The Pakistan team, its manager and coach should keep the team gelled and should not be talking about the players weaknesses and fitness openly. Instead they should be encouraging all the members of the team. I believe Waqar Younis questioning the fitness of pacer Shoaib Akhtar in front of the media will create problems in the team in the ongoing World Cup. I am surprised that what Waqar said about Shoaib that he is still half-fit and working hard to gain match-fitness. What does he mean by that? Even if Shoaib is not fully fit the coach is not supposed to say these things about a player at this point in time particularly publicly.
I had played lot of cricket alongside Waqar. We played a lot of cricket together but after he became captain in 2002 there was a clear change in his attitude and this led to groupings within the team in the 2003 World Cup. By giving such remarks the team management would create intrigues within the team ranks especially shatter the confidence of the player in question.
Younis Khan, Shoaib, Shahid Afridi were members of that 2003 World Cup squad and the memories of that event would still be fresh in their minds that is why I am concerned the way Waqar has talked about the fitness of Shoaib. It was most unfortunate that since the team left for the World Cup, the captain, coach and manager have constantly talked about the fitness of Shoaib. I don’t know the reason for highlighting the fitness issues of Shoaib in the media.
It would have been better if they had kept it away from the media and discussed it with Shoaib in private given he is not fully fit,” the former wicketkeeper-batsman said. I just feel that if the team management had any reservations over the fitness of Shoaib why was he selected in the World Cup squad in the first place. Why take such a big risk for such a big event? Now is the time for Waqar and the captain and manager to support and back Shoaib in the media and not criticise his fitness.
