A Clarion Call to the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif..!

Dear Mr. Prime Minister and the Patron in Chief PCB,

AoA.

Sir,

I take this opportunity to bring to your kind notice that if seen in the perspective of the ODI World Cup, scheduled to start from 14 February, 2015 (exactly after 53 days) all is not well, with the Pakistan cricket.

In fact, Pakistan’s ODI cricket is going from bad to worse, since, Mr. Najam Sethi took over in June 2013; and even Mr. Shahryar Khan has failed to stem the rot (mainly because he is religiously following the policies of Mr. Najam Sethi and working on his dotted lines, as if Mr. Najam Sethi is still his boss).

Now, as per the latest ODI team ICC rankings, Pakistan stands at # 7. Pakistan is now just 1 point ahead of the West Indies and then we come in the league of the teams of the Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland.

It is known for sure that you being yourself just not only a cricketer, but an ardent and passionate follower of the game as well, can not just wait and see the downfall of our team, which is mainly because of the nincompoop senior PCB leadership and team management.

Sir, you as the Patron in Chief of the PCB, would also never tolerate an early (but very much looming) exit of the Pakistan team from the World Cup 2015, as happened in the year 2007, 9th ODI World Cup held in the West Indies, when Pakistan failed to go past the group stage while Bangladesh, the lowest-ranked Test playing nation, and Ireland, an associate (non-test playing) nation, made it to the Super 8s.

Sir, just for your kind information other cricket boards are taking the World Cup 2015 so seriously that the ECB has dismissed its tested and tried ODI captain Mr. Alastair Cook and appointed Mr. Eoin Morgan as England’s ODI team’s captain. Even West Indian Cricket Board has also corrected their course midway, by appointing Mr. Jason Holder (23 years young) replacing Mr. Dwayne Bravo, as West Indies’ ODI captain.

I really appreciate the BCCI for their professionalism in going at the jugular of the Indian teams coaching staff for losing the Test match Vs Australia, due to an unrest in the dressing room.

However, the state of affairs at the PCB can be easily gauged by our team’s dismal performances in the last 8 ODI’s that Pakistan played in UAE (considered as home ground for Pakistan), where it only won 2 and lost 6 matches Vs Australia and NewZealand.

Sir, the reasons of our teams down hill trend can be found from the answers of the following questions:

1. Why our team management and defensive minded ODI captains (M/s Misbah & Afridi) are playing most of the matches with 4 regular bowlers, knowing very well that 50 overs must be completed by 5 regular bowlers? Why not take to task Messrs Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Misbah ul Haq and Shahid Afridi for this cardinal blunder, constantly being repeated, since the series played in SriLanka?

2. Why the team management and ODI captains are not looking at the fact that even after including 7 batsmen in the playing eleven, we have failed mostly to score over 300 runs and also on many occasions we could not bat our quota of 50 overs?

3. Why our openers and rest of the batsmen play so defensively in the 1st 10 overs (when only 2 fielders are allowed outside the circle and where acres of space is available to score runs) that rarely our team scores above 50 runs in 10 overs? So much so that during the match played Vs NZ on the 19 December 2014, our team created a new world record, of scoring 50 runs with the help of ONLY one four.

4. Why Mr. Sarfraz is being given the duties of a wicket keeper, when even the foreign commentators talk about him as a below average wicket keeper, who keeps on dropping vital catches and thus contributing heavily in the defeats of the team?

5. No team allows unfit player (even if he is a captain) to have a joyride with the team. Why Mr. Misbah ul Haq was allowed to sit with the players and why he was not sent back home?

6. Why after announcing that Mr. Hafeez will not play the last 2 matches, he was included in the team?

7. Why Mr. Yaser Shah was not given the chance to play any ODI match, when he was sent from Pakistan as a replacement?

8. Why Mr. Sami Aslam originally selected for the ODI team, was sent back to Pakistan from the UAE to play in the A team?

10. Who selected Mr. Asad Shafiq for the ODI matches (where he miserably failed) when everyone in the country was laughing, at his out of merit selection?

11. Who dropped Mr. Fawad Alam from the team and why the chairman PCB kept mum, when this blunder (along with inclusion of Mr. Asad Shafiq) was pointed out by the experts, well before the final approval of the chairman PCB?

12. According to Mr. Waqar Younis the head coach of the team, our players are weak in fielding and also can not play bouncers. Firstly, these are no new findings and secondly, why not to dismiss the fielding and batting coaches for utterly failing to improve these VITAL short comings, in even a single player of the team?

13. Since, the buck stops at the top, why not ask the chairman PCB to immediately submit his resignation for 3rd consecutive ODI series defeat after his takeover, demotion of Pakistan’s ODI ranking to its lowest ever level and his failure in taking action (despite his own commitment) that he will not allow dressing room to be overcrowded and most importantly his impotence in taking back two positions of chief selector and manager, from Mr. Moin Khan.

Mr. Prime Minister, the existing PCB structure has failed to deliver, because it has collapsed, due to the incompetence and failure of its leadership consisting of its Chairman, BOG members, COO and senior directors. And to expect from a dead horse to run and win the race for you, is expecting the impossible. However, still Pakistani team has a chance to regroup and perform to its full potential if:

– Entire PCB echelon (top level command) is immediately replaced with NOT your FAVOURITES but true no non sense professionals like AVM Farooq Umar/ Mr. Razak Dawood/ Mr. Asad Umar and they should be given absolutely free hand to appointment the rest of the top PCB personnel.

– To aim for winning the World Cup 2015, we need to encourage innovation and risk at every level. The defensive minded old Mr. Misbah and spent force Mr. Shahid Afridi, at best can be retained as members of the team. PCB must appoint a new and young ODI captain of Pakistani team, as has been done by the ECB and the WICB.

– PCB must appoint a broader advisory committee with senior former cricketers, to submit a plan of action to win the World Cup 2015.
This plan should be a fool proof strategy with specific focus on winning the 2015 tournament, considering all risk factors, like sudden unavailability of any player due to various reasons, at least five umpiring decisions going against us (two in batting & three in bowling innings), dropped catches/missed run outs and failure of main bowlers and batsmen etc.
We should remember that plans never fail, we fail to plan. Moreover, this plan must state that “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”

– PCB must not be afraid of changing the course at a time when the World Cup 2015, is not far away.
Nothing is impossible. However, in order to achieve the impossible, it is precisely the unthinkable, which must be thought.

Mr. Prime minister, let the posterity record the fact that you as the Patron in Chief of the PCB, did everything possible within your command, to see the Pakistan’s flag fly high, when InshaAllah, our team wins the ODI 2015 World Cup, repeating the history of the glory of the 1992 ODI World Cup victory.

Last but not the least, no one else knows better than you, Mr. Prime Minister, that after having suffered so much agony, distress and pains inflicted by the WOT, we as a nation are yearning for some moments of collective joy and happiness; and nothing equals the joys and nothing unites the nation than the celebrations of a cricket World Cup victory, for which we expect from you to even go out of the way, crossing over your party lines, for delivering this PRICELESS gift to our terror stricken nation.

With kind regards and best wishes.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Tags: My Views