There is no shame in going down fighting, if fate has ordained defeat one should give it a good fight, however any team is as good as its leader. What happened in the Asia Cup final at Dhaka on March 8, 2014 was a classic example of mental bankruptcy shown by our cricket team’s ‘think tanks’, or the tour management committee! I wonder if we even have any? I could easily point out two main mistakes that we made, team selection and the decision to bat first, both were wrong and everyone knew that we had lost the match before a single ball was bowled!
Team selection stipulates that only fit players should be selected. Everyone knew that Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Sharjeel Khan and Shahid Afridi were not fit. We were taking a risk with these unfit players, only Shahid Afridi was worth it. Our decision to bat first was really bad, everyone knows that we can beat a score but make a score is beyond the team. The unfit Shahid Afridi was not played for his bowling prowess. Obviously, he was included, keeping in consideration his tremendous batting form. As such, at least for the last five over’s Fawad Alam should have been called back, as retired hurt, and Afridi should have given a chance to go for it. Afridi was our nuclear weapon and the enemy was allowed to conquer us, while we had the world’s most potent weapon in our arsenal. We could not have given a bigger gift to our enemy, that too, in the most important final match.
Our most pathetic performance was given in the fielding and wicket keeping departments. If we have to play the semi finals of the T20 World Cup, then the entire tour management committee and the fielding coach should be replaced with some deserving and capable persons. Misbah ul Haq, has proved again that that he is not capable of leading Pakistani team to victory podium of the 2015 ODI World Cup. He is being retained as captain at our own peril.
SYED NAYYAR UDDIN AHMAD,
Lahore, March 11.