Patience is the key. But do we have that attribute? As a nation, we want instant results. When they do not come, we vent our anger and frustration in public. There were few outlets to do that in the past, but nowadays we have a myriad of outlets, the main being social media.
Since cricket unites the nation, it also unites Pakistanis in castigating the players, the cricket board, and all those linked to the team. But just like criticism, fans also shower praise when the team wins.
This is normal practice. Fans react unabatedly. They show their reaction, sometimes justified, sometimes not. But their reaction shows they care. They follow the game. The reasons are simple: cricket unites Pakistan and is the only sport that can give the country recognition.
Often, the performance of the national cricket board is also judged on the results of the national team. At times, it hides the good work the cricket board does.
The last two years have seen a steep decline in the Pakistan team’s performance. We finished ninth and last in the third cycle of the World Test Championship. The Test team went down gradually, fifth in the first cycle, seventh in the second, and last thereafter.
Pakistan crashed out of the ODI World Cup held in India in 2023 in the first round, losing to a new Asian power, Afghanistan. The dip took an ugly turn when Pakistan went down against minnows the USA that ousted them in the first round of last year’s T20 World Cup.
If that was not enough, Pakistan crashed out of the Champions Trophy in the first round. It left a bad taste in the mouth as the tournament was the first global event hosted by Pakistan in 29 years.
This year too, the Pakistan team has not been up to the mark. The team lost to Bangladesh in a T20I series and then went down to the West Indies in ODIs, their first defeat against that opponent in 34 years! All these shambolic defeats have become a reason for waning interest amongst the fans.
To add salt to their wounds, the selection committee and the team management decided to leave out crowd favourite Babar Azam from the squad for the tri-series and Asia Cup. They do not want to watch cricket with the team losing and their favourite player not in the team.
But it cannot be perpetual. Cricket is almost the only entertainment available to Pakistanis. It is one of the main things, and there aren’t many, that give them joy and recognition.
As we say that a victory has many fathers, the fans started to return and appreciate Pakistan’s win over Afghanistan in the final to win the tri-series in Sharjah.
This win has turned things around. Team Green showed that it could bring its fans back to the game. They have accepted that these players can become the world’s best.
Once the results started to dwindle, the Pakistan Cricket Board brought a successful white-ball head coach in Mike Hesson. He was reluctant to join because of the bitter exit of other foreign coaches had made.
Just last year, Pakistan had brought in two high-profile coaches in Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten. Both had to leave within six months, and they left in a bitter way.
We showed a lack of patience because the results were not coming. Finally, during the tenth edition of the Pakistan Super League, the deal with Hesson was finally struck.
Hesson successfully coached New Zealand between 2012 to 2018 and was touted as “A man of crisis,” and a young man but experienced, and has excellent man-management skills.”
He won medals for his communication skills and “how to handle difficult communication” during his coaching studies, requisites for a successful coach.
True to his grit, Hesson took a difficult decision to continue to drop ace batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
He is the first coach to tell Babar, and that he did publicly in the selection of the squads, that the batter was weak against spin and his strike rate needed improvement. The difficult decision raised quite a few voices. But a decision is made.
Pakistan won four of their five matches in the tri-series and proved that the decisions made were right and that the progress is in the right direction.
“I am pleased with the progress of the team,” said Hesson after Pakistan won the tri-series. “We are not a finished product yet, but we are heading in the right direction.”
To his credit, Salman is handling the team and situations adroitly. The best thing about his captaincy is that he is backing his players.
His support for the faltering and under-performing Mohammad Haris is amazing. His words will be soothing for Haris. That will definitely lift Haris, and a performance will come from him sooner than later.
Salman’s Instagram post summed up the whole situation. “A man who walks with purpose doesn’t need the crowd to cheer. He already knows where he is going.”
Verily, the Pakistan team is heading in the right direction. Results in the Asia Cup will further determine its path as the T20 World Cup is also just around the corner.
