It is strange for a diehard cricket lover like me to abstain from commenting on cricket affairs for a period of over six weeks when cricket activity in the world was at its climax. The reasons for such a lapse were pretty genuine. Incidentally, I had a bout with illness and got a gal-bladder surgery. This was followed by a visit to the holy land for performing Haj.
Till completion of the ritual, the Saudi authorities made sure that the pilgrims did not come close to newspapers or had glimpses of the television so as to keep them fully absorbed in the religious activity. This kept us out of touch with all types of news. Lot of water, however, flowed under the bridges of cricket during this period.
After defeating both Australia and England in the home series India appears to be touching the sky, otherwise the conditions in Pakistan were not that bad. If Sri Lanka can offer to tour Pakistan why could not India do so. Let us hope that the situation remain peaceful as it has been during the last few months and the series against Pearl Islanders end up smoothly with a touch of joy and happiness.
This will open the Pakistan’s doors for other teams to come and play on our soil, eliminating the thoughts and proposals of playing at ‘neutral venues’. Excited by the news about Sri Lanka team’s visit appearing almost every day, the common question that the cricket lovers ask is, ‘in what state our team is and what are its chances to win?’
The answer is not that simple. Frankly speaking, for some time past our boys have been playing the individual game for the Indian Premier League (IPL), England counties, clubs in Australia and our own domestic tournaments like the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Pentangular Cup. We have not seen them playing as a team.
How would they perform in Tests and ODIs against the visitors cannot be said at this moment. The series will, however, diminish to some extent the starvation that the cricket fans felt due to the absence of international cricket in the country.
Having taken a serious view of this glaring handicap our new chief selector Abdul Qadir has chalked out a comprehensive plan to bring the team into the right trim to face the visitors. He plans to put the Pakistan team through a series of both one day as well as five-day practice matches. This will not only knit the boys into a formidable team combination but will also let the selectors and others know about their form and fitness.
Knowing all about the team’s capability will also enable the captain, coach and the manager to plan the proper strategy and tactics to face the visitors. For the surprise of cricket lovers the team is likely to include some new faces. Muhammad Yousuf having joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL), the middle order will have to be revamped. Same goes for Shahid Afridi, who has not given an impressive performance for some time past, is not considered fit for the Test matches.
Shoaib Akhtar having shown no improvement in his physical fitness may also be a doubtful starter. With Muttiah Muralitharan still going strong and the new comer Ajantha Mendis in terrific form the Sri Lankans will not be an easy prey.
The cricket fraternity in Pakistan feels upset about our team having played no Test match during the year 2008. This may be a mystery for the ordinary cricket fan but not for the experts who regard it as the worst example of the game’s mis-management. Having been at the helm of cricket affairs, let me inform the readers that the international cricket calendar covering a period of 3-5 years is formulated in the annual meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The Tests and ODI series are equitably allotted to the member countries in the form of ‘Home and Away series’. It may be noted that the cricket playing countries other than Pakistan played 12 to 15 Test matches during the year 2008. Agreed, the conditions in Pakistan were not conducive for the visit of foreign teams but what about the half a dozen ‘Away Test matches’ which Pakistan was supposed to play in other countries? It means that the chairman and chief operating officer of the PCB attended the meetings like blind observers not noticing that Pakistan had no foreign tours during the year.
The Sri Lanka team’s tour will at least put Pakistan back on the international cricket scene, also reducing the quantum of security scare felt by the foreign teams. This is likely to be followed by our team’s visit to Bangladesh for an ODI series providing our team much sought after exposure. The Sri Lanka’s request for the change of itinerary to start the visit on February 15 instead of January 20 may cause some complications but we hope the PCB will amicably solve them.