I read the interview of an opener who’s currently out of favor on another website (that shall remain linkless). the most interesting part of the interview for me was the last question when he was asked how he felt the team would do on the tour of Australia. his unequivocal response was that the team will get thrashed. there was no ifs or buts or conditions. it was just point blank - they will get hammered. now, that makes me wonder about the minds of these players that we have. this chap used to play for Pakistan a few years ago and is not retired. he’s played with some of the current players in the team. he could make it back too since stranger things have happened in Pak cricket. makes me wonder that if this is the mindset he took into the match when he used to play, how one earth was the team going to do well.
now, it could be argued that maybe he was bitter or something. but surely he was not delusional enough to believe that a team that he thinks will get thrashed would turn around just because of his presence especially since his own record was so mediocre. you see a similar attitude from other players. look at Imran Farhat. he is a retard (not an insult - it can be verified clinically, I’m sure). but I wonder if he plays the way he does because he believes that he is not good enough and is going to get out any second, so might as well have a go at it while he’s out there? the team be damned…
lots has been said and written about the lack of mental discipline and self-belief in recent teams. but I wonder if we’ve actually gone back to the time before Imran and Miandad where the players used to be petrified of gori chamri. how on earth are you going to beat someone if you’re scared of them and don’t even believe you can win? seems like we’ve lost all the progress we made under Imran, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar era in terms of self belief.
Taufeeq did have aggression in him, and he was better than Farhat. In that interview, did he say why he said that? I don't believe that he was lacking self-belief as an opener or any of the current player lacks it, our current batsmen lack patience and judgement in some cases.
Both openers got out LBW in both innings. What does it tell you? self-belief or simply not suitable to open and play straight (key requirement from an opener).
A lot of this lack of self belief stems from the fact that we are not a proud nation. We do not feel the pride in being a Pakistani the same way as say Aussies who are a very proud nation.
We do not trust the people who run our country and therefore we always put ourselves above the country.
