The Pakistan cricket team under the captaincy of Shahid Khan Afridi deserves to be patted for its honourable defeat at the hands of a team with outstanding batsmen and efficient fielders. The Pakistan side had weaknesses, of course; sloppy fielding being the most prominent one. What must not be lost sight of, however, was the spirit and the audacity exhibited by the players which kept the people expecting victory up till the first hundred runs by the team for the loss of two wickets.
By the time the team reached Mohali, many in the country seemed to have forgotten that Pakistan cricket had reached the nadir by the end of last year and that at the start of the World Cup, few had expected the team to qualify for quarter-finals. A shoddy administration coupled with spot-fixing charges which had deprived the team of its premier pace bowlers had thoroughly demoralised the players. The team entered the competition on the back of a still continuing controversy, with the shadow of spot-fixing dogging their every step. It followed them to Mohali when, to their chagrin, Rehman Malik threatened action against any member of the team found involved in the practice. It goes to the credit of Shahid Afridi to build a team from the ashes, engender hope and confidence in it and to lead it victory against the West Indies. We must not forget that the team brought joy to millions of Pakistani across the country when it won the quarter-final.
Those who built up illusions of the invincibility of the team despite warnings by experts regarding its deficiencies have to blame themselves for their miscalculations. What many in Pakistan and India need to be reminded of is that cricket is a sport and not a sphere for the projection of the national ego. The cricket administration should now get its act together. It needs to build on the strong points of the team and work hard to improve its shortcomings. The nation should, meanwhile, encourage the players who dared to overreach themselves.
