What a fabulous start the Pakistan cricket team has taken against England in our home series being played in the UAE. The 1st Test in which our team devastated a strong England edifice by winning the contest by ten wickets is an event to celebrate. Analyzing our team’s magical advancement in skill and style achieved during its foreign tours last year, I will give its credit to untiring efforts of the players as well as guidance provided to them by the team management. The unity, discipline, form and fitness and the fighting spirit displayed by the team were commendable. According to my assessment such advancement in the team’s prowess has come up as a result of concerted efforts put in by coach Mohsin Khan. Since his joining the team as Chief Coach the team is free from all types of infighting, with tremendous rise in the elements of unity, understanding between players, general discipline, fighting spirit and other pre-requisites of a well knit unit.
The appointment of a foreign coach has generally been a prestige point for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) although the record shows that the three foreign coaches we had one after the other could not help raising our cricket team’s international ranking. Besides, the language problem always remained a hurdle in interaction between the players and the coach. The PCB chairman Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf has recently settled some terms and conditions with Australia’s Dav Whatmore for appointment as Pakistan team’s chief coach. My humble suggestion to chairman PCB is to let Mohsin Khan continue as chief coach. The chairman’s objection that ‘Mohsin is not a qualified coach’ does not hold good under the present circumstances. The close equation with players, understanding of their nature, habits, character qualities, potential, limitations, capacity to rise and improve, discipline and other factors are more important than a ‘coaching certificate’. A foreign coach would never be conversant with all these elements in respect of each player. He should therefore defer the appointment of Mr. Dav Whatmore.
RAFI NASIM,
Lahore, January 24.