- It’s how you lose
Once again, unfortunately, the Pakistani cricket team has embarrassed itself as well as the country. It’s not losing the match to India in the Asia Cup that is drawing such sharp criticism. It is, rather, the manner of the loss that is cause for such concern. As so often before the team capitulated; effectively losing the match in its first few minutes. And this sudden melting away of the batting order, which leaves the bowlers with too little a target to defend, has come to typify the national outfit far more than its flamboyant victories once did.
It’s not, of course, that the better teams do not lose. Even the best in the business, teams and players alike, go through bad patches. But even when they lose, it is after putting up a fight. Pakistan, unfortunately, has made a bad habit of losing in largely one-sided affairs. We do, nonetheless, still manage to occupy a high place in international rankings (1st in T20s, 5th in ODIs, 7th in Tests). But there’s only so long we can rely on individual flashes of brilliance to see the day through. It is precisely because the cricket board never paid enough attention to erecting a system that is capable of delivering that we come across as so unprofessional in our outlook, and match figures.
Once, not so long ago, Pakistan dominated international sports like cricket, hockey and squash. And while the days when we ruled the worlds of squash and hockey are well behind us, we still manage to secure the odd championship when it comes to cricket. There is an urgent need, therefore, to pay special attention towards reviving our old status in international sports. The new prime minister being an ex-sportsman himself – and one that led us to world cup victory in cricket – must understand the magnitude of this problem better than the layman. It is hoped that sincere efforts will be put in, at every level, to improve our standing in international sports.