Pakistan self destruct yet again
South Africans are known as ‘Chokers’ who falter when the going gets tough, the Indians are ‘Over Confident’ in crucial matches but the only ’tag’ that could be issued to Pakistan after their recent performances is that of ‘Self-destructors’, something they are very fond of doing time and again.
There was a time when the Pakistanis went into the match to win and nothing but to win, but sadly those times are gone for good. Now there are a bunch of 11 cricketers who wear the Pakistan jersey and play for themselves, and not for their country’s pride, resulting in losses in crucial matches every now and then.
If one takes a look at the case of Abdur Rehman, one sees a left-arm spinner who daringly took the responsibility of bowling first change and helped Pakistan reach the semi finals with his sensible bowling and his economical figures are a proof of that. Yet the skipper Shahid Khan Afridi was totally against using the left-armed bowler, showing displeasure over his eventual selection over a left-arm quickie Mohammad Irfan who didn’t even have a passport to begin with!
Then there was Abdur Razzaq who has won many matches for Pakistan with his courageous batting and faultless bowling. Razzaq was used as number 3 batsmen for Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup and during his time with the Indian Cricket League, he batted at the same position, displaying his hitting prowess and destructive genius. Yet he was continuously sent in the lower order even when Pakistan needed someone to carry on with the brilliant opening partnerships provided by Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal.
The aging Misbah ul Haq was a failure throughout the tournament along side Fawad Alam, but while Fawad was dropped for being more useless, Misbah was persisted for no reason. He was brought to shame by Khalid Latif who blasted a four and a six during his cameo in the semi final, showing how to bat and matter.
And then there were some visitors to the Caribbean who were more of a burden to the Pakistan side, and they included Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Hafeez and Mohammad Sami. While Mohammad Sami played a three matches and took some expensive wickets, Mohammad Asif went under prepared from Pakistan, and should have been sent back to accommodate either Abdur Rauf or even Shoaib Akhtar, who can bowl 4 overs even on a bad day.
The decision not to include the rising under 19 cricketer Hammad Azam has more to do with the insecurity of the seniors than anything else. He could have easily been included in the match against New Zealand in place of Mohammad Hafeez who had nothing much to do throughout the event. If Pakistan is to win matches in future, they should give chances to the youngsters with talent, rather than the tried and tested specialists!
And then there was the captaincy of Shahid Afridi who displayed nothing new like chewing the ball or hitting the spectator with the bat, something he had previously done. Instead of calming his bowlers down in the final overs of the semi final or taking advice from senior players, Afridi stayed away from all including the bowlers, letting him be the master of the scene, and going for unwanted runs.
His field placing made no sense as well as he kept the momentum going by allowing the batsmen to take quick doubles when even singles mattered. One must acknowledge his decision to bowl Saeed Ajmal in the faulty over where he was dispatched for 5 boundaries that saw Australia through to the grand finale. Any captain from any team would have done that, yet critics continue to debate that an off-break bowler with Ajmal’s pace always had more chances to be hit for a six by a left-hander than collecting the runs off a medium pacer. But whatever the reasons, defending champions Pakistan bowed out of the tournament as if they were defending a paltry total instead of a gigantic one, and that is how they self destruct!
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