Issues faced by the unofficial sport of Pakistan: Cricket

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For a country like Pakistan sports play a vital role in developing the society. Although the national sport is hockey but cricket is the heart and soul of the nation. Taken as a method to express the feelings, every day history is made in numerous cricket grounds across the country. As the game doesn’t involve severe exercise it is played by each and everyone living in the country and more recently the gender discrimination has also ended. Also cricket is one of those few sports in the country which is played without any religious hostility and each and every Pakistani has a dream of playing for the country. When Pakistan played against India last year at the World Cup semi-final the whole nation was behind their players and the government announced half day at offices so the people can watch the game.
The players playing for the national side are literally living their dream. Sadly the sport that is played like a religion has suffered a lot during the past few years due to a multiple reasons; top being the lack of interest and support by the parents. As the world has become a global village and with the cut throat competition in every field, parents believe that their children should follow a nine to five job that brings in a fixed salary and provide them financial security.
This lack of support lead to a decline in talent as the talent never got the opportunity to bloom to its potential. The lack of infrastructure in the country is also a core reason. The number of grounds is very less and school cricket is at an all-time low. Street cricket is a good pastime but it cannot produce world class cricketers. Also the match-fixing and the spot fixing scandals didn’t help. Of course the final nail in the coffin was the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team by terrorists in Lahore.
The new talent that somehow convince their parents that they have what it takes to excel in cricket are not welcomed by arms wide open by the authorities. There a lot hurdles in their way. First there is no opportunity (that is what they are told) available. Also no one is actively working towards the growth of cricket. The domestic league is unable to find good sponsors. The media is least bothered to cover the local matches and due to this a lack of ownership is observed. School cricket should be promoted and basic facilities should be provided to these young aspiring cricketers. Regular coaching camps should be arranged throughout the year. Most of all merit based selection should be ensured.
Pakistan can still bounce back to its old glory. Our cricket team is doing really well at the international arena but what about the replacements. No one is available in the reserve bank. Appreciation of talent is a must, scholarships and awards should be given to the players who perform well at the grass root level and have the potential to play for Pakistan in the future. Similarly academies to nurture the talent should be set up at the grass root level. Setting up these academies is not hard and can be done on collective basis by cricket fans. Indeed cricket is like our oxygen and we don’t want to see our cricket die out over the next few years.

4 COMMENTS

  1. congratulation M.r Abbas on highlighting the barriers successfully in our domestic and international cricket…………Hope fully concerns authorities will take notice…..

  2. A good analysis Abbas, I would just add that gradually we are moving ahead and our domestic cricket as well as International cricket is improving but with a slow 'pace'. A lot of improvements can be made keeping in view the points you have mentioned. I second your opinion that certain initiatives need to be taken from the grass-root level like schools, street-cricket and club-cricket.

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