Maybe it is because no international cricket has been played in this country, or maybe it is because he so assiduously avoids public attention that not much is known about Naveed Akram Cheema, the manager of the Pakistan team for nearly three years now. What stands out during this period, and he mentions it with some measure of pride, is the consistency with which the Pakistan team has performed. Touching 80 per cent, the success rate of the green shirts across all three formats has been quite exceptional – especially if one considers that this is the same side that was known in the cricketing world as one of the most inconsistent.
Cheema quickly passes on the credit to skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and the support staff. Superlatives flow: “Misbah is educated, sober and balanced. He knows his cricket and is a good leader – the kind who leads by example and commands respect. He handles the team and the media with great savvy. Above all, he is very considerate”.
Appointed by Ijaz Butt in the wake of that mother of all scandals, the spot-fixing disgrace that wracked Pakistan cricket in the summer of 2010 and claimed the scalp of his predecessor Intikhab Alam, Cheema was made the team manager for just the tour of Zimbabwe. A member of the PCB’s board of governors – a position that he still retains – Cheema had till then just managed the Pakistan ‘A’ to the West Indies. But his stint with the senior squad has had a tinge of permanence.
From what little has appeared about him in a clutch of reports in credible publications abroad, where Pakistan played its cricket in these years, he is portrayed as a strong disciplinarian who brooks no non-sense. This attribute is confirmed by the team sources. And it shows.
Primed over 38 years of public service, first in the Pakistan Army and then in the echelons of civil service of Pakistan, when Cheema took over in the fall of 2010, Pakistan cricket was really in the pits – with good news emanating but only seldom, and crisis and controversy all too often.
Compare it with what has happened since Cheema and Misbah combine took over. Not a scrap of bad news, no hint of a scandal, no breach of discipline has been the hallmark of this Pakistan squad so intent on brushing up its image.
“Occasionally I hear but only from the Pakistan media that there was some rift or infighting in the Pakistan team. This only happens when we happen to lose. Balderdash, I say. Winning and losing is part of the game. The fighting spirit of this Pakistan side is something well acknowledged. But equally importantly this bunch of boys in Pakistan colours has actually carried itself so well both on and off the field that all I hear is appreciation from all quarters, including umpires and match referees and other ICC officials.”, says Cheema.