Inspiration needed - Pak vs India (April '04)

Well its not about losing. The current Indian team is better than Pakistan, a fact I have no hesitation in accepting and the series result is very much as I had expected. But the manner in which we lost does not reflect an honest effort. It shows a bunch of street cricketers losing hope after a bully scares them. I agree the umpiring didnt help but that is part of the game. The catches we dropped came in our own hands not the umpires or the Indians. Losing two matches by an innings and a hundred runs? Dont you agree that West Indies, or even Zimbabwe/NZ would have have done better than this?

We got six dropped catch chances in the second innings!! Had India or even West Indies got those many chances I am sure they would have put up a tougher fight. The scorecard looks shameful.

It all boils down to one simple point: INSPIRATION. Our current team has no one that can inspire the team to newer levels. Do you remember when Pakistan was so down and out in 1999 that it lost home series to Zimbabwe and England? Aamir Sohail was the captain and Miandad was the coach. Then the very next series Pakistan went to India to play a test series under the leadership of Wasim Akram. And the result was totally different. The very same players played like men and showed the confidence unimaginable after such a bad recent track record. The only difference was the leadership. The inspiration a leadership can provide has no replacement. And Pakistan is a team that needs a lot of it. They have to be told time and time again to keep their norht straight and to think in the right way. They are a team that can win mountains if they play together and disintegrate and lose against Bangladesh if not. Imran Khan led the weakest Pakistani team I can remember to World Cup win in 1992, even though he himself wasn't half the bowler he used to be. Inspiration comes from small things. Not necessarily leaders or captains. A great catch can do it for teams. Even a good stop in the field ignites the passion among the players. It has to come from somewhere in the team. The coach is too laid back (to put it in the nicest terms I can). The captain does not carry the most aggressive image in the cricketing world to be able to inspire a bunch of very talented players. Losses like this can destroy players. And wins at crucial stages at one's career can transform him into a new player altogethor. I guess character is the name of the game and Pakistan showed none of it in the series. It doesnt come naturally to most of us. People work hard at it all their lives. Read stories of players like Imran Khan; how he became one of the toughest fighters in the history of Pakistani cricket. Think Jansher Khan; he didn't become World Champion be default, he followed a routine which was required to become a champion.

I know Pakistan has improved considerably after the World Cup disaster but still if the players do not play to their full potential the team loses more than a series. If you can and you dont, then there is more to it than team build-up.

The senior players have to step up at this point. Yousuf Youhana who has shown utter irresponsiblity in recent times, specially the World Cup, should be made aware of his position in the team. I just cant believe he has played so many matches and is still so inexperienced. Muhammad Kaif looks more mature as a batsman than him. I would definitely pick Yuvraj Singh in my team ahead of Youhana. I haven't seen the commitment from him that I expect from the best batsman of the team. Shoaib Akhtar should think about how to get the batsmen out when on the field rather than how he is looking on the screen or if his Merc is locked up or not. He is what he is because of Pakistan, not the other way round.

Just look at Miandad's attitude towards coaching:
"Of course we always plan before we play a match and we keep to a strategy. But every player knows what type of wicket he is playing on and what he should do to benefit from that wicket, as a bowler or as a batsman. They are all Test players with a fair bit of experience now, and to tell them how to play all the time should not be necessary. "

This isn't the first time I have heard him say that. He always says that whenever the team fails. But this is not a professional attitude at all. He has to remember that he is now a coach, not Miandad the legend we all know and respect. It is definitely his job to keep reminding the players of their responsibilities and roles are in the team and what they need to do to carry them out. Every little detail. A thousand times a day if he has to. We all know how "unprofessional" we Pakistanis are and how mentally immature and weak our approach is towards the game. Every player does not think and behave like Miandad himself, who has fought the strongest of battles single-handedly in his days. He has to build men out of players. If he cannot inspire the team then I wonder who can.

Inzamam says that our batting did ok. Do you think so? Can't we stand at the pitch more than a day? Don't we have the resolve shown by our seniors like Hanif Muhammad and the like to do it for their team, no matter what it takes? Look at Dravid. I think he is what he is today 50% because of his talent and 50% because of his attitude. His statements about his approch to the game are indeed very interesting to read. http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2004/APR/126590_PAKIND2003-04_16APR2004.html

This is what a coach has to teach the youngsters. Not only the batting techniques and the running between the wickets (or the pavillion?). He has to understand each player's psyche and tell him how to approach the game. I agree the player has to do it himself in the end. I dont know why I am against Miandad as a coach but if you see something wrong persistently in the team then it seems someone is not doing his job well enough. Its ok if players suck but if they continue to suck them then someone has to do something about it. It is the same mistakes over and over again. Youhana always gets out while shuffling across his stumps. Younas Khan always gets out playing across the line and giving a catch back to them bowler. Shahid Afridi has an eternal problem against short and rising deliveries. The three youngsters at the top order always get out in their typical fashion. I know Miandad knows all these things better than me and must have told them about this but to tell something and to tell it effectively is different. Anyone remembers Jaysuria pre-1996? Nothing better than a Shahid Afridi but just his approach to the game has transformed him into a dangerous batsman against any opponent. You think Dave Whatmore has a hand in this?