KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Advisory Panel need to be
appreciated for showing the resolve to rebuild the team for the next World Cup
in 2003 and starting to do this with the home series against Sri Lanka.
The decision to exclude Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq from the squad for the
one-day series against Sri Lanka was a decision which required courage to be
taken, but Lt Gen Tauqir Zia and his Advisory Panel showed they have the
resolve to do what is in the best interest of the country in the long run.
The decision to also not select players like Shahid Afridi and Azhar Mahmood
for the first one-dayer at Karachi was also a good one after their recent
indifferent form.
But now with Pakistan having lost the one-day series with only the consolation
game in Lahore to be played on Saturday (tomorrow), there are already
mummerings from various quarters that the Board needs to review its strategy of
rebuilding a new team so soon for the next World Cup.
Knowing well the Ôdressing-room politics adopted by the seniors, no one really
should be surprised that Pakistan lost the first two matches.
Expecting the team to win the one-day series under the captainship of Saeed
Anwar after Wasim Akram had stepped down or been forced to quit was asking
for too much.
Wasim had been captaining the side for the last two years with an iron hand but
things had started going wrong in Australia, one reason why he either decided
himself to step down or was asked to do so by the Board after the tour Down
Under.
But now to expect his successor to deliver the goods with a new look side is a
bit unfair. Saeed is not a born leader of men and his decision to field in Karachi
and Gujranwala on ideal one-day tracks, remains mystifying to say the least.
If Pakistan lost both the games, it was because not only is Saeed still unsure of
his position as captain and secondly they were up against an organised and
disciplined Sri Lankan outfit, which has taken months to settle down and shrug
off the images of Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva.
Sanath Jayasuria was lucky that he managed two notable successes in his first
series as captain against Australia and then in the Aiwa Cup at home last
summer.
This because he had the support of a shrewd and knowledgeable coach like Dav
Whatmore. Unfortunately Saeed does not have this cushion to fall back on.
When the Pakistan coach is quoted as saying after the Karachi match that if
his team had won the match no one would have criticised the decision to field
first, then one can only imagine his technical expertise or insight into the game.
The sad part of Pakistan cricket today is that both Saeed and Intikhab Alam
have become captain and coach by default.
And then in these circumstances, to still have Wasim Akram in the team even
as just a player only adds to the pressure on them.
There are no two opinions about Wasims status as a left-arm pace bowler of
outstanding calibre and even as a captain over the years and with him in the
team one can well understand how difficult the job becomes for any other
captain.
The fact that the man has managed to ride the team through to some notable
successes in the last few years including a 3-0 whitewash of the West Indies at
home and then an appearance in the coveted World Cup final are not small
achievements, particularly when keeping in mind that for the last two years he
has also been battling the match-fixing and betting allegations. But still Wasim
like many other great cricketers Imran Khan and Javed Miandad is still only
human and has his fallicies. The most prominent of them being his stubborn
nature to forgive and accomodate those players in the team, who have accused
him of match-fixing and betting, even at the cost of the teams performance.
Today Aamer Sohail has been reinstated in the team to his rightful place, but
really what purpose is he serving now. His services were required in the World
Cup and in Australia, yet Wasim could not stand him at all. Rashid Latif is
another example. His wicketkeeping abilities place him a cut above Moin Khan
and in recent times the pressure has been telling on the latter.
No doubt Moin is a fighter all the way and has produced numerous innings in
critical conditions to steer Pakistan out of trouble, but then it is also a fact that
he has at times made some glaring mistakes as a keeper. He muffed up a
stumping chance and then a catch from Michael Bevan and Steve Waugh in the
triangular one-day series in Australia and Pakistan lost both those games.
The theory still remains simple, an outstanding keeper is worth much more in
gold then a satisfactory keeper who is a capable bat. But then Wasim just
could not tolerate Sohail and Latif and this showed on so many times. Even in
1998 when both were captaining the side in South Africa and Zimbabwe, the
moment Wasim joined the team in the third Test in Port Elizabeth after
Pakistan were leading the three Test series 1-0, he made sure both fell apart
and in the process the team also.
All these are documented facts and not based on mere heresy. The bottom line
is Wasim while captaining has been capable of inspiring the team to great
heights. But when not and the situation has not been to his liking, he has also
been very capable of creating problems in the team. This is a fact that the board
officials need to think about as they start rebuilding the team for the next World
Cup. It is clear Saeed Anwar is not their choice as captain for the next two
years, so what they plan to do in this regard after this series, remains an
intriguing question? Moin is one answer but with Latif breathing down his neck,
again we have a big question mark? There is no doubt that the argument to not
make whole-sale changes in the team is a strong one.
But then the Board has an option before it. That is to concentrate on building a
purely one-day squad for the World Cup and have a separate one for Test
matches thus allowing senior players like Inzamam and Waqar to still play their
due role in Pakistan cricket for sometime.
Australia has managed to experiment with having a specialist one-day squad
with great success. It is but natural that they always remain some players who
are talented enough to make both the One-day and Test sides. This also
Australia has managed with great success. Why cant Pakistan do this. It is
certainly not short of talent. All it requires to do is start setting its priorities.
There will be setbacks in the early stages but the rewards will only be known
when the next World Cup is held.
The key to preparing a winning one-day combination is to start selecting
youngsters who are most importantly capable of becoming outstanding fielders
and withstanding the rigours demands of limited overs stuff physically. Which
the seniors including Wasim are not capable of doing now.
The reason Pakistan has only won the World Cup once and never the under-19
World Cup is because the Board has been prone to looking at short term gains
instead of at the future.
Many will not agree but today Wasim Akram is playing on his past laurels
rather then on present form. Despite all his greatness as a bowler par
excellence and all, just go through the record books and it is clear that as a
bowler or batsman, Wasim has not been a match winner in the real sense of
the word in recent years in one-day cricket.
If anything he is not the bowler he used to be say three years back. And it is
difficult to imagine watching him playing the next World Cup.
For a player of his stature to pick one or two wickets in every third or fourth
match or to smash a quick 20 or 30 runs is just not enough.
Sri Lanka showed the courage to first drop Aravinda and Arjuna from their
one-day squad and they are now starting to reap the rewards. PCB also has to
start showing the same tenacity. The bottom line is every great cricketer starts
going downhill at some point in his career and those who have the foresight to
chose the right time to retire, go out with respect and in a blaze of glory. Those
who refuse to see the writing on the wall have to be firmly helped out.
Wasim is okay for a few Test series from now, but the time has come to start
easing him out and this can be done with the one-day squad.
Nowhere in the world can any country boost of having players waiting in the
wings ready to take over from superstars like Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam or Wasim
at any time.
Every change has to take some time to start producing results. This rule also
applies to Pakistan cricket.