PAKISTAN CRICKET TEAM: 'THE MOST HUMAN OF THE HARD-NOSED INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMEN'

Pakistan is a country plagued by unemployment, terrorism, hardcore fundamentalism, regional outfits, conservative mindset, unsecular atmosphere, power-cuts, corruption, bad governance and only problems. There is something wrong about the organisational set-up in the country. This country can stride ahead in spheres of development, like Bangladesh. The above mentioned factors are causing impediments and are roadblocks in Pakistan's progress. There is a need of revolution. There is abundance of mineral resources in Balochistan(though, Balochistan is craving for independence) and parts of Punjab, the country's literacy rate has grown remarkably, it has a large military force, it has a deep sea-port, Gwadar, it has a large broadband internet system, it has the largest ambulance network in the world(Edhi), about half of the footballs of the world are made here, their air-force pilots are among one of the best trained in the world, it has a large pool of scientists and engineers, it has some of the very fine institutions, Karakoram Highway connecting China is a marvel of civil engineering and is often described as the 'Eighth Wonder of the World', The Sindh province has high potential for industries and factories, The Punjab province has a lot of potential for medium- scale industries and small-scale industries, Khyber-Pakhtunwa region has good potential for small-scale industries and tourism, etc. There are also many other factors, which can play a vital role in shaping the future and development of Pakistan. Once, their set-up is stabilised, everything will come on track. And, a stable and developed Pakistan will be beneficial for India and other neighbours of South-Asia. In this light, Cricket is something which gives happiness to common Pakistanis. It is an integral part of their lives. Cricket is more than a sport in Pakistan, and people are more passionate and emotional about it than Indians. For this reason, we can sense and smell the essence of  cricket, adventurism, romanticism in the style of Pakistan cricket team. Sport often panders to the parochial, but Pakistan is a team that can elevate those who watch it.  The players in the team raise the sport to dizzying levels.

It has abundance of raw-talent, feverish passion, rowdiness, street-smart attitude, flavour of our galli-cricket, madness about the sport. The display from the Indian cricket team has been very qualitative, professional, technical,  stylish, disciplined, focused,  modern for the last 15 years.(Courtesy: BCCI, considered to be the best cricket board in the world, good domestic set-up of cricket, fine managerial board, IPL, the best franchisee in modern cricket and India, being a giant-market for cricket, etc). However, the style and display of cricket has also changed in Pakistan. There was fantasy and excitement in  Imran Khan- Aquib Javed-Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis- Shoaib Akhtar- Javed Miandad-Zaheer Abbas-Aamir Sohail-Shahid Afridi- Abdur Razzak-Moin Khan- Saeed Anwar- Mohammad Yousuf(though, he was more successful and enthralling, when he was Yousuf Youhana)- Inzamam-Ul-Haque-Younis Khan(the highest run-getter for Pakistan in Test cricket)-Salim Malik-Imran Nazir-Saqlain Mushtaq-Mushtaque Ahmed-Azhar Mahmood brand of cricket(and to add Rameez Raza style of commentary). Their style was fearless, ruthless with abundance of skill and passion. Though, they also had their fallouts and bad times. Gradually, the excitement quotient in Pakistan cricket reduced its gears and took a backseat. The attributes, for which they were known best is not evident down the line. The structural-setup of Pakistan is in a deplorable state. Cricket is not being played in Pakistan following aftermath of  2009(terrorist attack in a match against Sri Lanka at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore). Though, in 2016, Zimbabwe made a short-tour of Pakistan for one-day and T-20 matches. The board system has paralysed, there is mismanagement within the board, tussle within their camps, disputes, financial problems, dismal performances, absence of coordination with the coach and other woes as well. But, the recent triumph of Champions Trophy 2017 has opened the gates and hopes. And, they became the champions by defeating their arch-rivals, India. It seems that their victory against India by a huge margin in Champions Trophy Final 2017 has compensated  against their losses against India and to some extent, the loss against India in a full-packed thriller in 2007 World Cup T-20  final.(The T-20 World-Cup final of 2007 is a match which remains etched in our memories today also and will continue to be so). Although, Pakistan won the next edition of T-20 World Cup in 2009, but it could not capture the imagination of the fans and viewers as this(2017 Champions Trophy) one.

The recent truimph of Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2017 has provided a new lease of life to their cricket.  Imran Khan will always be an inspiration. The way, Pakistan started their journey and how they fell as a result of dismal loss against India in their opening game against India in Champions Trophy 2017(Credit must be attributed to the motivational speech and boosting spirit given by Shoaib Malik, a senior member of the team after their loss against India on 04.06.2017) is similar to that of 1992 Cricket World Cup. In 1992, the unit was struggling, lost their initial matches. They required nothing less than a messiah, who could saviour them from their fallout. And, advice of their captain, then, Imran Khan: Fight like cornered- tigers did wonders for them. After a long time, Pakistan has a skipper, who is expressive and has a body language. Sarfaraz Ahmed is an interesting character. Inzamam ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Misbah ul Haq, Azhar Ali have been boring and dull skippers. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Hafiz, Shahid Afridi have been fascinating and so is Sarfraz Ahmed. Though, the team lacks consistency and the ability to annihilate the opponents. On their day, they can make really strong teams go weak in their knees. Pakistan and West Indies continue to be the most unpredictable cricket teams in the world. Imran Khan believes that Pakistan has the most talent in the world in terms of cricket, but it fails in offering them an international platform. Today, they have captivating skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed, useful and handy, Mohammad Hafeez, capable Babar Azam, skilful Fakhar Zaman, run-machine Azhar Ali, experienced Shoaib Malik, potential all-rounder Immad Wasim, capable Wahab Riaz, quality-player Mohammad Aamir, dangerous Hassan- Ali, promising Junaid Khan, containing Yasir Shah, fine Ahmed Shehzad, attacking Umar Akmal, swanky Asad Shafiq, destructive Fawad Alam, T-20 specialists like Sohail Tanveer and Umar Gul, etc.This team is very promising and dangerous. Revamp of cricket in the nation would be great for them and will help the country as a whole. From their extra-ordianry skills, their cyborgs, their heroes, their good-looks, style blended with loudness and rowdiness, aggressiveness, tactics, everything is out of the world. All these attributes have captured our imagination for long. Well, we truly have enjoyed their cricket and continue to do so. They are the most human of the hard-nosed international sportsmen.