A viewing of Pakistani news television on YouTube after the national team’s match in the World Cup can serve as a revelation at times, especially after a loss.
You get to hear of all possible reasons why Pakistan lost a match – ranging from the bizarre to the sublime to the ridiculous.
The former cricketers sitting on each of those networks, as panellists, play a part in whipping up passions. Then, there are the memes, that further inflame passions amongst fans.
Appeal for Calm
Just over a week ago, when Pakistan lost to India in the World Cup, it seemed like the world had come crashing down for their cricket. The same script was played out on TV and followed up with all-round ridicule on social media. The jokes and memes put up by the Pakistanis on social media were at a different level altogether.
It was, therefore, no wonder that some of that spilled over to real life as well. The appalling act of a Pakistani fan abusing team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed while he was strolling with his son, left a bad taste in the mouth.
Then, the very same former cricketers appealed for calm and cessation of ‘hostilities’ against Pakistan’s captain. Shoaib Malik was also dragged in along with his wife Sania Mirza.
The Twitter spat between Sania and Pakistan actress Veena Malik also became part of the ‘postmortem’ of why they lost to India.
In all of this, the fact that India outplayed Pakistan in the match at Manchester was completely sidelined. Then there was the perennial bugbear of Pakistan cricket, factionalism within the squad, which was also brought out as if that was the cause for the defeat.
How Things Change!
But, a week later, all is well with Pakistan cricket once again. The side is ‘the best’ again. Why? They have just beaten South Africa and now New Zealand to stay afloat in the tournament.
Sarfaraz is now the toast of the nation and his fitness, or the lack of it, does not matter any more. His yawn during the India match, that caught the attention of an entire nation, has now been replaced by his effort to take a superb catch against New Zealand.
All the ‘sins’ he committed against India have now been forgiven, but only till 29 June, when Pakistan plays Afghanistan in another crucial match.
Skipper’s Right Choices
The problem is Sarfaraz can do no right if you are a Pakistani fan. He punted on the experience of Malik ahead of Harris Sohail. Now that that experiment failed, he went back to the younger all-rounder.
Sohail came good against South Africa with a breathtaking effort. The same Sohail was scoring against Australia in the bilateral ODI series in UAE before the World Cup, but not at the pace that everyone desired. That may have been the reason for him being left out early on. But the way he batted against South Africa, he showed that the UAE performance was a blip on the radar.
Before the World Cup, two senior bowlers – Mohammed Amir and Wahab Riaz – were not in the frame. Riaz was not in the good books of head coach Mickey Arthur, while Amir was the coach’s favourite but not picking wickets.
It is believed that Sarfaraz insisted on both the senior bowlers to be included in the squad for the World Cup. The batting-fests against England before the World Cup convinced everyone that Amir and Riaz will prove to be the difference. Thus far, it has been the experience of the duo that has kept the campaign alive for Pakistan.
Hasan Ali was Waqar Younis’ successor in Pakistan cricket. Two years ago, when he won Pakistan the Champions Trophy, all and sundry hailed him. But his dip in form with the ball has been a big surprise for everyone.
Sarfaraz and Arthur believed Ali could turn it around like Amir and Riaz, but it was not to be. Shaheen Shah Afridi was the ready replacement and made an instant impact. But the same Afridi was not proving to be equal to the task against England before the World Cup.
Punting on Batting
For Sarfaraz and Arthur, this constant changing of the line-up is as much a demand of the situation as it is a reaction to the volley of criticism on social and mainstream media. In only one case they have been steadfast and that has been in their backing of Imam-ul-Haq.
The bespectacled opener has been called the worst possible names because of his relation with Pakistan’s chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, but the young man has stood up to the challenge. Imam’s association with Fakhar Zaman has been one of the positives for Pakistan in the last two years.
In fact, the third part of the wheel has been ‘Mr Consistent’ Babar Azam. He averages 51 in the last two years in ODIs and has been the most prolific Pakistan batsman across white-ball cricket. His consistency in Test matches needs improvement but he is expected to shoulder the batting in ODIs and finally came good against New Zealand, else the constant gripe with Azam is that he does not convert his scores in daddy hundreds like the Indian top-order.
Ignore The Media
With a top-order that can rival the best in the world, a pace attack that can match the most incisive line-ups in the world, Pakistan should be one of the sides to fear in the competition.
Yet, they always appear diffident and under-confident. It is all down to the fear of being pulled down by TV News Networks and social media. If they do not pay attention to the two segments, then Pakistan could go a long way in the tournament.
No wonder then that coach Arthur commented that he was ‘contemplating suicide’ after the loss to India. That was meant more as an expression of being keen to hide himself after the performance, but the suicide correlation was a bit jarring!
For now, Arthur can relax a bit because his side is winning again and, more importantly, the 2019 campaign is matching the script of the 1992 triumph. If the stars are really aligning themselves to conjure up a 1992 redux, could Sarfaraz be Pakistan’s Prime Minister 27 years later?
Time will tell, but before that there are two more games that need to be won, else the riot act could be read out, yet again!
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