The recently-concluded President’s Cup One-Day tournament ended in jubilation for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) team led by Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, as they lifted the cup after defeating Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by 32 runs in the final in Karachi on Friday.
Whilst the SNGPL team was star studded with the likes of Mohammed Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal and Misbah, the team was also ably coached by former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali, who must also take credit for the team’s performance.
Quoted by PakPassion, Basit Ali expressed his typically forthright views on a variety of topics including Misbah-ul-Haq’s role in the Pakistan team, the road ahead for Umar Akmal and Pakistan’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2013. He also had some strong words for the ex Chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt.
On Misbah-ul-Haq and his leadership of SNGPL
I’m not satisfied with this victory. The fact is that this is really an exceptional achievement by just one person — Misbah-ul-Haq. You have to look at the way he and Mohammad Hafeez have played since returning from South Africa, without any proper rest.
Firstly, they both played in the Super Eight T-20 Cup, and then this 50-over tournament. I really want to salute Misbah on his sincerity and dedication regarding his role in domestic cricket. Even after touring for three months with the international team he came here and performed with such intensity.
Asad Ali, Yasir Shah and Azhar Ali all scored a lot of runs but it was only Misbah who played match winning innings in most games. He usually bats at No 4 for Pakistan, but we sent Umar Akmal in that position, and dropped Misbah to No 5 because Umar Akmal wanted to bat at No 4. Misbah still didn’t complain and said he is prepared to bat at any number. In his heart, Misbah never looks at his personal performance; he thinks about the team first. This is a good sign for Pakistan cricket because the captain is confident that he can perform at whatever number. The fact of the matter is that due to rule changes regarding the five fielders, the Power Play is essentially 50 overs now, instead of 10. In other words, a quality player can easily come in make big scores in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) from any position.
Umar Akmal’s attitude and the way forward
Players like Umar Akmal are talented, but they have not performed in this tournament. In my view, Umar needs to take his cricket more seriously. This will be a setback for him in the coming days. He needs to focus and not listen to those who say he is batting too low in the order. He needs to get away from all that chat and utilise his God-given talent at whatever number he is sent in to bat at.
When you perform, you shut everyone up. A case in point is Misbah-ul-Haq. The same people who wanted him out of the team are now supporting his inclusion. The main thing is performance, especially for batsmen. If you don’t perform, you are giving others a chance to criticise you. My message to Umar Akmal is to focus on cricket and cricket alone. He will have to think about his future so cricket doesn’t leave him behind. Cricket is a sport that makes you laugh little, and makes you cry more so there is a lot of effort and heartbreak before you can succeed.”
Role of the PCB in the improvement of domestic cricket
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank PCB for doing their utmost to improve the quality of competition in Pakistani domestic cricket. The results of these improvements are the quality of players that will steadily improve. Good examples of these are Sohaib Maqsood, Khurram Manzoor and Umar Waheed — they are completely transformed players due to the quality of competition they have faced in domestic tournaments.
Look at the example of South Africa as to how even after years of being shunned by the international community, they were able to produce world class players on the basis of a good domestic system. Similarly, in the case of PCB, they have done a great job with improvement in departmental cricket. Zaka Ashraf, Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam have monitored these games closely and provided observers and video analysts for domestic games — all items that were previously associated with the national team and not with the domestic setup. This year is also the first time that Kookaburra balls were used and the benefit is that bowlers will know how to bowl in international or top level competitions with the Kookaburra ball.”