireland's first international exposure. To make the matters worse, the team fell into the police investigation and had to give away blood and fingerprint samples to the Jamaican police.
Things need to change and we must be realistic. There is not much time left before the team embarks on yet another mission and the Pakistan Cricket Board must ensure that they are heading in the right direction. The team has been experiencing bad events with increasing frequency over the past few months. Three of our best players have been convicted in match-fixing and spot-fixing. Without them, victory seems to be a far cry. But life goes on. The nation fears that the terrible ghosts of the past may again haunt it. As the team goes on to prepare for the mega event, they have doubts about their past. And it’s difficult to decide on what lessons should we glean from that time.
The Pakistan team have potential, have enthusiastic players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319 and a dedicated coach Waqar Younis. Let’s hope that the terrible ghosts of the past will remain in the closet while our beloved cricket team performs before the world.
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